So Scott, what's up? I realize that frequently Dad and I are "of one mind",... in a literal sense, this is not so. Talking to Dad on the phone is not the same as talking to, or e-mailing ,me. Have I been (unintentionally mind you), cruel to you in some way? or rude? Please accept my remorse! profound apology,and regret. Now, won't you please e-mail me ? I am the epitome of an easy going maternal unit, give me a break, will you? I haven't sent you enough recipes and housekeeping tips? If I were a crazy creature, (HEAVEN FORBID!) I would be sending pages of un-asked for babble. We all know I'm not a crazy person...partially unhinged, perhaps, but my unhingedness is excused in light of my charming personality , right? Lest my charm take a rare turn for the morose, kindly respond. Lots of love from Mom... PS I am. limping only a little, the SF hills and my knee did not like each other ,..and preparing for another visit to the bone man for shots in the thumb joints...(NOT FUN, let me tell you!). pics of SF on the famsite..:-)

Hi Mom,

When did I talk to Dad on the phone? I talked to him on MSN a while back, but not on the phone.

Anyway, I've just been busy, I guess... Waiting for money to come in from work, working, and spending a lot of time reading. I'm still not really settled in enough to start cooking all these meals. I slightly regret moving into this particular apartment. It isn't that it is a bad place to live, but I have a hard time relating to my roommates at all. The youngest of them is 26ish, ranging to probably late-to-mid 30's. Although I have made a few friends my age. I hung out with my friend, Katie, today. I picked her up from the University, where she stayed the night with her boyfriend, and then drove and walked around in the U-district. Went to a coffee shop there, and a neat used book store, before taking her home to Marysville. Which is about 30 miles away from Seattle -- she gave me gas money for driving her home, as she doesn't have a car (filled the tank, in fact.) Other than her I talk to her friend, Victoria. Victoria and I are probably going to be hanging out more often as well, but I only recently met her. I also have a friend from work, Ben, who isn't my age, but is a nice guy with similar interests. He's invited me to play boardgames with him and his friends, but solid plans have yet to be put in place. Also Christina is a friend (of Katie and Victoria as well,) from work.

Reversing back to the roommate thing: I think I would just enjoy it much more if I was with people my age and maturity level. I've been thinking of moving to somewhere else, but I would want to actually know the people I were to move in with the next time 'round. I've been half-tempted since living here to move out to San Fransisco where my friend, the one I lived with in Hurricane, now lives. She and her friend, Josh, who I also know, would love me to. I think I would, too... I just don't think I have the money for it right now. It took a lot just to get moved in here, and now I'm running really short on funds. I'm having an equally hard time saving anything, with rent and such.

You should read Thud! by Terry Pratchett. You would really like his writing. He is really skilled with words. It also a very silly book, which I think you would enjoy.

What is the exact date you and Dad are going to be visiting Washington? No one has been able to tell me an exact date... I'm having a hard time finding my W2s. I think they were lost in the move, somehow... They aren't in my room, and, if lost in Aaron & Veronica's abyss of a house, are very likely going to stay that way. The last place I have to check is their car, which was lent to me for the move. It makes me really nervous, not having those... I obviously can't do my taxes without them.

Love you,
Scott

Scott, thanks so much for writing me!!! We fly to Seattle this Sat..the 15th, and we're staying 13 days. We want to rent a car the last week of that, and drive over towards Vancouver. We thought it would be funny to spend a night in Forks, and Dad got us one night in a condo somewhere. We'd love to spend time with you, if you are available, even if you're working, we could do somethings in the evening, yes? I'm sorry the roommate situation isn't so terrific. I didn't realize they were all so much older than you. It really is more fun to have roommates your age. Would it save you $$ to take the bus to work? Do your friends from work know of anybody needing a roommate? On the other side, where in SF do your friends live? It is horrendously pricy in the Bay Area, but there are some Union jobs, which pay better, and have better benefits, but they are not easy to get, and you must pay dues every month, on time, or you get dropped from the schedule, and fined. The Bay Area also has excellent public transportation, but it's not free, either. I lived in the city for years, and didn't have a car, you take your groceries home on the bus, or buy them close to home, plan to leave home in the am giving time to get to work,it usually works great. But there are LOTS of nasty areas, where it is just not wise for a honky to go into at all. You would have to be more careful than in Washington. I think you can have a great time, and make friends, wherever you live, it takes time to make friends, and find a friend-family to hang out with. Any chance of you going to school in the Fall? If you stopped by the counselling office ( you could find a map of the campus on line, so wouldn't be wandering all over ,looking for that office, campuses are big) of the most convenient Comm. College, and had a chat, told them you dropped out of school, moved to Wa., and are interested in going to school again, they would give you your options, it might be that you could get a decent Pel Grant, and you could go to school..keep in mind that if you flunk classes, it's harder to get the grant next term, so you'd want to really go to class, and do homework, etc. You'd meet lots of people your age in school, easily find roommate situations, etc, or find friends that wanted to get an apt. together, whatever.Maybe you could take classes that would get you a better paying job? CNA is a one semester class, what do they pay CNA s in Wa.? Or apprentice electricians, or plumbers? A short-term class to a better job could get more cash built up for more school ,in a different direction..a job for a year or so doesn't mean it's a long-term career goal. I understand that you prefer PC employment, but when financial considerations enter the picture, sometimes compromises need to be made? What is, and should be, exciting about your time in life, is that many roads are open to you! Granted, they may not all be the skipping along, yellow brick variety, but YOU get to choose what direction you take. Is there a way you could get to swimming laps somewhere? Sometimes when your body is busy exercising, your mind can ponder things, and think them through rather well. A long walk works, but if you have to look where your feet are going, you can't get as deeply into thoughts. I imagine you'd prefer to think things thru while driving, but I'd kind of like to think you'd be paying attention to the road.. Do you understand the kind of deep thought I'm referring to? I imagine you're not able to swim as many laps as you used to, but you could start slower, go often, and get in some serious thinking. I took swimming class (ha ha, I know) in college, and spent the doing laps time thinking, (and trying not to drown) , I found the water, and the rhythm , esp. well suited to deep thought.Where you are a better swimmer, you wouldn't have to do the not drowning part, and the thinking would help you decide things.Not to mention developing those shoulders. On another note, I didn't realize the "talking" was on the computer, Dad just said he'd "talked" to you, I'm not quite savvy enough to do the on line chat thing very often, and I'm kind of slow at the keyboard, when in school, I was always proud of my handwriting, and my ability to take FAST notes in class (I learned a bit of "shorthand") , I also believe in hand-written letters, although my hands are such that I can't do hand written letters as I once did. Did you know that I wrote about 6 letters a week for many years?(long ones) Too bad I didn't keep copies, you guys would have the makings of quite the journal of this silly woman. Take care, Sweetie, we'll see you in a bit. We'll be at AnV's on Sat. night. Love You, Mom