She's alive...SHE'S ALIVE!

Moses, Abraham and...Joseph?  (Does that fly? I'm trying to do the Jew version of Jesus, Mary and Joseph...I'll work on that)  Anyway it's only what?  A month to the day since I last posted?  My impeccable powers of keeping in touch with loved ones strikes again (*insert eye roll here*).

Before I continue let me first just wish you all a happy belated:

Fourth of July!

Canada Day!

Bastille Day!

And what ever other obscure national and international holidays I may of omitted.  But moving on.

For me, the last couple of week have actually been filled with productivity because I'm employed, and it only took a month and a half!  My first day of work started July 7th at Fado's Irish Pub and Restaurant in downtown Seattle.  Some of you may have heard or even eaten/drank at such an establishment because it is a part of a family of pubs (all called Fado's) owned by the Irish Pub Company (Go to the website, it explains it all there).

I'm working as a waitress (though I believe "server" is the p.c. term), primarily during lunch and dinner hours and on the occasion having some of my shifts bleeding into the drinking crowd later at night.  But as I am only two-three weeks on the job and therefore still learning the ropes (Sometime in the near but hopefully distant future I'm going to have a series of tests/quizzes on the brand of alcohol carried in the bar and the items and the way they are prepared on the menu), I won't be dealing with that crowd until I have more experience under my belt.  

It's hard work but rewarding (i.e. good tips and a free pint of beer at the end of each shift...WAHOO) and the clientele are a pretty reasonable bunch.  The clientele happens to be mid to late twenties and up, so no drunken frat boys to deal with (Though I did serve a table of men in there forties who acted remarkably similar).  My co-workers have also been a GODSEND being very helpful and patient with me while I learn the ropes.

Otherwise I have:

-Celebrated the birth of our nation with a BBQ with my housemates and friends of a housemate.

Housemates L-R: Ellen, Luca, Yours Truly, Aaron (Darron, the elusive 5th mate not pictured)

-Seen to my queasy dismay "Mama Mia!" 

-Seen to my great excitement "The Dark Knight" 

-Spent my down time being a complete bum, lounging around and reading (Sherlock Holmes as of right now)

-Playing soccer when I can (the Sounders unfortunately only meet two days a week)

-And been trying to figure out what on earth I'm going to be doing with my self this next year (nothing definitive as of yet)

Hope all is well on both sides of the country!

Missing you all and much love,

~Abby~

Fan Girl SQUEE!

It's events, such as what happened this evening that make me so happy that I have a blog so the I can say things like, "This is SO going in my blog!" (Name that TV reference anyone for a virtual high-five).

Let me give a little background information first off:

There are those that follow the Yankees or Red Sox, the NFL, or even golf as though their lives depended on it.  The closest thing I have to that is my following of the US Women's National Team (WNT).  I'm on the US Soccer website two-six times a day checking for team updates.  Thus, as one might imagine, I'm fairly familiar with the players and their names.

Second, as readers of my blog and corespondents of Karen Lou know I am training with the W-league team the Seattle Sounders.  This team is part of an organization called United Soccer Leagues (USL) that has men's and women's teams across the country ranging from the Super-Y league (which governs teams U-19 and down, I think), to the U-20 League, to the Premire Development League (PDL), to the W-League.

The divisions like the U-20s and W-League are structured so that players who are still in school (i.e. College) can play with other quality players at a competetive level without losing his or her NCAA eligability.  Yes, ones NCAA eligability can be lost through sponsorships given to an athlete or payment for their sporting skills.  So, for example all the college enlisted athletes competing in the olympics this August are getting paid zilch for their efforts.

However, in regards to my affiliation with the Sounders the key-word  mentioned earlier is training, because I can not see how at any point in the near future that I will make the roaster so that I might have a chance of seeing game time.  This is by no means a put down of my abilities.  I know that I am a good keeper, but I can safely say that the starting keeper for the Sounders, a member of the U-23 Women's National Team, is better.

Yep.  The two goalies who I've been training with since I started going to these training sessions, who are also ridiculously good, are not even the starter.  I think the starting goalie has been off at some national team training camp and has not been able to show up, the slacker.

That being said, the way the roster is picked for each game is that in addition to the 18+ women that got recruited to play with the Sounders personally by the Coach, additional players are picked from the group of 23-30 players who perform well in training sessions.  

Needless to say I have not been picked.  So while I would not be joining the team on the bench during tonight's game, having never seen the Sounders play before (They have been on the road since I arrived in Seattle), I did decide to attend the game as a fan.

So this W-league features some of the best women soccer players in US and sometimes internationally (Example: a couple Brazilian players from the team that beat the WNT this past world cup are playing for a NY team, and Christine Sinclair of Canada is player in the league as well).  And in tonight's match of the Seattle Sounders vs Pali Blue of LA featured India Trotter and Denisha Adams.  Both of whom play on the U-23 national team but also have a couple of CAPs from the full national team, and oh yeah, both are no older than 22.   

But I digress...again.  My point being that as I was in the bleachers of the stadium playing with my phone at the end of the game, I glance up and do a double take because I realized that Stephanie Cox, a defender on the WNT, is all but three risers below me.

Being the uber fangirl and creeper that I am, I turned my already opened phone on to the camera option, and snap off a few shots.

  

Not satisfied with my paparazzi-esq antics, when she and her husband made their way down the bleachers to leave the stadium (and incidentally to meet up with Trotter and Adams, both of whom Cox came to see play), I chased her down and congratulated her on her and the WNT's victory in the Peace Queen Cup in North Korea, about a week ago.  

I may have sounded half crazed and flustered, while she had and worried looking smile on her face when I knew who she was and she didn't have a damn clue who I was, but it was SO AWESOME.

Stay classy friends and family!

