My Studio!

As promised..

The view from my front door

My work area/computer

My kitchen

The bedroom area.... yeah, I still have to get a bed frame, I know.

The place is technically a studio, but there are two wooden dresser/closet things which effectively separate the living area from the sleeping area.

Still a lot of empty space for now, I wanna get some bean bag chairs so I have a comfortable place to sit for reading, but I'll worry about that later.

I wonder what orientation was like....

So today was the Nutri Sci Orientation.  I was supposed to be there at 12, but because of a room mixup (the email instructions just said a room number, not a building, and I assumed it was in one building when in fact it was a different one), I ended up being... 40 minutes late.  Got there just in time to say Hi, and then it was lunch time.  Guess I got there at the perfect time actually.
After orientation, I wandered around the Health Science Center and South Campus Center with some of my classmates.  The Health Science Center is confusing as hell, and it reminds me of Berkeley's buildings (old and well worn), but the South Campus Center is really really pretty, and it has some great views of the Puget Sound.  Too bad I don't have any classes there.  Getting to the SCC is also really confusing.  We did a lot of wandering before we found it.

Coming up soon... a picture tour of my studio!  And maybe after that, the campus!

(Almost) All Settled In Now

Finally got internet going in my studio!  No DSL company seems to have service in this area, so I had to sign up for Comcast.  It's a little pricey, but man is it fast (getting ~18MBS download speed).
The School of Public Health orientation was last Friday.  Lasted almost the whole day, from 8-5 basically.  The Nutri Sci department orientation is tomorrow, and class starts Wednesday.  The whole thing seems kinda thrown together at the last minute, but oh well.

Seattle is a lot of fun so far.  Went to an Oktoberfest beer tasting event last Saturday night, and man do Seattlites (?) like their beer.  Looks like I've found the right place to be!

Trying to get my running program up and (bad joke alert!) running again.  Looks like a couple of nice parks around the area to run around.  Tried to run around Ravenna park today, but I ended up getting lost for about a half hour before I found my way back.  It's not one of those simple parks in California that you can just run around the perimeter... this one is really complicated and has small side streets going everywhere.  Might try to do Greenlake Park instead, that one looks a little easier to navigate.

And finally a shout out to my friend (only friend in Seattle for now actually, hopefully that will change soon) Shauna for showing me around the city!

In Seattle Now!

Actually, I've been here for almost a week now, but I haven't been able to update until now.  It's been a long week.  There was a delay in my studio, so we spent the first 5 days at a Studio 6 in Mountlake Terrace, a suburb just north of Seattle.  I just moved into my studio yesterday afternoon, and my parents left for LA Monday morning... which means I had to move everything into the studio myself. 
Seattle itself is great though, very green, lots of trees everywhere.  Rained for the first 5 days I was here, but it's been clear for the last 2 days. 
My studio is almost completely settled in now after a Ross/Target trip, but I still need furniture.  All I have for now is my mattress.  I want to get free/cheap stuff on craigslist. but that requires constant internet access, and internet service won't be connected until Sunday (I am currently sitting at a bus stop on campus leaching off the wifi). 

That's all for now... I'll have more detailed updates and pictures once I have my own internet going. 

Half Way Gone

Greeting from.... Grants Pass, Oregon.  Why Grants Pass?  It's halfway between San Leandro and Seattle, so it will be our resting place for the night.  The trip up has been mostly uneventful so far.  We passed by Mt. Shasta, which was really nice.  I want to go up it one day.

 

It made me think of the song "Shasta" by Vienna Teng.  I was going to play it on my zune as we drove by, but I was too lazy.

I wanted to take a picture of the road sign denoting the border between California and Oregon.... but there wasn't one.  How disappointing.

One final question:  why is it 80 degrees and humid... at 7pm.... in Oregon?  I thought it was supposed to be cooler here?

First!

Welcome to my blog!  Eventually, this will contain updates, stories, and random thoughts about my grad school experience at UW.  Break out the popcorn and prepare to laugh/cry/dance/hurl or whatever it is people do when they read a masterpiece.  For now however, I am still in Norcal staring at the wreckage that used to be my room.  Speaking of which, I should probably get back to packing.  For now, enjoy some pictures of my last days in the Bay.  And soon, I promise my blog will live up to its name....