Ok so I took a little break from writing. It’s really not that big of a deal, so please. Calm down.
Seeing as it’s been 6 years since my last post and since then I’ve moved across the country to Seattle, I realize there’s a lot to catch up on. I didn’t even finish writing about my time in Spain LOL. Well, sometimes, bullet points just have to be enough.
- I have fond memories of my time in Spain. My Spanish ended up at level B2 (4/6 proficiency level) and has absolutely deteriorated since then. When I was there, I read a novel in Spanish and read another 2 once I got back home. By the end of my time there, I still struggled with listening comprehension. Definitely the most challenging aspect of learning the language for me.
- I went on a few different daytrips: Seville (my favorite – I loved the vibe, the heat, the architecture), Malaga, San Sebastian, Valencia, and Toledo. I had a great time on each trip and took most of them with my friend Katherine. We had good times together and I loved having her as a friend and travel buddy there, but have not kept in touch. I should reach out- I wonder how she’s doing…
- I have a couple of friends I made there that I’ll chat with from time to time – Maria and Alex, both whom I met at language exchange events at bars. Maria is a Chemical Engineer and Alex is an archeologist! Funny enough, Alex invited me to go live with her and her bf if ol’ Pumpkinhead ended up winning the 2020 election. A true friend.
- Things I miss:
- The cheap food! There was a sandwich chain called 100 Montaditos that did specials on Wednesdays. I think it was 3 euros for a sandwich and a caña (a half-pint of beer)
- Cañas. Honestly I never need a full beer. Serving sizes in the US have always felt too big for me. So having mini-beers made me feel seen.
- The freedom. Let’s be real, all I had to do was hang out with these 2 adorable little girls and talk with them in English for a couple hours a day during the week. Plus I had to clean the apartment weekly. Aside from that, my time belonged to me. It was magical.
- The challenge of being immersed in a different language. Navigating and getting those small communication wins.
- After returning to the US, I stayed with my parents for a few months. I had quit my job, so I was searching for my next opportunity.
- Personal-life wise, Tyler and I had broken up before I left for Spain and decided to get back together while I was there. He was wrapping up grad school in Indiana.
- After 3 months of fruitless job searching, I was extremely grateful to my former boss for calling me up and asking me to go back to Newell (the company I’d left) for a contract.
- Moved back to Charlotte, ended up actually finding a really cool roommate on Craigslist (his name was Reuben and he was hardly ever home, but when he was, we got along and he was super chill and easy to talk to)
- I stayed in CLT for a year I guess – maybe a little longer? I mostly remember taking Watson to the dog park that was just a 10-15min walk down the trail that was right by my apt, going for walks around the cemetery, going to HIIT classes at the YMCA, and in true Charlotte fashion, going to breweries with friends.
- In January 2018, Tyler went to study abroad in Australia, so we took advantage and made a trip out of it. I flew to meet him in Queenstown, NZ and we spent a couple of weeks traveling this circuit: Queenstown, NZ – Auckland, NZ – Airlie Beach, Australia – Brisbane, Australia – Cairns, Australia – Bali, Indonesia – Bangkok, Thailand. This trip deserves a blog post of its own which I will maybe get to one day, but that’s not my focus right now so I’ll put it on my mental to-do list.
- Tyler got a job in Seattle and I was like dope let’s go! So I drove from CLT to Chicago to pick him up then we drove to Seattle. There was a lot more logistically to the journey bc we had to pick out an apt and all that, but that’s the short story. I remember being excited and nervous.
- Moved to Seattle in June 2018 and loved it. I was again, job searching. Clueless about exactly what I wanted to do. I started dabbling with start-up ideas, started a Udemy course learning Web Development (check out my website lol), and did a couple of hackathons. At one hackathon, I met some really great people and formed friendships, one of which I still have and really cherish. For money, I ended up getting a job at a place called Urban Float – one of those sensory deprivation tank spa places. It was pretty cool. I liked the people I worked with and the work was interesting enough. A blend of customer service, cleaning, and chemistry management of the tanks. The commute was a 2 min walk from our place which was probably my favorite part. The place was on Shark Tank and we had a viewing party one night. That was pretty cool, but I wasn’t a fan of the management. They weren’t very involved and the one time they came in, they didn’t even look at or talk to me. I think they ended up going under…
- I was also walking dogs through Rover at the time. It was a great way to earn a little money and get to know the city, just walking dogs around different areas.
