Hello everyone,

As 2016 continues to hurtle towards it's close (thank goodness) I wanted to take a moment and appreciate the parts of 2016 that did not make me want to tear my hair out. Things such as:

1) Being hired! That's right, I'm now employed again!! I accepted a wonderful part time position at Shoreline Community College's Ray Howard Library. While the position is not full-time, it's a huge relief to be returning to the world of academic libraries and to be using the skills I gained during my time at the University of Washington. In short, this was me when I was offered the position:

2) Being fortunate enough to attend some amazing shows, including Childish Gambino's Pharos concert in Joshua Tree and Chance the Rapper's Coloring Book Tour. The show's themselves were phenomenal, and the Pharos concert had the added benefit of being a great road trip down the West Coast.

3) Travel, family, and friends. Speaking of road trips, this year has been full of travel- from visiting Louisiana for the first time to meet Fred's family to driving from Grand Forks to Seattle, and then from Seattle to Joshua Tree a few weeks later, the high points of 2016 have been the ones filled with new experiences shared with friends. While I was blessed to wander far from home so much this year, I also had some wonderful moments with friends in the Seattle area exploring local bars, art shows, attending the aforementioned concerts, and going on lovely hikes with friends. This fall I made an effort to take advantage of my joblessness to explore the wonderful trails close to Seattle. This included taking my partner, Fred, to Discovery Park for the first time, and tackling the Rattlesnake Ledge and Heather Lake trails with my fellow librarian and friend, Kate. I love the quiet yet in-your-face beauty of the PNW trails, and this fall these outings became necessary for maintaining my sanity in the face of all the ups and downs that 2016 heaped upon myself and the world. Favorite moment: Spotting and being able to photograph a brilliant orange leaf stuck in the crux of a moss-covered tree (see photos below).

Discovery Park