No News...Must Be Good News!

Contrary to popular belief, I HAVEN'T forgotten about my blog!  I've actually been extremely aware that I haven't been posting anything for the past 2 months and have been consciously avoiding it.  During my last post, I had just moved into a new apartment and was starting to explore my new home.  What an improvement.

I've happily started eating meat again (in small increments) as long as it's grass fed, free range, hormone free, speaks Italian, and enjoys long walks on the beach (I know it's ridiculous but in all fairness...it's extremely attainable out here so I'm going to soak it up while I can!).  Lentils and kale have also made a speedy entrance into my diet as they were introduced to me by my new roommate WHO, as luck would have it, is a chef!  A fantasticly quirky-yogi-PhD-kale-cookin' roommate who goes on trail runs, picks mushrooms from the Berkeley hillside, and then comes home and creates a fantastic dinner!  Don't worry, he always tries the mushrooms first and only picks the one he can identify.

The weather is still inconsistently gorgeous (sometimes, it rains) and I try to be outside after work every day.  I've been learning how to "chill out" and think I'm doing a pretty good job at it.  I took a hint from my previous roommates who started playing "She's a Maniac" from Flashdance whenever I'd return home and start getting ready for my next plans.  Time to cool it, KZak.  I've started keeping fresh flowers by my bed, replacing them each Monday, as a friendly reminder each week to enjoy the beautiful things in my life and "stop to smell the roses"!  Ha!    It's working :)

So...in addition to Berkeley...I've got another place in California I like to think of as "home".  TAHOE.  I've only been a handful of times in the past 2 months but Tahoe reserved an instant place in my heart the second I arrived there (despite the variable driving conditions to actually get there (3 hours vs. 18 hours in a blizzard))...I still love it.  One of my closest friends (she's also a traveling therapist) landed a placement there for the winter.  She's introduced me to the place I hope to travel to next...I've been told Summer Tahoe trumps Winter Tahoe.  Finger's crossed!!!  I know I'd be happy there.

Has anyone else started feeling awkward using the word, "home"?  I was just about to type something like "oh...so this past week I was home on vacation!"...that could mean many places!!!  What the heck!?  Clarification: Home = Berkeley...I think.  I don't even know...roll with it...sorry to put you through that.

Okay...so this past week and a half I was in Mexico AND Massachusetts!  Mexico was absolutely gorgeous and quickly reminded me of how much I miss the short life I experienced in the Caribbean.  The hot sun, sand, and ocean breeze felt good.  I was able to go on a 2 tank dive and brought along a few adventurous souls with me for their first diving experience!  They both enjoyed it (phew!) and seeing them down by the ocean floor brought me great excitement and happiness.  I absolutely loOOoove when other's find joy in something I'm passionate about. The diving was gorgeous, helped me escape for a bit, and encouraged me to bring some of my diving equipment back to CA- I need to go more often.

After Mexico, I found myself on a flight back to Boston.  I was definitely excited to return after only being gone for 3 months but was also very, very curious to see how I felt being back on my old stomping grounds.  The beginning of the week was spent with my family, as it should be, visiting with my parents, sister, and grandparents.  While home, I was also given the opportunity to say goodbye to my childhood dog, Luke.  Initially, I was actually pretty pissed my parents had kept him around for me to come home to.  I'm pretty selfish in the fact that I'd much rather hold on to healthy memories of a person...or pet...and would rather someone else go through the heartache of saying goodbye.  Considering the fact I work with very sick/dying people all the time, you'd think I'd be okay with death and sickness.  False.  Anyway, in retrospect, I'm happy I was able to see him again.  He's still got the same bratty attitude I've loved for the past 15 years...I'll miss it.

After that tearful goodbye, I was Boston bound.  The next day was St. Patrick's Day and I successfully bounced around the city like a big green pinball, catching up with some irreplaceable friends, and raising hell throughout the mean (literally) streets of Boston.  I spent the remaining time I had in the city visiting with people who make it incredibly difficult to stay away from New England.  I can't thank you guys enough for taking the time off from your busy schedules to spend a few hours with me.  

The flight back to CA was long and smelly.  I sat next to a man who was creating a parallel universe for pirates on his laptop (YES) and, not so subtly, read whatever he typed.  He most definitely had a few screws loose so I wasn't about to get into a conversation with him about how much I love Pirates, too.

It feels really good to be back in Berkeley.  The trip to Boston helped me recognize how well I'm doing in California.  I'm thankful to be reminded that I QUICKLY take things for granted.  I'm building (gradually) a solid life out here.  The next ten weeks will be spent absorbing bits and pieces of the wonderful California Bay culture I've immersed myself in.  I hope I'm able to do this and "fresh cut flowers on Monday" with each new "home" I travel to.


Gotta have faith in the cosmos :)