“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” — Cesare Pavese
Ahh yes, I've done it again — waited an extremely long time to update this blog [that nobody reads :) ].
I was so sure that I had updated it during August for some reason, but wrong wrong! I think I need to make it a for real goal to update it once a week. Otherwise so much time and things happen that it's hard to keep track of what gets written about and what doesn't!
Benjamin got his internship with Esquire (ACK!) and is now in New York, starting his second week on the job. It's so crazy, but he still hasn't found a place to live, so he's been staying with friends in the mean time. The job has been a bit rough it sounds like; not a lot of hands-on guidance, and a lot of assignments like research and transcribing that doesn't amount to a larger overall picture. But, I mentioned to him, it's only his first week, and the first month is always the hardest of short term internships, while you're trying to get your bearings about you.
Aside from that I think it's been really difficult not having a permanent home base and not having the support from friends and loved ones nearby.
In the mean time on San Juan Island I've moved into a a place with three other roommates, a dog named Deo (short for Cedrus Deodora) and a cat named Nutty (short for Nuthatch), and have really been loving the new place. It's not as far out of town as the last place Ben and I lived, and it's also just so nice to meet people my age to hang out with. The summer had mostly consisted of Natalie, Ben and I hanging out a lot, which was beautiful and so so much fun, but without meeting friends it made it seem a little less like I was putting down roots here. Now I'm feeling a little more integrated.
I also have never lived with roommates outside of college, and it's been really great. Each one has their own passions and projects going on. One is a kayak guide & waitress, the other is an arborist, and the third works at a book store & travels a lot. And, through them, I've met a number of other people.
The seasons are definitely in shift right now; it feels more like fall every day and the weather has been mostly rainy, cool and overcast.
Natalie comes over to my new place a lot, and we've been exploring the island more and baking and cooking like crazy. We've found a couple of really cool new spots, like Granny's Cove and Ryan's Rock (which my room mate CJ calls Middle Earth). Nen and I made a pact that we're going to double our efforts to get out and about after work/dinner to keep being active and see more of the island. So far in the past few weeks we've hiked Mount Grant, Jakle's Lagoon & Mount Finlayson, Ryan's Rock and Grandma's Cove.
Over the long weekend I visited my cousin Holly, her husband Sachin and their two-year-old son Taal. They just moved to Bellingham last week! It was so nice to see them and to be around Taal. They've lived in New York for the last two years, so I've only been around them in short intervals, and I hardly feel like we get past the catching up and then I have to leave again. They also visited earlier in August and that was a lot of fun. I really want to be a part of their lives, especially since we haven't been for so long growing up.
My goal is to see them at least once a month, since they don't know how permanent the move is and I want to see them as much as I can. They signed an 8 month lease, and Sachin can work remotely from New York so they're going to try out Bellingham and see how they like it.
Also I'm really excited because for my birthday my mom, dad, Willie (freshly returned from India) and Holly Sachin and Taal are going to be coming to the island for my birthday and staying for the weekend!
I also visited with Ben's aunt Genia, uncle Kevin and cousin Katy while I was in Bellingham and that was really fun. I went to their house on Monday for lunch, and then hung out with them til dinner! Katy had to leave, but we got to talk for a short while and that was nice to catch up. Kevin was doing a lot of required stuff for school so he was busy during the afternoon but Genia and I went out and about the town and talked. She made the best homemade soup for dinner! Some sort of creamy squash soup, it was incredible and I really want to make it here with Nen.
I always marvel at the fact that I get along so well with Ben's family. Everyone seems to have horror stories of in-laws and not being able to stand their SO's family, but his is so much fun and so easy to be around. And active! I can't believe how active they are. Each one of them is in such amazing shape and has their own workout passion, whether its biking, running or whatnot. In general it’s very inspiring.
Photos above: First is strange weather skies at Cattle Point Lighthouse, the second is at Ryan’s Rock (see tiny Natalie!) and the third is on top of Middle Earth looking toward Victoria.
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