Like a column...

Today I watched a movie I have been wanting to see for a long time. And I got something out of it that I never expected.

I watched Marley & Me. While I did get what I expected (I have never bawled like that at a movie), I also got something totally unexpected. I realized that writing a blog is like being an online version of a print columnist. John Grogan, Marley & Me's protagonist, is a reporter for The Sun-Sentinel newspaper in Florida. When the paper is in dire need of a columnist, John reluctantly takes on the job twice a week. He is so gifted with sharing his personal perspective on the mundane things of life that his boss gives him the job full-time.

The descriptions of his columns remind me a lot of the blog. For John, Marley provided endless material from which to entertain, much as Wilbert did. I am contemplating getting another dog, and look forward to the stories that surely await. Like me, John takes the seemingly mundane things of life and tries to write something that others would enjoy or benefit from. I have never thought I wanted to write for a newspaper, but now I think it wouldn't be so bad to have my own column...I could be the next John Grogan...or Carrie Bradshaw (Lack of Sex in the City, anyone?).

from the Random series...

Pandora free internet radio is my new BFF. I just pick an artist and for the next eternity (or 8 hours) at work it will just keep playing great music without my having to check it. My two current playlists began with Carrie Underwood and Pink. I adore them both. When I first heard Pink's "So What," I cranked that sucker up. The second time, I screamed it at the top of my lungs.

If you don't care about American Idol, please skip to the next paragraph. I had to say goodbye to Anoop last night. He was initially one of my favorites to the point that the week I was scared he would be voted off I actually made Jesse stay on his phone while I was on mine to vote for him. I have never voted so early in a season, and have yet to vote again (for anyone) this season. But it was time for Anoop to go. The others are simply more likely to be someone I would buy on iTunes. Kris and Allison are my two remaining favorites, even though in my heart of hearts, I think Adam and Danny will be the final two.

I am going to Seattle on Memorial Day weekend to see Jesse. I'm excited. It will have been 6 weeks minus one day since I left.

I just heard about Susan Boyle for the first time yesterday. Apparently, I've been living under a rock.

I move into my new apartment on May 9th. This is the nicest complex I've lived in, bar none. You get to choose a color for an accent wall in the bedroom AND they paint it for you. Seriously.

I am trying to think of a hobby to pick up here in Denton to keep busy. Possibly taking up a hip hop class since I only attended once before I moved to Seattle. Or there's a place where you can make pottery. Or there's free salsa lessons on Tuesday nights. Or a creative writing class. My dear friend and mentor Katy O suggested flower arranging. I had to laugh. Flower arranging would be perfect for Katy O...but for Pegs? Hardy-har-har. Any other suggestions for a new hobby?

Thanks to roommates with furnished apartments, I own only a bed, two bookcases, and as of last Saturday, a couch. Clearly, I will need to make some decisions about furnishing the rest of a one-bedroom apartment. My friend Sara has told me about "Freecycle." The clever name already won me over. It's like craigslist but absolutely everything is free. I can only imagine the treasures that are buried and long to be found.

And finally...I am considering getting a dog. I'm not sure yet, but I'm thinking about it. There will never be another Wilbert, though, and I am apprehensive. I do know that people & their dogs often look alike...what kind of dog do I look like? A basset hound? A poodle? A dachsund? A Westie? I love mixes that are half-dachsund. No matter what the other half is, the dog looks hilarious. So maybe one of those...

Okay, the inner Pegs monologue will now cease and desist. Until next time...

Tidbits

Green Lake
As mentioned in my previous post, there were 3 days of "72 & sunny" weather in Seattle the weekend before I left. So, of course we hit Green Lake!

Jesse's friend, Kjell, came with us. Here are the boys above. Kjell is probably the friend of Jesse's that I got to know the most...he's that great combination of the life of the party and a great person to talk with one-on-one.

