I have been applying to jobs like a crazy person. I am really hoping that all these applications (and the accompanying hand cramps) and follow-ups pay off in the near future.

Crossing my fingers.

Organizing my cubby hole of a room is becoming a bit of a pain, to say the least. The sheer amount of clothing and shoes I own is simply mind boggling. You never really realize how much crap you own until you have to move.

So many things to fold and stow away…

I just want to stay up and watch Scrubs. -___________-

this is how i attempt to avoid my stress. cute.

I am not happy that I am already feeling this way.

On a lighter note, I am going to a show this week with some of the floor family. It feels much needed at this point. Narg.

Thus far, college has been an experience. A good one, for sure. I became fast friends with a group of people on my floor and we spend our nights inhabiting the lounge and nerding out and having conversations about food, culture, Tracy’s (possibly, possibly not) drunken musings, relationship dynamics, and whatever else comes to mind. Mostly nerding though.

I do not know how many times I have said this, but I seriously live in one of the loveliest places in the States. I love this place.

Earlier this week—or perhaps last week?—not sure as I am beginning to lose track of time. Anyway. Sometime ago, I received a text from Maddie saying: “Dis sounds weird, but since you have moved to Washington it seems as if you have grown lovelier. :D okay, done being creepy.” Not only was it an overall cute text (mostly because I can totally imagine the voice she would say that in), but I think it is pretty true.

I can honestly say that I have not felt this good in a long time. I feel lovelier. I really do. I don’t know why. All I do know is that I have not looked into the mirror and felt that sinking feeling in over a week now, which is damn good.

As much as I do love my home of southern California, I do feel a lot of negative vibes when I am there. There is always this feeling of extremely high expectations and this unreasonable standards that I always wanted / felt obligated to achieve.

Awhile ago I wrote about traveling and personal reinvention. Having moved to Seattle, I was given the chance to make changes. Granted, they were all small changes, but I still feel like they have made such a difference. My moving did not make me revert back to the Chicago shitstorm of 2009, which quite honestly, I was really afraid of that happening again.

Things have definitely started looking up again.

Thanks for being good to me thus far, Washington.

My parents left this morning, My mother didn’t start bawling and my dad didn’t get emotional, not like he ever does anyway. It went differently than I thought it would, but in a good way.

So I guess college is really starting now.

In other news, the majority of my floor is awesome and extremely friendly. The Girl From Down the Hall Lauren is officially my buddy. We have been dragging each other around on little adventures throughout the day which has been quite fun. We had a little floor pow wow in our lounge last night. Basically all of the guys showed up and none of the girls did, save Lauren and I. There were…interesting conversations. Everyone seemed to be quite lovely.

I am also officially registered for classes. I have Intro to Communications II,  Film: Directors, and second year German. Fifteen units all-in-all. I am pretty pleased with that. I also find out that I get to register early next quarter because I am technically a sophomore. Win.

Awesome News of the Day: This Providence is playing UW’s welcome week! I was quite excited to find that out. :)

Less Awesome News of the Day: my roommate is somewhat questionable right now.

Considering going to gym right now. I’ll probably end up at the bookstore instead.

• It was a fifteen hour drive from Berkeley to Seattle. It took two hours extra because we got stuck in traffic on the way to Portland due to an OSU game. Then torrential rain and two serious near-car accidents. Fucking fuck. Never again.
• Arrived in Seattle at one a.m. Sunday morning.
• Began moving into my dorm.
• Unpacked all of my shit. I brought ridiculous amounts of clothing. Why? I do not know. My room is tiny, but I am getting used to it. (I will post pictures if I am not feeling too lazy.) Basically, I moved in a week early because I have orientation on Wednesday. Since the official move-in day is next week, my building is basically empty, save for my RA and one girl down the hall.
• Gave my dad a tour of UW today and he seemed to really love it. He said that it reminded him of Wilhemshoeher in Germany, which was the same vibe I got the first time I visited. He basically gave his nod of approval, which was nice. I think he understand why I chose to go here now.
• I formally met The Girl Down the Hall. Her name is Lauren and she seems quite nice. We did this massive crossword puzzle our RA posted—that shit was crazy. There were words in different languages and whatnot. She is also into Salsa dancing. I have a feeling we are going to be buddies.
• My only real valid complaint is that my building doesn’t pick up UW’s WiFi network. Meaning I do not have internet unless I am hooked up to the Ethernet in the wall. Narg.

In other news: I am living in one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S. Gah, I love it here.

• continue eating healthy foods
• exercise exercise exercise exercise!
• continuing doing yoga
• not getting sucked into the party scene
• work hard and maintain good grades
• explore Seattle and meet / befriend interesting people
• call my Lola at least once a week
• learn to play my guitar!
• continue taking German classes and become proficient or (preferably) fluent in it
• study abroad hopefully somewhere in Germany or in London
• graduate in three years, as planned

• body pillow
• my Hayao Miyazkai DVDs, Shakespeare in Love, Amelie, Un long dimanche de fiançailles, and my Harry Potter collection
• the CDs that help me keep sight of what I want to do: Third Eye Blind’s self-titled album, Jack’s Mannequin’s The Glass Passenger, Something Corporate’s North, and Butch Walker’s albums.
• my plush penguin
• owl piggy bank
• five of my favorite mugs
• drawing mannequin
• the books that I have yet to read: A Thousand Splendid Suns, Dracula, Anna Karenina, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, The Life of Pi, and Notes From the Underground. Just realized that the majority of those are all classics. I feel pretentious.
• two of my poetry paintings