Downtown in 20 minutes

Bryce and I are trying to explore more and get the most out of Seattle that we can while we're living here. We decided to do Happy Hour, but ended up walking from Belltown to Downtown in order to find Dragonfish, a sushi place I was craving. It took a little more than 20 minutes to walk there-- and that's me in my bad work shoes. My work shoes were so bad that I got a new pair at Nordie's--aahhh, shoes that fit! Turns out I've been buying the wrong size for oh, lets say the last 10-15 years of my life.

We're starting to figure out the "bad" streets to walk down at night (2nd and 3rd ave) and the better ones: 1st and 5th ave.

ASHA-grrr

Today was a bit stressful. On a positive note, I counted up my continuing education hours and I have the 30 hours needed to continue my SLP certification with ASHA for a few more years- phew! On the bad note, I called ASHA and asked why they haven't sent me or the NZSTA a letter saying that I am in good standing with them-- ASHA said that that was not in their policy. I couldn't believe that ASHA wouldn't say that I have no ethics violations against me. I give this organization $200 a year and really get nothing in return except for extra letters by my name. The only reason why I even stay with them is in case I want to work in private practice or medical setting somewhere besides WA state one day.

I wrote NZSTA and explained to them the situation about ASHA-- they wrote back only to say that my e-mail would be forwarded to their Review Board for consideration.

I really hope that this glitch with ASHA doesn't get in the way of us going to NZ!!!

Autumn Leaves and Good-Bye

This year, the Seattle area has had the most colorful leaves in recent memory.


I took these photos in Issaquah on the way from an augmentative communication conference in Bellevue to dinner at Lombardi's with Bryce's grandma, Bob, and Sheryl and Herb.

Bryce's grandma and Bob are leaving for their new condo in Florida in a couple of days; they're staying there until the Spring.

When we said good-bye, we realized that we won't see them again until we get back from New Zealand :-(

ASHA--hello??

Still no word from ASHA about getting an "in good standing letter" to me for the NZSTA. I went ahead and resent them my e-mail asking for the letter.

ASHA

No word yet from ASHA about the "in good standing" letter, which is weird. They are usually prompt with their e-mails. I popped over to the post office again on my lunch break to send off the copy of my marriage certificate. For somehow I couldn't figure out international postage from the internet-- the postal service guy told me that a regular letter of up to 4 sheets of letter costs 94 cents for every country but Canada and Mexico. Canada and Mexico is something like 72 cents. Good to know...

NZSTA application incomplete (?!)

I got an e-mail this evening saying that I need to send NZSTA a copy of my marriage certificate to prove that my college transcript is really for me (whoops). NZSTA also said that an ASHA letter I gave them verifying my membership status was not enough-- the letter specifically needs to say that I'm "in good standing." So I shot off an e-mail to ASHA asking for the letter.

Enchantments

Still recovering from a cold after doing the enchantments with Ryan and Chris.

Rough facts:
1,200 ft start
7,400 high camp
8,440 ft summit reached (#70 on Washington 100)
Lots of larches in their prime(a relatively rare coniferous tree that has needles that change bright yellow in fall)
1 goat raider looking for goodies
5+ cold looking lakes
sub 30: our tent temperature on Sunday morning.
One of the most beautiful places. Every thing above 6400 ft is either small meadows, bright yellow Larches, white granite, and blue water.

Visas

This morning I got an e-mail saying I would get a call at 6pm from Geoff in NZ, who's helping me find a job. I prepared for this phone call by not having another beer at 5 with Lisa and Dan and then having plenty of water. 6pm on Sunday is 12:00 noon Monday.

I found out the following: I'll get a 2-year work visa; Bryce will probably have to apply for an open work permit. In order for him to come to NZ with his "partner" (me) we have to prove that we've lived together for at least a year. WHAT!? Apparently being married isn't enough, because some couples may marry just so that one can sneak into the country. So we have to provide to the NZ government our lease we signed together in July '07 AND letter(s) from friends/family verifying that we lived in sin for a good year before getting married. And we may have to show a voided check from our joint checking account.


Geoff also told me that it's difficult to get a job without first being registered with NZSTA, and that I can't get a work visa until either I have a job offer or I've been accepted to NZSTA.

Geoff, our contact with the agency who's helping me find a job, assured me that we should be able to find a job for me and get our visas by March with no problem. Hopefully the application to the NZ speech therapists' association (NZSTA) has been received by now. That packet cost $25 bucks to send! jeesh.

We're still hoping for Christchurch but will be happy with anywhere in NZ.

NZSTA application sent off

I went to the post office on my lunch to send off the NZSTA application-- I was told that it should be in NZ be early next week.

Baker

Fun day, too tired to post originally.
A re-cap
Decent hike in to Heliotope ridge area, saw a pair of marmots and some awesome crevasses. Picked up 1500-1800 ft of vert. Sore on the down hike. Baker's an awesome mountain(first time seeing it, due to previous weather)
Crevasses:

First Turns

Notice that coldness in the air? That chill that bites the cheeks. The numbness that starts in your fingers..
Winter is pushing Fall through as fast as she can.
Warren Miller tickets... check
Looking at new gear almost every day... check
Hiking till I can find even a 500 ft run...coming
The subie's gassed, the pack is (over)packed, time for breakfast and hiking.

