Back to the Homeland

After 1 year and (what will be...) 29 days, Simon will return to the mother ship for the first time since departure.

I am incredibly excited for him to be able to go home and see friends and family-and experience the sense of familiar that he will surely feel by being back in London.

I wonder if he's truly prepared however, for what has changed-both in London, and him.  I recall that there was a tipping point for me that made me feel less familiar with the US and more familiar with London-almost a comfort level.  I don't know if this will be the trip for Simon-it is just the first year after all, but it has been a year, so he's probably quite settled in the 'American-ness' of his life already.

This should be interesting.

A Season of Firsts

It's safe to say, I now know what it must be like to be the parent of a small child...Since our time back in the US, and presuming it isn't permanent, I am keen to chase as many First Time Experiences as possible-for both Simon & I, though mainly for Simon.

To wit:  This year alone, in no particular order, Simon has:

• Filed his first US tax return
• Attended opening night for the Seattle Mariners (a first for me as well)
• Joined a softball league, and played two games.  Which led to...
• Visiting the emergency room-just this week..Simon fractured a bone in his arm after falling at said Softball game on Sunday.  OK. That one we didn't 'chase.'
• Played a game of kickball.  Only one game, unfortunately-due to the aforementioned arm, he will be playing no more.
• Purchased a house
• Observed just *how many* prescription drug commercials are on TV (it's not legal to do so in the UK)
• Started to  just a *little bit*) enjoy drinking an IPA

...and that's just the big stuff.  We do however, still have a few boxes to tick.  Like:

• Learning how to drive
• ..and with that knowledge, getting a drivers license.  Just in case.
• Visiting Alaska and Hawaii (we'll tick these boxes before the end of the year.  woo!)

What else?   What other first time experiences (parents?  Expats?...) should we be chasing for Simon?

Catching Up

It's been a busy four weeks, and I've been horrible about blogging.  I blame the travel. :)  So, in an effort to right my wrongs, I've a bunch of items to catch up on.
A week after my last post, I headed to Seattle for a week of work, and then to North Carolina for 5 more days of R&R before heading back to London.  The work-part of the trip wasn't as horrible as I anticipated (read: training+full-time job duties+8 hours of jetlag=horrible), but it certainly was exhausting. Never did I think I'd 'use the jetlag to my advantage' and be awake at 5am and WORKING.  Good grief.  But, average temperatures of 55 degrees-plus (and LOTS of sun) certainly helped ease the pain.  Particularly compared to what the weather has been like in London...

It goes without saying that it was *great* to be back in Seattle.  I think I was successful in managing to have quality catch-up time with most folks.  I finally got to see my friend Alicia's, new baby boy, Wes, and I got to pat my friend, Chris' growing baby-bump.  I also got to have great catch ups with a host of other people-and hear all about their plans for the Winter Olympics.  Being only 3-5 hours from Vancouver and the venues, it goes without saying, that many, many Seattleites would head to the Olympics.  And, my friends are no exception!  Their frequent Facebook status updates this weekend-from 'The Olympics' certainly confirms that! :)   I've been green with jealousy ever since.

After a week in Seattle, I took a red-eye to North Carolina, and killed the day puttering around in Charlotte-while I awaited the arrival of Simon's plane from London.  He was sweet enough to come to NC and join me for that portion of the trip.. It was an important trip, though.  Aside from being able to spend time with family & friends and celebrate my birthday (albeit 20+ days early), Simon came with the express point of having 'the talk' with my father.

Yes.  The Talk.  I know it seems odd that in this day & age, a 30-something female, who is as independent as they come, would have her BF ask for permission from her father for marriage...And, well, it is odd.  But, Simon didn't do this for me.  He did it for my dad.  My father is a 70-something, old-fashioned, Southern man.  He *needs* to be asked.  And truthfully (sorry, Simon...I know you read my blog from time to time)...I wanted Simon to jump thru that hoop.  A little extra effort never hurts!  I am pleased to report that the Talk went off without any problems.  Whew.

While in NC, Simon & I took a little road trip to Chapel Hill.  It's about a 2.5 hour drive from my hometown, and I hadn't been back to Chapel Hill since Feb 2005.  A trip was long-overdue.  I love CH.  I spent two lovely years there in grad school.  It is a beautiful town, and I wanted Simon to see it.  I was also somewhat curious about whether or not CH would be a possiblee wedding venue for us at some point. 

Let's face it:  Between living in London, having most of my US friends on the West Coast, and being from NC...there is no logistically good place to have a wedding. So, in thinking NC-and Chapel Hill specifically-might be a good compromise on logistics, I wanted to check it out.  I don't know if other US expats who meet/marry a local (wherever said 'local'/location is...) have figured this out, but I'd certainly love to know how the *heck* we're going to pull this off without causing our friends a ton of pain/expense-or cause us a ton of pain/expense!

