Yowza! What a Family!

I'm pretty sure I've indicated as such in the past, but in case I haven't, I have a HUGE family. All added together, I have 8 brothers. Each of my parents came from families of 4 and 5 children, leading to a large number of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Plus, many of my cousins are married and having kids these days. 

I know some people who aren't particularly pleased with their families. Even through the first year or two of college, I always had extreme difficulty understanding people who would talk about how much they disliked their parents, siblings, etc. The way I was raised with the family I had, it just sort of blew my mind. And, in some ways, it still does!

I'm not going to pretend that I've always gotten on smashingly with my family. I grew up with 4 older brothers who would take time to torture their little sister from time to time. I went through my "disaffected youth" phase where I was semi-regularly at odds with each of my parents in turn. I was kind of a bitch to them on occasion and I still feel guilt over that some days. I'm also not going to pretend that they were perfect always. As any parent could tell you, it's a learning experience. You'll never be the perfect parent all the time, and you'll never do everything right in the eyes of your child (or other people, for that matter).

In Which a Large Box of Tea Falls Into My Lap (Sorta)

I'm just so excited, I can't contain myself. As I've mentioned, my brother currently lives in China. Not long ago, he mentioned sending me a few samples of teas from one of the local tea shops he frequents in Wuhan. Expecting a small box, I was thrilled to find a large one handed to me at the Post Office when I went to pick it up.


I figured there was a good chance some of the box was sort of stuffed to prevent things from bumping around. But I was wrong! Every last inch was packed to the brim with tea (and a gorgeous set of tea cups)!


I unpacked it all on camera so I can send the video to Greg, so I won't necessarily get into the exact excitement as I opened each item. Besides, I'm pretty sure you can all get a good idea just from knowing me or reading my blog, oh... ever!

Holy Road Trip, Batman! (Part 1)

This past weekend, I went on an epic, short, road trip. I left Thursday night and was home Sunday night. Every now and then, I just sort of get the bug to leave town. It's not a sort of situation where I'm "running" from anything, but I just like being out and about, visiting people, seeing new things. You get the drift. This desire has been niggling at me for the past few months, so I just sort of decided that I had to make it happen soon!

After discussion with the friends and family I was planning to visit, I realized I could get visits in with Christie and Laura (both are friends of mine from the Harry Potter and Wizard Rock scene) as well as finally get to see my little brother perform in a show (he played Frederic in Pirates of Penzance Junior). To top it off, I was able to knock off 3 of my Accompl.sh goals in the planning (21. See Christie for a proper visit, 36. Visit Dad, Kim, and the boys, 83. Go for at least one road trip for the purpose of being on the road).

With as little time was dedicated to the trip, I ended up having a seriously awesome weekend filled with fun, excitement, and near-death (read: almost dangerous) driving experiences!

The Joy of Friends Falling in Love

Back in my high school years, I was a member of an online forum where I met some amazing and interesting people, two of whom have always stood out a little more than the rest (sorry, guys!). In addition to both of these individuals being considered close friends, what makes them so special to me is the courtship between them that I was able to witness from a separate continent entirely.

I used to have regular conversations via instant messenger with both Matthew and Esmee at different times. I remember once, within 24 hours of each other, I had a conversation with each in which they confided in me their feelings toward the other. Naturally, I wanted them to share with one another, which they ended up doing not long later. I got to hear about the first times they spoke on the phone, met in person, and when they got engaged. So these two have a special place in my heart after all of that!

Family and my Weekend

I have been spending the weekend with my family, and I love it. It's the first time I've seen my dad, step-mom, and little brothers since the end of last July and, as crazy as they can be, it's pretty glorious. Friday night, they arrived in town, I went to my grandparents' house and had dinner and chatted quite a bit.

Lovely.

After that, I went out with Juanita and Andrew because Andrew is about to move to Washington. Juanita and I ended up back at my house at 2am - at which point I noticed James was online, so we drunkenly Skype chatted with him for about an hour before going to sleep around 3:30am.

Then it was an early morning for us (up at about 8:15am) to go grab some breakfast at Cafe Coda, immediately followed by a bit of tidying in my room and meeting my family at Saturday Morning Market at 10am. This led to an approximately 9 mile bike ride with my dad, my aunt, and my little brothers (including a bit of a picnic on the creek in the park). It was a great time.

After this, I made it home in time to catch about the last half of the Wizarding Radio Hour, which was particularly fun, actually! I look forward to future airings. I had a great time with it. A bit of rest later and I went back to my grandparents' house for dinner where I had a drink with everyone, a large dinner, and a good amount of discussion and telling of family stories.

Now I'm dead exhausted and SO looking forward to sleeping. I feel a bit bad because I want to go to Tila's birthday party tonight, but I don't have a ride there or back and I would be a lame guest because I'm so tired.

Ah well, she knows I love her and hopefully I will see her soon enough anyway!

A Beautiful Day on the Horizon

So, to start off... last night was the opening of Cannibal: The Musical. It went very well! Lots of fun, went out to the only local pub afterwards. Didn't have anything to drink as I was driving home right afterwards, but it was nice to hang out with everyone from the show for a bit. And to not have the annoying kids in the show around. :D

When I got home, it as about 1:30 and I realised that it was morning in the UK and I wasn't quite tired and James deserved a shot at chatting at me when I was dead exhausted. Ended up talking for a few hours and it was lovely. Woke up exhausted around 10:15 this morning, but today will be great anyway!

So.... onto the day I'm looking forward to now! To begin with, I'm still house sitting for my mum, which means I have probably the best view in the city. The day is so clear I can see the Buttes (the world's smallest mountain range) straight out the window. Rarely is the air so clear and the mini-mountain range so crisp in appearance. I just wish I had a camera to take a picture and show you. Alas, I do not at this time. :(

However, sometime soon, I will be going over to my cousin's for my family's Fourth Annual Wine and Brewfest. Basically, everyone brings some kind of six pack - a beer that is uncommon, interesting, or just something they'd like to try - and we spend the day together drinking and having a good time. Yeah. My family is freaking awesome. Adam and Mary started this new tradition and it is definitely a good one!

Of course, I have to run the show tonight, so can't drink too much. And the fact I have to drive over there is another thing. At least the show is late night and I can wait until I'm perfectly cogent to do any driving and tech running.

After the show, we'll all be heading over to Tony's birthday party, which should prove to be particularly entertaining! It will be good to see everyone again and have a good time. I don't know if I'll be drinking much there, as I'll still be driving myself about. But if I do, I'm sure I can crash if necessary. I doubt I will, but I'm sure it's available.

Anyways, off to start my day!