New Blog

Just a quick update for anyone that's still checking this. I created a new blog to wipe the slate clean and start fresh: http://stormhawk12.blogspot.com/

Football is Back!

I'm so psyched! College football has started again and I am in heaven.

1 Month Anniversary

I've officially lived in Seattle for 1 month now!

It's hard to believe that I have only been here for a month because so much has happened since I made it out here on July 18th. I also feel great today because I did an awesome job on this week's goals. I got my new cell phone and number on Thursday, signed up for a gym membership, actually went to the gym and lifted on Friday, and then I just got a ring back from David (he previously had both of them) earlier this morning. I'm not sure what I'll do with the ring itself as I'm torn between selling it at a pawn shop and throwing it into a lake. Any suggestions?

Monday Night Events

I spent tonight helping Andy move the last things he had in his corporate apartment to his own apartment. It felt good to just be there to help out since moving in general isn't the most fun thing ever (if you're the one thats moving anyway). He's excited for his new apartment, and I love helping people move into new places as well as helping them figure out where to put things and what things they want to get for their new place. I'm a bit of an interior designer at heart I think.

Earlier tonight I found my tools! I'd been looking for them since Friday or Saturday and it was starting to drive me crazy. It was nice because then I was able to take a box cutter with me tonight to help Andy open up some boxes and such. Also, now that I have my hammer and nails around I can put up a picture that I've had sitting around on the floor for a while. I'm pretty excited about that. Oh yea. :)

Momentous Missions for Brian's Week:

• Get a new cell phone and a Seattle number
• Sign up for a gym membership
• Get something of mine from David at a time when I don't want to talk to him and he doesn't want to talk to me. Too bad though because it needs to happen.
  
• Finish a new draft of the thesis
  

New Week, New Post

So I've slacked off a bit on posting lately, but I have been keeping busy at least. Andy and I have been hanging out a lot this past week which has been a good time. I took him out Monday for for dinner to celebrate his first day at Microsoft, then we watched Bourne Ultimatum. Wednesday and Thursday we had dinner together. On Friday, Molly and I went up north to the outlet malls. Overall, Seattle traffic hasn't been as bad as I thought it could be, but Friday was extremely painful as it took us about an hour and a half to drive 30 miles north. Driving back was fine, but it was less than enjoyable on the way up.

Yesterday was fun as Andy and I went to Ikea to do a scouting trip for things he'll be getting for his new apartment. Ikea is a great place as we burned more than three hours there without even realizing it. In the end, we each got a few things and Andy had a good list of things that he'll be getting once he gets his first paycheck from work. Last night was spent out at a bar in Capitol Hill which was a great time as always.

I'm still really enjoying my time out in Seattle which is great in my book. Work is starting to pick up and everything around here just feels like home now. I still miss Nebraska and everyone back there, but Seattle is just such a different atmosphere in a great way that I've been able to adjust to it pretty easily.

Football is starting up soon! I'm really pumped for it because we're due for a real sport to be on TV again :) The Seahawks have a preseason game on in an hour which I shall certainly be enjoying. Also, that means fantasy football will be kicking back in within a few weeks too. I love my football addictions :)

Best Weekend Ever!

This is a fitting time for my 100th post. I think I just had the best weekend that I could possibly have. Yesterday, I went out with Andy and Molly and we had a blast. It was the first time they'd met, so that was definitely a fun part of it. First, we went over towards Seafair and saw the Blue Angels do their show early on the afternoon. After getting some Wendy's, we headed downtown to Pike Place Market to drift through and chill for a while. It was a great day weather wise and following a visit to the first ever Starbucks, we grabbed a table in a park and just hung out listening to a guy play the drums for a while. Following that, we grabbed some food and made dinner at Andy's place which has an amazing view of Lake Union and a community patio area where we took our food down to and ate. There were planes taking off and landing pretty consistently from the water as well as tons and tons of sailboats. The engineer in me loved how I-5 was in the background with a continual flow of cars going by on it too :)

