Heya! Long time, no see.

I’ve been back on the East coast for a bit now and hit the couch mega hard this year. I just didn’t have it in me to gun it as hard as I had last year, and that is absolutely fine, because it gave me an opportunity to really relax, unwind, and experience the spring and summer months at home, something I’d not done over the last two years.

Now that I’m getting pummeled with heatwave after heatwave, after braving through spring allergies and summer humidity, of course I’m reconsidering my choices, but who would we be as humans if we didn’t experience buyer’s remorse every now and again?!

I received a notice of a class-action settlement on my Prius which gave an extra boost to the knowing that I’ve had to revisit my blog and not leave everything hanging. Particularly things I enjoy! Writing is an enjoyable process, and I’ve continued to do so in a work capacity, and have been slacking a bit on the personal side of writing. I have, however, been reading a lot lately, which has been a long-awaited pleasure.

And, although I’ve much-loved Western activities in the Summer, there’s quite a bit to do over here as well. I often tell my Western homies that there’s nothing like a Jersey shore day, where the itinerary is — spend 3+ hours driving on the turnpike, get there and pay a shitload for parking, get on the beach and burn your feet, tromp all the way to the ocean where you get wrecked by waves and lose your suit, get a giant pizza slice the size of a plate and drop it facedown in the sand, get fucking burnt to a crisp, and drive home angry in traffic. I fucking love it. And I’m so glad I got to do it a few times so far this year (well, missing a few steps, perhaps). More to come.

I’ve also really enjoyed going up to the mountains and camping. There’s a bunch of that locally, but I also enjoy a good drive here and there, and my East coast fave are the Adirondack mountains, which I can’t believe isn’t a national park, but anyways it’s always uncrowded and very accessible and beautiful.

My car got fucked, of course, just after the windshield repair. I had travelled to Colonial Williamsburg and had a fun long weekend, and on the way back on I-95 some lady rear-ended me in stop and go traffic.

My first accident, which is pretty amazing after traveling about 60,000 miles in the last few years. And I was ok, and safe, and the lady was nice, which I was grateful for. This was also my first go-around in dealing with insurance, where I learned how freaking hard it is to get the other person’s company to call back or comply. After nearly a month of waiting, I finally decided “fuck it,” and went through my insurance to fix my car and paid out of pocket, hoping they would recoup the money rather than me being stuck in endless-call-tag. Because of a parts backlog, it took a few weeks to fix so all in all my wings were clipped for about a month and a half. I’m glad this occurred while I was at a stable residence.

Lessons learned: I’m glad I had collision coverage on my car, chose a not-too-horrifying deductible, had some savings to cover me in an emergency, and called the cops on scene who were able to create a report declaring me not at-fault. I’m hoping that this is the only experience where I’ll have to manage this, but shit happens.

Williamsburg was great, though. Highly recommend. I got a season pass so you’ll see me there, checking out the folks in buttons and petticoats.

I’ve spent some time this summer seeing some music, whether local or far away. It’s been nice to revisit some wanted life experiences, like seeing live music, after some covid restrictions have changed. I never really got to see live music as a teen and young adult, so here I am in my thirties at the concert scene, and I’m loving it. I have a few more lined up for late summer and fall which I’m greatly anticipating.

I’m planning my next trip, and plan on just scooting around Utah for the duration of October. I’m also considering a big move out there, because I keep eyeballing it so much that maybe it’s meant to be.

For now, I’m working on enjoying the East coast green, and reframing humidity not as an oppressive wet blanket but rather as a wonderful skin moisturizer.

And it wouldn’t be an entry without some food pics. Here’s a bunch to tide you over.

I’ll see you in September.