Housing issues

I'm still here!!
Last time I wrote I mentioned that I found a place to live and things were starting to look good. Well, on Tuesday my landlord decided that she wasn't ready to have a roommate! WTF? shouldn't you decide that BEFORE getting one?? Anyways, I was pretty pissed but I remained calm and civilized about it. We talked about my options and she referred me to a friend of hers that was renting a room too. This room is located in the same city, Kirkland, but a little further away. The place is nice, it has a private bathroom too and they have a funny dog. I liked it but I was not totally convinced about the value I was getting for my money, since rent was going to be the same as in the other place but without the convenience of the location. I started looking for a place to live...again. Now, let me tell you that doing this SUCKS because of all the things you have to consider, all the people you have to meet and go through interviews (I think it's worse than interviewing for a job). Now after looking at a couple of places I've decided to take the place with that lady but I got her to lower the rent and now I feel like I'll be getting what I'm paying for.

Yesterday I attended a photographers drinking meeting at a bar in downtown Ballard. It was really fun!! I got there and of course I didn't know anybody but it was pretty easy to chat with strangers and talk about cameras, photos and places to visit in Seattle. This was totally out of my comfort zone but I think I did pretty good. It kinda reminded me about the movie "I love you man", should I call one of the guys and ask them on a "man date"?

My search for a job continues, I went to a few hotels on Wednesday to drop off my resume. Next week I'll be attending a job fair and more networking events. Hopefully something will happen soon.

Now I have to pack, again.

It's been a week.

It's been a week since I arrived to Seattle and things are starting to fall in place. I finally found a place to live and I moved in on Friday morning, right on time since my hotel reservation expired on the same day. I am now living in a place called Kirkland on the east side of Seattle and as a fun fact the original Costco is located about 2 miles from here. I'm renting a room from a lady in her house, it's a very nice place and I have a private bathroom and some storage space. I feel very weird about this since I've never done it before but it was all part of the plan. There is a cat in the house which is very different than having 2 crazy dogs jumping and howling all day, this little friend is quiet and doesn't seem to understand that the bed is mine! 

The weekend was relaxing and slow, I didn't have much to do since I don't really know anybody here but I still made myself go out a few times. I visited a park called Gas Works, this place is beautiful and the weather really helped, it was sunny and cold. There were a lot of people flying kites and hanging out, I took some very nice pictures and spent some time looking at the city. It still amazes me how different it is from all other places I've lived in. I had dinner at an irish pub in downtown Kirkland, I think I'll be back next weekend to watch the live band.

Sunday was all about finding a new job. I updated my resume and profiles in all job sites and started looking for employment. I found a lot of good opportunities and applied to all of them, hopefully I will hear back from some of them. I also joined a couple of meet up groups and professional organizations, my plan is to start networking and maybe meet somebody who needs and HR manager :)

Have a nice week!

Quick post

Quick post today since it's getting late.

Woke up around 9 am, worked on a translation for a couple of hours and then decided to go out. I looked at a room last night and I really liked it, unfortunately some girl got there before me and I was informed this morning that she decided to take it. Because of that I turned in my application for a room in Kirkland WA. Pretty nice place close to a lot of shops and coffee places. Now I'm just waiting to pass the background check so I can move in. Good thing my record is clean :)

Had a nice lunch at a Mexican food place, had a burrito that was decent. Afterwards I walked around and took some pictures then got my computer and began searching for a wifi spot just to found out the city of Kirkland provides free wifi internet in downtown!! so I sat down at a coffee place (not Starbucks) and enjoyed a nice mocha (I hadn't had a coffee in a long time).

Went back to my hotel room and hooked up the PS3 to the TV and played some video games with some friends in México, I love how technology can bring together people from all over. Had a microwave lasagna and a big bottle of water. Then the highlight of my day: a video chat with Heather! again, I love technology. We talked for about an hour and I was able to see her and the dogs. This will make thinks easier. I uploaded some pictures to Facebook and now I'm ready to watch TV before going to sleep,

mmm that wasn't a quick post at all...

We made it!

It's been a few days since my last post and a lot of things have happened.

On Thursday we began our journey with the car totally packed, I was feeling very proud about how I was able to fit everything into that little trunk and the back seat. We drove to LA and spent the night there in a hotel that used to be a winery. It was a pretty uneventful day.

On Friday we got up and drove to Napa, the trip took about 7 hours and it was a nice drive. We got to my sister's place around 4:30 pm. It was great to see her and her family, the kids are growing up, Carlo is almost a teenager and Diego is now 6 years old. We had a great dinner (carne en su jugo) and the most amazing dessert that Octavio made for us...Flan! I could eat that Flan every day and I'd still find it amazing. We played some Wii and drank some beers. 