Cheers

~Abby~

Our house is a very, very, very fine house.

As I have lots and lots of free time on my hands (Still unemployed) I have taken it upon myself to play around with my blog options and thus I give you all a picture edition update.

All the slideshow shows is the general layout of my Seattle abode minus the roommate's rooms and the roommates themselves (That will be in a subsequent post no doubt).  But for now enjoy!

Cheers and Love,

~Abby~

Partly cloudy with rain

So you know all that hullabaloo people make about how it tends to rain some in Seattle?  Well they're abso-FREAKING-lutely right.  It's like everything deemed within the greater boundaries that make up Seattle create some weird vortex sucking all the precipitation that would otherwise go to surrounding areas into the Seattle City limits.  

Take for example Tuesday of this week.  In preparation to go the my soccer practice that evening I had put on enough outer layers to look like Nanook of the North, because there is torrential rain and winds at my house (i.e. within the boundaries of the greater Seattle area).  But I've played soccer in New England so I figure no problem I can deal with playing in this.  Driving however was a whole 'nother story.

For those who don't know (which is really everyone) the complex where the Seattle Sounders hold their practices is this great little complex called the Starfire Complex.  There's a clubhouse/food court area for people (players/coaches/parents of players) to sit around eat and watch soccer, there's at least 6 turf fields and a stadium where home games are held, which seats 400+ people.  Really just a great facility for a city/state who has soccer as one of it's top three favorite sports to watch/play.  The downside, however, is it's about a 20-30 minute drive down I-5 South, the main through-fare to get in and out of Seattle (therefore always congested).  And in the midst of a downpour it's quite nerve racking to drive in when I'm skirting down the highway at 45 mph, with very limited visibility and EVERYONE else is charging past me at 60-65 mph because pssht, that weather was "child's play."

Of course to make things worse as soon as I left those blasted Seattle city limits, low and behold there is not a drop of rain to be had, just some wind and overcast.  Making my many MANY extra layers (including a plastic bag of dry sweats I had intended to leave in the car that I could change into after) completely useless.

So while it's been raining for three days straight, in other news that does not include the weather...ehhh nothing much.  Still on the job hunt and trying to get a feel for the area where I live (the U-District) and eventually downtown Seattle.  In fact that's the project for this afternoon: to get lost on the Seattle bus system (again), to head downtown and get lost there (again).  Here's hoping I'll make it to my practice tonight. 

Virtual high-5s to those who left comments ;)

Love to all.

Cheers,

~Abby~ 

PS I'll try to get some pictures up of my road trip, roommates, house etc but to may take a bit before I figure it out.

~AEI~

Here we go...

A few things for those who may or not know:

1. I don't do languages, let alone Latin.  So if my blog title is grammatically incorrect DEAL WITH IT.   Which leads me to my next point
2. I've never "blogged" before (JBK's class does not count Jess and Jessie) so bear with me as I try to get the hang of this technological tool.
3. I am a HORRIBLE pen pal/replier of emails and letters (as my grandparents and cousins know all to well).  So while I still be checking my email (AIsaac1of4@gmail preferably or the Wheaton one if you must) I'm going to try the whole blog thing to try and keep in touch with family and friends in bulk.  Basically, still don't expect frequent updates be it via blog of email

Those points being said hi and hello from Seattle, Washington!  Let me give you the short(ish) run down of what is/will be/might be going on in my life this summer.

For those who don't know I have decided to take a leave of absence from Wheaton.  It really just comes down to me being burnt out on school.  I know some of you may be thinking "Well gee that's swell, Abs!  But why are you going into the swill and cespoll of liberal America (aka the West Coast) to fester, er live?"  *coughDORNETTEYScoughcoughRANDY*

Well since you asked...before I even decided to take this leave of absence from school I had plans to intern as a techie for a theater company based out of Seattle and play for a soccer team in the area.  However, the intern position ended up getting cancelled .  So while I had no job prospects or definitive living arrangements, I had the soccer-thing going for me, which was light-years ahead of any plans I had for being in New York for the summer (which was zero by the way).  Thus, I decided to stick with my original plan and on the 17th of May in the middle of New York rush hour no less I started my drive cross-country (Yes. By myself) to Seattle.

For the most part I followed Rt 80 west, stopping in PA, IL, NE, WY, UT and OR before arriving in Seattle on the 25th.  Points of interest for those who want to embark on a similar journey might I recommend Springfield, IL (Adulthood home of our 16th president Abraham Lincoln), Dinosaur National Monument (a splendid place to stretch ones legs after driving for four hours straight), or perhaps Lost Springs, WY: famous for it's astonishing population of one (I can't say that I made that detour but I was SORELY tempted let me tell you!).

I also must recommend a stop in Portland, Oregon not only to see a very cool and fun city but to also spend time with the fabulous Katelyn Brack for those who know her (Heads up WSOers).  She gives a great tour, so pack your bags Erin, Stacey, others and hit the road!

On arriving in Seattle late on Saturday evening, I packed it in early to meet up with the most awesome Katie Watson on Sunday where she gave me my first taste of Seattle: Folklife 2008.  Basically Folklife is a BIG hippie convention with amazing food , venders and equally amazing people watching.

Since then I have finally figured out a place to live (Just north of the U-District for those who love maps, Dad), moved in, met three of my four roommates, participated in one practice with the Seattle Sounders (the soccer team I mentioned earlier), and I'm still unemployed.

And with that I will bid ya'll good day and goodbye, until next time (whenever that maybe).

Leave a comment if you feel compelled to comment on my goings-on, drop me an email with the name and address of the friend or relation that you want to see this (and hopefully future postings) as I'm making this a limited view blog, and have a fabulous day overall.

Cheers and Love,

~Abby~