Okay I promise I'm not polly-anna...

...so I figured I'd post a few things that are tough about here rather than just telling you all of the awesome positives (even though the positives are still 90% + as I see it)..

What do I miss (besides family and friends of course!)?

1.) TiVo and digital/premium cable!!!!

2.) Good radio stations (or at least better than here) - can't quite pinpoint it but they just aren't great up here and they are always playing commercials. On the flip side I heard Sweet Home Alabama the other day as I was driving aimlessly and I rocked it like I've never rocked to the song before! Who knows, I might even like country after a few more months! Or not....

2.) Willy's!!! Tried the imitation place downstairs and it didn't even clome close :(

3.) My house, even though it's on the market (which is just going so/so by the way - good bit of traffic but no bites yet) especially when I'm going up and down the 23+ floors with arms full of stuff, when it gets hot, or when I want to tickle the ivories or swing on my front porch (J&J - mind out of the gutter please, the ivories are my piano keys)... OH and the toaster oven!!

4.) All my purses that I accidentally left behind and the shoes that I thought I could live without until the big move - good thing I've been living out of my laptop bag and I don't have much of an occassion for heels or sandals...

5.) Lastly, the lower grocery and restaurant prices......which reminds me of probably the biggest thing I miss - a paycheck!!! After 3-4 long weeks that should start up next Friday...........I'm anxious to be able to exhale again! ;)

BUT now the good news....

My first visitor arrives tomorrow afternoon!!!!

I am so thrilled to see Clay - I can't wait!!!!!!! Unfortunately............ even though it's only my second week at work, it's apparently one of the more busy ones including a working weekend :( Talk about no ramp up time at all! I'm sure it will all work out though and I'm so excited to show him around and venture out even more with a partner! Finally I won't be asked when going out to eat "JUST one"? ;)

Later Alligators :)

e.

I can walk to EVERYTHING!!

I ventured out on foot today throughout downtown and it was great. Absolutely everything is within walking distance from my apartment and I feel completely safe walking around everywhere (but don't worry Jake, I have your air force mace on my key chain just in case...). The only bad thing about having so much to do so close and being here alone as I've found myself shopping when I'm bored... Good for a time filler but bad for the budget!

Work ended really well with a meeting with my new boss (who seems really fantastic by the way) where I showed him what I had compiled/gathered so far. Still a million miles to go but it made me feel like I've picked up at least a little so far. Unfortunately the busy year-end stuff that just finished at my last job as I left is now just ramping up here since they use the fiscal calendar instead of calendar year...but hey at least it's all still fresh on my mind and I'll get to jump in and learn TONS right off the bat.

Speaking of which I think I'm going to go review a little more work to get even more prepared for the week - wish me luck! And go book your flights already!!

Miss you all,
e :)

1 week down, countless to go....

I made it through my first week in a new city, a new job, a new everything! Despite a few bumps in the road, I must say it was a great week overall that ended well. I'm finally getting in and out of my parking spaces here at the apartment in less than 27 point turns, finally remembering to bring up everything from the car when I get home (thus avoiding the trip down to the dungeon parking deck after I've changed into my bummy clothes), and making a few less wrong turns downtown when trying to get back to my place...

A few lessons learned in my first week:

1.) Seattllites really like to recycle: turns out they don't have massive rubber garbage bins on wheels and their recycling bins are actually bigger and mroe in number than their "rubbish" bins. Crazy! Good thing I have a trash chute...

2.) HOV lanes are on the right side of the interstate and they LITERALLY have bus stpos on the interstate! Or I guess I should say Freeway like the locals....

3.) Starbucks are the Waffle Houses of the Northwest - 1 or 2 at every corner. (legend has it that there is an intersection downtown where you can actually get wifi from 4 different starbucks at once. My disdain for playing in traffic has kept me from trying it out myself)

4.) At work people don't "touch base", "e-mail", or "instant message"; they "sync", "thread", and "ping".

5.) ...they also ALWAYS bring their laptops to meetings - be forewarned not to be the only one to show up with nothing other than the archaic pen and notepad!

6.) Car keys must be hidden and stashed away as items of selfish shameful greed while the bus pass is your card to cooldom.... (I would fear that they would peg me with rotten tomatoes but luckily those have all been composted...)

7.) No matter how rainy or overcast, or how little sun, seattle seems to always be lit somehow...I swear it glows. People also bike no matter what the weather is like.

8.) As bad as the locals say the traffic is here, it is nothing compared to atlanta and the scenery makes the drive even shorter.

I'm sure there is plenty more that I'm not remembering now but I'll add them later....

Workin Day 2

So now comes my first full day in the office and it was almost as intimidating as it was exciting - but even getting a door was a thrill, let alone a key to that door, a brand new laptop, and a speedy new personal printer (no more running down the hall to pick up my printouts!)! Add to that all the free starbuck's, pepsi (blech), coke (yummy!), and this strangely good 'talking rain' carbonated water ala clearly canadian I can drink, and it's all pretty phenomenal. Little do they know how much diet coke I can down in a day.....don't tell!!

As for the actual work ,they definitely threw me in the deep end with no time to tip toe in nice and slow... I know that will work out better in the end, but it also caused a little 'heartburn' early on today. Bottom line I think that once I get the translation of the terminology I'm used to things won't be so bad at all. The profession-specific terms are all familiar to me (thank goodness!) but basic ways to explain processes and technical steps are slightly different. No biggie though, right!?! Right :)

So here is my chance to really step up (or maybe even do a jig or three) and prove myself without much direction, so hopefully I can actually do so! I'm excited and I think I can do it - just keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

Love you all,
e :)

Workin Day 1

The first day at work today was great as well, of course it's only day one so I'm sure it was lots of sales but I was really impressed. They even addressed all of the negative impressions that we have all encountered re: the company and clearly they have plans to address those issues which is quite raeassuring and open. We had a funny presenter showing us the impact of all of the company software bugs and the importance for fixing those issues; 1 woman to explain all of our amazing benefits (which despite the awesomeness of their coverage and payments is always difficult as an HR professional to listen to all of the stupid questions - turns out some people actually think that Saturday and SUnday are included in vacation weeks and/or don't know that 40 hours = 1 week in non-firefighter/cop world), and another woman to talk about her long career at the company and her move from the east coast. Lots of congrats for joining the team. Sound cheesy? Of course. Still pretty darn amazing and inspiring? Absolutely.

So I'm hoping to enjoy my first day thrills (as naive as they may be) and will keep you posted as the arrow moves both up and down... Now go book your flights to come visit already!!!

Love, e :)

Seattle Here I Am!

Hello from Seattle!! Everything is going great so far! A few minor setbacks all cleared up quickly and all is well again in the Emerald City. As for some background on my trip so far..... After a long day on Friday, I finally made it into my temp apartment friday night and I couldn't be happier. Well, wait, I take that back....I would be happier if the building had air conditioning!!! Crazy northerners think it's not necessary I guess...but at least a lot of the windows open; and the views could not be more spectacular. It's a 23rd floor corner unit, 2 BR, 1.5 Bath with lots and lots of windows boasting views of downtown, the entire sound (including the ferries!), the Cascades on one side and the Olympic mountain range on the other. Embarrassingly enough, it took me 2 days but sitting in my living room yesterday I finally realized I was staring right at Mt. Ranier making its beautiful presence over the buildings downtown!!! Even driving to work this morning across the massive freeway floating bridge, the majestic scenery was breathtaking. The only thing missing (well besides the air conditioning!) is family and friends...