a breath of fresh air (& belated announcement)

Where to begin. Where to begin? How have I turned into such a lazy horrible blogger?! Perhaps it's because I have been living in the moment enjoying my summer? And all the times I could have been blogging, I was watching DVRed episodes of A&E's Intervention. Those are my only excuses. Plus that show is SOO good!

My other excuse is I didn't really know how to muster up the courage or put together the announcement:  

I left New York City and am living in Seattle!

Yep, that's right. Big news. Take a deep breath... I have had to take many as well.

I had to take several calming inhales through the stress of having my apartment posted on Craigslist and weeding through the emails from interested weirdos. My personal favorite email was from a 34 year old man: "I am friendly, clean and respectful. I dont cook only microwave, maybe the occasional ommellte on weekends."

The image of him moving in with an armful of Hungry Man dinners fills my mind. How does someone only microwave? It took a lot of willpower not to write a snarky reply: Sorry weirdo, but it doesn't seem like you'd be a good fit and here's why--we don't even have a microwave! So unless you want to eat your ommelltes every single day not just weekends, I suggest you find somewhere else to live. Thanks, Jamie. ps. please learn how to spell the word omelet.

When giving my boss my resignation notice it took a lot of work to control the hyperventilating. Hours were spent on the phone with my mom "soooo wait.. what EXACTLY is going to be the first word that comes out of my mouth when I walk into her office?" Funny how much over analyzing can go into the simple concept: I am leaving New York City, so therefore I am leaving this job. Seems so simple after it's all over. Some words of wisdom: Do not be extra nice like me and give more than two weeks' notice. It may seem like a good idea at the time, but it will end up with everyone giving you their puppy dog eyes saying things like "what are we going to do when you're gone??!" My thoughts - I don't know. Learn how to call IT and get your own ****ing sodas out of the fridge? Funny that on my last day I was the last one in the office after 6pm struggling to finish someone's expense report. My office phone line rings and it's my boyfriend, "Why are you still there? You're the only one in the office on your last day? Jamie, put the expense report down.. get out of there" he is smart so I took his advice. Good bye RL.

I huffed and puffed as I scrubbed my walls, filled nail holes and changed light bulbs. I threw all my stuff into boxes, bags, suitcases and trashbags in the sticky 95 degree heat. Lucky for me, I found the guy who's always wandering around the neighborhood and Laina appropriately nicknamed "The War Vet." I did what any girl would do -- batted my lashes and asked him nicely to take my 7 large boxes down my stairs and help me load the truck. Speaking of The War Vet, Laina also discovered that if you Google map the apartment address, you can see him right there having some sort of sidewalk sale. It is very likely that some of my belongings will be sold at one of his upcoming sales.

The War Vet... courtesy of Google Maps

Just three days ago, I managed to wrap up my life in NYC and board the plane with my one-way ticket to Seattle. The bittersweet good byes were said and I sat on the plane pondering what the next chapter in my life will entail.

As for now, I am an unemployed lady of luxury sitting here drinking coffee, blogging and listening to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees rather than honking and sirens. It sort of feels like I am at a rehab center detoxing from life in New York City.. or maybe that's just too much Intervention talking. All I know is I have no agenda other than looking out at my new and improved view and inhaling some fresh air.

old view vs. new view