June

Um somehow we're already HALF WAY THROUGH 2017???????? I feel like I've accomplished so little yet so much. What kind of dichotomy is that?!

A quick recap of my 2017 goals and my "progress":

8 hours of sleep // I don't know. This always fluctuates. I'm getting better. Sort of. 

Minimize // PURGE PART 3 has commenced. I'm attempting to figure out where to sell some clothes other than the U District consignment stores. If you have recommendations please send them my way. 

Quality content for this blog // In my personal opinion, this has improved significantly. I'm happy that I'm starting to write more instead of fill the space with a bunch of pictures. On the picture front, I'd like to get to the point where I only post high quality photos from my DSLR, but the iPhone still takes great photos and is convenient. 

Monthly budgets // This needs to happen ASAP and it just hasn't. Adulthood is here, and money is unfortunately the thing that makes this world go round. *eye roll* 

Explore career options // Ugh. I've been so caught up in other aspects of life, this important item is not even on the back-burner anymore, it's probably on the countertop. This has got to be a priority for the next 6 months. 

Attend a music festival // I'm planning on going to Capitol Hill Block Party next month! I might even try to go to Bumbershoot! Who knows! Why am I using so many exclamation marks?! I don't know!

June was defined by attempts in adulting. I'm beginning to have those tough conversations with myself. Things like how much can I ACTUALLY afford as far as housing situations go. Realizations like "wow the minimum wage sucks" or "what?! To ride the bus is $2.75!!!!! That's $5.50 in a day; that's almost $30 in a week...I'M NOT MADE OF THAT MUCH MONEY" or "wow I have the most unprofessional wardrobe". As I write this, my three day old laundry is still sitting in the dryer making itself at home.

On the flip side, June was action packed and way too much fun.

I had my last final of my undergraduate career on June 1st. Crazy. Aaron and I celebrated with ice cream. I made a little extra money in preparation for post-grad life, while organizing my life before family came into town for graduation. In that time I squeezed in some senior photos and was able to attend some friend's departmental graduations like the Psychology for Anna and Aaron. 

Went out for happy hour here and there because I no longer had homework eating up my afternoon. I even jumped into Drumheller Fountain with Soleil and Sharon, which I never thought I'd actually do. Popped down the Ave for one last wells Wednesday. I made like five trips down to the airport to pick the fam up and managed to snap some pictures for Soleil. 

There was my departmental Biology graduation, the massive UW commencement aka the four hour ordeal, in addition to hella eating and marking off some rad restaurants I'd been craving to try. We hosted a brief graduation party at our house, then I hopped on a plane to LA to "help" Gina move (I didn't help much). In LA, we bopped around, hitting the Museum of Ice Cream, iconic LA food spots, and the rad 14th Factory art installation. 

We almost missed our flight to Colorado, but we miraculously made it, and the four of use were reunited (after less than week apart hahaha). Home in Colorado was simply going to all of our favorite spots as well as watching an unhealthy amount of Law & Order SVU. 

Once back in Seattle, I worked every single day preparation for the MarketFront expansion Grand Opening. In that time, I got to go up to the large Pike Place Market sign and take promotional photos for La Colombe coffee and was received barista training. Ya girl can now a pull a mean espresso shot and make some awesome cappuccinos and lattes. On my day off, I went to Mt. Rainier National Park with Hunter and attempted to hike, but apparently there was still way too much snow. A few days later was the Grand Opening which was absolute MAYHEM but exciting and fun. It was super neat to be apart of Seattle history. The next day, we regrouped for a work meeting at Salty's on Alki which later turned into a team IKEA run where we had two of the $1 ice creams. 

I went to Gas Works Park AT LEAST seven times to watch the sunset and made dinner on numerous occasions with friends. It was a SOLID June. 

What I'm finding is that it's hard to stay on top of things without a defined schedule like school. With this in mind, it's difficult to set this sort of schedule with new found freedom. I think it will come with time. From a knowledge/education standpoint, I'm already starting to feel the degradation of my intellect. I feel stagnant - no longer sharp. Taking a break was necessary, but I need to kickstart scientific paper reading, otherwise my brain will become stale. 

Working life has been dynamic, especially with all the changes we've been going through. Once the summer is over, this will calm down a bit, but I absolutely love getting to work with new people, getting to know our ever-growing team, and collaborating with different perspectives. 

Over here on the blog...there's more content to come! I have like eight posts I had planned to post sometime between February and May that obviously didn't happen. Keep popping over here to see what I've been up to! Who knows, maybe I'll even do a redesign now that I'm learning to code!

This is an exciting time and I'm trying to squeeze it all in and keep it in balance. Thanks for a great June!