Unfortunately, the pic above is the only of us from that day. Oh, the cheese factor. Not to mention that besides the pose's cheese factor, neither of us looks ready for it. However, note 2 things: 1) We are outside and I'm in SHORTS and 2) We are outside and EATING ICE CREAM. Only living in Seattle would I capitalize those activities...or point them out at all.

University of Washington
Before leaving Seattle, I took a few pics of the University of Washington campus. I really do have a strong affinity for it. You just feel smarter walking around and you know that great things are constantly happening all around you. Above are the steps to Miller Hall, where my education classes were.

The annual blooming of the cherry blossoms at the Quad never gets old.

Denny Hall, the first building of the UW, constructed in 1861. Still holding classes, and the clock tower still works!

I left Seattle on April 11th. Eight days can seem like 10 years when you experience a separation that makes your heart ache each moment.

But alas, I am in Texas. And thus far...
*I have startled a TSA worker at the Seattle airport. I accidentally packed aerosol cans in my carry-on (I'm normally too experienced a traveler to make such an error, but my mind was on other things!) so they had to open my bag, take them, and pass the bag through the scanner again. Having just left Jesse and still being able to see him watching me go through, I'm crying as she takes out the hair products. She asks if I want to go put them in my checked bags. I cry no and tell her to just throw them away. She asks if there is someone I can leave them with here. I cry harder and tell her no and to throw them away. She looks at me like I'm crazy and they are just hair spray and mousse, nothing to cry over. I say, "I don't care about the stupid hair products!" She runs my bag through again and it's fine. Hey, I can appreciate the humor in that also painful moment.
*I have started a new job.
*I have had a headache from trying to learn all new information. Again.
*I watched Matt Giraud get The Judges Save on American Idol. No matter what happens in my life, AI remains stable.
*I reunited with my beautiful car, Louise. She was waiting for me when I arrived.
* I have missed Jesse tremendously.
*I have talked to him approximately 2-3 times a day.
*I have slept with two wiener dogs.
*I have had Friday Morning Coffee with Marcy.
*I have had quality time with a great friend, Sara.
*I have been to Cracker Barrel. Biscuits...mmm.
*I have mistakenly walked into a stranger's apartment thinking it was Sara's. I did this while holding a bath towel, change of clothes, and toiletries bag...oh and my blow dryer hanging by its cord because of all the crap I was carrying. When the strangers and I realized what happened, I said, "Oops." And walked out.
*I went to Austin for the weekend and met Baby Emma Byrd.

She's SUCH a great baby. Adorable, great facial expressions, never cries. I enjoyed holding her very much, and had a front seat for observing the reality of having a newborn. Poor Ames is sleep deprived. But...it's totally worth it!

Amy's friends Summer & Heather also visited, so we took a group photo. I'm holding Maggie, Amy's dog who has become extremely jealous and hacked off that Emma is in the house.

Mama & Emma Byrd

It's time...

...to finally say it.

My roommate's dog, Sophie, is currently trapped in Leah's bedroom so she doesn't maul the two men who are packing my things into boxes. Oh, that's not what it's finally time to say.

I've never hired professional movers before, but I have had enough of packing and moving myself so I'm spoiling myself and not doing it this time. Nor is that what it's finally time to say.

The movers are packing everything and carrying the boxes downstairs one by one to load into their truck and carry off to Denton, TX.

That's right. Denton. Again. That's it--that's what it is finally time to say.

I have finally come to grips with the fact that Seattle seems to just not want me to stay. I have searched in vain for a job here for nearly 3 years, and have been able to only get positions that are temporary (or crazy, i.e. Art Institute). In only 2008 and only at the U of Washington, I applied for SIXTY-EIGHT jobs. That doesn't count the jobs applied for in 2006 or 2007, or at any other college...of which there were many.

However, it seems that, just as boys merely have to think about losing weight and it falls off, I merely have to think about moving back to Texas and UNT offers me a job on a silver platter.