- While I was working at Urban Float, I was continuing to pursue web development, applying for jobs and networking. I ended up getting a job at a consulting firm in Bellevue just east of Seattle that I’d coincidentally applied to work at 4 years prior! The team was great and I was assigned to a project at Starbucks HQ. I remember taking the bus to the office and the lightrail home, trying to look professional (even though I look back at my badge photo and I’m like what on Earth was I thinking…), being cold in the office all day, and drinking a lot of tea. The project I was on did not strike inspiration in my heart, but I liked the people I was working with and it felt good getting things done.
- A few weeks into my gig with Starbucks, I got an interview for a job with Facebook Reality Labs that I was SO EXCITED about. It was a research role, developing polymer films for the AR/VR division of the company. I’d been wanting to get into a research environment for years, so I was ecstatic just to get the interview. I remember getting the call that I got the job while I was sitting at my desk at Starbucks and I rushed straight to the bathroom to make happy faces and try to stifle my screams of joy. I was. Words don’t do it justice. SO. HAPPY. I probably cried. It was really difficult resigning from a job that I had only just started a few weeks before and with a firm that I’d had my heart set on for years, but everyone- even the client was like yeah Janee that job sounds way cooler, def go do that and don’t feel bad about leaving.
- Started working at FRL in May 2019. Being in a research environment was/ is really really awesome. I’m not sitting at a desk all day. I’m in a chemistry lab. I have my own fume hood, manage and order my own materials when needed, work with Research Scientists, run experiments, characterize materials, and make things. I’m constantly learning new things about chemistry and optics. Science is cool, bro. Idc what anyone says.
- Tyler and I decided to break up a couple of months before we were stuck at home from covid. He was doing consulting with EY, so constantly on the road. Our relationship felt disconnected. I felt alone and didn’t want to feel that way anymore. It’s funny because after deciding to break up, we were forced to spend more time together than ever because we were stuck at home because of the pandemic. That dude was my best friend, but we were not soul mates. Eventually we moved out and I got my own place, an apartment that I absolutely adore. I don’t share this broadly because I don’t like to brag, but I have a spectacular view of the city, the sound, the mountains and Lake Union. My plants are absolutely thriving here and so am I. I love this place and I’m thankful every day that I get to live here.
- Over the past couple of years living here, I’ve taken up different hobbies because I can not stick with one activity for long.
- I was taking acting classes and have worked on a few projects – I was in a couple of scenes of a feature film directed by this AMAZING writer/ director/ actress/ Engineer, Kasandra Price. I was in a national ad for Rover with Watson (my dog). I don’t talk to people about these things LOL but this is my blog and I’m summarizing my life, so I need to get over my need to not talk about myself.
- I’ve also continued to obsess over and care for my houseplants. I’ve considered making Youtube videos about plant care. Maybe in the future if I’m not too lazy I’ll at least share some glow-up photos of some of my plants.
- My houseplant obsession evolved into an interest in agriculture because whatttt you can grow AND EAT some plants???? LOL so I started volunteering at Beacon Food Forest where many volunteers are working hard to maintain this beautiful collection of plants that community members can come and harvest. I love the place so much. I even joined the Board of Directors!
- I got super into fitness and I must say I was probably in the best shape of my life this Spring. Unfortunately, I sprained my wrist in March and that slowed me down a lot. If anyone wants to get in really good shape for free, seriously, download the Nike Training Club (NTC) app and do Kirsty Godso’s Burn program. It’s all free and the workouts are body-weight only. No equipment needed. No excuses, just results (that’s a callback for my day 1s LOL). I’m starting to get back into the workouts. My wrist is taking forever to heal, so I’m just doing the workouts with modified moves.
- Different ideas and interests cross my mind and I become temporarily obsessed with fun little maker projects. Nothing notable to share yet.
- I’ve continued to lightly practice piano. I go through periods of very consistent practice, but I’ve recently fallen off since returning from my last trip earlier this week, which FINALLY brings me to my reason for returning to the blog to write. This blog is called Janee travels so guess what Janee just did? Stay tuned for more details!
I know this is a lazy ending, but I don’t want to sit here and try to come up with a clever closing statement. I’d honestly like to just go ahead and type up my next post now while I’m writing otherwise I may not get to it for another 6 years so LOL so see you in the next post!