Ah, the Beginning

"Let's start at the very beginning, A very good place to start…"

     The series of events that has put me where I am today is a little unclear, but the love of my life, Mike (aka, the Berkeley Grad Student) thinks it best I start this blog with a quick history.  Many of you don't know we've moved, some know we've moved but don't know why & others don't even know us.       
     Well, welcome to the beginning.  My name is Robin, aka Bird, & I will be your tour guide for this blog.  "We're walking, we're walking, we're stopping…"
     Up until about one month ago, The Berkeley Grad Student, Bailey Blue (aka "Poop McPoop", the teenager, Drama Queen) & myself lived in Chico, California.  We were living the "American Dream" with steady jobs, an antique house (with a long 'Honey-Do' list I must add), our families close-by, great friends, etc.  Problem was that the American Dream was a bit too cookie cutter; oh yeah, & the Berkeley Grad lost his job.  Well, what do you do when life gives you Rocky Road instead of smooth, yummy Vanilla?  You realize what you really want in life & you make it happen.  (I personally really like vanilla with hot fudge…that's not a metaphor, I really like vanilla ice cream.)
     So after a tumultuous year of questioning our lives, with my encouragement & blessing, the Berkeley Grad went for it all on a whim; he applied to grad school.  (Seriously, he decided to start the application process about one week before the last GRE test of 2009 was offered.)  And then about one stressful month later of portfolios, letters of intent, statements of purpose, letters of recommendations…the list goes on, Mike had applied to 4 of the top 10 programs in the US for Masters of Landscape Architecture, plus one school in the Netherlands.  Phew!  All that is over thank God! 
     Then the admission letters, & truthfully rejections, started coming in.  The process was brutal for all involved.  Enough said.  But the end was near; it came down to two schools & after a lot of soul searching & advice from his undergraduate professors at the University of Oregon (shout out!), the Berkeley Grad Student decided on Berkeley…obviously.
     Lots of stress, procrastination, & yelling later, oh with a handful of 'Honey-Dos', too (a future post on that), we are officially moved, settled & living in Berkeley.
     Wow, writing it all out makes it seem simple.  Please do not let that fool you, as I am still recovering.
     Now Bailey (of course she made the journey, too!), the Berkeley Grad Student and I have two years of Berkeley adventures ahead of us.  You're invited to come on our journey…ok, not really "come" with us, more like read along.  I hope you make it part of your day, I hope you enjoy what we do, I hope you enjoy how I write & I hope I can do this!


     Enjoy….Love, Bird