It’s been a wee little while since I last posted about my current status, dreams, whereabouts, etc. Let’s rectify that!

I spent a lot of my first week, and then my first month rushing around trying to get my proverbial _____ together. I’m almost settled, except for the fact that I occasionally remember that I’m lacking something basic like a clothes hamper, or that I still haven’t hung my giant teardrop-shaped nazar on the wall.

So, how is Seattle so far?

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Light

I guess I have a mix of emotions right now.

On the one hand, whilst it was lovely staying with my parents for the majority of the last two years, it is absolutely fabulous to have my own space again. I also love living in an urban environment. Most of the obvious and important needs are met – I have some lovely friends, work is swell, and I can easily obtain world-class coffee, pizza, or hamburgers. (I mean, you can find those things anywhere, but some in my neighborhood are just ever so 👌)

Not to mention, I’m not too terribly distant from Volunteer Park, which is a lovely place. It’s not too much further of a walk from there to the more rugged Interlaken Park, or the Arboretum.

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Seattle itself is full of beauty, but mostly of a particular type.

Perhaps, more so than other places I have lived, there are a lot of houses and buildings with beautiful flowers, and a lot of greenery within the city.

There are some beautiful buildings and nice-lookin’ mansions, but on the whole the architecture here doesn’t strike me as particularly historic, or beautiful, so it’s good that there’s plant life to balance things out.

And of course, Mt. Ranier and the Space Needle on the horizon on a clear day.

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Speaking of clear days, if you catch the city on a clear day, it’s a helluva treat.

Sea, sunshine, mountains, greenery! What more could you want.

Maybe some fall colors?

I took these photos at the Louisa Boren Overlook, the same day I was out and about looking for darkness and shadows for my Low-Key 52 Frames Challenge.

What a terrible choice of day for that, but what an absolute treat for the senses!

And, if you continue along the backstreets, they are home to ample ocular delights of their own.

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Darkness

But the truth is, not all of the days are like that. In fact, most of them aren’t.

We’re in the rainy season, and most days are overcast and grey. Seattle only deigns to throw the masses a gorgeous day (or at least a partly cloudy day) when we least expect it.

Rain and clouds are one thing, but it’s worse when they intersect with rapidly shrinking daylight, especially in a time when I do not have anything that forces me to leave my apartment.

Especially over these last few weeks as the raininess has kicked up, I’ve felt myself become a bit more jet-lagged and unfocused, like I’m living in an eternal drizzly twilight. This is not the best thing for my mood, as it’s hard to feel excited when you awaken at 8:30 in the morning and feel as though it could still be the middle of the night.

It took me longer than I should have, but I finally ordered a lamp that simulates sunlight – and it seems to be doing the trick. Fingers crossed it keeps up!

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In the meantime, I’ve started to explore the city more, as well as some nearby hiking opportunities, so stay tuned for more of that in future posts. I’ve also done a fair bit of cooking. (Roast duck with sauerkraut, anyone?)

I’m looking for other opportunities to enjoy myself, and to spend time with other people. I have a few really lovely friends here, but I long for some sort of regularly-scheduled mid-week diversion like trivia or karaoke to look forward to.

Give me a little while longer, and I’ll find it.

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I was messaging my friend Nina recently, and supplied the life update that I moved out here.

(In this time of pandemic, we’ve been so disconnected, in many cases physically, that it somehow seems almost not worth mentioning that you’ve finally moved a good 3,000 miles westwards, but anyway…)

I shared both my hope for the future, for the little life I plan to build here, and also my sentiment that I’m not really sure why I’m here. (A feeling that has been recursive about any move I’ve made since, say, 2016.)

Her response, as ever, was kind and insightful:

you’re building something in a time when it feels like we’re all marking time. that’s very, very cool. you don’t have to know what it is or how long it will last

So, we’ll see what I can build and how long it lasts.