The New Life

Well I've been pretty busy as you can imagine. Working, living, laundry, groceries, trying to stay active. My body is tired, my hands and arms covered in scratches, and my knee is swollen...

However. I am the happiest I've been in years. I love the work I've been doing, and have been doing it well. Living in a hotel isn't as bad as one might think, the view is great, the pool is always warm, and my bed is double the size. I run almost everyday, been walking up to eight miles a night, and work keeps my mind from wandering, as well as supports a healthier body with the physical movement. I don't have to deal with customers, stand all day at a register, or drive sixty miles a day to and from work...

I feel at last, a balance

We were let off early a few days ago, so Kevin and I decided to go for a hike. I took a suggestion from a local I work with, to head to South Mountain. Only roughly fifteen minutes out, we packed what little gear we had, picked up some water, and headed out. Having only been to mountains a few times in my life,  it was amazing to be standing at the base of one. Anxiously, I packed up my camera gear ( the bare necessities anyway...), and started up the beaten path. As I'm not one for working out or running, I was glad to say I had started again previously in the week, for climbing up the mountain was quite exhausting. But boy was it worth it.

The weather was perfect, sunny with clouds, the temperature was in the mid seventies. The mountain was unoccupied, sounds from all over reverberated around us, and we had at least four hours to climb. We watched the last rays of sunlight pass over Phoenix, hills covered and uncovered with shadows from the passing clouds, and thousands of houses,businesses, and people miniaturized before our eyes. One of the best parts of the climb, was getting into this valley, and having what looked like falcons, fly overhead and swooping down the mountain in front of us. What made such a simple event so incredible, was the fact that we had reached a point where the sound from the cities was blocked by the mountain, so when the birds flew overhead, we heard nothing but the sound of wind created by their wings... After taking in as much as would could for the day, we headed back down the mountain, just in time to catch the sun setting.

I still don't feel like I've come down from the mountains... The feeling reminds me of this Chinese proverb.

"If I am dreaming, let me never awake, if I am awake, let me never sleep."

In other news, we've found out the next store location we're going to be working. Wenatchee, Washington, sits around three hours from Seattle, nestled between a river and a mountain. We've booked our hotel, and should be arriving there some time on Monday night. I'm excited to see another thirteen hundred miles of land I've never crossed before. Not to mention, I guess according to my TomTom, we'll have to pass Las Vegas, Nevada... Life is rough ;).

Anyway, I hope all is well with those of you back home. Until we meet again, enjoy the pictures, and the blog. Don't forget, you can reach me through phone, text, twitter, facebook, email... Look for another update soon!