So I’ve been off for the past week, bc my friend N rolled into town (visiting from North Carolina). We had a really great visit, but man, we were on the move a ton! Yes, in typical VG fashion, I gave her an entire list of ideas well in advance of her arrival and then once she landed, there was more planning. I know, for you spontaneous folks out there, I do need to relax sometimes, but frankly, as an ESTJer, there are few things worse than asking a group of people what they want to do and getting “I’ll do whatever. I’m easy” as the response. Bc I loathe that so damn much, I always have some kind of schedule in my back pocket just in case.

The great thing about N is that she, in her own words, possesses a kind of child-like wonder, so she’s super game for adventure. From a very young age, she loved travel and exploration. I think she gets it from her mom, although her father too had a very curious mind. Like all of us, N has many ideas and visions of what she wants to do and who she wants to be, but for one reason or another, she’s too often limited by constraints… you know what I mean. We all have big dreams, and then we come up against some wall… be it a wall that others have built for us or a wall we have built for ourselves or some other hindrance that I suppose could fall under the category of “life circumstances.”

But I’m super impressed and inspired by N. No matter the challenges, she trudges forward. She has fallen down a shit ton and she continues to have major setbacks, but she always gets back up. And really, if you think about it, so long as any of us choose life over death, there are only SO many options in continuing on.

I was saddened by her latest setback, but at the same time, I also observed considerable progress in so many other areas: with her finances, with nervous ticks/habits, with smoking. She is fighting battles on so many fronts, but she remains brave and she continues to forge a path forward, examining other options and possibilities and offshoots, like from her current career. She also talked of moving out west, either to Colorado or California, and I can see that she’s formulating plans to make those things happen. I’m so happy to see the fire burning in her heart again.

As for our week of adventure, we did a lot. And lucky for her, between Bubbey and me, she had a good balanced mix of serious and direct and fun and light. On some days, I got a little annoyed with the amount of car time and travel and hassle (city parking, hitting up crowded touristy spots, etc.), but then I checked myself. Things worth doing take time and work and hassle. That’s just how it goes. And thank goodness we did so many things she wanted to do, bc in the process, I discovered some amazing new experiences.

For example, months ago, N texted me asking about Forbes Island restaurant. I was like, what is this place, some cheesy artificial “island” randomly planted by the pier? You take a little ferry from the dock to the “island.” And then, god, a fixed menu. And it’s pricey? WTF is this tourist trap? But N read up on it and was so excited (She has a thing for lighthouses) about it, so I booked the reservations. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. But then we went. And it was lovely. Delightful. And the food and service were superb. So, credit where credit it due!

Same thing with a day trip to Napa. I was dreading the car travel and the hoyty toyty wine tastings and then the traffic coming back. Yes, Debbie Downer is super prone to car sickness and then I get cranky. Although, I kept it mostly under wraps. Well, it turned out to be a beautiful day, and we hit up some old places like Artesa and Domaine Carneros (always scenic) as well as some new places, like Jamieson Ranch and Castello di Amorosa. I was giving major pushback about the latter, bc a frickin’ castle in Calistoga?!? Again, eye roll, right? I mean, I was envisioning some kind of Disney-like ridiculousness. And I really wanted to go home and not drive the extra 35 min to the goddamn castle. But Bubbey argued that we were “already in the area”… so fine. Well, my bad again. The castle was pretty fricking cool. Yup, I stand corrected.

Other things we did included a day trip to Santa Cruz then hitting up Bonny Doon winery (we even joined their club!) and driving north through Pescadero to stop at Harley Farms. We introduced N to Burmese food (tea leaf salad!!), and I took her to the Chinese foot spa, which she loved. We did karaoke, saw the movie Snowden (well done), and enjoyed German fare at the local cafe/bakery. She also reached out to a friend’s sis who moved out here three years ago from Wilmington. The lady is a mechanic who now lives on a houseboat in Redwood City. She and her boyfriend were super gracious and took us out on the water on their sailboat… which I have never ever done before. So all in all, we had a very full week and we had fun. And N was super happy and grateful and acknowledging. Seriously, she is quite keen and I think she knew I was being resistant at times, but she was so sweet in thanking us for everything. She’s so good about verbalizing her gratitude. That’s something I really should emulate.

So this morning, I dropped her off in San Jose. She took the MegaBus to Burbank, where she’ll be staying a few days with some family friends. Bubs and I are aiming to get back on our routine. I need to hit the gym, and then tomorrow I’m meeting with my realtor’s friend, who is a real estate broker in Cupertino. Then, on Sunday, we’re off to Portland for a few days. I’m trying a new live-in sitter for Marty. We’ll see how that pans out.

Speaking of Marty, N gave him a promising prognosis. She said that he is doing remarkable given his age: he displays strong appetite, no vomiting, regular stool, and he still gets excited for walks and treats… She suggested a few things, like trying to put some weight on him, vitamin E to help with the arthritic inflammation, and moving his legs to exercise the muscles more… other than that, she’s amazed! Yay![FAG id=7478]