I'm Back

Hello World,

It's been a while.

The last time I blogged publicly, it was 2009 and I was traveling in Egypt. That was almost three years ago...

As I write to you, my imaginary audience, I feel as though I've let myself down. I'm sad that I haven't maintained this blog with my mini-adventures: DC, Vegas, Texas, Mexico, etc..... It doesn't all have to be about European travels, right? I wonder if I've I failed because it's been three years since I've backpacked. Did I loose sight of what I love? Did I change? Is it that I can't follow through or that I can't let go?

It's neither here or there. I question too much, which is perhaps why, I drink too much. It's easier to sit at home with a bottle of wine than to day dream or work towards more. I am excelling in my career, which makes it easy to become complacent with inner growth.

In the last three years, I've moved from Camas to Redmond to Kirkland to Seattle to Central Washington. I left Standard and took a Pet Store Manager position in Bellevue. I was later recruited by another company, relocated, and now I work in HR.

Great friends have come and gone, each of them touching my life and my heart. When I moved to Seattle, I fell in love with a man named Nick. We're quite the pair, fierce to say the least. We're still battling it out in this thing people call a relationship. The quote we seem to live by is "When two people love each other, but just can't pull it together---when is enough, enough?" Answer: Never.

My style has changed and so has my body. I've had curly hair, long hair, dark hair, red hair, super short and in between. Now I'm back to a dirty blonde, the color that feels natural to me---though it takes anything but natural remedies of bleach and dye to make it this way. I used to complain that I weighed 130, let's just say that I don't know if I will ever be that tiny again. Most days, I feel healthy. I probably ought to stop trying to fit in the clothes I wore at 20 and just embrace the body that I have now.

I spent a few years living cheap and struggling. When I worked at the pet store, I also had to babysit just to pay the bills. I was crammed in 400sq feet and living on frozen dinners. Now I'm in a 1500sq house that I rent by myself and my meals usually consist of take out: thai, Red Robin, and mexican.

My cats, whom I refer to as "the boys", remain the center of my life. For it is their needs, complete with raw food, custom cat trees, and hardwood floors so Harley doesn't pee on carpet---that drives my need to provide a great income. In my mind, I would not be so responsible if I didn't have them. That I would have ran away to Italy and worked as a bartender. That I'd be in Prague, dancing with friends every night. Not everyone is so passionate about pet ownership. If there is a singular concept that defines me, it is them. If I am nothing else in my life, if I never achieve a thing, I gave Kudos and Harley the dream life. I am most proud of this accomplishment.

In 15 days, I embark on another world adventure. I'm going to Scotland for two weeks. Scotland, home of my ancestors. John Patrick Napier, who came to America in 1654 and spawned the generations that became my family and now me. I will visit Napier University in Edinburgh, I will see our castles, our coat of arms, our artifacts and so on.

I am excited to disconnect from everything. To be unplugged from my work email and the 90 employees demanding my attention, to not carry a cell phone, to turn left and get lost, to make strangers my friends, to find the beauty in a foreign country, and to reconnect with me. Spending hours walking, thinking, enjoying music, and writing.

The countdown begins...