This will be a "no subject title" entry, simply due to the fact that I have an inability to think of something clever at the moment!

In the time since I wrote my last entry, a couple new things have occurred. The first is that I've gotten back into the habit recently of taking my camera with me and feeding my photography passion. I love it. I don't know what I would do without my little Canon Rebel Xti. It's an ancient model, now, with only 10.1 megapixels...but it takes beautiful shots and has superb quality lenses, so why replace it? I know it's a thing, as all our earthly purchases are, but I have a fondness and an attachment to it, almost like having a favorite toy as a child. I know my camera; what the perfect settings are, how to tweak it to get exactly the shot I see in my mind's eye. If I got a new camera, I'd have to re-learn most of that.

Also, in the beginning of September on Labor Day, Jason and I hiked up Old Rag, all the way through the basic rock-climbing to the summit, taking about six hours round trip. It was amazing. I'll be posting the pictures on Webshots soon.

Moving right along, I've also recently joined a gym, called Sport and Health Club, through Jason's work membership. He was allowed to add another person, so I now have the benefit of going to the gym whenever I want for 10 bucks a month (though I hardly think Jason will accept me paying him even that). It's nice to have an external motivator for exercise. I just can't seem to get into my own routine with my own intrinsic force (I have none), so going to a place where they have exercise classes and gym equipment is MUCH better suited for me. I have been going practically every day I'm off work, minus one in which I worked out at my place. It feels great. I've also stopped eating when I'm full instead of bloating myself just because the food tastes good, and I've been making consciously healthy choices. All this combined makes for a happy Alissa. Of course, Jason and I still have gelato dates....you can't pass it up once in a while.


Speaking of Jason, two new things have come up with us-- a vacation to Seattle, Washington/Mt. Rainier in December being the first, and officially reserving an apartment the second! Both are equally exciting. Having a week-long vacation together is long overdue and eagerly anticipated by us both. We're going from 4th Dec.-11th Dec., which is when the first snowfall will be occurring at Mt. Rainier. We're planning on doing a bunch of winter activities at the park, including mountaineering, cross country skiing, and a photo tour! Dinner at the Space Needle in Seattle is a must. There is also talk of us possibly traveling to Vancouver, Canada for a couple of days, since we'll be so close by.

In terms of the apartment, we had made the decision that for the quality we wanted, Fairfax was the place to be, for now. With that in mind, we chose an apartment here in the complex I've been in for the last 10 months now, partially because he and I really like it and mostly because the price for the quality is the best deal around that we've found throughout all our research. The apartment we've reserved is a two bedroom/two full bathroom flat with a fireplace, balcony (a must-have for me), a microwave (random), washer/dryer, and nice walk-in closets. That last sentence pretty closely resembled ads I've seen on apartment websites, haha. In any case, we're really excited to move in together--it's a big next step!

Other than that, not much else is new. Work is still rewarding, and life outside of work is incredibly joyous. I have no complaints!