Rachel K. Terrible at Blogging

So, it's been, what... a month since I've last written anything? Well, that's OK. The beauty of blogging is that I can pick it up whenever I feel like it (at least that is what I have decided.)
So, what's been going on? Well, I've managed to NOT blog about the following things, thus losing any ability to describe the important steps of my life in great detail.

• Moving out of my aunt and uncles' house and into the condo by the waterfront.
  
• Starting work at Stårbucks IN the Stårbucks HQ
• Working at the Kumön tutoring center (these umlauts are to protect the innocent).
  
• Adjustment and acclamation in general.

I should also mention that I drove from Virginia to Seattle with my sister... it was epic.

Currently my blogging has been brought to a standstill due to the fact that culture shock™ has thrown me into an on-and-off crippling depression. I go between thinking, "I can do anything. I just need to toughen up and do the work." and "WHAT'S THE POINT?! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE IN THE 2012 APOCALYPSE AND NOBODY WANTS TO DATE ME AND I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO DO IMPORTANT JOBS THAT REQUIRE ME TO WEAR A SUIT BECAUSE THERE'S A STAIN IN MY SUIT AND I DON'T WANT TO BIKE A SUIT TO THE DRY-CLEANERS BECAUSE IT IS TOO GHETTO."

So, things are finally settling down and I'm feeling better about my insecure, single, apocalypse-bound reality.

While Stårbucks is not my dream job, I have met a lot of really fantastic people working there. People who aren't former JET Programme JETs, which is a bit refreshing as I am feeling a love-hate relationship with those islands at the moment. [Japan killed my soul, but man oh man do I miss きゅうしょく]. So, anyway -- it could be worse. The real poor choice in this situation is that I volunteered myself for the opening shift beginning at 4:45am, which also means that I have to get on my crummy bicycle (rain or shine) at 4:20 and bike down 2 miles of quasi-sketchy waterfront road. Not a gold star decision, but I'm working on changing it.

Other than that I find myself tutoring awesome children twice a week at a tutoring center in Phinney Ridge. I get to help them with math and do a lot of paperwork while wearing jeans and a t-shirt... it may or may not be my current dream job. I love paperwork so very very much.

I've also been falling more and more in love with the Pike Place market... which is FORTUNATE considering the only date I've been on since moving here turned out horrifically [internet dating -- it's like a website that sets up bad dates for you -- for FREE.]

So that's where I've landed. More blogging later about the crippling insecurities that come along with applying for graduate schools and how the weather changes are going to affect my alabaster complexion (hint: über alabaster).