Later on after dinner, we went out to Cap Hill to visit the social scene. Our first stop was to Manray because I had to make sure Andy had an Andes Mint. They're awesome drinks made by just one bartender that I know of, so it was sort of a right of passage. The three of us then went out to the back patio area at the bar and enjoyed our drinks. Following Manray, we went over to a club and danced for the rest of the night. Molly is a shy person when it comes to dancing, so Andy and I sort of brought her into it and gave her some lessons. It was cute, and definitely a good time. It was also fun kissing Andy on the dance floor occasionally as well. :) After the bar closed, we took a cab back to Andy's place, and went to bed. We woke up this morning and chilled at his place for a bit and then I took Molly back to her place and I crashed back here at mine. It's been a nice relaxing day, and I've sort of been working on my thesis which needs to get done, so I'm glad it's progressing in the right direction.

Random Thoughts:

• I'm the type that likes to cuddle. It's fun dating someone that feels the same way :)
• I think I'm nearly over David. I saw him across the bar last night and didn't even feel anything. That was an awesome moment for me.
• The Blue Angels have serious skill. I want to be a fighter pilot now.
• Wireless internet + laptop = Sweet

Seattle Life

The Mariners game was really fun last night. Molly and I had a great time and there were a few drunk guys near us that ended up getting kicked out for taunting some high school kids that had a hot girl with them. At one point the most plastered one yelled "Faggots go back to Homoha." Molly and I looked at each other and almost fell off our seats on the bleachers because it was so damn funny being that we're from Nebraska and such.

I had my 4th day of work today which was... well... unexciting overall. Right now, my group doesn't have a good chunk of work for me to do, so I'm just chillin at my desk for now. I hope to get some real work soon, but until then I'm still getting paid, so I won't be complaining.

In other fun news, I met a new friend last Thursday. Before Craig left, I borrowed his laptop to try to meet some new people online so I could start finding some new friends in town. Anyway, I met up with a guy named Andy at Barnes and Noble at 5pm on Thursday. We sort of clicked like old friends right from the start, so it was really sweet. After a few hours, we wandered around and then grabbed a late dinner, rented a movie from Blockbuster, and then watched it back at my place. He ended up leaving at 2 in the morning. Overall, it blew my mind that I could meet someone and end up hanging out with them so easily. On Friday night, we grabbed dinner at a mall and then watched the Simpsons Movie which was hilarious. After that we crashed at his place for a while, and then I went home around 2. Since then, we've been hanging out regularly which has been great. He's a fascinating guy since he came out to his parents when he was 13 and is one of the most confidently out people I've ever met. He's not flaming, not butch, but he's just a normal guy and just himself which is cool. I may be a little intrigued by him in a good way :) Right now, we don't have any official status between even though we have been going on dates pretty frequently. I know for him, he hasn't had anything serious for a little while. Sometime I'll have to specifically ask him what he's up for. For me, I want to take it slow in some respects and on the flip side, I just want to move on and put the past behind me. I think I'll just take some time and see what happens.

I've worked on my thesis some tonight. I really need to get a new copy sent back to my advisor, but my motivation is a bit lacking on it. It feels good to be rid of grad school, and working on my thesis sort of defeats that feeling. Meh, I'll be a good boy and get a new draft of it done soon though.

I think I'm going out to the bars on Saturday night. I haven't been out drinking for a while, and I think I'm due. It'll also be Andy's last Saturday night of freedom before he starts his job at Microsoft on Monday, so I'm sure he'll be game for it. Thank god there's a bus route that can drop us off right outside my apartment :) ...I mean.... I don't like alcohol. It's vile.

New Laptop!

Guess who just his new laptop today? Stumped? Yeah, it's a toughy. I know, so I may just have to tell you. It was me!

It's exciting to have a working computer at home again, so I'll try to put up a real update later. Until then, I'm going to a Mariners game tonight with Molly. Yay for my third ever pro baseball game experience. (And the cheap $14 tickets :) )

Shit

So my computer is dead now. I've worked with HP support for hours and it's a lost cause. I probably won't be online much after Craig leaves with his laptop on Thursday. I may go into debt and order a new computer, but that's still up in the air. In the meantime, call/text my cell if you need me for anything.