P.s. While I'm no turns all year type*(yet). I am carrying on my new tradition of snow every month. Last month was Jule's and I wintry(30's, snow/sleet/rain/fog) hike at Sunrise.
Today, well I'll leave the decision to Ryan, Either Baker area or Camp Muir.
* Turns all year are fanatical skiers and boarders that make a goal to ride every month. No matter how much hiking or how bad the snow. Some guys are over 180 months. They post at turns-all-year.com and maintain some of the best NW Mountain weather links compiled.

Almost like home

Today I discovered ammonia! Do you know that this stuff works amazingly? I'm using it to clean up the kitchen in the studio we just moved into. Apparently grandma uses it because it smells familiar. Did you see the Who's the Boss? episode where Tony accidentally mixes ammonia and bleach together and then faints because of the ensuing chemical fog? That has been my only prior knowledge of ammonia.

Bryce and I have had a crazy couple of weeks. We had a move that lasted forever, and then we jetted off to Palm Springs last weekend for my birthday and to visit my grandpa and his wife.

Now we're in the process of organizing our things in the studio and doing a lot of cleaning. You can see the top of the space needle from the apartment which is cool. I have a pork roast in the oven so my happiness is pretty much complete. That and the fact that I found a new pseudo-myspace with this blog site. I can tell that I will get OBSESSED with this!!

Birthday!

Well today's the start of my 30th year. Bryce gave me a birthday card that said, "My wife..." on the front-- wow that gave me a start! I suppose sometimes I forget.

We walked to Wasabi Bistro for yummy Happy Hour. I got upset when after dinner he waited for me outside while I was in the bathroom-- seriously who does that! I had no idea he was outside; I pictured either he was seriously ill or being molested or something in the bathroom! I even knocked on the men's bathroom to see if he was ok. I was so mad at him that I decided the only way for me to get over it was if he bought me a birthday cake. He didn't think this was fair but nevertheless off we went to Macrina Bakery-- On the way, while crossing a street, some random guy passing us said, "Julie!" Before I even knew what I was doing, I was hugging this guy who was my cousin Eli that I haven't seen in a couple of years. I blubbered that it was my birthday and that we just moved downtown; it turns out he lives just a block away from us but is going on tour with his band tomorrow for 6 weeks.

We parted ways and Bryce got me a cupcake that was basically chocolate ganache encircling a hunk of peanut butter. mmmm.



There's a lesson here. Would you like for me to tell you it? It is that even when something doesn't go exactly your way (i.e., being ditched at a restaurant on your birthday) it's ok because fate sometimes intervenes to make those lemons turn into lemonade (i.e., seeing my cousin and getting a cupcake out if it!)

Bank Draft

Today I learned how to send money to a foreign country. First of all, credit unions can't do it. So I had to reopen an account at B of A to send 550.00 NZD (about $340 US)to the NZ speech therapists' association. As soon as I get that check I'll send off my application to NZSTA to get certified in NZ. They also needed transcripts, (including evidence of coursework in dysphagia, interesting...), CV, and a copy of my ASHA card...Processing time takes 6 weeks, and once I'm "in" I can get my work visa. AGH!!! I wish I had known about this earlier!! This is cutting it a little close for me. Perhaps I can get a provisional visa, we'll see.


On another note, a 3rd grader pointed out to me that today's date is 10-9-8...
Huh.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I brought only the essentials to the studio when we moved-- like the Kitchenaid grandma gave me for graduation a long while ago. I made chocolate chip cookies!!! mmm. That must mean I'm starting to get comfortable with living here.

Brrrr

It's cold! I am trying to convince Bryce to move to California but apparently that is asking for a bit too much considering the impending move to NZ. whoops.

Home to Rain

We had breakfast with Katie, Grandpa, and Linda on Sunday morning before heading out to Seattle. There were great pictures at that restaurant. Katie brought along the wedding album that she put together for us. It is just beautiful.

We miss Katie, it was so cool to see her! We had the best time with Grandpa and Linda all weekend, too. They are so fun to be with.


It was then time to leave our beautiful hotel. :-(

We had a layover in Sacramento, check out these fields. They truly look like a quilt. I love the squiggles.

Palm Springs Early Birthday

Today was an amazing day. Bryce and I went out for breakfast, and then wandered around Palm Springs looking for Tahquitz Canyon to go for a hike. We never found it, but did stumble upon another hike behind the museum near our hotel. Hiking up that hill was so fun. It was hot, but it felt good to be warm. Every step up you took gave you a different view of Cochella Valley. At the top of the hike, 800' up, we saw several large birds nearby and joked that they were vultures waiting for us to pass out. They came so close that I could hear their wings flapping-- it sounded like a dog panting. It was one of the coolest sounds I have heard.

Afterwards Grandpa and his wife Linda met up with us and we went up a revolving tram to the top of another hill, 8,000' up. We all had a great time. Here's a picture of Linda sitting in the center of the tram while we revolve around her.

We then went to Mexican dinner. Grandpa and Linda had my favorite restaurant in the world, Las Casuelas Terraza, sing me happy birthday while bringing me flan with a candle in it. And I wore my 'Luau' anthro dress. sigh. What a wonderful birthday.


Did I mention that my margarita was the size of a fishbowl??