Welcome Home Party

Friday, 24 June 2005

Today was a busy day. Went to my friend Katie's house in North Seattle to take a look at my teaching stuff. All this week, Marissa and her roommate Dave were commenting on how much progress I had made getting rid of stuff in her basement, and today...an explosion occurred when I decided to transfer all of my teaching stuff in Katie's shed to Marissa's basement. It took me about three or four trips in Katie's car to move all of my teaching materials, five years of curriculum, children's books, and manipulatives. When I finished, I was a bit overwhelmed and exhausted.

Marissa came home from work, and we started cleaning the house. I went to the grocery store to pick up food and beer. I made a salad, while Marissa made banana bread and chicken skewers, and got ready for people to arrive. About twenty friends came and brought delicious eats to share. We gorged on Vietnamese spring rolls, pita bread and hummus, salad, banana bread, turkey rolls, chicken skewers, grilled fish and steak, fresh picked strawberries, brownies, beer, and wine. Friends drove from as far as an hour and a half away to come and celebrate my homecoming. Teacher friends Erin and Tess, along with Jessi, whom I haven't seen since we attended UW graduate school together, stopped by to say hello and reminisce about our travels together in Thailand back in February. It was fun to see people and catch up and share travel stories with those I met up with, like Christina, Andrew, and baby Max in Japan last month, and Cathy in Thailand. Although not all of my friends were able to make it, there was a good group of people there, and the party winded down at about 12:30 am.