Song of the Summer

My roommate Megan is one cool gal. And among other things, she has amazing taste in music. One Saturday we were getting ready for a barbecue and she created a Foster the People station on last.fm (if you haven't heard of last.fm, you've got to check it out!).

Ever since that day, I've been hearing them everywhere.

 And I'm kinda in love.

Here's my favorite song of the summer: Pumped up Kicks.



Here's to summer and all its awesomeness!

Letters from Taiwan

I received such a pleasant surprise in the mail last week--an actual piece of mail. And from Taiwan at that! I've been home from Taiwan for a little over a year and a half, and had thought my students had all but forgotten me. But to my delight, they definitely haven't!

Madline (on the right) was in my fifth grade class that I had twice. She is now in Junior High, which is super intense (I'm so glad I went to school in the States. It's pretty cut-throat from what she tells me). A couple of other students from that class have added me as friends on Facebook (Frank and Nancy (on the left)), and it's been so nice to keep in touch with them all--to know how life is treating them after Berhan.

I think I probably drive people crazy with how much I still talk about my time in Taiwan (I really do--just ask any of my friends). It doesn't help that I know I can get cute Asian stationary and a place in Seattle that makes dong gwa milks. I would move back in a heart beat if I didn't know that I need to stay in the States for a while. But I do hope I get to visit sometime in the next couple of years...right after I go back to the Czech Republic!

I guess I can satisfy myself with the fact that Madline is still writing her pen-pal that I set her up with, and that they've become great friends. One of the things I really wanted for my students.

This is just another reminder that my heart is in teaching, and that I need seriously focus on grad programs and Teach for America!

Wo ai Taiwan!

All kinds of random...

Sometimes I wish life weren't so complicated. Just when you think everything is peachy-keen, something else gets thrown into the mix. I've been mulling over something to the point that I've almost given myself a headache. Perhaps I should just stop thinking. Or just stop thinking about that one thing.

Anyhow, life is great; life is wonderful.

I have finally landed a job, albeit a temporary one. But income is income, right? And the people seem really nice! That's the most important thing. And it's normal hours, and it's only 15 minutes from my house. Pretty awesome, huh?

Seattle was gorgeous yesterday as my friends and I did a whirlwind tour. My favorite stop of the day? Hands down the Olympic Sculpture Garden. A-maz-ing. Part of the park was sectioned off for a wedding, which ended up not being that big of deal--we still got to see everything. And I found out that they have three similar/the exact same sculptures as the National Sculpture Garden in DC. And I also had the realization that I love sculpture. Perhaps more than media on canvas. Calder anyone?

Now I'm just rambling. But I think it's been good for me to ramble along. I apologize to you though.

You know what else? I get highly peeved when people do not return texts, especially when highly important information is being relayed. Irritating, huh? But perhaps I should be better about returning my own texts. Now that IS something I should apologize for.

You know what else? The Amelie soundtrack is perfect to calm and sooth oneself. And it's French, which equals interesting. Here is one of my favorite songs from the film for your enjoyment:



Hope ya'll had a great weekend! I can't believe tomorrow is Monday already!

All I want right now...

...is lemonade.

Seriously. 

When the weather gets toasty (or above 60 degrees with the case of Seattle), I crave this citrus-y delight. It's so refreshing, and always quenches my thirst. At the amazingly beautiful 4th of July party I attended, they were serving an amazing mint lemonade, and I've been slightly addicted ever since. I found this recipe at marthastewart.com and have been meaning to try it out. Perhaps I will today. But I wanted to share it just in case you wanted to try it out too.

Mint Lemonade Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

4 1/2 cups water

3 1/3 cups fresh lemon juice (about 8 lemons)

1/4 cup julienned mint, plus leaves for garnish (this is Martha Stewart after all)

Directions

1. Combine sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Let stand until completely cool. 

2. In a 2 1/2-quart pitcher, stir remaining 4 cups water, the syrup, lemon juice and mint. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

I guess you could use lemonade from concentrate and add the mint. In any case, it was delicious!

