Thanksgiving weekend 2016

So, I promised you the saga of my most recent Thanksgiving adventures, and herein I pay my due thusly:

Last year I spent Thanksgiving working in a liquor store. Which, I mean face it, that's a pretty awful way to spend a holiday. Thanksgiving, of all the holidays, feels like the one that most of all needs to be spent with your closest loved ones. I guess this year that gave me one more thing to be thankful for.

I started a new job in August, which, at the time, meant I would have a four day holiday weekend. The idea of spending thanksgiving with my family in Washington for the first time since I moved set in very quickly and I was pretty excited. But when October arrived... a company-wide email was sent out telling us that the day after thanksgiving we'd be open. And that everyone was expected to work it unless they drew time off. I tried to take it off, but as a new hire I didn't have the necessary accumulated vacation time. And I wasn't going to claim I was sick. So I hatched a plan. A foolhardy plan. The kind of plan that only a hell-bent hooligan half mad and drunk on nonsense can dream up in his wild head.

My plan was to leave work the night before Thanksgiving, driving north and arriving at my family's doorstep later that night. We'd party the night away. Rise the next morning, move the festivities to our friends' home to enjoy a shared feast with a large throng of party goers, and then when all parted to go their merrier ways... I'd head back south again in time to go to sleep so that I could get up the next morning to work. Then... after I'd worked a day's worth of toil, it'd be back in the car with me and back up to Washington to spend the weekend with my family. Then I'd drive back to Portland Sunday night. That was my harebrained plan. And that's exactly what I did. Both drives north were fine. Relatively quick and painless. But both drives south were... harrowing. The drive home after Thanksgiving dinner was the worst of the two. It was a torrential downpour the entire way. At times the water on the road was so deep I could feel it beat against the floorboards of my car as the wheels struggled to grip the sopping pavement.

But I made it back. Twice. And I'm really glad I did it. It was fantastic to spend Thanksgiving just like I remember it. With the same people I've spent it with for years. I'd missed it. This Thanksgiving was infinitely better than last year's. And it was equally lovely to have a weekend dedicated to catching up with my family. I've missed them all so much. And it was good to see what they're all up to these days. I was able to spend some coveted time with my girlfriend too. For both of us, snagging just a couple moments together can really help ease the difficulty of distance. I miss her. But a few hours respite from our time apart tends to be pretty encouraging.

Anyway - that's it. For a saga it isn't, like, the craziest thing you've ever heard I'm sure. But it was a pretty adventurous weekend for me.

Woes of distance

Hi.

It's me again.

I'll be honest, I just don't think I'm a very good blogger. A blogger is fearless. A blogger just slaps out the day's events like it's an adventure after an adventure, and it really isn't, but they act like it is.

I have trouble writing about my every day scenarios. They're not interesting, they're repetitive, and they don't write themselves. And if I'm going to write about something, it needs to excite me.

And yet, here I am. I have nothing especially exciting to write about, but I felt compelled to post something on this derelict web log. A writer ought to write when he's compelled.

For those of you wondering about me personally: I'm doing alright. I'm working full time for the first time in my life. It's a desk job, which isn't really the kind of job that stuffs your life full to brimming with adventures... But I have a good team of people. We all work well together and have a good time.

Portland's weather has been rainier of late. Meaning walks are soggy things. Evenings are better spent inside, with a mug of hot stuff and a book or something.

But while everything seems okay, I miss my friends and my family and my girlfriend. It's not like I'm alone. I have my roommates and my friends down here in Portland. But every time I drive north to visit everyone I get pulled in a million different ways. I want to spend time with Natalie and I want to see my family and I want to see my ol' buddies. I end up trying to do it all and I spread myself thin and don't get nearly enough time with any of them. I feel like my younger siblings are going to grow up and I won't even make so much as a shallow impression in their lives. I feel like I'm going to lose the friends that meant so much to me for so long. And I feel, worst of all, like I'm taking my girlfriend for granted. I want them all to know how much I love them, that's why I try to fit them all in. And instead... they all just feel neglected. Like they're not as important as the next person.

I know I can't make everyone happy. But... these are the people I care the most about. They're the only people I really want to make happy.

Life is tricky. I'm sure I'm not the only person who's felt this way. I can't be the only guy who's experienced this. I've always been scared of letting people down. But lately it feels like I'm letting everyone down.

Christmas is coming. And when the Christmas season happens I always get so excited. It's my favorite time of the year. But this December is going to be crazy. Every weekend is spoken for already. Every weekend is claimed by someone or something. I really hope my favorite time of the year isn't ruined by my trying to fit everyone and everything in.

I guess I just hope everyone is patient with me. It takes a lot of energy to drive back and forth and hither and thither and... all of it. I love everyone. And I'm definitely trying my best. I'll see you guys soon.

... Alright. Crazy, mixed up post. What a way to get back into blogging.

Come to think of it, my Thanksgiving is going to be a saga worth chronicling. So stay tuned for that adventure.