The Long Tale

Friday morning I went to take my grandmother out to lunch. I get in my car, only to find that the 'check engine' light has decided to make an appearance. So, after much cursing at the Nazi car, aka my Jetta, my dad and I were able to squeeze in to the dealer so they could check it out. 4 hours later we find out it wasn't anything major, but that was 4 hours I had set aside to pack up the car. So Mom and I organized all my stuff (thanks Mom, you are the goddess of packing!) and once the car was back and I had stopped cursing it, we loaded the biggest suitcase you have ever seen into the trunk. By this time it is dark and we decide to do the rest in the morning.

Morning comes, we finish packing the car. I have a new respect and admiration for my mom. There is NO way I would have gotten all my belongings into there without her. It looked like a clown car, minus the clowns. After a teary good-bye I hit the road.

I was blessed with fabulous weather to SF, and arrived with plenty of time to spare. I was greeted by Diane and Delaney, her nearly 2 year old. Delaney yelled "aunty!" and immediately wrapped her arms around my legs and hugged them. Needless to say, my heart melted!

We had a wonderful dinner at Ton Kiang, even though the service was not nearly as good as it is when you go in the morning. Dim sum is GOOD. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Sunday morning brought sunshine and smiles all around. I got in the car, headed to pick up Martina, and we hit the road! We had good weather all the way up. Not a cloud in the sky until we went over Mt. Shasta.

Then we only had fog for about 1/2 hour. We kept waiting to get to Grant's Pass, where it was supposed to be the pass to Mordor or something. But, we hit it, kept driving, looked at each other and said "Is that it??". The rest of the ride was great.

I did learn something new right after we crossed the Oregon border. Did you know that it is illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon??? I had gotten out of my car and tried to pump my gas and the attendant came over and said I couldn't. At first I didn't believe him. I mean, hello? I have been pumping my own gas since I was 16. Don't tell me I can't pump my own gas! But, lo and behold! It's a law there. Neither Martina or I could figure out why you can't do it yourself, but whatever. It's actually kinda nice to have someone else do it.

We hit Eugene, OR at about 5:30pm, checked into our hotel and went to get dinner. After dinner we went back to the room, showered, and hit the sack. Unfortunately, neither of us got much sleep! It turns out that while I was laying in bed wanting to throw a pillow at Martina for snoring, she was doing the same thing while I was snoring! So, we both were awake at 5am, and when I asked if she was awake she said yes. I then told her that I was never going to share a room with her again! She started to laugh, and said she was thinking the same thing! So we got up, and hit the road again. We finally arrived in Bellevue at 1pm on Monday. We unloaded the car, which was a whole other story! Note to anyone trying to get a 50lb box up a flight of stairs: It is much easier to ROLL the box UP, than try to lift it! We then had a fantastic dinner at my new favorite Thai restaurant, came home and after a very funny conversation, went to bed.

I took Martina home on Tuesday afternoon. Luckily she made it out before the snow came down. Here is what the view from my apt looked like on Wednesday morning:

It then started to really come down around 4pm. I, being the So Cal girl that I am, had no clue what to do when it starts snowing. I was driving home, going super slow, and since no one was honking at me, I figured I was on the right track. I turned left into the driveway for the complex, and proceeded to get stuck. After 15 minutes of trying to get some traction, a very nice guy came up and asked if I needed help. Uh, yeah. He tried to push my car to see if I could get it moving, but no luck. How nice though? In LA, I would have been run over, cursed at, flipped off, and then probably would have had something thrown at me. Not here. People are actually NICE here. It's so amazing. So, long story short, my car is still stuck in the driveway. Hopefully I can move it later today.

I am supposed to start my part time job at the yarn shop today, but since the weather was so bad, the owner called to tell me that the mall was actually closed. So hopefully tomorrow I can do it. I'll keep you all updated!

So that is my first few stories of my adventure. I am so happy here. It's so beautiful, and once I figure out where everything is I think I will be a very happy camper.