Looking back while moving forward (without tripping!)

I have been in a very reminiscent state of mind lately. It could be that it is the beginning of another school year, and for only the second time since I was 5 I am not getting ready for my first day of classes. This time around is quite different from last year, though.

Last year, I was living in a house in Bellingham with two other wonderful girls and our dog, Henry. I just finished working for the university as a summer RA and was looking for something else to pay the bills. (I eventually applied and got a job at Haggen, one of the major grocery store chains in the area, making sandwiches from 4am to 12pm. I was there for only 2.5 months before I got my current job... but I can still make one mean sandwich/panini/wrap!) I had most of my good WWU friends living in the same city as me, and I was able to live vicariously through them so in some ways I still felt as though I was a part of the WWU community.

Jordan, Kelly, Me and my two roomies Linnea and Leigh at the end of our Girls' Weekend at the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine. (Our "awkward" pose.)

This year, I am living in a house in Bremerton with my pup, Taylor, and no roommates. I have a "real" job making "real" money, but I am still not used to being able to spend a bit of money on myself. The nearest friends from WWU are about an hour away, but I do have a handful of friends from high school that are in the Kitsap area... but I rarely get to see them.

This year is, and is going to be, great... but just in different ways from what made last year so wonderful. I am just amazed at how different it is already... how much has changed! I am so so very thankful for all of the opportunities and experiences that I have had in the last year or so and I am looking for another year of even more opportunities and experiences... but I still miss some things from last year and the years before.

One great thing about not being near my friends and seeing them very often is that I appreciate and value the times I do get to see them even more. Cheesy, but true.

Some of the best at Larabee State Park in Bellingham.

My reminscent state of mind was just further enhanced when Liz reminded me of my old xanga account... yes, I admit, this is not my first blog. I was first turned onto melo, then to xanga. I kept up with xanga off and on until my junior year of college. (LumberjackLou) It is really entertaining to read some of those long-forgotten posts. Some of the things I wrote about I don't even remember!

With all of this nostalgia bogging me down, I am itching to get back up to Bellingham to visit. A friend of mine wants to buy some prints of Bellingham from me... I don't have as many as I would like for him to choose from, so it is a good excuse/reason for me to take a trip up to take some more! I want some pictures of "MY Bellingham" as well, so I'll be taking pictures for more than one purpose. Hopefully I can get up there before the rains start again...