A fast decade

Jer and I have a big anniversary next month, so my thoughts gravitate to 10 years ago, when it all started.

In particular I think about how rich we felt with our newly disposable incomes -- fresh out of college, employed by the college -- and all of my debt. I think about our friends, what we did for fun, and where we worked.

I won't get too sentimental on you. We lived in Santa Barbara, California. A couple of months after we started dating we shared a poorly insulated townhouse apartment next to the 101. The pilot light on the stove blew out daily, so every time I wanted to cook I had to get down on the floor, say a little prayer, and strike a match.

The weather was pretty fantastic, if predictable. We carpooled to work at the university and ate many of our lunches at the small restaurant on campus. The campus overlooked the beach. If I wanted I could walk a few minutes and watch the tide cut into the seawalls that surrounded us, the smell of ocean never far away.

That's starting to sound sentimental. The truth is, I didn't like living there much. Never a true change in season. Never a hope for career advancement. No Target or Arby's. It wears a person down.

So here we are 10 years later. Besides the fact that we're still here, somewhere, I'm proud to say the debt I had back then is down to about $600. I think it's also safe to say we found what we were looking for in Seattle, as far as city temperament.

And today for the first time in a decade we've got an appointment to play racquetball again. This is notable because playing racquetball was how we got to know each other, and after we knew each other we stopped playing, even though we both enjoyed it.

I found a community center in Mountlake Terrace where you can rent a court for $8.50/hour and last night we dug out old gear and then purchased some new gear. We'll try it out and try not to fall over -- though a whole hour might be asking for it. Hopefully we won't give the other patrons too much cause to laugh at us.

Oh, well. Gotta start somewhere.