well...it looks like i'll be moving to seattle sometime at the beginning of next year.

i've been bouncing the idea around for a few weeks now, and i told all of my friends here this weekend. today i talked to my mom about it, and really just explained what i want to do and what my plan is(I HAVE A PLAN!!!! OH MY GOD! I HAVE A PLAN!!!), and she was very receptive. she understands completely why i don't want to be here anymore, and she's really supportive.

her one problem?

"well, just as long as you're ok with earthquakes that might signify that volcano errupting."

i just had to laugh.

but...yeah. what i want to do is find an internship. from the searching i've done so far, i haven't come up with much. but i've just scratched the surface. i'm going to set up an appointment tomorrow with my advisor so i can 1.) figure out what shape i'll be in this semester as far as school goes. and 2.) figure out where i need to go and who i need to talk to to get help with this whole internship thing.

if i can't find an internship, i'm going to be looking for a job in "my field." i want some kind of social service job, so that i can figure out just how far i want to take this whole sociology thing. i love the classes i'm taking, and while i know i'd excel in some kind of counseling type job, i want to know whether that's what i want to do with my life. the only way to do that is to get experience.

word.

as for school...it looks like i'll be taking some time off. some serious time. at least one semester, possibly more. my plan right now is to go to seattle until june or so, at which time i want to come back here, and live with my mom for the summer. save money, get my thoughts in order. after that, i'll either go back to seattle and begin the long process of establishing residency so that i can go back to school. or i'll move elsewhere - most likely virginia. get my footing there, and then find a school after i establish residency.

you know...i go through this pretty much every fall. where i'm determined to transfer, and then i just never do anything about it. but i'm really excited about this. i think i can do it, and i know it'd be good for me. i'm so damned restless here all the time. i love the people, but the location is driving me nuts. i like school, but i know i'd get so much more out of it if i was somewhere that i really wanted to be. because right now i sit in class and think about where i can go...the kinds of people i could be meeting, and the kind of experiences i could be having.

i've just been here too long.

so why seattle, you might ask?

well, there are 3 places i've visited recently that i decided i definitely wanted to live. seattle is one of them. i'm just in love with it. i'm in love with the scenery, the opportunity and how much it has to offer culturally. musicians actually go put on concerts and stuff there. wow. what a concept. the general vibe is just one i find very appealing. i've got this permanent image in my head of driving over the narrows bridge at sunset...and no matter who was in the car with me, it just felt right. i do want to move back east, but i think i need a place closer to home first, just to see how i'll do. so i'll get the whole living-in-seattle thing out of my system while i'm going through a very...transitional time in my life.

god, i can't wait.

please please PLEASE let this work out.