Working while on vacation

So I am 12 days into my 2 week vacation to California, 1 day before I leave, and what have I been doing at night? Working, and blogging, and answering work related emails, revamping my blogs, you know totally disconnecting and relaxing.

Over the course of 4 days, I have added new features and content to one blog, updated my social media throughout the day (revised this post 5 times), and kept my "plug" in the wall and trying to login at a bare minimum.

As for the vacation itself, in my last post I talked about the travel jitters and how it was causing me anxiety. Well now that I am here, I have anxiety about having to return. I guess no matter which direction I go I just hate going through the airport. But really since 9/11 who doesn't?
The other fun thing is that im going to run out of one of my medications before I leave California, and of course it has to be my sleeping meds.

At the time of writing this I only have like 2 days left after I take tonights dose. So I have no idea how my sleep pattern is going to be. I do know that I am going to save 1 pill for the night before my trip back home, because we need to be on the road by 3am, and my flight home is at 6:45am with a 40 minute delay in Salt Lake City, UT and then landing in Seattle at 10:45am. Then I still have to make it from the airport to the ferry terminal, and do a 30 minute sale to my side of the pond, and then a 45min-1hr drive home. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that my flights and everything are on time.

I have seen family, and met family I never met before. Formed some new friendships, and had some great times. Visiting with my mom has been nice. I was going a bit stir crazy at home, but am getting a little homesick. Especially thinking about my animals and things like that. But for the most part its been nice to just disconnect from my typical day and get out of my space and comfort zone. However, I forgot how FREAKING HOT California is during the summer.

I was complaining about it being hot in Washington. It was like the states did this whole "you think that's hot, hold my beer" type thing. There was one part of the trip down here, (I rode shotgun in my mom's new RV for almost 14.5hrs) where we stopped in Grants Pass OR, man that fucking place was so god damn hot, I got sick almost instantly when we pulled off to get some gas. It was so hot and muggy. You cant pump your own gas in OR, and it was a busy gas station with only two miserable employees manning the unairconditioned station. I am sorry but how they work in those conditions is beyond me, and gave me a whole new respect for outdoor laborers. I will never take 75-85 degree Washington weather for granted.


My second day in Cali, I went to a family BBQ, where the only air source was an overtaxed swamp cooler. It cooled down the living room of the house, but was seriously overworked trying to keep it a decent temperature. Again not complaining because it was better than sitting outside. Yeah there was a pool available, but all my younger cousins and their friends were in it, and I was enjoying connecting with my new cousins. Eating authentic mexican food after having been fed "white-washed" mexican food for the last 10yrs was really nice. And the BBQ that the family had was amazing too. I got to eat some sweet Southern California Watermelon, trust me there is a huge difference in Northern California, and Midwest Watermelon. Being someone who single handedly ate about 60 watermelon's a year/summertime, you get to know your shit. So Cal watermelon is sweet and crisp. Northern Cali has a gritty, less sweet, less juicy texture to it. Midwest is typically gritty and bitter sweet, and really seedy.

I am a SO Cal boy. I never had been to NOR Cal so I really didn't know what to expect. I thought that it was all wooded and green like it was in the mountains by Weed and Mt. Shasta. I didn't know that it was a flat agricultural area kind of like SO Cal. I thought that it was nice like coastal Northern Cali like Santa Barbara and the Bay Area.
However, I will admit, like I said above, that I have eaten more Mexican food in the last week or so than I have in probably the last two years. Everywhere you go there are taco trucks and street food vendor's. I haven't tried all of the different vendor's but from what I have, it has been real authentic mexican food. And im so surprised at how cheap it is too. For 6 carne asada tacos, and 1 large burrito with the works was only $12.

But this time away has found me missing my cat and Bearded Dragon. My sister and niece keep sending me little videos of Bella. The other night, I logged into my home computer network and turned on my webcam in the living room and did a voice recording on my laptop in california telling my Amazon Dot to turn on my living room light so I could see things better, and then I did a recording saying "hey bella, daddy loves you and will be home in a few days" lol. IDK if she even heard me or if it was something curl to do, but it made me feel better. I just wish I was able to see her from the camera that I had access to.

All in all its been a great time. I've enjoyed the little bits I've gotten to see here and there. And there are already talks about doing a lake trip and maybe a group camping trip when I get home to the gang. I love swimming and going to the lake. Last time the group went camping, I wasn't able to go because my anxiety and bipolar kept me from being able to leave the house, even though I had everything packed up and ready to go. I just couldn't force myself to walk out the door.

My mind kept telling me that my friends didn't want me there, and that they only invited me out of pity and that I should just stay home, that way no one would have to look at me and I wouldn't be a bother to anyone. All things that I knew in my heart were a lie, but my brain convinced me otherwise, and thus won the fight. So I am hoping that this next time I will be able to go and have fun and enjoy camping with everyone. I seem to have very little trouble going out to the lake with everyone, so I have no idea what the difference is?

Just had some really amazing chicken fried steak away this place called the Fruit Yard. Omg it was amazing. My "last dinner" was so filling that I couldn't eat all of it. I'm sitting here in a food coma, while writing this. So now the count down to getting to the airport begins. 

I'm going to miss my mom and my family, but nothing beats coming home to your own bed, and getting back into your routines.