Do you have any favorite lemonade flavors or recipes?

The Haps

So much for keeping up on my blog. And there have been some pretty awesome things of late. I have to say that I love living in the Seattle area. It suits me. Yesterday, I was out golfing with my mom and grandpa and it was absolutely gorgeous! And hot. I love breathing in the clean, sweet, woodsy air--it reminds me of my childhood summers of picking blackberries and huckleberries. And you better believe I'll be all over that this summer, if it ever gets warm enough for the berries to ripen.

 For some inexplicable reason, Washington State is not experiencing the horrors of the Midwest and East Coast. For that I am grateful. If I were in DC at the moment, you better believe I'd be a wilted with absolutely no energy. Me + humidity = death. It's amazing that I was able to live and function and actually do anything active (running and biking) in Taiwan. I think I was blessed for that space of time. 

Still nothing much on the job front, but I hope I find something soon! But I manage to keep myself busy. I have a couple of friends that introduced me to a sorta ghetto karaoke bar in Bellevue, and not it's a weekly event. I look forward to my Thursday nights. It's funny. The bar tenders and the DJ know us as the group that doesn't drink, which is cool. Everyone is so friendly there. This past Thursday we had 7 of us there. If you've never done karaoke, you definitely need to. It's such an adrenaline rush! I think my favorite performance of the night was Matthew singing "Soul Meets Body." He definitely worked that stage! 

It's also been super fun to connect with one of my college buddies! 

Sarah and I have know each other since living on the same floor in Taylor Hall our freshman year at BYU. It's been awesome hanging out with her. The picture above was taken after a fun filled Fourth of July on Bainbridge Island. I bit worn out, but very enthused for the ferry ride home. And yes, she's wearing a Tron jacket. 

That's about it for now. Here's to life!

What you know

Happy weekend! It's hard to believe that another weekend is already here. Not that I'm complaining. My Fourth of July was fabulous. I'll write more on that later.

It's been a week full of  friends and introductions to new music--or I should say, new to me music. I've known Two Door Cinema Club, but haven't listened to them on a regular basis. It's the recent favorite band of a good friend of mine (and ironically enough, he looks like the lead singer), and this song has been stuck in my head all week. Good thing it's a good one!

Please enjoy!

Life as of now

Hi all!

Yes, I know it's been over a month since I last wrote. Shame on me. But I've noticed that as I go through transitions it's hard for me to find the time to right about them. Though, it's probably the time I need to write the most. Though it's hard to write when not a ton of positive and interesting things are going on, like a new job or an exciting love life.

I was talking to my one of my best friends, Maggie, the other day, and she told me that I should just be honest with how I feel--that it doesn't matter if everything is going peachy. So this is my attempt at describing my life, since my cross-country move.

Don't get me wrong--I'm so glad I was able to move back to Seattle.

• I love being able to go to my parents' house on Sunday evenings for dinner, or anytime I want to see them.
• I love being able to hang out with my sister and have FUN! 
• I love being able to see old friends from high school.
• I love living near my group of good friends out here. 
• I love being able to see water every day, whether it's Lake Washington or Lake Sammamish.
• I love the house I'm living in, and my awesome roommates. 
• I love the beauty of Washington State. It takes my breath away. The skies are so dramatic, it makes me want to take up painting!
• I love my old school Volvo.
• I love that I have several options for hiking, boating, biking, etc. 

Yet,

• I don't love the health problems I've been having that have completely drained my energy.
• I don't love the smell of the antibiotics I've been prescribed.
• I don't love not having a full-time job.
• I don't love not being able to see my DC friends. 

But I'm lucky that I've been able to have a temp job, and that I have a lot of people helping me look for work. It's nice knowing that I have a humongous support group here!

And really, even though life isn't terribly stable, life is pretty great for the time being.