Thoughts from Home

Greetings.

I've been home for awhile now and I've found myself to be pretty busy but also enjoying some relaxation here and there. :)

I was sick with a cold when I first arrived home and found the first few days I was adjusting to the time difference and found myself falling asleep very early and on Christmas day I was wide awake at 5 a.m.

I saw extended family right when I arrived home, and my uncle captured the effects of my jetlag in a photo of me sleeping on my Dad.

We were recently in a particularly piercing cold stretch (a few nights were below 0 and most days warmed up to somewhere between 10 and 20 degrees), but when I first arrived home, even the temperatures in the mid-20s just felt so incredibly cold. A very different cold than St Andrews on the coast. It felt like a land-locked cold, a middle-of-the-field cold.

As strange as it sounds, I enjoyed being back in the woods and among all of the trees. I think the New England landscape and nature is as personal to me as some of the landscapes and nature I found in Scotland. Coming home to the pine trees and massive amounts of snow and balsam firs was just as beautiful (maybe) as the views of the North Sea that I miss.

Being back in Concord definitely felt a bit strang as I discovered that while this town and region have an increase in natural light with longer days than where I spent the autumn, somehow the effects of January, the constant dry air, crunching snow, frigid cold, exhaust, coughs, sneezes, dry skin and cold fingers have colored the area into a bleakness I don't recall.

I spent a bit of time with my brother as we had some overlapping time while we both were home, we came from quite opposite locations with Berkeley, CA versus the U.K. but found our experiences could be slightly similar and it was nice to eat pizza with him and laugh about familiar things.

Spending time with friends from high school as well as two of my best friends from Saint Michael's was also quite wonderful.

Additionally, I bagged up my pence, and took out the plastic bag I had stored away of my quarters, dimes, nickles and pennies. I've spent a bit of time searching for and applying to summer internships, typing and editing cover letters and my resume as well. I'm hoping for something out-of-state but I'll see what I can do. :)

I've enjoyed cooking and made some homemade tortillas the other day.

I visited my summer workplace, Cafe Indigo last week and loved seeing the new design and changes before venturing over to my high school job at French's Toy Shop with a friend who I worked there with and marvelled at the new ownership and merchandise as well as recognizable toys.

It felt a bit strange yet fulfilling to say goodbye to 2012. It was a strange and challenging year but it brought several new beginnings and opportunities and perhaps that's just how life rotates. :)