Unfortunately on Saturday we had to get up very early so we missed Diego's T-Ball game. That was the long part of the trip, 11 hours until we arrived in Vancouver WA. This part of the drive was amazing, we drove on the north part of California through Shasta National Park. The mountains were covered in snow and the view was amazing. We stayed with Rebecca and Oscar and we got to meet little Clara. We had some Argentinian style pizza and really enjoyed their hospitality.

We finally made it to Seattle on Sunday morning and we started looking at rooms for me to live as soon as we arrived. We took a nice walk to downtown Seattle and we were surprised with the amount of homeless people that we saw, maybe there were so many because it was sunday or maybe because the weather is very nice, after an hour or so we took the bus back to the hotel. On Monday my hunt for a place to live continued without any luck, I met with a couple of people but I didn't like any of the places. While I was doing that Heather visited a few hotels to drop off her resume. We met later to hang out and went out to dinner with some friends. We learned more about the city and its neighborhoods. 

Now it's Tuesday, Heather left this morning at 5 am and I still don't have a place to live. There is one place that seems to be my best option and hopefully it will work out, I'm also going to see another room at Ballard later. I took a nice walk around Juanita Beach this afternoon and visited downtown Kirkland to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate. 

I am freaked out and a little worried but I know it will all work out very soon, I will find a home and soon a job. The important thing is that I am liking the city, there is green everywhere and the houses are all different. 

Tomorrow will be a nice day.

Away We Go

Today is the day I leave Phoenix and start the drive to Seattle. The trip is supposed to take 24 hours and we'll stop at a few places before getting there. Tonight we're sleeping in LA and tomorrow we're visiting my sister and her family in Napa, I'm very excited about this since I haven't seen them in a while and I'll get to meet Pepe (their labrador). On Saturday we'll drive for about 11 hours to Portland, we'll spend the night there with some friends and then Sunday morning we'll be in Seattle!!

I packed most of my stuff last night and I'm a little worried about the space in my car...I'm not sure everything is gonna fit. I don't care but I'm not leaving my TV and PS3 behind!! After packing I went out with my friend Paul to have some drinks, we got to watch the Coyotes beat the Red Wings and the Suns beat Utah. We had a few shots and I got pretty drunk. I woke up in the middle of the night to share my wings with the trash can next to my bed :(

Yesterday was also my last day at work, what an experience!! It happened to be on the same day we have a weekly managers meeting so I was able to say goodbye to many great people I had the chance to work with. My boss even sang a goodbye song... yes, he's weird like that (thanks again John if you're reading this).

So back to today. I'm hangover, tired, homesick and I have to finish packing...I think I'll take a nap now.

oh-shit!

Thursday is over, I'll be leaving in less than a week.
Today the person who's gonna take my place started at work. I spent the whole day training her and showing her around. I can't help to think how easy people can be replaced at any company, there's always somebody who can do the job and you're missed only for a brief moment.

I have plans to meet with a few friends over the weekend, it's gonna be hard to say goodbye but i know we'll stay in touch (that's what Facebook is for, right?). I'll start packing tomorrow, there's many things I need to put in a box before I leave.

The sad part about today was to see Heather having an "oh-shit" moment... It's going to be hard to be apart, we haven't been without each other for more that a week in a long long time and now we're going to be living in different cities for an indefinite amount of time (hopefully no more that 3 or 4 months). All those silly routines like washing dishes, feeding the dogs, planning dinners for the week, grocery shopping and a few others will be put on hold. Who am I going to watch "Chuck" and "House" with?

At least I know she will find some comfort in Lyla and Joey, those two will make her smile :)

That's it for today.

Hugo

What will I miss about Phoenix??

I was asking myself this question over the weekend. Besides my friends, these are some of the things I will miss from Phoenix (in no particular order):

- Floridino's dessert
- Watching UFC fights at Buffalo Wild Wings
- The Cardinals!
- The  Chandler mall
- The weather in February, March, October and November.
- Ra sushi
- Eating for free at Houston's restaurant
- Four Peaks beer
- 5 hour drive to Vegas
- Spanish speaking people
- Cheap and short flights to México

Am I missing something?

So it begins...

The ball is rolling, the change is imminent.

I'm getting ready to move to Seattle on April 15th. I gave my notice at work about 2 weeks ago and my final day is the 14th. I decided to give them a whole month to make sure I leave everything in the best way possible.

We will start driving on the 15th and we'll be in Seattle on the 18th. I'm already looking for a place to stay for a few months, It's amazing how many people are looking for roommates! Hopefully I can find some cool people to live with. 

We had a garage sale yesterday, our first one ever. We sold most of the furniture that we're not using and we made some good money that we'll be using for the move. I am not going to miss that stupid 32' TV that weights 1000 lbs! Thank god for Mexicans with trucks and love for used stuff hahaha!