What Would Happen If...: ... Everything (literally. everything.) was brand new?

Newness is inherently exciting. A chance to start over. A clean slate. I remember my best friend Anna telling me that when she left High School and was driving to Chicago to start college, her mom excitedly told her "you can be anyone you want to be, this is a new start!" While those words were supposed to be encouraging, Anna remembers just thinking - what if I like who I am? My "new start" in Portland feels similar - I like who I am, I'm not running away from anything or trying to change something about myself. Rather, I'm trying to explore and grow the parts of me that bring me true happiness - particularly connecting with nature and a healthier lifestyle. And while going across the country away from everything and everyone familiar may seem like the opposite of that, I think ultimately it will make me a happier person. But... time will tell.

So I moved from Cincinnati to Portland last week and have just started getting settled in at work and making friends. One thing I didn't expect was how constantly exhausted I'd feel even with 8+ hours of sleep. Maybe it's the altitude, or the 3 hour time change, or just getting used to a regular work schedule again (I know I know, woe is me), but I think the real cause is how much newness I'm absorbing all at once. It's not just a new job, its hundreds of new people, a new place to live, a new city. There is absolutely nothing familiar here. Not a person, place, nothing. Which is kind of crazy isn't it? To change that many variables all at once? But I think all the newness has made my brain work extra hard, every single task - from finding my way from my desk to the bathroom or the bathroom to a meeting, takes extra work. There is no normalcy or routine. It'll come though, until then I'm trying to be easy on myself and celebrate the little wins. Like when I make it to the right meeting room or remember a name. Gotta start somewhere right?

Had a great weekend going out to the coast and went clamming for the first time ever - I am officially shellfish certified! It is shellficcial! After getting my license I headed out with some new friends at 7am on Saturday and we got decked out in waders and clamming gear and basically walked around the beach hitting the sand with a stick and looking for tiny indents to pop up, signaling that a clam *might* be underneath. We dug a lot up but they were all too small to eat. Clamatures. We decided to treat ourselves to some awesome hot chocolate coffee, went birdwatching, got totally drenched in rain and fought to walk across the beach against some crazy wind. But I loved every second of it. Slept the whole way home and met up with them that night to watch the Timbers soccer team beat DC United. Couldn't believe how nonchalant everyone was about the rain. We all just stood right out in the open of it watching the soccer game and getting completely drenched. No umbrellas, just rain jackets. The funniest was seeing peoples' beers get completely filled with rain water and for them to just continue to drink out of it like this was all normal. Maybe it is. Welcome to Portland!