Aqua vitae
n. Strong distilled alcohol, especially a strong liquor such as whiskey or brandy. [Medieval Latin: water of life]
Hello, Ian here. The first steps into anything tend to be rather intimidating, and I'm slowly discovering that first blog posts are no exception (especially when you already have something like a ten year plan for the blog - oy vey!). But after much hemming and hawing Christine has convinced me that getting something down is the important thing, journey of a thousand miles etc. etc. so here we are.
To distract myself from the beginning of this voyage, why don't we concentrate on the eventual goal for a moment? After all our various preparations and diversions are completed, it is our hope to be able to open a nonprofit bar that benefits humanitarian organizations. The guiding theory behind this is that improving other people's lives should be as easy and accessible as possible. I believe that there is a vast and largely untapped demographic in America of people who would be happy to contribute to worthy causes if they were presented the opportunity in the course of their everyday lives. People who might get behind the idea of the profits of their happy hour cocktails being used to produce clean water halfway across the world. And for the people who make a lifestyle out of charity already, this is just one more avenue for them to contribute. Not only is there the direct monetary donation, there is also the added bonus of gathering local humanitarian minded people in one place - and plying them with alcohol! Who knows what corollary consequences could result from that kind of community!
In future posts I'll share more particulars and a bit of the history, but for the time being I humbly submit to you the premise of Aqua Vitae, a Humanitarian Bar. Here's hoping.
Thanks for being here with us (or reading through the archives if that's the case :D) for our first steps towards this goal.
-Ian
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Ch-ch-ch-changes: The beginning of the beginning.
Ian and I have slightly less than one month before we throw all of our belongings into a gas guzzler of a truck and move to sunny, not to mention sweaty, Arizona. Seattle has been all winter in preperation for our big change and I have to ask myself if this is the universe, or god/God?, telling us to soak up the chill while we have the chance. But as Ian remarked, "this higher power is a bit melodramatic, 42 degrees in june is over-kill."
I set up this blog about 6 months ago in hopes of documenting our journey from here to there, present to future. This move feels like the kick off to the rest of whatever. Seattle is where our hearts lie; it's just a little too comfortable to get us moving. So we are moving. From family and friends to family and friends and school.
The plan
is to move to Arizona from Seattle, get our first apartment, a place for just the two of us--and the cats, of course. Ian will go to school to get a small business degree and will continue to work as a server in hopes of moving up to bartending. I will (hopefully) be spending my first year in the desert working with Americorps and then using that education stipend that they give you in the end to fund nursing school. Once we're both done with our degrees it's off to Peace Corps. Then after we travel a bit back to Seattle for Aqua Vitae and The Grill Next Door, and maybe some traveling nursing in between.
But for now Ian is finishing up work at PF Changs and will be done on the 3rd of July. I'll be done with the mailroom at Deloitte on July 2nd. July will be spent saying goodbye to our city and the loved ones we will miss so much, if we're lucky we'll get another http://www.myspace.com/thetailenders (tailenders) show before we leave. I have lived here for 7 years. and Ian's heart has been here for 6. It'll be a bittersweet farewell.
As Far as Logistics Go:
I've packed 3 boxes to date which i count as totally ahead of the game seeing as i've got a month to go. We have 2 hotels reserved for the drive which i got rockin deals on through priceline! And a truck reserved with Budget for the drive. We are trying to diligently save our pennies and nickles (along with green monies) for the ever skyrocketing gas prices. We pretty much have the kittens decked out for the drive. (not looking forward to driving 28 hours with 2 cats in the small cab of a great big truck!) Our lovely roomate (vet-tech) Kelly suggested using Benadryl to sedate them; we got them a large crate to hang out in and some treats and good food for the road. Hopefully they won't be in hell the whole time. Still trying to find creative ways to make this move as cheap and easy as at all possible. Have any ideas? drop us an email or a comment. It will be most appreciated.
I'm hoping to update every other monday, and maybe I can gouge Ian into updating every other monday. Until next time...
-Christine
I set up this blog about 6 months ago in hopes of documenting our journey from here to there, present to future. This move feels like the kick off to the rest of whatever. Seattle is where our hearts lie; it's just a little too comfortable to get us moving. So we are moving. From family and friends to family and friends and school.
The plan
is to move to Arizona from Seattle, get our first apartment, a place for just the two of us--and the cats, of course. Ian will go to school to get a small business degree and will continue to work as a server in hopes of moving up to bartending. I will (hopefully) be spending my first year in the desert working with Americorps and then using that education stipend that they give you in the end to fund nursing school. Once we're both done with our degrees it's off to Peace Corps. Then after we travel a bit back to Seattle for Aqua Vitae and The Grill Next Door, and maybe some traveling nursing in between.
But for now Ian is finishing up work at PF Changs and will be done on the 3rd of July. I'll be done with the mailroom at Deloitte on July 2nd. July will be spent saying goodbye to our city and the loved ones we will miss so much, if we're lucky we'll get another http://www.myspace.com/thetailenders (tailenders) show before we leave. I have lived here for 7 years. and Ian's heart has been here for 6. It'll be a bittersweet farewell.
As Far as Logistics Go:
I've packed 3 boxes to date which i count as totally ahead of the game seeing as i've got a month to go. We have 2 hotels reserved for the drive which i got rockin deals on through priceline! And a truck reserved with Budget for the drive. We are trying to diligently save our pennies and nickles (along with green monies) for the ever skyrocketing gas prices. We pretty much have the kittens decked out for the drive. (not looking forward to driving 28 hours with 2 cats in the small cab of a great big truck!) Our lovely roomate (vet-tech) Kelly suggested using Benadryl to sedate them; we got them a large crate to hang out in and some treats and good food for the road. Hopefully they won't be in hell the whole time. Still trying to find creative ways to make this move as cheap and easy as at all possible. Have any ideas? drop us an email or a comment. It will be most appreciated.
I'm hoping to update every other monday, and maybe I can gouge Ian into updating every other monday. Until next time...
-Christine
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