Snickelfritz

I got back from Seattle several days ago, but have been settling back in and procrastinating like a son of a...

Last week's visit to Seattle was the easy part - I went to see if it was the city for me and came to the conclusion that it most certainly is.  That's fantastic and I have lots of photos to share, but the moment I arrived back at Dulles International, I realized that I now have to face the hard part.  Finding a job there from across the country is the first step, of course.  And as if that won't be enough of a challenge, the logistics of actually getting there, as I've said before, are not pretty.

That said, I have done it before and, while it is unpleasant and costly, I know I can do it and I will have help.  I really can't sit around wallowing in self-pity when I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity in the first place.  It is scary and I will owe a few people a great debt, but I knew after the first day there (not even a full 24 hours) that it was just the right fit for me.  On the water, near the mountains and lovely forests.  Eating the best tater tots ever (I'm not joking) at Canterbury or Lunchbox Labratory, oh god and Serious Biscuit (damn you, biscuits!).  Getting to try a bunch of local beers (and ciders) at Tippe and Drague and meeting the lovely people who make it such a great place to hang out.

I am also very lucky to already have one of my dearest friends living there (Meg's sister, Jenn), who introduced me to a bunch of amazing people that made my trip that much more interesting.  And Seattle that much more enticing.  Steph, Murph, Michelle, Panda - I can never thank them enough for making me feel at home.  And for giving LostGirls a new sub-blog: Found in Seattle (label-wise).

When I started Lost in DC (the first blog for LostGirls that we came up with).  It was created as a way for me to force myself into local adventures in order to help other people who arrive in the DC Metro Area and are as befuddled as I was at first.  I was under the impression that at some point I would know the area really well and be excited to live here.  Now that I've been here fifteen months, I realize that as amazing as this area can be, it just isn't for me.  DC itself is a pretty awesome place, filled with free museums (and some that are not) that I'm so glad I got to spend time in.  The National Portraiture Gallery and the Botanic Gardens (both visited with my best Jess...and I don't think I ever posted about the latter, so add that to the list of things I need to do before I leave) were wonderful experiences and having a birthday dinner at Fogo de Chao (a Brazilian steakhouse - it's meat-tastic) is something I'll never forget.

This isn't a bad place to live and I know plenty of people who are very happy here.  But while I don't hate it, I know it isn't right, not a good fit, not the place for me.  So the adventure to Seattle begins here...I'm sorry if it ends up being as painful for you to read about, as it is for me to experience, but I'm pretty sure it'll be worth it in the end.  

I have a lot of great Seattle memories and photos to share with you in the coming days, but for now I leave you with my first pictures of Seattle:

These were taken on a friend's balcony in Eastlake, a few blocks from Lake Union.  From there, you can see all of downtown (including the Space Needle, of course) and over to Gasworks Park (just outside the right frame of the bottom photo).  I spent a lot of daytime hours staring at that view during my visit, just dumbfounded by it.

 Coming Soon (more Found in Seattle):

• True definition of the "Seattle Freeze" (what's up with the Snickelfritz?)
• Seattle, the true home of Tater Tots (so says I)
• A few Seattle bar and restaurant reviews (real quick ones, though)

A Small Chance of Success

It's the worst when you haven't posted a damn thing for half a month and you log on to see people are still checking out your blog.  Oh, the guilt!  And thank you, as well, whomever you are.

I have a long list of things I've been thinking about writing up, but between being sick for two months, having some lovely oral surgery and planning my first trip to Seattle...  My head kind of hurts.  And then there's the I-haven't-written-in-so-many-days-that-it's-all-going-to-be-crap-now thing.  That does happen.  So, despite having only posted twice in the month of February, I have signed up LostGirls for the March NaBloPoMo on BlogHer.  I knew February might not turn out well for writing, but I don't want to get too far off track and I have enough in the works (with a little help from my friends) that I can actually promise some fun posts this month.

For The Thinnest Skin, a couple of my fabulous friends are having fun with nail polish and their iPhones so you will have some lovely pictures to check out with my post on Julep Nail Color (which we're obsessed with and have been for a few months now).

For Lost in DC, I'm examining all that I love and hate about the DC Metro Area while deciding whether or not I'll be leaving it for good.

For Uncrafty, I'm making the world's saddest crochet embellishments and hoping they'll get prettier as I go (there will certainly be pictures of that process to come).

And for LostGirls in general, this month's BlogHer NaBloPoMo theme couldn't be timelier:

So what is the NaBloPoMo theme of the month?

RISK

When was the last time you took a risk? I mean, honestly threw caution to the wind, said even a small chance of success was worth the possibility of failure, and took a big chance? If you can't remember the last time you took a risk, what are you waiting for? Don't you know that with great risks comes great rewards?

BlogHer Entrepreneurs conference happens March 21st and 22nd, so we thought we'd celebrate fierce, risk-taking women by making them the focus of our theme this month.

Obviously I'm not entirely unfamiliar with taking risks, having just moved to DC from California in 2011.  But part of the reason why we take risks is to get out of things that we know simply aren't working.  My situation here is certainly that.  It was a nice try and I don't regret having done it, but...well, I'll be writing a long post about that this week.  And Risk is something all of us here at LostGirls can sink our teeth into, so you will also be hearing from people here other than myself!

But let's start with today's prompt: "Do you think it's better to play it safe or take risks?"

In all honesty, there are appropriate times for each of those.  And only you can decide when those times are.  I think taking the risk to come to DC wasn't a bad choice overall, but I also see now how playing it safe for a few more months there and really figuring out where I wanted to end up might have been a wiser decision.  But a life without risk seems like no life at all to me.  If you don't take risks, large and small, you will be missing great opportunities.  Even those horrible mistakes that result from some risks are worth something.

The two times I've moved from the West Coast to the East Coast have turned out to be bummers, but I learned from both and those experiences definitely changed me in some very good ways.  I gained perspective that I didn't have before.  I grew up in some ways that were certainly needed.  I made new friends and had new experiences that I wouldn't have had if I'd stayed in California, where I grew up, surrounded by familiar surroundings and all my lovely long-time friends.  I don't like the idea of stagnating and it's one of those things that happens without you noticing!

My goal right now is to find a place to call home that I won't want to leave.  A place where I can spend the rest of my days without feeling like I'm suffocating in the sameness of it all.  Who among us is not looking for the right fit?  And how on earth could we find it without a little (or a lot of) risk?