So it's finally spring (almost summer)

It's been a rough fall, winter, spring in the Pacifical Northwest. The clouds seemed even more oppressive. The rain seemed to last longer. And the fog was thicker. I've been here three years (three years tomorrow, actually), and I have considered buying one of those sun lamps several different times. This last winter was the closest I came to it.

Walking home from work a month or so ago. uuuuugggghhhhhh

This year I just couldn't take it. Granted, there were other factors feeding into my seasonal moods. I was homesick. I seriously considered packing it in and moving home for many reasons. I kind of bared my feelings--as bare as someone like me can get, which is still somewhat protected--and was knocked down a peg. Well, ignored. Same thing (or maybe worse). These can all affect a person's mood. And staring out a window at nothing but clouds, fog, and rain doesn't help.

We've had bits of sun. There were a few times where temps were barely in the 30s and I high-tailed it to the waterfront just because the sky was blue and the sun was shining. I remember thinking I would be the only one crazy enough to go down to the water when there was bitter wind blowing out of the Canadian mountains. I was wrong. Everyone and their two dogs were there, too.

But this morning it was glorious. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was so bright it almost hurt. And while I was hanging outside, I actually got a little sunburned. My vitamin D-deprived body was grateful.

The view out my door this morning: SUN

It's been a strange year for me, so far. Some of relates to what I stated above. I'm not going into specific details because, well, I don't want to. But after three years I finally feel like I am getting settled here. But at the same time I feel like I have one foot out the door, just waiting for the right job/opportunity to come along closer to home. I still don't know if I would take off for the middle part of the country if given the chance, but I'd consider it for sure.

I am making plans to head back to the middle west in a few months. I want to hit up several different sets of friends in two different states, but ultimately my trip involves two things: The Lake and football. My grandparents built a small two-bedroom cabin on a man-made lake in 1962. They traded in two lots up on a hill for the last lake-side lot shortly after the lake was formed. The new lot was small and pretty much a swamp, but they took it and built a tiny cabin with two small bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, and a galley kitchen. I still don't know if the bedrooms have doors--they didn't the last time I was there. Hell, when I was about five years old (in 1975) I can still remember the place not having ceiling tiles. But if one place would represent "home" to me, the cabin is it. Well, my stepbrother will be coming back from Afghanistan in a few weeks, so we're making plans to spend a long weekend with family at the cabin. You know those times when you let your mind wander and you daydream? Right now, I daydream about sitting on the front porch of the cabin, feet up on the railing, beer in hand. I cannot wait. And football? Well that depends on if there is an NFL season, and if there is, if I can get tickets to the Packers opening game against the Saints.

I feel like I have neglected this blog lately. It isn't that I had things to tell you, dear readers. I did. But there were things I didn't want to share with the rest of the world. I know only a few people read this, but I still didn't feel like putting it all out there. And all this stuff seemed to get in the way of my normal consumption of pop culture. Don't get me wrong, I still ate it all up, but I didn't have the same snarky love for it. I'm hoping to get back up on my judgmental horse very soon. I miss enjoying other people's stupidity.