525, 600 Minutes

Whew! This week was a true whirlwind of events and emotions. It felt like I was on a rollercoaster. On Wednesday, the family and I packed up and headed toward the coast. However, I first had to go a job interview in McMinnville (luckily on the way). It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I felt good about it. After making a quick clothing change, we were on our way to Newport.

We spent the first day getting settled in and exploring the beach. The condo we were staying in was a two story, two bedroom condo called Schooner's Landing. It was a little bit off the beaten path and a bit weathered-looking, but it was a great place to stay. The condo was comfy and would be a cute little place to live right on the beach. In fact, we were just a hop, skip, and a jump to the beach. Or should I say a slow, steep, white-knuckle walk. To get to the sand, we had to make our way down these old, rusty stairs that looked as they could give way at any moment. Once on the beach, we had a grand time. The kids enjoyed looking at the tidepools and digging in the sand. Hubby enjoyed teaching our son all about the different creatures living on the rocks (i.e barnacles, sea stars, etc.). K was content to dig in the mud.

Later that afternoon, I received a phone call from the principal of the school and scheduled a second interview for Friday. That was flattering to have them want me back, farthest step I've taken so far in the job hunting journey. On Thursday, we had a very busy day out and about. We slept in a little and got a late start, which was fine by all of us. One of the perks of being on vacation is that it gives you the luxury of not having to be anywhere at any particular time. Anyway, we drove down the coastal highway to visit my brother. He had bought a knife specialty shop in Waldport and we wanted to see how he was doing. As it turns out, he's doing pretty well for himself and has a great little business going for himself. I hadn't seen him in more than a year, so I was glad to reconnect with him again.

After visiting with my brother, we drove back up the highway to Lincoln City. We decided to have lunch at Mo's (greatest clam chowder!) and check out a local art glass shop. They let people watch them make blown glass art pieces or for $65 a person can make a paperweight with a artisan to guide them every step of the way. It was really cool to see this process up close. After that, we headed back down the road to Depoe Bay. It had been pouring rain all day, so we only visited a handful of shops before we decided to call it a day. We bought some saltwater taffy and headed back to the condo.

We were lucky to get some sunbreaks, so I talked my mom into accompanying the kids and I for one more visit to the beach. It was still very muddy and slick from the rainfall, so we almost turned back. With great trepidation, my mom and I braved the stairs. We each took the hand of one of the kids and held onto the railing for dear life with the other. The picture here doesn't do the stairs justice, but you get the idea. In fact, it is only the second half of the stairs that you see here. They definitely need to remodel them.

On Friday, we packed up and headed back home. It was really nice to hang out with my mom and nephew. We don't get to just kick back in a setting like that very often. The coast is a soothing environment, even when the weather doesn't cooperate. Before we could go home, I had to go to the second interview first, so it was an interesting way to bookend the trip. Since I hadn't been home since the last interview, I ended up wearing the same outfit. Thankfully, the principal had a great sense of humor and was aware of the situation. I won't find out until Monday whether I got the job or not. Anyway, we made it home and basically became hermits the rest of the weekend. We had been on the go and in the car so much that we just didn't want to go anywhere.

We ended up watching lots of movies. We had a Felicity and Harry Potter marathon. After everyone was in bed on Saturday, I stayed up by myself to watch Rent. An longtime online friend of mine had been raving about this musical for years, but I had never had the chance to see it. Now I can see what all of the fuss was about. While it was a bit kooky at times, the overall movie was amazing. It is basically a rock opera about a year in the life of some bohemian tenants of a New York City apartment building. It speaks of love, loss, sexual freedom, drugs, AIDS, and living for today. In a nutshell, it was a very touching and haunting show and I hope someday to see the real Broadway version in NYC. The opening song is perhaps the best part of the whole musical. 525, 600 minutes? You gotta hope there's more. Here is a sampling of the song lyrics below:

Seasons Of Love Lyrics

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.

525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?

How about love? How about love? How about love?

Measure in love. Seasons of love.