This is what it looks like when you are getting on the West Seattle Bridge. It's hard to see, but that's the skyline off in the distance. When you get a little further down the road, you have a nice view of the Sound and the mountains.
It's about a 7 mile commute from West Seattle to downtown, but it can take a long time because of traffic congestion. Also, according to some guy at work, driving from West Seattle to downtown is really, really dangerous. To be fair, however, when things are screwed up traffic-wise in Seattle, they are a smidge worse because you already have the Puget Sound and a couple of big lakes to contend with. And hey, look, my first day of work I took the bus. The bus got into an accident on the West Seattle Bridge (some guy hit the bus - yeah, he HIT the BUS), and this morning there were two accidents: one was with a motorcyclist in critical condition (having a way worse day than any of us sitting in gridlock) and a separate incident involving a woman who went into labor (seriously).
Overall, though, driving isn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The hills are scary and I still want nothing to do with them, but I've been able to navigate around them for the most part. Otherwise, the drivers on the road are courteous, even if it is to a fault.
But enough about the commute.
This is the view from my office downtown. It poured down rain yesterday so the picture isn't fabulous, but you get the idea. For all of my MDK folks, the walls go all the way to the ceiling and I can shut the door. I forgot about walls and how nice they can be!! The job is going well, I think, but it's crazy busy. I have been given supervising responsibility over a couple of attorneys and also a caseload. Somewhere between figuring out the phone system, navigating the parking garage (which is absurdly laid out) and finding the bathroom, I need to learn Washington's state and local rules and the law. Whew. I've been mentally exhausted these last two days. I think I'm supposed to help these attorneys find their way as well. At the very least it should be interesting. What is it I always say? On a new job it takes 6 weeks to get acclimated and 6 months to own it. Okay. Let the countdown begin.
Probably the oddest thing that happened so far this week is that I couldn't get out of the garage tonight. I don't have a key card yet, and I was leaving after it closed, so I had to call security to let me out. The guy from security took one look at my car and said, "You're from Ohio?" As it turns out, he's not only from C-bus, he's from Galloway. That's spittin' distance from our house! He gave me a hearty "Go Bucks!" when he let me out of the garage. What are the odds??
This picture is the kitchen in our new house. Yep, I found us a place out here in West Seattle (where the commuting is very, very dangerous). It's a townhouse and we can see the Sound from the balcony. I'll have more pictures of that later. I probably can't really move in until Shawn and Lorelei get here, but I take possession on Thursday. It can literally be never-ending looking for a place to live in West Seattle because all of the houses are different and the rental market is wide open. I looked at other townhouses, but they were too narrow. I looked at free-standing houses, but most of those were really dated. I don't mind a fixer-upper, but I'd prefer not to rent one. This place should do just fine.
I'm afraid Shawn is going to get here and say, "what were you thinking??" I basically decided this was the right place because of the kitchen. It has plenty of cabinet space, a dishwasher, and most importantly, a gas range. I might be a little obsessed with the kitchen.
Now I just need to finalize the paperwork on the townhouse and wait for Shawn and Lorelei. We'll give West Seattle a whirl and see what happens. As for that dangerous commute, well, I guess I need a challenge.
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