Settling in
I've been in Seattle since late Sunday night, and so far, it's been wonderful. The drive was a blast - I've always liked road trips, and this one was no exception. The last couple of hours were a little grueling, but for the most part, it was a chance to talk to myself, listen to a bunch of music and watch some glorious scenery roll by for about 20 hours. I highly recommend it. And since then, I've just been making myself at home.
To everyone who's said it's a different pace of life here, amen. There is a coziness to the Northwest, at least for me, that seems to rub the edges off of busy schedules. Even going out 'running errands', as I've been doing a lot this week, has more in common with taking a nice walk than it does with hurrying from one task to another. On paper, today I went to the DMV, got a haircut, bought textbooks, filled up my buss pass and met Audra for lunch, but looking at me at any particular point in that sequence, you'd just see a guy strolling around a pretty town, looking amazed at his own good luck and breathing in all the smell of growing things that his lungs can hold. I'm sure a year from now, I won't notice all of these nice smells, or appreciate the mild summers so much, but I will still be in a place where you can stroll down a downtown sidewalk with a huge grin on your face without looking at all out of place. I think it suits me.
To everyone who's said it's a different pace of life here, amen. There is a coziness to the Northwest, at least for me, that seems to rub the edges off of busy schedules. Even going out 'running errands', as I've been doing a lot this week, has more in common with taking a nice walk than it does with hurrying from one task to another. On paper, today I went to the DMV, got a haircut, bought textbooks, filled up my buss pass and met Audra for lunch, but looking at me at any particular point in that sequence, you'd just see a guy strolling around a pretty town, looking amazed at his own good luck and breathing in all the smell of growing things that his lungs can hold. I'm sure a year from now, I won't notice all of these nice smells, or appreciate the mild summers so much, but I will still be in a place where you can stroll down a downtown sidewalk with a huge grin on your face without looking at all out of place. I think it suits me.