I was going to write a post

but then I realized I have nothing much to say.

I miss a lot of people in Hawaii. I miss a lot of food. But I don't miss Hawaii. I don't miss being there. I don't miss that feeling. The heat. The nostalgia. The constant sense of claustrophobia. Disconnect from reality.

It's nice here in Seattle.

gone and back

So for the last nearly two months I've tried really hard to write a substantive, interesting update about my new life in Seattle. I've failed continuously. I don't know what to say because I don't want to sound overly enthusiastic about my new life because I feel like it'd be a slap in the face of my friends back home. And I can't be that happy about being here just yet because a) the rain hasn't started and b) I haven't really made any friends yet.

I've been on imgur and instagram a lot lately. I feel, and perhaps many of you that frequent both might agree, that sometimes it's too difficult to explain what I'm doing and how I'm feeling through just words. Maybe the last four years of intense essay writing and reading dense, literature (think 18th century here, folks) have burnt me out on language. So I've been taking a lot of pictures.

I should admit, now, that I do genuinely dislike instagram but I feel like it's become the new facebook of sorts and many people close to me only use that app (and have deactivated their facebook accounts to boot). I usually post without filters. I don't know how to link my account just yet.

Anyway, back on track, I don't really have the words to explain how the last two months have been. So here are some pictures. I hope you get a sense of where I am and what I'm feeling.

happy birthday, elliott

i love summer

There are a thousand reasons why I love summer. My birthday is during the summer (July 30), and so is my dad's birthday!, everyone has a BBQ all the time, mangoes, beach weather, bike riding, just to name a few. I mostly love sitting under trees and reading.



I don't know why but summer/autumn are my tree loving months. I spend so much time just looking up and staring at the trees. While this is true of every semester I've had so far namely in the English Department, I sit on the 4th floor annex and just stare at the trees in the sustainability courtyard. There's something about them that just entrances me.

When I'm not staring at trees I'm grilling meat.



And passing out while watching sunsets.

kitten post

So back in April while my mom was on her trip my brother and I discovered two abandoned kittens living in the closet where we store our water heater.  Brother-sister duo with nothing really in common except their eyes.  We took them in and I treated them like they were my children.  I can't even tell you how much time I sat and researched how to raise kittens.  I've learned more about cats since getting them than I have my entire life. So this is Felix. I named him after Felix the cartoon cat, and partially after Felix Gaeta, my favorite Battlestar Galactica character. Which, retrospectively, was a bad idea, because that guy becomes a total villain after season 3. My bad!

Initially, Felix was a total runt and baby. He needed extra love and care. I had to cuddle him to get him to sleep and stop crying, often putting him under my shirt close to my chest (where it was warmest and quietest). My little baby!




And then there is Chaps. I came up with the name (with the help of my boyfriend) because her legs are colored like she's wearing crotchless chaps! Also she's moo-printed so it reminds me of cowboys. Here's a hasty photo I took of her legs.

 


Dan with Chaps on his head! In case you're wondering, they've chewed off most of those blinds of on both sides now. Anyway it should be noted that Chaps is a really attention needy cat now. She needs to be petted constantly otherwise she starts to act out by knocking stuff over or peeing/pooping everywhere. I'm pretty torn up over the fact that I can't take them with me when I move to Seattle. They're too young yet to travel and I don't even think they could endure the emotional trauma of a plane ride there. Kind of really worried because they both seem to think I'm their mother! Hopefully my mom and brother will be able to care for them.

Anyway I think this post can sum up some pretty key facts about me. 1) I love cats like they are my own children. 2) I am not ashamed of my cat love (anymore).