did i mention that i adored Las Vegas?
let me put it this way: it was one year, to the day, until i moved to Vegas.
in the meantime, i visited the Valley five times. it was the only destination Dennis and i went to for a year.
but first, i went to Seattle. alone. Rick lived in Seattle. so does my friend Alan, but i didn’t really go there to see him. actually, i went there to see the Pixies. the Pixies were playing Bumbershoot that year, and having never seen them, i thought, “what an opportunity!“ wink, wink. Bumbershoot is a great festival, a really neat experience if you’ve never been. lots of music, art, lit stuff, and food.
anyway. i left the tuesday before Labor Day and stayed the night at Alan’s. i woke up the next day and picked up my rental car to drive out to the ocean. at that point, i’d never seen the Pacific and was really excited about it. i didn’t get what i expected, but it was beautiful. breathtaking. i stopped in Port Angeles and admired the small town before trekking out to the far end of the peninsula. I walked the long stretch of beach, joined in an oceanfront bonfire, snapped some pictures, and camped out in the car (illegally). you’re supposed to stay inland incase there would be a tsunami–oh yeah, tsunami. who knew that was even an option in the contigious 48? i didn’t. the next day i hiked some trails and ended up on Second Beach, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. i stopped in Forks, a reservation town, before heading back. on the way home, i decided to check in at Hurricane Ridge. Hurricane Ridge is this neat place in the Olympic Mountains where if you look one way, you see the ocean, and the other way, there’s a glacier and some beautiful mountains. it was awe inspiring. the whole trip made me think i could be a granola girl. i couldn’t. but this trip made me want to be.
Rick has his own post. He was still weird on this trip, but whatever.
i went back to Seattle and did Bumbershoot. The Pixies were amazing. this trip changed my life.
i went home and started a new job managing a coffeeshop. Dennis and i also made arrangements for me to go back to Library School. I had to take some time off because of tuition issues, and Dennis agreed to lend me the money to be able to go back. i owe my career to him. thanks.
the fall went quickly. there were two trips to Vegas, the holidays, and other good times.
in January of 2005, i started my last semester of Library School. in February, Dennis and i were trying to decide on a destination for spring break. i, of course, wanted to go to Vegas. Dennis did not. we looked into some other destinations. in the meantime, i found a job posting for a Young Adult Librarian position in Henderson (near Las Vegas). i couldn’t believe the serendipity. everyone i knew said it was fate, so i applied.
Henderson called and wanted to interview me. i was thrilled. dennis was only upset because it meant that we had to go to Vegas for spring break, which coincided with my interview. we compromised by deciding to drive out to Cali to visit his cousin. Dennis loves California. i, at the time, really did not, but i knew how disappointed he was about having to go back to Vegas again.
the trip happened in early March. the weather was fantastic. the trip to Cali was short and sweet. we got lost on the way home. now, the sad part is that from L.A. to Vegas, there are really only two roads, but i think we were too busy looking at the scenery. getting lost sucks. this particular version of getting lost caused a HUGE argument between Dennis and i. such an argument that we didn’t speak the rest of the drive and he went straight to the casino when we got back. i went to Kinko’s to put together my portfolio and got lost on the way back. i was so exasperated by the time i got back to the hotel that i was in tears…i was convinced that i wasn’t going to get the job. all of the getting lost translated in my mind to being inept. Dennis tried to comfort me and we went out that night.
the next morning, i was supposed to get a massage–i thought it would help me relax for the interview–but someone didn’t put me in the appointment book, so i was denied. at that point, i was so convinced that fate was against me that i went to the casino and played slots (for the free drinks). i had several drinks, went up to the room, and got ready for an interview.
in my opinion, i bombed the interview. see aside, ‘who gives a job to someone like that?’
we went home and i was devistated. Dennis didn’t really tell me what he thought about it. knowing what i know now, he was probably relieved. that being said, i got word from my references that they were being called. i spent two weeks with my fingers and toes crossed. HDPL called to offer me the job on March 28, 2005. i took the call in my car. incase you had any doubt, i said yes.
Dennis pretended to be happy when i told him that i’d gotten the job. Later, he told me that he was nervous about a long distance relationship. i wasn’t worried…we’d been together for six years. we could handle it.
i was moving in a little over a month.