Anyhoo...I casually mentioned 'possible wedding venue' to my father (and mind you, this is *before* Simon had the Talk with him...), but somehow, he jumps to conclusions and thinks that Simon is actually going to propose to me in CH!  Which, couldn't have been further from the truth.  This news has already spread from my father, to his girlfriend-to her kids.  Yeesh.  I think I have everyone sorted, but I can't help but laugh at my dad for jumping the gun.

So, after what felt like a whirlwind trip back to the US (though, as it was almost a 2 week trip is far from it), I'm back in London and attempting to dig thru the pile of email, mail, blog backlog, work, and everything else...

Catching up on the Seattle Trip

Geez. When I posted a brief comment on my last post and said I'd provide details on the trip to Seattle in the 'next post', I didn't think it would take me 5 days to get around to it! Must. get. better.at.posting...

Anyhoo.. The trip back to Seattle...what can I say? It went by so quickly, it's hard to believe it's already come and gone!

We arrived late Tuesday nite (July 7th), but surprisingly, got thru passport control, customs, and baggage pickup relatively quickly. Opting for easy instead of cheap, we took a taxi to the hotel downtown, where we'd be spending our first night. I believe our flight landed at 8.30p-ish, and we arrived at the hotel at a few minutes before 10p. Not bad at all! After checkin, we trudged upstairs, and basically, by 11p, were settled in and going to bed. 8 hours of jetlag is no fun. Regardless of which direction you fly, and what *anyone* says, 8 hours bites. So, I was awake at 4am. I knew it would happen. Simon woke up around 4.30. Clearly too early to do anything, I opted to be a good girl (I knew I wouldn't have many opportunities while on the trip...), and went to the hotel gym for a quick run. Yes, I just became that nutjob you see in hotel gyms when on vacation.

Simon got up at 5a (so he says), and hopped in the shower. I got back to the room at 5.15, and got in after he finished. I know it seems crazy that we'd be showering so early, but all along, we were planning on using the jetlag to our advantage (ie knowing we'd be up crazy early...) to pop down to Portland, OR the first full day to (taxfree) shop, see some friends, spend a lovely evening at McMenamins Edgefield, and then come back up to Seattle the following day (Thursday). Everything went off without a hitch, too! Early breakfast at Lola on Wednesday. 7am. Seriously. Who actually eats a full breakfast that early!?!?? A quick 15 minute walk to the downtown Budget car rental, back to check out, and we were off and on the road to Portland by 8.30am. Perfect.

Shopping in Portland was great. Seeing Colin, Lindsey, Hadley, and their newest addition, Sadie was lovely as well. By now however, its 6pm. We've been awake for 14 hours, and according to our internal clocks, it's approacing 2am, and I still have to drive us 45 minutes to get to the hotel. It was a too-brief visit (a continuing theme for the duration of the trip..), but we needed to go so that I could stay awakef or the drive.

McMenamins was, as always perfect. It's a pity we couldn't stay awake longer to enjoy it. :) We were both falling asleep in our food by 8pm. I think we got to bed around 9.30p, but were again awake around 5am. We bumped an hour every day there (and conversely have done the same since returning to London...). No problem though. I had to be back in Seattle at 2p for a dentist appointment, and knowing we'd still be jet-laggy, were using the early mornings to our advantage.

Thursday, after getting back to Seattle and getting a clean bill of dental-health (take THAT, London..), we raced down to SoDo to meet my friend Elizabeth at SBUX SCC to pick up her house keys. [Elizabeth had *very* generously agreed to vacate her place for a week so that Simon & I would have a place to stay that didn't involve $120 a night (or more...) hotel rooms. The BIGGEST thank-you to her for that. I can't say enough how much, financially, that helped us on this trip. Well, the savings most likley got shifted to Nordy spending, but it definitely still lifted the financial burden!] And from there, we raced to her place, dropped our stuff, setteled in for a moment, and then raced to Tamarind Tree to meet my friend Aaron for dinner. After dinner, and again, us starting to fall asleep in our plates at 9p, we headed 'home', stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things (Ranier Cherries, I've missed you...), and back to Elizabeth's where we passed out for the night. And, thus began a week of this type of 'racing' from one place to another. whew. Let's see. In summary...

