End of summer rush

I always get sad toward the end of August. The sun that I've enjoyed watching set around 9pm is slowly creeping into my commute home from work at 7-- which makes the drive home from work all the more beautiful, but a sign that summer is nearing to an end.

And now that it's hitting me that soon I'll have to whip out my scarves and coats, I'm trying to get in as much summer activities as I can. This weekend, a bit saddened by the thought of it all, I dropped everything I had planned to do (catch up on my mountains of work) and went to the beach. And not to just any beach, but a private beach a bit north of Santa Cruz, where the sun was just perfect and the sand pristine. I took this rare opportunity to just relax, catch up with my friends, and sink my feet into the warm sand. As if this picture perfect beach day wasn't picture perfect enough, a group of dolphins swam by.

This summer has been a roller coaster ride. The lows were low and the highs were overwhelmingly and sometimes confusingly high. But hey, with a few tweaks here and there, I still got to travel and explore new places. A few more places I got to sink my feet in, and really, that's what it's all about.

Road Trip: Day 5

I wish I was eloquent enough to describe the beauty I saw while driving through the desert landscape of Arizona, but I'm not. So here's a quote from one of my favorite books that perfectly summarizes how this land has captured me.

"McCandless was stirred by the austerity of this landscape, by it's saline beauty. The desert sharpened the sweet ache of his longing, amplified it, gave shape to it in sere geology and clean slate of light."
-Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

Home now. This road trip was really, really something else. I will be posting details about the trip in days to come.

Road Trip: Day 4

Sunset brings out the beautiful, vibrant colors in the Grand Canyon. Definitely one of the best places I've ever visited.

On the road

There is something about travel that puts my mind at peace. I can leave all my worries behind, drive somewhere where my only thoughts are of...the brownish mountains, the shrubbery, and the way the sky always looks bluer than the same sky I look above from home. This road trip is definitely what I needed after these few months of "life." But if only life can be easy to deal with by just a simple hop in the car and a full tank of gas. I'm still trying to figure that out, but not right now. Right now, I'm just on the road.

Road Trip: Day 3

Las Vegas. Playing the 1 cent slot machines just so we can get free drinks.

Road trip: Day 3

Early morning drive towards Las Vegas. A very peaceful drive.

Road trip: Day 2

LA's Famous Pink's chili dog

Road trip: Day 1

Arrived in Santa Monica around 6am. Tired, we did the only thing we could do- play on the beach!

A bit of a hiatus

I've been limiting my time spent sitting in front of the computer as part of my recovery, so I've been on a hiatus of sorts. Of course, I now have a backlog of posts that need updating. Those will be rolled out in the next few weeks. I will also be going on my first major road trip next week! I will definitely be doing live updates of that trip. Check back here for updates!

Theo Chocolate

 

Seattle's specialty chocolate. If there is such a thing as Heaven, then it is definitely in this bar. Scarfing it down at work right now and it is really making my day extra amazing!