Seattle - Home

It's official. I have an apartment in Seattle, my car is registered, I'm licensed, and I have internet again.

It's been a week filled with good and bad overall. On the good side of things, my dad and Craig made the trip out with me. The drive went smoother that way, and I was glad that I didn't have to make it alone. Utah and Washington were amazingly scenic while Wyoming was the state I gave the new motto: Majestic Desolation. We got to the apartment early on Wednesday and got everything into the apartment. Following trips to Target, Best Buy, and Ikea, the place came together pretty well. It's not completely setup by any means, but it is rather livable.

Along the trip out, I found out that I can start my job early on July 30th (less than a week!) so I'll be making more money earlier and keeping busy. Both are very good goals of mine currently. Secondly, my lack of a M.S. at present won't change anything, so that's a big plus. In additional news, Greg passed his defense and is done with his degree, so I'm happy for him.

Speaking of Greg, he got me the coolest facebook present ever: A pony. I don't know why a pony seems cool to me, but it's a pet joke of mine that a few of my close friends hear about on occasion. It was my first facebook present, and it's just something that truly brought a smile to my face today.

As with the good, there always seems to be the bad. Friday night wasn't the best between David and I. I found out on Thursday that he'd already moved on and was dating another guy. It was less than exemplary to discover that tidbit, but I survived. Friday night just felt bad at the bar because I saw David's eyes light up for Mike the way they used to light up for me. It was something I hadn't seen for months from him (since January), so it was sort of a blow. In the end, I was pretty drunk and went out to the back patio of the bar to burn off and cry out my feelings. Unluckily, David ended up seeing me and confronted me instead of sending out a friend to talk to me. I'm sure both of us wished that hadn't happened. With me being drunk and crying, I certainly wasn't going to be rational. Let's just say words were said that I don't remember, I was upset, he grabbed at me and tore my shirt, and then I was escorted out of the bar. It was the lowest feeling I'd felt since the break up.

Looking at things, I'm beginning to finally become frustrated and angry. David told me after the breakup that he knew it was something he would have to do back in June. During that time, I saw him, had an anniversary with him, gave him a Wii, and paid for the majority of things we did. Currently, he has already moved on to a new guy, never reaches out to say hi to me, and tore a brand new shirt I bought for work without even offering to pay for it. To me, the honorable thing would have been to have ended it earlier, refused the gifts I had for him, and to have told me the truth. He also seems angry at me for being slow to get over things, and that I'm not capable of moving on like he obviously has. To me, it just shows how he didn't understand me, didn't care, and didn't truly love me.

For me to move on, I'm going to have to detach my life from walking into the Gap and seeing things I'd want to buy for him, and instead see things I'd want for myself. I have to force myself to accept the fact that I lowered my expectations in a relationship to help him through his problems. From there, I have to accept that I deserve a man who can give me the things that David never could give or didn't want to give. Right now, I know even if I could have David back that it wouldn't feel right and that I wouldn't want it. The love we had was not timeless, and as some say, "all good things must come to an end." It's just time for me to move on to new things that I can only hope will never reach that fate.

Currently, Craig has strep throat which we found out after a doctor's visit this evening. I'm going to do my best to take care of him over the next couple of days while he is still in town. Seems like I may have a slightly low key week now which may be nice.

My dad flies back to Nebraska in the morning which makes me sad. We really got in some good time when we were together over the past few days. Our trip to the aquarium today was really nice and relaxing. I even showed him how to work the video mode on his camera :) I'll really miss him when he's gone. At the same time though, I'm glad he'll be back at home because I know my mom has had a hard week with both my dad and I being gone.

Emily, I'll be sure to put up some pictures of the apartment in the near future. I even have 'Before' pictures on my camera just for you ;)

Randow Moving in Notes

• I have a new plant named 'Spike'
• Ikea completes me
• I now own my first ever DVD player
• Moving in 70 degrees with light rain easily beats 90+ degrees with no rain.