Getting caught up

Just over a week ago I was in a car accident that left me a little rattled and down one side mirror, but otherwise intact. The other driver and I were both turning right from adjacent turn lanes, and she was confused and distracted and veered into my lane, side-swiping my car (fortunately at a relatively low speed). I was angry for about a minute, but the driver and her passengers were clearly more shaken up than I was, and sadly, were here from out of town (which explains the confusion at the complex intersection) to be with an imminently dying close relative (which explains the distraction). Even though I have no fault whatsoever, I still have to supply all the time and energy that goes into filing police reports, calling insurance companies, and getting cars fixed. But, c'est la vie. I'm not sure whether to feel unlucky for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or lucky for the fact that the accident was minor.

I'm less than a week away from starting my new job, and doing my best to get everything I possibly can done before that-- quite a range of things, from writing papers to buying shoes, going to the dentist, and going hiking, and just about everything in between.

In the fray, that whole post I promised about the end of internship and our trip up here has gotten lost. So, I'm just going to upload a bunch of photos, post the links here, and call it good :) These are my photos from throughout my internship year, and here are my pictures for the trip up to Seattle.

Slugging along

Currently my self-motivation is dragging a bit. I am trying to prepare my dissertation for submission for publication, and over the past several days, I have cut approximately 50 pages from the body, but still have many many pages to go before it is acceptably concise. Fifty pages may sound like a lot, but I have been spending way more time slacking than working. Sitting around the house, looking at funny things on the internet, obsessively checking craigslist trying to find myself a desk, and generally feeling like a big slug (appropriate to my new locale). It has been taking hours for my motivation to get high enough to finally leave the house to go to a coffee shop, where I can actually get work done.

Working in coffee shops is relatively new to me-- I used to be too easily distracted by noise and other people. But over the past year working in coffee shops was one of the few ways I could spend time outside of work with my busy internship friends Jeff and Denise, so I gave it a fresh try, and now I'm hooked. Now I'm not sure how I ever used to get work done at home. I've so far been to 4 different coffee/tea shops in my new neighborhood, including the one I'm at right now, and there are two more to try within easy walking distance of my house. Seattle totally trumps San Diego in this respect.

I have officially been in Seattle for a whole week! I swear I'll post some things about the end of internship, and the trip up here, very soon, but right now I'm focusing on being here in Seattle, and getting used to it. As much as I dislike changes and transitions, there are lots of things I like about being here.



Like this view, within walking distance of my house, and the guy who jumped into my picture of it :) Once I am done with this post, I'll get myself back to work for a bit. Then I'll hit the neighborhood farmer's market on the way home, where I can get peaches that are at least as good as the ones in SD, and raspberries and blueberries that are cheaper and better. No grapefruits, but I'll survive :)

Limbo

Five days ago we finished packing up the car and left San Diego. Since then, I've felt like I'm in limbo-- we're taking our time on our trip, visiting friends and family along the way, and at this moment I am in the coffee shop at Powell's, far from SD but not quite arrived in Seattle, and feeling a little bit like I don't know where my home is. Since setting out last Friday, I've had a little bit of deja vu--I'm retracing my steps from my trip down to SD, returning to familiar places, but at the same time feeling just like I did a year ago, unsure and unsettled, setting out on a new adventure.

It's been so nice to visit friends (I'll say more about that in another post, with pictures) and at the same time, I've been going in and out of feeling sad. Partly because I miss my SD friends, and partly because seeing old friends reminds me a bit that I don't see them as often as I'd like. Visiting Eugene was a little sad, because some very important people have left in the year that I was away, and it will be harder to see them than it used to be.

The whole thing is mixed, and is another one of those reminders that in order to have good things in life, you have to be willing to be sad about their absence, and that sadness is a reminder of what you love (ACT, anyone?).

So yeah, I'm feeling a little sappy and sentimental, but I'm sure that will pass :) And when it does, I'll post again with some details from the end of internship, and our fun trip!

A week of lasts

Today I walked to my local neighborhood farmer's market for the last time.

I have loved this weekly market, and even at times when everything else seemed to be going poorly, I could always count on getting a little pick-me-up by heading down my street on a Sunday morning. The positive atmosphere and my favorite local grapefruits would work together to make me feel better. I have eaten these grapefruits (almost always from the same farmer) about 95% of all mornings that I have lived here, and I will miss them.

Last Tuesday I had my last night in my bed, and Wednesday I said goodbye to all my furniture. I've been sleeping on an air mattress, and our large living room now contains only a little card table and some folding chairs, and the TV propped up on a built-in shelf. I am packing up my few belongings, hoping that they will all fit in my car, and avoiding thinking about what I may have to leave behind if my car is smaller than the huge pile I am hoping to stuff into it. I hate this state of limbo, but it will be over soon, and thankfully I'll be arriving home to a place that is 95% unpacked (for which I am soooo grateful).

Last week I had final sessions with 14 clients. Next week I say goodbye to 3 more. This is the last weekend I'll be spending in San Diego, but also the last weekend I'll be spending without my husband. While I am in the mix of being excited and sad, I have to remember that this week will not be the last time I see the new friends I have made here-- for some, I already know when we will see each other next-- and this makes things a bit easier.

I can feel the end/beginning creeping up on me, and one thing I am sure of, is that there will be lots of "last minute" stuff that pops up in the next 5 days!

Counting Down

After today, I have 8 days of internship left. As I am working on closing out my clients in those 8 days, I have a total of 18 hours of client contact left, between my individuals, intakes, and groups. Jeff will be arriving here on the 29th, and I am going to Seattle this weekend, for one last visit before moving exactly 2 weeks from today. So, all told, there are only 7 more days of long distance relationship left, and a total of 11 days left in San Diego (subtracting out this weekend, while I'm gone).

I am having those mixed feelings that come with endings and beginnings. Because while I'm ecstatic about returning to live with my husband again, and so excited about my new home, my new neighborhood, and my new job, I am also starting to get sad. I'll be leaving behind some incredible friends, a job I have actually really loved, and a city that I didn't realize I'd like as much as I do.

It's the curse of the good life-- when you have places and people you really care about, you are doomed to have a lot of pain when, inevitably, you have to separate.