N is for North

Welcome to my blog! (I don't think I've ever felt nerdier than this very moment writing that). It's my hope that this will help all y'all interested parties up to date on my adventures in the Emerald City. I was told by a friend who grew up here that it's also called The Jet City, if you like to rock it old school. So there you go. Also, I'm hoping this will save me from countless e-mails that ramble on and on, repeating the same stories over and over.

Wait a minute. Maybe I should've done this before. Oh well.

My last few days in Minneapolis were a whirlwind of packing, arranging, softball (Go Diamonds!), a final Saints game and too many plans with not enough time. It's a pretty crazy thing to wave goodbye to the house you grew up in and then watch as the only city you've ever really known zooms below you from the window of a plane. Thankfully, I mentioned to the girl on the plane that I was moving from home, so my blubbering didn't freak her out. Or she faked like it didn't anyway.

Got to Seattle and picked up the keys to my temporary housing and headed over there. Went right to my apartment to find they didn't work in the door. Turns out I was in another tower of the building (the north tower, hence the "N" next to my apartment number). Figured it out when I saw the mailboxes in the main building. So I dragged my three rolling suitcases and a giant box — sweaty, exhausted and annoyed — to the right place. The nice part of it was I discovered the courtyard on the third floor of the building where the fitness center and pool are. Very pretty with lots of places to sit and plants and trees all around.

As it turned out, a friend I've known since kindergarten, Bob Dunne, happened to be in town the night I arrived for a wedding this weekend. He stopped by and we went out for dinner. It was so wonderful to see a friendly face my first day, especially after being on such a roller coaster ride.

Also found out the first day that air conditioning is rare in condos and apartments here. Isn't very economical because it really doesn't really get hot enough. I was told you'd probably only use it for about two weeks a year. I'm sure all of you in Minneapolis are rolling your eyes right now.

Two whole days under my belt at the new job. People have been really nice and polite, but mainly leaving me to myself. Which is fine, as I've had my fair share of logistical arrangements to take care of. On the fifth floor of our agency is a huge deck that overlooks the Sound. It's absolutely gorgeous. Every Friday in the summer they have beers and wine out there in the afternoon. Oddly enough, that fits right in with my plans. I tried taking a photo, but only had my phone so it didn't turn out so great. I'll try to post one soon.

My temporary housing is in a neighborhood called Belltown and our office is in Queen Anne, so it's about a 10 minute walk for me. It's great. I'm actually looking at a couple of places this week, two of which are in Queen Anne and one that's in nearby Capitol Hill. For all of you with plans to come out, wherever I move will definitely be a 2 bedroom, so book your flights!