• Friday: haircut at Salon C. Doctor's appt. Drop off a prescription. Race home to get Simon and head to Pyramid for pre-Mariners beer. Friends arrive, and there is much rejoicing. David and family, Luke, Jon, Adam & Kim, Carrie & Tony, Tom, Katie, Mary Ellen, Kevin & Susie, WT, Megan...geez. who am I forgetting?...Then the game, and late-nite druken HH at McCormicks, where dinner and drinks for 10 comes to $60. Both Luke (an Aussie co-worker of mine in the UK) and Simon do a double take at how cheap it is. yeah...
• Saturday... Breakfast at Starbucks on the most weather-perfect Saturday in history. I have perma-grin from sitting outside having a delicious coffee, scone, and sun on my face. Then, a little drive around town to try to find Simon the perfect view of Ranier on a clear day. He is obsessed. Massages for both at Derby Salon. Jessica is simply the best. Words cannot describe how awesome she is as a masseuse and a human. Much love. A solo dinner date at Cafe Bizarro, and then back to Elizabeth's where we watch a bit of TV and fall asleep on the couch. :)
• Sunday...Breakfast at SBUX again. Simon is addicted to Top Pot chocolate donuts, and I've now discovered the Clover coffees. So, this unhealthy b'fast ritual will persist over the duration of our trip. Then, it's on to lunch at Zoopa with Carrie and Tony. Much anticipated on both our parts, Carrie is Zoopa salad bar buddy. No one else seems to understand our obsession with this place. Actually, I don't either, but oh well. Simon & I were planning to putter downtown in the afternoon, as were Carrie & Tony. So, we decide to 'double date', and end up hitting the Nordy Anniversary Sale-Pre-Sale. Score. No crowds, same selection. Life is good. After shopping madness for a few hours, we part our ways, and Simon decides he wants steak for dinner. A splurge-expense steak. ok. So, we pop down to El Gaucho where we proceed to do major arterial damage, and I think this is where the first 2 pounds of the 7-pound trip addition can be accounted for...
• Monday-Wednesday, I work at corp HQ during the day, so my social/fun is 'restricted' to post-5pm. I use the word 'restricted' lightly, as it was great to see the folks in Seattle that I work with, albeit over the phone & email these days. Good folks.
• Monday evening is another solo-dining option for Simon & I, so I opt to introduce him to proper TexMex at Mamas and proper cocktails at ZigZag. Both are winners, and Simon declares the ZigZag martini ('dirty, with Grey Goose please'...) the best.
• Tuesday evening is a proper catch up with 'The Ladies.' Mele, Anne, myself and sporting Simon meet at Blu Water on Lake Union. The only thing that is missing from this perfect evening of drinks, laughter, and catching up is Tracy. She was missed, and I hope the 'missing' is short lived.
• Wednesday evening was catching up with my friend Alicia (who is now 5 months pregnant) and her boyfriend, Dean. Unfortunately, work & traffic made Alicia a bit late, and my friend Chris, who never arrives on time, actually does. So, I don't feel like we ever got to have that proper catch-up. Next time, Alicia. And sans-boys, so we can get down to the nitty-gritty. Promise?
• Thursday nite is our last nite in Seattle (we'll be in WA for three more days, but at Semiahmoo in Blaine for Adam & Kim's wedding). But, again, now that I'm on 'vacation time' again, a mad day ensues: up early for breakfast with my lovely friend, Cheryl. Where, unfortunately, my tardiness means we barely get to spend 80 minutes with her before we have to dash down to Kent to take some things to storage and remove some things to go to Goodwill. We then pop up to South-Seattle to test driave a Smart car. [If there is one thing that London has taught me, it's that we are stupid, stupid Americans for having large cars. I will never own anything large (ie over smallish-sedan size) again. And, as there is a 6 month waiting list to purchase, if Simon & I end up back in London any time in the next 18 months, I need to have the car-thing sorted upon landing.] What can I say? That car was AWESOME!!! It would be good fun to have, I just need to understand if it's really practical; we certainly couldn't take it to Portland for a weekend trip, as the trunk wouldn't fit our stuff. hm.. Anyhoo, after the test-drive, we popped back up to Seattle where Simon completed his burger-eating experiment triumverate (Red Mill, Dicks, and now Kidd Valley). We then popped over to Goodwill to drop off stuff from storage, then raced back to Elizabeth's where we packed up, bugged out, and then popped back down to SBUX to give her her keys. We then went to check in at the hotel, freshen up, and head out for the evening: Simon to dinner with the guys, me to my old place to take some photos (if I end up sticking around longer than next Summer, I need something to post...), and then to the TapRoom to meet a few folks for dinner/drinks. whew. I'm exhausted just reading this.
• Friday...a bit of shopping at Nordy, but we hit the road early to get up to Semiahmoo and swing by the outlets at Tulalip on the way. Once we arrived at the resort, we agreed: no more. No more racing around. The next few days were going to be low-key. And they were.

The wedding and weekend at Semiahmoo was beautiful. The weather while we were there, the hotel, and the scenery were perfect. Truly. The next two days were spend lounging, tanning, drinking, hanging out with friends, watching two lovley people get married, and all in all, calling it an end to yet another wonderful trip to Seattle. sigh.

