We Have Some Sort of Plan

So here is our hopeful itinerary:

Day one - Phoenix, AZ: Stay with Boone's old friends
Day two - Los Angeles, CA: Stay with my wonderful Grandma :D
Day Three - San Fransico, CA: See Maya, Dana, Will, and anyone else we can get our hands on...and probably stay up late.
Day four - Fresno, CA: Stay with one of Boone's friends from high school
Day five - Medford, OR: Stay with another old pal of Boone's (man, he's popular) and her family, get used to having our gas pumped for us. (Cause they don't let you pump your own gas in OR.)
Day six - Arrive! Take possession of our vacation rental and begin looking around our new home - roof over our head being a priority, but cool places to work as well. Take pictures like crazy!

Right now I am in Santa Fe seeing my folks, but I am going to have to pack/shop/run errands like crazy the next few days. Deep breath...

New Haircut

Something a little easier and more styled! I also dyed it darker. People keep pointing out that you shouldn't cut all your nice warm hair off just before winter comes, but I say that is what my scarf collection is for. It was getting pretty long and kind of shaggy, so I walked into Supecuts at 8pm, was seated immediately, and it cost me $16 imcluding tip!

Departure is imminent!

In roughly two weeks, I will get in my car and start driving.

Nothing is packed yet. My clothes are all dirty. There is a pile of boxes in the dining room waiting to be filled. Today is my last full day at my job, but I will probably be coming in for half-days almost until I leave.

The Basics: My boyfriend Boone & I are moving to Newport, Oregon. I've been pondering this move for a long time - over a year. During a conversation with the CEO of my comapany, he told me just to follow my bliss and move - and he then helped me get things underway. Boone has been restless and looking for something new, so he said he'd accompany me.

When I was thinking of where I wanted to move, I had two requirements: that it me different from ABQ, and that it be somewhere I could go to the beach or walk by the water every day. When I went to Chicago this time last year, it was to scout out the possibility of making Chicago my new home. And although I loved Chicago, it wasn't quite what I wanted. Bali or Thailand remain a bit out of my reach for now, at least until I figure out how to make money while I'm there. Also topping my list was anywhere on Hwy 101. I'd driven through the Oregon coast part of Hwy 101 on my way to Seattle a couple years ago, and it is simply breathtaking.

So I started to look up stats, and do reasearch on all the Oregon coast towns. (Newport on Wikipedia) Newport is big enough that I think I can find a job easily, and there are restaurants and grocery stores - but small enough that I can ride my bike from one end to the other. You can see the ocean from most of town. The next street west is in Hawaii. And the more I find out, the more I speak to people about it, the more I think Newport is exactly my kind of people.

The brewery for wonderful Rogue brand beer is there - their pub serves "hoppy meals", lunch specials to which a beer can be added for $1.00. A full size theater, renowned aquarium, crab fishing. Newport is bordered by the beach, the bay, and the forest. It's about 3 hours from Portland, about an hour from Corvallis (which is a bigger town, with a University of Oregon). It sounds awesome.

So here I am, about to take only what I can fit into my car and show up in my new town with no apartment, no job lined up, not really knowing anyone...and I am so excited that I have trouble staying at my desk and not jumping around like a little kid.

I'll let everyone know my new address when I know what it is! In the mean time, give me a call and let's catch up!