Beginning next Monday, April 13th, I will be an advisor with UNT's College of Business Graduate Programs Office. What a mouthful. It's a great position, the senior advising position with great leadership opportunities and the added responsibility that I'm looking for at this point in my career.

April 13th is also the day Jesse and I would celebrate our one-year anniversary. I don't really knwo what else to say about that on the blog except that it is what it is. Sometimes you wish things could be different, could be better. But they just aren't. And you have to walk the next step on your own.

But hey, it's me. And if Peggy has learned how to do anything in her life, it's how to walk the next step on her own, by herself, alone. So she will do it again. (And please, do not try to assuage me here with some sentiment about how I'm not alone and I have close friends who are like family. That is another blog post, but essentially it's baloney. I am very grateful for my close friends but that's what they are. They are not family.)

Why has Peggy begun referring to herself in the 3rd person?

Revert: first person.

I am feeling bittersweet about moving again. I hope this one is for the long term, I really do. But I know that the future is uncertain and I've never been promised the security and stability that I seem to simultaneously long for and run away from.

Seattle hasn't helped with 3 straight days of sunny, 72 degree weather. Seriously. Never fear: the forecast is for Wednesday through Saturday to be nasty again so I will be able to leave without feeling that this is paradise.

I will miss the beauty of Seattle...it's gorgeous evergreens, the view of Mt. Rainier from my living room, the Cascade and Olympic Mountains on either side of the city, Green Lake. I will miss the quirky neighborhoods, including my own dear Fremont. I will miss Jesse's parents, who have welcomed me in for the past year. I will miss Ginger and Sophie, the two dogs who have become like my own.

But good things await. My friends in Denton and other Texas towns. My family in Brownwood and Kerrville. A job where I can thrive and find purpose. And health insurance...oh dear health insurance, I love thee. It's been too long.

It's no secret my faith has been all over the place for quite some time now. It still is, but I can't help feeling that someone is orchestrating this. To take me from a place where I have felt lost and insane and back to the place where I never felt better. Maybe sanity awaits me in Denton, too. Maybe even more...like joy and peace and hope.

That would be nice.

Seattle Sites

Afrikando!
Jesse's mom and I went to eat at Afrikando, a West African restaurant located in South Seattle.
Senegal had, by far, the best food in West Africa in my opinion and I was super excited to have yassa poulet again for the first time since 2005.

Bissap, a tradiational Senegalese beverage made from hibiscus.

We shared a plate of fried plaintains for the appetizer.

Yassa au poulet

Maggie ordered ceebu jinn, the Senegalese national dish.

Recent visit to the Woodland Park Zoo

Above is one of my favorites, the sea otter. This little guy got in the water and swam up just to say hi to us.

The bald eagle was one of the last exhibits we saw.

Good ol' brown bear.

This siting of the ostrich didn't yield quite the excitement of when my team and I raced an ostrich on an African safari in South Africa in 2000...but I still love the ostrich.

Precious kangas.

Cool kind of bird...can't remember the name. It promptly ran into the glass wall of the exhibit about 5 seconds after this photo was taken.

The bird feeding area.

Golden monkeys...so cute!

This was probably the best exhibit of the day...the gorillas were right there when everyone could see them. Here, Mama and baby watch Papa and Junior on the ropes. Mama had a disgusting habit that she performed 3 times while we were there of puking her food up and then eating it. She licked her fingers to make sure every tasty puke morsel was eaten. Ew.

The rest of these are just pretty birds...

Nepalese food with Jesse's classmates to celebrate the end of Calculus--these are lovely appetizers called Momos

Fans of the late 90s movie, Ten Things I Hate About You, may recognize these shots of Gasworks Park from the paintball scene...

It was terrifically cold and windy that day which is why my hair is doing some strange Afro twist back.

Jesse wanted us to do a panic face for some unknown reason...I look totally not believable.

My failed attempt to capture the Space Needle in my hand.