Life is calling. It's your time to shine.

I haven't sat down and written anything for this blog in months. I think my last post may vey well be from back in March, and now it is mid August. A lot has changed in that time, including myself. Let me preface this with an apology for how long it has taken me to get back to this little corner of the Internet that I started, not that I owe it to anybody. I started this blog with grand intentions in my sophomore year of college, and used to write every day. Truth be told, I really miss this space. The cathartic feeling that comes from putting words down, and the interactions between those who still remember this blog. So while I can't promise frequent posts, or even regular ones, I'll see what I can do. It just has to become more of a priority.

Back when school was going on, I attended a career fair and in hopes of landing a job for the summer. As many of you know, I am an architecture major. This unfortunately means that the amount of jobs out there is not always large, and landing internships without any experience is tough. However, I ended up talking with a few firms there, had my portfolio ready, and left feeling pretty good about a few prospects.

Long story short, I am now currently working for a good-sized firm in downtown Seattle. I've been there around 7 weeks now since I moved to Seattle, and I really am enjoying the job. It's a healthy work atmosphere, and there are a lot of great people that work there that I really enjoy spending time with. I am hoping that when all is said and done and I finish up my last year of school down in Portland, that I will be offered a job back at this firm.

Living in Seattle has been a dream. For any of you who have heard good things about the Pacific Northwest, I would say that Seattle is the culmination of all of the amazing things that this region has to offer. The first thing that is awesome is how excited people are about the place they live. People can't get enough of the PNW and the mountains and the ocean and rivers. Everyone loves the outdoors, so much so that you can't ever be outside without seeing a million people running or biking or rollerblading or even just sitting. I've gone on a trip almost every weekend since I got here, visiting Olympic National Park, climbing mountains and fire lookouts, visiting deciduous rainforests and the foggy coastline. There is so much here for me, and so much of it aligns with the things that I love to do. Seattle is a generally vibrant city, with people liking to work hard, play hard, and stay in shape. All the different neighborhoods have their different vibes and totally different lifestyles.

I live in Queen Anne, which is pretty much an amalgamation of intercity living and suburbs. Out my window I can see a lot of the buildings downtown in addition to the Space Needle. The Elliot Bay waterfront is a five minute walk west of me, and my commute downtown is only 20 minutes or so. It's safe to say I have truly fallen in love with this place. It felt like home almost immediately, and I can't help but smile when I drive home down the roads from a fun night out, whether in Montlake or West Seattle or Ballard; looking at the city skyline with its shimmering lights, and feeling my heart well up with a fondness I have for no other city. There is magic here, and you can always feel it.

There is still a lot of traveling I would love to do around the area, but whether my financial funds will support that yet; I don't know. I have found a new place to live in Portland for my very last year of school (in my life... how crazy is that) and will be moving there in September. I have truly been blessed in all my experiences thus far this summer; meeting new people and hanging with coworkers, going out for lunch, climbing mountains and going on overnight backpacking trips. I've got to get back to planning for the next big adventure tomorrow, which is a mountain in the North Cascade range, but I'll write back here again soon, so I hope to hear from all of you that used to read this blog.

For those of you who receive my newsletters, the next one is virtually on its way.. and I know it's late. And if any of you are interested in following along with my adventures visually, I post pretty much every day on Instagram; @pndub_live.

Have a wonderful weekend!