Here's what I've done since coming back from the WBC:
April: Got through tax season at work, had a wisdom tooth pulled.
May: My mom and Aunt Toni came to see me in Chicago, meeting up with Cousin Jay who was here for his oral boards. I say we all had a lovely visit, and there was Second City and the Wiener's Circle and walking Michigan Avenue and other fun things. And we didn't even make it to a single museum! Which means that they, and all the rest of you, must come to seeeee meeeeee. I recommend May through October, unless you want snow on the ground, in which case, come for New Year's.
Later in May, I went to Sacramento for a girls' weekend; a friend who lives out that way took us to some of her favorite wineries in Napa as well. My first time in Napa, and I loved it. It reminded me so much of Tuscany, which I also loved (though not as much as Paul loved it).
And at the end of May, I auditioned to be on Jeopardy!; they tell you nothing about how you did on the second test (you take the first one to make it to the in-person auditions) or anything. They keep you on file for 18 months, and if you don't hear from them, you can try out again. So keep your fingers crossed!
June: Aside from a quick jaunt to Michigan to visit my friend Karen, who some of you met, not much.
July: Over the Fourth, we went to Cleveland, which these videos aside was a very pleasant place to visit. That's two out of the three big industrial Rust Belt cities we've visited that we've liked, so far; Pittsburgh was the other one from which we came away with a favorable impression. Detroit...well, not so much. It feels like...okay, you know how if you're in downtown Las Vegas, and you go that extra half-block so it all becomes buildings that are crumbly around the edges and the homeless people are so down they don't even ask for handouts, and it smells like all the sewers in town run right under that intersection? It's like that, but worse, because the buildings themselves are gorgeous; you can tell how much money there once was. It just made us sad. Pittsburgh and the Cleve, they feel like they still have hope, and they're both on lovely bodies of water (Cleveland on Lake Erie, Pittsburgh surrounded by those three rivers), and they're just in better repair. People still care, I guess, is the biggest difference.
ANYWAY. Since then, we've mostly stayed near the house. Coming up over the rest of the year we have a likely trip to Las Vegas, though probably just an in-and-out visit. That's if we can get a good ticket price. After that, we're going to Disneyland with Dad and his wife in October, then back to Sacramento and Napa in November because as much as I liked the Tuscany feel Paul will love that even more. And then always home for Christmas in December. Whew.
Next time: more day-to-day stuff, which is always the part that I like reading in other people's blogs. You?
