Hey all :)

I'm moving to a new blogging site. I'm having difficulty finding time to post any new updates, and my new location allows me to post from my phone -- excellent!

So, please join me at http://laulaa-k.tumblr.com

I mean it. Go now.

Oh, wow. Someone needs to post something -- anything!

Alright, let's see... Summaries seems to be the easiest way to go, so... Let's figure out where I left off and start this thing!

- I'm finding myself quite happy in Seattle. I love the way the skyscrapers tower over me every day. I love how they glow against the black (and now, cloudy) Northwest skies. There is this one specific building... It's unlike any other in Seattle. The design and structure -- I don't know what it is about it, but it's absolutely beautiful. Definitely my favorite one here. I've yet to find out it's name, but... Give it time :)

- Classes are still going well...ish. My grades are fine and all that, it's just... So. Much. Work. It isn't just homework. I knew there would be a lot of that. This is college, after all. I'm not an idiot. But the amount of outside work that isn't defined as your your average load of bookwork is astounding. Hours upon hours of practice until all the notes you sing sound the same -- until your fingers are stuck in the position of the last chord you played. It's intense, and SO HARD to stay healthy with all the late nights and heavy work loads... Which seems kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? Not the working hard part, but the "I'm-gonna-assign-you-this-many-hours-of-work-tonight-but-get-lots-of-rest" part. Silly, but... Just gotta deal.

- My roommate is wonderful. I had prayed so hard that I wouldn't have a roommate that drove me insane. The Lord came through! I won the roommate lottery. She doesn't smell. She doesn't stay in our dark room all day. She doesn't give in to the usual 18-year old drama... I mean, not all the time. This is art school. Drama is how we thrive. I'm talking about the "you-talked-behind-my-back-so-I'm-putting-Vaseline-in-your-key-card-reader" drama (Yes. It's happened.) that she doesn't give in to. Makes my life a WHOLE lot easier.

- I've found a potential roommate for next year -- to live with OFF campus. I had seriously considered becoming an RA, but... Ugh. I don't hate living in the dorms, but if I don't have to do it again, I will LEAP at the chance not to. Anyway, it's pretty much a for sure thing, just gotta keep convincing my Pa, but... I have faith in my abilities ;)

- I'm very much looking forward to Thanksgiving. Very. Much. So. I'm excited to get to go home for a few days. I love Seattle, but Naselle is home. I love it, and I've got people to bother!!!

- I got to meet Rainn Wilson from 'The Office' last weekend. He's cool, and he likes how I spell my name. No big deal.

- I've been going to church with Conor and some of his friends from SPU. I LOVE it. Bethany Community Church in Greenlake -- go there. It's grand!

Ummm......

- I've discovered pour-over coffee. Heaven. Absolute Heaven.

- I found out a couple weeks ago that all of our music classes (s0, all but one of my classes) will all end 2 weeks before school gets out in order to leave us time to prepare for/perform in our ESP's: End of Semester Performances. So basically... This means that my classes end in 4 weeks. I'm beside myself with relief and excitement.

- My baby sister got moved up to varsity for the district volleyball tournament -- Go, Kayti! So proud of you baby girl <3

"In three words I can sum up

everything I've learned about life:

It goes on."

-Robert Frost

Wow. I really need to post some sort of update. Silly college, taking up all my time...

So -- Seattle is AMAZING. I love it up here. Our dorms are right in between the looming downtown skyscrapers and the Space Needle. We can walk everywhere... Hopefully not in the rain, but y'know... Seattle.

The people here are fun. They have proven to be kind and extremely supportive in what is normally a cut-throat world. I have yet to feel any tension or competition between anyone for any reason, and I am SO thankful for that.

Classes are awesome, too. It's a ton of hard work -- as usual -- but getting a music degree is no joke. We have like... Twice, (sometimes more than that,) the amount of work as the other disciplines. The actual amount of work looks like barely anything on paper... But take it outside the classroom... WHOLE different story. It's all good, though. I can save my social life for the weekends. If I have to. I guess.

It'll all be worth it in the end. That is the most reassuring thing.

PLUS -- a special handful of my best friends are all here in this city with me.

Fun times :)

PS - Sorry for the lack of detail. It seems I lied to myself about the amount of time I actually had to write. More stories to come, I promise.

Well, I'm officially in Seattle.

A tight schedule doesn't allow me to write as much as I'd like to, but soon... Very soon :)

It is officially after midnight. Wednesday has arrived. I'm sitting in the living room of our suite here in Seattle, watching TV while my parents sleep in the adjacent room -- totally unable to sleep myself... And who could, in this situation?! Tomorrow is the day my life changes. Not in a cliche "and from that point on my life was never the same" kind of way, but in a REAL way. Tomorrow I officially move into a place that is not my parent's home for the first time in my life. With that comes a million life changes, as I'm sure you all know. My mind is racing with thoughts of anticipation -- racing to fast to shut off for slumber.

4 out of 5 of the other freshman that I've met are in the same dorm as me. My roommate is nice. My RA is hilariously fun. The people-watching has proven to be rather excellent... I'm so excited. I'm looking forward to the freedoms, the challenges, the relationships, the training... Everything about the school and the city and the people in it.

It's going to be a good year.

When you walk through a storm

hold your head up high,

and don't be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm

is a golden sky,

and the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind.

Walk on through the rain,

though your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on,

walk on

with hope in your heart,

and you'll never walk alone.

You'll never walk alone.

- from "Carousel"