My apologies, it has been a month since writing. As you all know, time flies when you're having fun...errr busy with new job and school starting in the same week. That's right, school and work both started the same week for me.
I have been commuting to Seattle every morning for the last 4 weeks and don't hate it yet. I tried really hard to be a public transit girl at least 3 days a week, and LOVED taking the train. Anyone who has talked to me since I took the train the first time knows how much I loved it. It isn't a streetcar, or a BART train, but a REAL TRAIN, with real train sounds. It is really cool. But the downside was that it turned out to be a 12 hour round trip day. I would leave my house at 6:00AM (yes, AM) to catch a 6:25 train, get to Seattle at 7:25, and then get a bus over to work. After work I would generally have a wait a good 30 minutes until the bus would come to take me back to the train station and I would generally arrive back in Tacoma around 6:30pm. If my office was in downtown Seattle which is frequented by the various busses it would have been a different story. But my office is on the border of the Queen Anne and Belltown districts and the busses are scarce. Last week I gave in and decided to drive in from now on and it seems to be the right decision. The "rush hour" traffic here is nothing compared to the Bay Area. I can generally get from my house to my desk in about an hour and 15 minutes give or take (usually give).
King Street Station, Seattle
The Sounder
Flowers from Mommy in my cube :)How do I like working in Seattle you ask? I LOVE IT! I'm in a "big fancy corporate building" (as the girl from wine country would put it) on the 6th floor where I have to carry my keycard at all times or I get locked out. The building is right along the waterfront with spectaular views of the Olympic mountain range, Mt. Rainer and of course the water. I can't see anything fun from my cubicle, but the conference room on my route to my bosses office and the kitchen has perfect views of the water. I love watching the ferries come and go and cargo ships being directed by the tug boats. Occasionally I can hear the train go buy and I think of my mom each time. And I spend my lunchtime in the "Oak Leaf Cafe" with big windows and a (sometimes) quiet spot to do homework.
That brings me to the other crazy new part of my daily routine...SCHOOL. I started my Cell Biology class 4 weeks ago and it is giving me a run for my money. Tacoma Community College (TCC) is on a quarter system, much like most of the colleges/universities in the area, and I tell ya, there is not a second to breathe! Had my first test 2 weeks ago and now I'm already stressing about the second tomorrow. The lab is my favorite part of the class, last week we looked at muscle cells and blood (white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets) under the microscope. I'm a nerd, yes, but it's getting me excited for Anatomy and Physiology. So I'm 1/3 of the way through my first quarter back at school...a long way to go until I'm a nurse.
The weather turned very quickly in the last couple of weeks. The temperature had been mild and pleasant since I arrived at the end of July and suddenly it is quite cold. This morning my car's temperature read 45 degrees. I always say I love the cold, guess I didn't realize just how cold Washington gets. And the little bit of wind makes it just that much colder. I might be in for a long winter...here we go :) But it has been beautiful watching the leaves change color and Halloween decorations around the neighborhood.
That's all for now...promise not to wait so long to give an update.
Love and miss everyone!
