Happy Holidays from Seattle!
Our year-in-review update on 2013:
This month Daimon finished up his graduate program at the University of Washington – he now has a Master’s of Communication (in Digital Media), to go along with his Bachelor’s of Journalism, giving him the unique degree combination of an MC BJ. One of his final class projects was to film a short documentary, and he did a video on our friend Rachel Jackson and her puppet business – you should watch it.
While he’s been in school, he’s also been working part-time for LegiStorm, the website he worked for in D.C., as well as continuing to freelance as a sports writer for the Associated Press.
This spring he also did a graduate internship with the Seattle Time’s digital team. Now that he’s finished with classes, the next step is hunting for a full-time job.
This spring Daimon also went to Austin for the South by Southwest Interactive conference to cover it for his grad school program’s blog and even stayed a few extra days after the interactive part ended to take in a few days of SXSW music. He also took a couple of trips while Kirsten was stuck at work – he got to visit family and friends in Chicago in the spring for his cousin Kerstin’s wedding, and spent a week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with college friends from Mizzou.
KIRSTEN
When we first arrived in Seattle last fall, Kirsten worked a contract job as an Immigration Specialist for an aerospace engineering firm. In February, she took a job as a Staff (Contract) Attorney at MacDonald Hoague & Bayless an established mid-sized law firm in downtown Seattle that specializes in immigration, employment, and other civil matters. After “paying her dues” for 6 months, she was offered a full-time, partner-track Associate Attorney position in August; she even has her own page on the firm’s web site and business cards now. 95% of her casework is for Microsoft; it’s often challenging having a corporate (and demanding) client, but overall, the position is less demanding than traditional associate attorney positions (e.g. 50 hours/week versus 60) and there’s still time for a life outside the office.
Kirsten’s spare time is mostly spent on music. She plays violin/cello with the band Day Laborers and Petty Intellectuals which released their first CD in October and has been playing about one show per month. She is the Principal Viola with the Seattle Festival Orchestra, a fairly good community orchestra with 8 concerts per year featuring young (but talented) soloists. Last, but not least, she plays handbells at the University Unitarian Church once a month. Daimon’s parents Trish and Jay can attest – when they were here for Thanksgiving, they got to see both the band and handbell choir. Daimon also created two videos of the handbell choir as a class project. There’s a short clip with Kirsten talking about the choir, and another longer video of one of their performances.
OUR FRIENDS
We’ve been lucky to settle into Seattle, and conveniently were able to jump right into two ready-made circles of friends: Daimon’s classmates and Kirsten’s musician friends. We hosted a fry party for Daimon’s birthday, Thanksgiving for Daimon’s parents, and two Festivus dinners with the band and Daimon’s classmates. Kirsten put together a photo album of all the holiday gatherings.
OUR FAMILY
With the addition of Lillian (Daimon’s sister Gabe and husband John’s first), our “immediate” family has now expanded to include 7 nieces and nephews. In July, the Dostal/Eklunds had a family reunion at the farm in Geraldine, MT in July with the biggest turnout yet, with all nine of the Dostal siblings’ families represented. We’re spending Christmas with Kirsten’s Aunts, two cousins, and three cousins-once-removed in southern Washington, and New Years week in Missouri with Kirsten’s sister Kathy, brother Cheyney, best friend Laurinda, and their families.
TRAVEL
Outside our homestead/family trips, most of our travel this year has been relatively close to home. We’ve enjoyed exploring Washington and its surrounds, including the San Juan Islands; Mt. Adams/Horseshoe Lake; Portland, OR (3.5 hours); McMinnonville and the Willamette Valley, OR; and Vancouver, BC, Canada (3 hours). We went to three outdoor music festivals, complete with camping and stunning natural backdrops- Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge with Daimon’s brother Cory and friends, Timber Fest in Carnation, WA, and Doe Bay Fest on Orcas Island (see photo below). We’re headed to Timbrrr Fest in Leavenworth, WA, the 2nd weekend of January 2014, which boasts a Cascadian backdrop where Daimon plans to take advantage of his new skis, and Kirsten will snowshoe with friends. We had one trip further afield to Sonoma for our DC friends’ wedding; beautiful setting to celebrate with some of our good friends.
VISITORS
We’ve enjoyed a steady stream of visitors this year, including Daimon’s parents, cousin Mark, and brother Scott and family, as well as four weekends of college friends. Two of Daimon’s cousins (Daniel and Dylan) live(d) in Portland, so we’ve taken advantage of the short distance (3.5 hours) to see them and their visiting families as well. Come see us! Despite the reputation, the weather is quite lovely in the summer. We’re sending thoughts and prayers to those in need this year (you know who you are), but overall, we feel very blessed.
Hugs and Happy New Year!
Daimon and Kirsten
Videos:
