The Seattle Excursion

    Well, I would like to first apologize for my hiatus in the blog. Not a lot has happened in respect to our move to Seattle until this past weekend, however, we've had our fair share of changes in other matters. For instance, I've been working graveyard the last few weeks helping out one of our other techs who has been injured. That's been interesting regarding my schedule. And of course right when I was really starting to get used to it, I'm back on my day shifts... well at least for the next 3 weeks.
    So, trip to Seattle was very productive. We got a lot accomplished. Signed a lease for an apartment, Drew was able to meet with his extern director and get a tour of the vascular lab at University of Washington Medical Center, and I toured Animal Medical Center of Seattle and had another interview at Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services, and we still had a little leisure time as well. All in all, I think Drew and I are very excited and ready to move.
    Drew's dad John joined us on our little trip and we left K. Falls on Thursday afternoon. Due to Oregon weather (we had rain, snow, hail, and bouts of sun all in one day in Klamath) we headed over to Medford and dropped the pups off at work instead of going another route (faster and more direct then heading west then north) through Eugene. We spent Thursday night in Portland instead of making the full trip to Seattle. This way we were able to break up the trip a little. And, I was able to spend a little time with my sister and nephew. Just dinner but time well spent.
    Friday morning we left Portland and took the 2 1/2 hour drive to Seattle. Our hotel was pretty much the ideal spot for our trip (within 5 miles of both the university and our apartment), only problem was the hotel was located an a fairly busy street and there was a lot of construction right in front of the hotel. We had most of our bigger things planned for Friday. We headed over to U Dub Med Center (one thing I hate about Seattle is that you have to pay to park everywhere) and got lost in the hospital. But we eventually found the lab in a new wing of the hospital. We spent about an hour there, Drew got a tour and I spent some time talking to his extern director Kari. One thing I really appreciate about this trip is that we made some really great connections.
    Before going to our appointment to look at the apartment we went looking for food and wound up in the U District (U Dub is huge) where there are lots of little restaurants and shops located in and around the university. We didn't have much time to explore but eventually found a great little sub shop (we ended up eating there twice) and we'll probably end up going back to explore a little more once we move. As far as what Drew told me he's probably going to be spending a lot of time there trying out all the different restaurants.
    So then at 5pm we met with Genevieve (the previous manager of the complex. She just moved and unfortunately won't be our manager. She was really nice and extremely helpful) and looked around the complex a little and saw the apartment. The complex is older but in a really great area. The Queen Anne district which many people think is the best neighborhood in the city. The previous tenant wasn't completely moved out yet and so it hadn't been cleaned but we could at least get a feel for the place. We are pretty much doubling our square footage which is so very nice. We have tons of closet space and a good sized bathroom. The kitchen is small but the best part is that on the west wall we have floor to ceiling windows that leads out to a balcony. And we get to do pretty much whatever we want with the place. I already have plans to paint and eventually replace the flooring in the bathroom and kitchen and maybe a few other things to make it more of our own. And there is a lille pet area for the dogs.
    Saturday was our one day while we were there that we got to relax a little. I was able to go get a tour of Animal Medical Center of Seattle (the other hospital that my boss in Medford is a partner of) and meet a couple of the people that I'll be working with. Its a really nice facility but they operate very differently so there are a lot of new things that I'm going to have to get used to. Later in the afternoon while Drew and his dad stayed at the hotel, I was also able to meet with a very good family friend Kandi and her granddaughter Kendra who I haven't seen since she was a baby for some coffee and a walk around Green Lake. The weather was beautiful all weekend in Seattle but Saturday afternoon was gorgeous. I was able to see the area and all it has to offer for its citizens. It made me really excited to move there.
    Sunday I had an interview at 10am with Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services before we were to head back. Well, I knew they had two locations, one in Seattle and the other in Renton, but didn't realize the interview was in Renton about 30 minutes south of Seattle. I swear I'm never going to read an important e-mail again after I work a graveyard shift with only a few hours of sleep.  So after sitting at the Seattle location for almost a 1/2 hour, the receptionist called just to check for me and sure enough I was at the wrong location. Oh, and don't forget this was after I had already made my little spelling error in my resume. But, it all ended up great and I got the job! Most likely I'll be working one day a week once I get them my schedule at AMCS plus I'll have plenty of opportunity to get some relief work which is exactly what I wanted. So, we finally got on the road about 1pm but we still made really good time getting home.
    Overall, we had a good time and it was a very successful trip. So, if all goes well we will be moving Memorial Day weekend. A couple of thank you's need to be made: First, to Drew's dad for coming with us and second, to everyone at SOVSC who helped out with the schedule so I could get the weekend off.
    Until next time....