the in between

Post marine biology camp has meant that I'm completely unemployed and have nothing lined up for the immediate future - a bit scary. I spent last week and will spend this week doing some fun things (hiking) and some not fun (looking for/apply to jobs). I have one promising job prospect north of San Francisco in the Golden Gate Recreational Area, at Headlands Institute. It's a year long term (with the possibility of extension) as a Camp & Family Program Coordinator. I'd be thrilled to get something like this - an organization whose mission I believe in, a job that would use current skills but challenge me to acquire new, and a beautiful setting. I should know by the end of this week if I've advanced to the next round. I've already had phone and Skype interviews. Please keep fingers crossed for me.

Otherwise, I haven't found too many jobs that I'm gaga about, or if I am, they're not on the west coast. You could say, "my work here is NOT done," and I look forward to further exploration. I've been living with friends for the past month and they're all moving in 3 weeks so I'll be without home soon. I plan to hit the road and get out of their way before they move out and do some traveling, south. I feel some anxiety about the prospect of skipping town without an endpoint, and traveling alone isn't particularly thrilling, so I suppose I need to break out the map and begin planning some of this roadtrip and to instead get some excitement flowing.

I plan to car camp and live off pb sandwiches while traveling south to see gigantic Washington mountains (Rainier and St. Helens), as well as beautiful scenery in Oregon (John Day Fossil area and Crater Lake, Portland and the coast), and gorgeous CA forests (Redwoods) down to the Bay area, whether or not I get that job. And then if things haven't swung my way, down to the Southwest (Santa Fe, Albequerque, things in AZ) for some warm weather. I will have a limit to this madness, maybe a month or so, if I don't find a job that I'll be traveling to. In that case, I'd start making my way back east toward mom and grandma, as not to break the bank completely.

I've never been good with transitions and big life changes, and this could be the biggest lifestyle switch of all for me so far. Travel suggestions, accommodations, jobs, thoughts on life, roadtrip buddies, are all welcome these next few weeks!

I-Kwoan, who has been my cheerleader and awesome go to for life distractions!

This is FIN, she is a fiberglass summer chum salmon that the North Olympic Salmon Coalition uses to talk to kids about salmon habitat. You can crawl inside her...I volunteered at a festival all day on Saturday and spoke to kids about her.

Here's her inside - forests, rivers, animals, oh my!