Catching Up

The Big News of the day:

After weeks of worrying about my teeth and imagining that I had at least eight cavities and would be needing serious gum surgery, I went to the dentist today and not only was everyone there really nice (unlike previous dentists) but they also said I have great teeth with no cavities! Strange how a good dentist visit made me so elated...

Where I have been:

Portland.

We visited Neil's family and friends for nine days which was a bit too long. We had at least four different social engagements daily and came home thoroughly exhausted and it was a tough trip at times because we were spread so thin... but overall, it was successful. We saw at least 50 relatives and 20 friends (including three of my personal friends). We spent a day on the Oregon Coast with Neil's mom and Grandma and Aunt. We went to the COOLEST dog store ever www.lexidog.com. We spent six hours biking and kayaking with Neil's dad in a self-made biathlon (semi-torturous at the time, but rewarding in the end). And, we met Neil’s best friend's baby, possibly the cutest baby I've ever met.

We got home Sunday and my parents were at our house with our dogs, who we missed a ton. Apparently, the dogs had a great socialization experience while we were away. They bonded with my parents (mostly my mom) and then went to a kennel for five days where they charmed all the employees (and didn't bite anyone).

Last night was the much-anticipated Dave Matthews Band concert. My fan club membership got us sixth row seats and it was amazing. Also amazing is how little sleep I have had over the last 12 days. Oregon consisted of about 6 hours of sleep a night on an air mattress and since then, I have not been doing much better. I thought I was going to fall asleep while having my teeth cleaned. But the chalkboard-esque scraping ensured that I didn't.

The concert brought up those pesky feelings that I should quit my job and follow my every whim in an effort to live the most fulfilling/authentic/quality life I can. Something about being surrounded by and filled with really good live music makes me feel more alive than I do in my day to day life... Other things bring about this feeling too: using my body (the biking and kayaking biathlon for example) being in nature, being with friends and family, reading something really well-written and thought-provoking, writing something I feel proud of (most recently my John Kerry essay, even if NPR didn't want it), traveling, seeing new things, meeting new people...I think there are some more... but at the moment, the exhaustion is taking over.