Aside from catching up with everyone, the big recurring theme of this trip was, "when are you guys moving back?" Fair enough. It goes without saying that it's on my mind. After this trip, it's certainly on Simon's (how could it not be? we got asked by everyone... :)). But, the two big questions are when and how? Unfortunately, these are not easy questions to answer, and they are not mutually exclusive. Especially now. We've only been living together for four months, and though it's going well, it's still early days. So, I think we've decided to table the discussion until the end of the year and revisit. By then, if things are going well, we'll have been together almost 2 years. Living together for 9 months, and have a better sense of the 'how'-which also dictates the 'when' to the question..It's just too much to take in. So, for now, I'm punting, and instead will show a few pictures to distract me and everyone else.. :)

At the Beer Garden before the Mariners game.

Sunset at Semiahmoo...

Mt Baker in the background

All dressed up for the wedding.

Missing Seattle

Funny how these things happen..

Got in to work an hour ago, feeling pretty happy with the day-and contemplating going to Wimbledon on Friday...simply working away, listening to my tunes, and while listening to The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (by The Postal Service-a great Seattle band), it hit me: I miss Seattle.

It took four months, and some silly song that I've heard dozens of times since I've been here. But suddenly, it hit me.

Funny how these things happen...

Home Sweet Home

It was nothing short of a perfect two weeks that I just spent in Seattle.

The weather (at least, on average..) was good, the Mariners won the night I went to the game (miracle), I got to get my sushi and red meat fix (neither of which are that great here-at least at a price point I can afford!), time spent with Simon was fantastic-and he really enjoyed himself, and most importantly, I got to catch up with everyone that I've been missing the past three months!

It was a whirlwind trip, full of lots of nights out, eating and drinking-and funny observations....

-Oddly, I only had one home cooked meal (thanks, Eric & Kristi! you made my one meal to be FANTASTIC!). I actually thought I'd cook a bit while staying at Carrie's. I don't think the rice & canned tuna I had my first night on arrival counts...
-You know you've been in the UK too long when 'pop to the loo' makes it into your every day vernacular-even when you're not in the UK! I think my hair dresser is still scratching her head over what, exactly I meant when I said this.
-It's weird staying in a hotel in a town in which you own property. Between that and staying at Carrie's, I never actually went to my condo. So, I ultimately felt like a visitor who really knows their way around town-versus a Seattlite who was at home. Odd.
-I have too many shoes. I (only...) bought 3 pairs of shoes when in town. But, when added to my collection in London, I realize just how many I have. Maybe too many. Maybe...
-Hit and runs suck. Especially when you're the 'hittee.' Not that being the 'runner' would be any better...
-Being on a boat on Lake Union when the weather is good? There's really no better way to spend the day.
-And to that, when the weather is good in Seattle, there's no more perfect place I'd rather be.
-In an effort to consume as much good coffee as possible while in Seattle, I think I actually overdosed. I had one cup today-and could barely finish it!
-I think I barely walked more than 3-4 blocks on any given day in Seattle. A typical day in London is more like 3-4 miles.
-Though the London diet is a smashing success (to the comment about eating and drinking...), it's a good thing I'm back. I think I gained back almost every pound I've lost over the past 3 months during the two weeks in Seattle. Sad.
-I much prefer converting from dollars to pounds when in the US than from pounds to dollars when in the UK!

And, as much as I loved being back and visiting with everyone, towards the last few days, there was a part of me that really started to miss London. Partially because of Simon. Partially because of not sleeping in my own bed. But, I think as I was walking to dinner last nite, I finally understood the real reason: the hub-ub of London is contagious: people on the streets walking with purpose, the sound of traffic-and the sight of the double decker busses, the smell of (in this case) amazing Mediterranean food wafting from the restaurants we were passing by, just the 'feel' of the city. Don't get me wrong: I miss Seattle. But, at least for the time being, there is a novelty to living in London that I'm just enjoying. I'm sure at some point in the future, the things I just mentioned above will actually become the things I curse about this city (rude people plowing over you on the sidewalk, diesel fumes chugging forth out of bus engines, stinky odors coming from restaurants...), but until that day comes, I'm simply going to enjoy every moment of living here-and look forward to continuing to be a visitor in Seattle!

The L Word

Wow.

The Last Connection has Been Cut

I just finished cancelling my US cell phone. Done. Gone. No longer. 206...does not exist to me any longer.
And, for just one brief moment, when the T-Mobile person said, 'are you sure?'...there was a moment of hesitation on my part.

But then, I plunged ahead. What the heck.

The Farewell Tour

Well, it seems a little out of place in the flow now, to post about my leaving Seattle, but since I only got my camera connection/upload thingy in my air freight shipment yesterday, better late than never!

Departing Seattle was such a surreal experience, I can't even begin to describe-and heck, after 3 weeks, seems difficult to even remember all the details. But, as they say...A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll just let them speak for me. In order of my farewells for the week: