The last few weeks have been extraordinarily and unexpectedly busy, and emotionally taxing and uplifting.

An old friend of mine, Damon, was unexpectedly in town for a few days for a funeral and we ended up catching up from almost two years of absence. We ended up talking about a broad spectrum of things ranging from the personal to just bullshitting about the world and ideas. It was really warming to catch up, but it also stirred a lot of some-what painful self realizations. It certainly left me with a lot to think about.

The following week I took long-needed vacation to Boulder Colorado; a first time for me. I ended up visiting  arium and his mate  vintrukojin at their home in Boulder. Boulder is a pretty chill city; I really dug it -- it had a similar charm to Berkeley, except a bit cleaner and laid back. A little bit of everything.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun and it was a break I really needed. I am very grateful to Ari and Koj for hosting me. I really enjoyed our late night chillout sessions, and the engaging conversations I had with you both individually. They added to the number of perspectives that I seem to have collected recently, and I am thankful for your insights.

I got to see  chipfox again, and meet  Sir.Tundra and  Woozy_Wolf who were both awesomely artistic peeps. Woozy blows glass; tundra's a musician -- go check out their stuff sometime! :D

I also had the fortune of being invited to  SarahDee for a dinner party. We ended up cooking up the most expensive, delicious white truffle baked mac and cheese EVER ($60!). SarahDee introduced me to her friends, all of which had a really artistic energy to their character. Was great meeting you all  DreadDenimPirate ,  Aixarata ,  spiralstaircase  JWolfsky !

Coming back from Boulder, I had an really busy 3 days before Thanksgiving. I had 2 job interviews, both of which want me, but neither which will be sufficient to sustain me as a single job. Sadly, this may mean back to the drawing board. I also ended up signing a lease for a new place in Renton (just a few miles down the road from my current home) before thanksgiving, beginning mid December.

Another unexpected surprise came when  taurath came up to visit me for thanksgiving. We ended up doing a pot-luck style thanksgiving with some locals, many of whom are very talented chefs. Delicious food and a fun, peaceful evening -- I am very thankful for these moments. It was great having you up here, bud. You've changed a lot in really positive ways, and I think you're a really awesome person to have as a friend. Give yourself more credit :3

The weekend of thanksgiving was extremely fun... but intense. I walked away learning a few things about myself and a glimpse of how I might come to terms with what's going on in my world. Accepting things is often very difficult for me, but its a skill I've been endeavoring to learn.

I hate to be melodramatic or cliche here, but recently seeing so many friends -- some new, some old and with whom I had lost a connection... has flooded me with feelings that I've dismissed or suppressed. It's impacted my cynicism, disposition, and resistance to accepting the way things are.

I need to be better to myself. I need to be better to others. And I am thankful that this realization came in waves (rather than immediately) through the recent weeks, some gentle and some turbulent, but necessary all the same. I'm working on it. Thanks for sticking around.