welcome to my mind ...

It hasn't really stopped raining since I got here. The day I flew in, it was warm and sunny. Since then, it's been exactly like Seattle. Mid-upper 60s, overcast, with periods of rain. Every once in a while it'll start to rain harder, like it typically does on the East Coast, but then it just kind of goes back to Seattle rain. The weather apps have said a few times that it's storming, but I've yet to see any lightning or hear any thunder so ... that's lame. Part of the thing I was looking forward to while being out here was the storms. I miss them. I'm hoping I see at least one storm while I'm out here. I have time.

This first week has been kind of a lazy week. I went on a quick solo adventure yesterday. It was about an hour and twenty minute drive to the Chesapeake Bay coastline in MD. I wasn't out there for very long. That's usually how my solo adventures go, though. I am in the car far longer than I am at the actual place that is my destination. If the drive is a scenic one, I stop several times along the way, or while coming back, to take photos. This one was more just a straight forward shot transitioning over a couple different freeways; nothing terribly scenic about it. However, with the trees lining the roads, and the rainy day, it was very much like the trips I usually take back home.

Other than the trip yesterday, I haven't really done much more than just relaxing. It's exactly what I've been needing. I absolutely adore my cousin's kid. She was just a 3 week old blob the last time I was out here so she definitely has a personality now. It took her about a day to warm up to me. Now she just has another person to climb on, talk to, give things to, take things from. Of course she gets fussy like every other child, and that's the point at which I turn her back over to her parents. They are much better at dealing with it than I am; it's a gene that I'm lacking.

Monday will be the start of a very busy week that I have planned. Tuesday I'll be road tripping up to NY to visit my dad's family, along with various parts of the city itself. I feel like I'm looking more forward to seeing the city, and exploring various things, than I am about visiting the family. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm excited about seeing my uncle and cousins, but I was never really close to them even when I was young, so I'm not really sure how things are going to go.

I'll have a couple days in NY, then I'll be coming back here for a day before road tripping down south to visit my other aunt and cousins that I saw at the wedding last year. It's going to be nice actually having some more reasonable time to hang out with them. It's also a much more relaxed trip, rather than the harried trip from last time. It was such a rushed trip that I didn't have the chance to de-stress at all. This time is so much better.

It really is exactly the vacation I've been needing. The last two were far more stressful than they really should have been.

My birthday is on Wednesday. I'm debating whether to say anything to people out there just to see if I can get some free stuff. If I wasn't turning 30, I probably wouldn't even mention it, but 30 is kind of a turning point in one's life so people tend to make a bigger deal about it. If I can even get a free dessert or entree, then that would be just fine with me. Who knows, I may not try it. I may only say something if asked "what brings you here?"

I wanted to make sure to type at least something while I was out here, so that my entry when I get back isn't a massive one. I know it's harder to read the super long entries. That's why I split most of my vacation entries. Otherwise it would just be obnoxious.

It's kind of entertaining to me; I've been pretty much keeping my sleep schedule on Seattle time. I've been going to be well in to the early hours of the morning {between 2 and 4am} then waking up between 10 and 11am {7 and 8 Seattle time.} It's entirely unintentional. Those are just the hours at which my cousin keeps and I just stay up hanging out with him and his friends, watching them play video games. If I'm really that tired, obviously I'm just gonna go to bed, but it seems to be working out well enough. Perhaps when I get back home it won't be as challenging as it normally is to adjust back to PST.

Anywho, this entry is already longer than I planned on it being so it's time to call it.

Oh, in relation to the previous entry. The disconnect happened. It sucked. Much harder than I anticipated. He blocked me after I told him that I needed to disconnect; not exactly what I was expecting and it hit me way harder than it really should have. It hurt much more than I think it should have had I thought it was going to go that route, but hey, if that's the game that he wants to play? Then I'm done.

Okay, now I'm done.

Until next time...