Three Things Noticed

I haven't been here that long, and because of stupid cast haven't been able to get out much and explore. It actually might be an okay thing that I'm not able to get out, part of me thinks I would have had this entire town explored and figured out in the little time I've been here.
But the three things that I've noticed right away are this...

1. People are not afraid to wear shirts, sweatshirts, hats, sweats (usually the ones with writing across the butt) and sometimes scarves that show Wyoming pride. Either showing support for the University of Wyoming (called U-Dub) Cowboys, or just the state in general. Does this happen in Washington? I can't say that I've ever owned any article of clothing advertising that I live in Washington.
The only reasoning I can come up with for the Wyoming pride is the lack of any other symbol to take pride in. This is what comes of having no professional sports team.

2. The weather here changes on a dime. A high of 60 degrees and a low of 32 with a chance of snow is normal for this time of year. Today it's supposed to snow, tomorrow it's supposed to be 60 degrees again and this weekend is supposed to be beautiful.
There is always wind.

3. The lack of trees is something that takes getting used to. To look outside and see for miles, uninterupted, is odd. Somedays, like today, it can create a lonely feeling as you look out and realize how large the space you're living in is, you understand how small you are. The constant canopy of trees in the Northwest is comforting and cozy, it's an illusion that you're not really in that big of place. The buildings in Seattle do the same thing.

A Sorta Break

I realize it's been over a month since my last post. I'm not completely surprised that it happened, you should see my journals, four entries a year is about average. Starting a blog and updating I thought would be a bit different, easier, but apparently it's all the same.

With the job ending, and the move to Wyoming I knew there would be an extended break in there between jobs. I told everyone I'm taking a break from working, a break from Seattle, a break from worrying about what to do with my life. The big word in all my post P-I plans was "break."
However I didn't factor in the other meaning of break, the bone break. It seems there were other plans for me as well, the day I found out I officially lost my job I broke my ankle. Blame it on a factor of things, but the fact is I haven't walked in about a month. A plate and five screws are lodged in my ankle and my main mode of transportation has been a ridiculous knee scooter.
I knew moving and the giant change of life I was about to experience would require me to slow down a bit and evaluate where I was going, but never did I imagine that I would be slowed down to this and the only evaluting on where I was going would be the best route to the bathroom, kitchen and bed.
The good news is that I actually made the 1300 mile trek here. Watching my dad take out my scooter everytime we had to stop at a reststop was hilarious and always made me laugh at how pathetic I am. The only time the scooter rests is when I'm sleeping. If I'm just sitting, it's a safe bet that Aaron and Katie are riding it around the house. So far the kids and I have played about 15 games of clue, 3 full games of Monopoly and a few Wii games thrown in. Not being able to keep up with a 10 and 12 year old is wearing on my patience, but it's only a few weeks and in a few months I will look back on all of this and laugh. It's that thought that keeps me in high spirits and optimistic about what events will unfold!

Journalism Humor

I attended a two-hour meeting today on unemployment benefits.

There were a few things during the meeting that made me laugh and realize I will, most likely, never be in this sort of environment again. Before the meeting started I ran across the street about 30 min. before to get a morning latte. There were about five people from my office in front of me, obviously with the same idea. Must stay awake for meeting.

At the meeting, with about 50 people, I would guestimate 3/4 of the attendees had their morning lattes in hand and the remaining 1/4 had their mugs of black coffee. It reminded me how dependent we Seattleites are when it comes to our coffee.

I have heard repeated times how people who never drank coffee before only started drinking it after they moved to Seattle. Blame it on the rainy weather, peer pressure, or the fact that it's dark all the time, but there is nothing better than a warm, smooth latte on a gray and rainy day. It's like popsicles and sun, hot cocoa and snow, a journalist and hot black coffee, they fit.

Getting back to the meeting, before the presentation started the host announced that he wanted this meeting to be an information session, that questions should be asked right when they're thought of and that it should be more a conversation. This, to a room full of reporters.

It took the poor guy only five minutes to realize what he had said before he announced that questions should be held until the end of the meeting. This came about after one of our best investigative reporters asked a question that went something like, 'I have two questions, the first question is...and the second question is...how would you respond?' and then another reporter raised her hand and said, '...and I would have a follow up that second question.'

I was prideful in my coworkers and their ability to constantly be doing their job, so much so that their job is their identity, it's who they are and there is no off switch.

The final journalism humor about the meeting came when the host asked, 'what's the number one worst thing you can do while on unemployment?'

To which one reporter announced, 'drink.'

Gone but Not Forgotten

So more items were victim of Goodwill bound this weekend.

Everything takes on a different meaning when I know that my entire life has to fit in the bed of a Dodge Ram (extended bed, thank God!). Fabulous shoes that have remained in boxes for the last three years, never worn, are suddenly not so fabulous. Formal dresses that have been worn once, but have lived on in a plastic covering on a hanger in the closet are bound to find new life hanging on a used clothing rack somewhere. Are electric egg poachers really that desirable? Plastic cups I thought would come in handy for picnics, or parties (both never happened) will eventually end up in a landfill somewhere contributing to global waste.

There was an odd feeling on Saturday as I went through a few more things giving the thumbs up or thumbs down approach. I remember when I received certain kitchen items, when I bought the dresses and how I thought my whole dating life would change with the purchase of said fabulous shoes.

