Here we are again, another silent month has passed by.

About a month ago I went on my first vacation since…honestly, I can’t remember when.  I should be able to remember a vacation, even with my faulty memory, so clearly it’s been too long.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t so much a vacation as an excuse to visit our old stomping grounds and eat.  Our family just happens to live there as well. 😉

The whole reason, initially, for the trip was the Avenged Sevenfold and Metallica concert. Trying to squeeze too much in before leaving town caused us to be late, and an hour and a half to park caused us to miss Avenged all together.  How utterly disappointing.  The Sis had never seen Metallica, so at least there was that.

There was lots of sleeping, eating, laughing, and general relaxation.  All much needed.

Then there was Disneyland.  Oh, my happy place.  The first year The Sis and I arrived in Los Angeles we got passes and utilized them to the fullest.  I’d say, without exaggeration, we visited the parks or just Downtown Disney once a week, every week, for the whole year.  After we rescued our furkids, Disneyland became a distant memory.  Five years.  That’s a long time to go without.

Highlights of the day:

1) Getting massively soaked on the Grizzly River Run water ride and having to walk around for hours with clingy jeans.  Ew.

2) Shaking after riding the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride, which used to be the Tower of Terror.  I knew what I was getting into, and yet, I rode it again.  It’s sort of a blur because I was screaming like a loon and clenching onto whatever was in reach for dear life, i.e. my brother’s pant leg.

3) Having cocktails like grown-ups in Disneyland because it always makes me feel like I’m misbehaving.

4) Running into Thor and having him admonish me for “wearing the wrong tunic”.  I’m a Cap girl. 😉

5) Watching my brother’s girlfriend dance along side one of the hotrods from Cars only to be told to stop.  Ha!

6) Waiting for an unreasonable amount of time to meet Captain America because the cast members were excited to learn I have a Cap shield as part of my geek tattoo and encouraged me to take a picture.  He was adorable and stayed in character which allowed me to live out a minor fantasy. 😉 I met Steve Rogers!!

Non-highlight of the whole trip…having my car broken into and our bags stolen.  When I

went out to the car in the morning to load up more stuff, I stared at the window in doe-eyed wonder.  It didn’t register what had happened for like 12.7 seconds. Yes, thankfully it was only material things, but unfortunately, many of those items were irreplaceable.  Andthe kicker, of course my insurance didn’t cover anything, even the windows.  It left me depressed for about aweek.  I don’t spend a lot of money on myself, and so the things I lost had taken years to accumulate, and in an instant it was all gone*, including my new prescription glasses that I bought without insurance.  Slight upon slight.  (*This was before Harvey, you know, to give you some perspective.)

When we returned home, we had the annual crazy adventure known as Gishwhes. Unfortunately, our state of mind did not allow us to dig in and accomplish as much as we normally do.  With the knowledge that this may be the last hunt ever, we were disappointed that we couldn’t contribute more.

But…

On a positive note, upon returning to work I was offered a promotion.  I’m now an assistant manager at a job I like.  And because my new friends/coworkers felt so bad about what happened, they took up a small collection to help offset some of the cost to replace those stolen goods.  I cried.

So that was the first two weeks of August, the other two…huh.  What have I been doing?!  I’ve been working weird shifts, I’ve been cooking more, and there’s been lots of Game of Thrones, but two more weeks have passed in a blur.  I guess time flies whether you’re having fun or not. 😉

As for my writing, I’ve barely written a word.  I’m trying to find balance on this new path, and find a new story to be passionate about – something that drives me to “want” to sit at my computer after staring at one at work during the day.  Yes, I know, I’m supposed to show up with or without my muse, but right now I’m not even sure what story to tell.  It sort of sounds bad to say this out loud, but I kind of want to write some new fan fiction.  Any writing is good writing, right?

I hope you’ve all been well!  I’ve missed you!