Once all desireable items, no longer had a place in my life. A little nostalgia washed over me and before when this emotion hit I eventually chose to hang on with the presumption that maybe I would need them someday. So to finally make the decision that someday would never come was a little bittersweet.

I realize that I'm lamenting on emotional attachments to material items. I guess that makes me a material girl of sorts. But I don't think it's necessarily a terrible thing to have an emotional bond with a dress or with shoes, to have an emotional anything is better than having an emotional nothing.

But there is a certain weightless feeling in knowing that I'm cleaning out my life. It's nice to know that I'm not bogged down somewhere. That I can pack up my life and move it to another state.

Brokeback Mountain

A few days ago I took a sick day from work.
Blame it on my inability to cook.
Not being able to do much else I watched movies all day curled up on the couch.

I decided to plug in "Brokeback Mountain." It'd been forever since I'd seen the movie, and apart from the obvious storyline, gay cowboy love story, I didn't remember much about it.
Much of the film takes place on fictional Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming. For a big chunk of the movie Heath Ledger's character, Ennis, lives in Riverton, Wyoming.

I remember when the film came out and all of the hullaballo surrounding it. On a visit to my dad's I started talking about the film and asked my dad what the buzz was in Wyoming. I fully expected to hear something about how the conservative people of Wyoming were upset that a film about it's beloved cowboy, set in its beloved state would include immoral values. (their words, not mine).

But to my surprise the first thing out my dad's mouth was how people were upset is was filmed in Canada and NOT Wyoming.

I couldn't stop laughing. In fact while writing this post I can't stop smiling.

It was a great testament to the people of Wyoming and the pride they take in their state that no matter the subject matter, if you're gonna make a film set in Wyoming it had sure as hell be filmed in Wyoming!
However, I'm fully aware that there are probably a number of people in Wyoming who do care about subject matter. Their loss, because the movie is spectacular and the scenery (while set in Canada) is very reminiscent of actual Wyoming country.

P.S. On a Heath Ledger note, no doubt he's taking the trophy on Sunday.

Inventory

There really is no better way to take inventory on your life than to move.
Things shoved to the back of the closet, stuffed out in a shed and pushed underneath the bed need to be taken in to account when moving.
I've just starting chipping away to make things simpler. And by simpler I mean, throwing away (or recycling). Last night I went through an entire box that held notes taken in Speech 101, Writing 101 and a history class taken at Highline. At one point I figured I would need these again, but I sat there for about two minutes trying to time travel back to that thought process. It took me one second to decide that I didn't need the notes I had saved for five years.
There was also a turning point for me. I decided that I no longer needed CD cases. All CDs are now in a giant booklet for safe keeping and all cases are sitting in my trash can. I figured instead of two giant boxes full of CDs, some that I haven't listened to in years, put them in one easy to move booklet.
I justified this by noting that most people these days burn all their music on to a computer and store them on an iPod. Not having a decent computer for this, or a decent iPod, the CD booklet seems the best route. Plus I still have a nostalgia for CDs, even though most of them are scratched and it's a gamble which ones won't skip.
All cassette tapes have been thrown out.
R.I.P. mix tapes.

Job Market

A study by Gallup.com found that Wyoming currently has the best job market in the country.
In fact, most of the midwest states ranked on the top ten list.
Why?
Because they produce oil and coal.
Wyoming, Louisiana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, West Virginia, Utah, Nebraska and Mississippi, all on the top ten list.
I seem to be leading the way in moving to a state with a stable job market, anyone with me?

http://www.gallup.com/poll/114061/State-States-Job-Market-Conditions.aspx

Entering the World of Blogging

I did it.
I never wanted to.
I always said I wouldn't.
But I did it.

Personal blogs are a way for people to say a lot, who normally have very little to say.
This new age of blogging makes everyone who knows how to use capitalization and periods into a writer. And that might even be stretching it.
I figure for this first posting I should make it out to be a disclaimer. Everyone carries some sort of hypocrisy around, this is true, so let's consider my distate for personal blogs and then starting one my hypocrisy.

My hypocrisy came about after I made the decision to pack up rainy Seattle and move to windy Cheyenne, Wyoming. With the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (possibly) closing March 18 and my apartment lease up March 30, I figured this would be the perfect time in life to make a change. My dad and his family live there and I've always wanted to spend real time with them apart from my once a year visits.

Having grown up in the Seattle area (pop. 1,826,732) and living in Seattle (pop. 582,174) for the past year moving to Cheyenne (pop. 55,314) seems like an adventure.
City girl to country bumpkin, or what you will.
So that leaves us here. The move is projected for sometime late March early April. No concrete dates yet as I'm still waiting to see what happens at the P-I. The start of the blog may seem a bit premature but I figured I should chronicle my last month of city life before I start blogging about my transition to country life.
This doesn't change my aversion to personal blogs, but it does help me understand them a little more. The one giant reason I gave for starting this? So I wouldn't have to share the same story with 10 different people over the phone. For those interested on how I'm doing with country livin', you can check in whenever you like.
And should I become the person who has very little to say, you can stop reading whenever you like. The choice is up to you and that's the beauty of blogging.