life in surround sound and process color.

LISTENING TO: Panic! at the Disco - Viva Las Vengeance The final leg home. I'm still awake (hopefully not for long, although I'm possibly more coherent then I was when I landed in DFW yesterday), but the journey continued and then continued and then was delayed by about an hour and a half - which made my red eye just a bit more red. It's never a good sign to board an already delayed plane to then be told maintenance is still checking things (as someone who grew up watching the original Final Destination , that really didn't inspire confidence, see my trip home from Ft. Lauderdale for another example), but we did eventually get in t he air. It wasn't the most comfortable flight I've ever taken (having your seatmate both remove their shoes and continue to encroach on your personal space like it's their personal space is never great, especially when you're in the window seat), but it is always something to land in an airport when it's quite obvious yo...

LISTENING TO: The Fugees - Ready Or Not I may be exhausted, and/or delirious at this point; even though I'm not physically standing at the moment I'm at least still standing, if that makes any sense whatsoever. I find myself back again at DFW for yet another layover before getting back to the east coast, and I'm mourning what will become of my sleep schedule once I get there, as even when I land in Pittsburgh I'll still have to drive a bit to get home. I can't say that I didn't enjoy this break from the norm, though.  There's a heatwave in Dallas today that feels like it's putting everyone here on edge - everything feels a lot more hectic than it did a week ago. I can't explain exactly what is different, just that it is (which makes perfect sense to me now but will probably not make any sense when I read this back later).  Isn't there some sort of cliche regarding the end of a trip? I feel like if I could remember it, my case would be made, but ...

LISTENING TO: Cher - Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves   I thought a lot about my dad today. He's been floating around my brain all week, and although today was Father's Day, it was more because things happened today that I think he would have greatly appreciated. For one thing, he was definitely controlling the music coming through my aunt's Alexa - the classic rock station, if nothing else. The morning was spent outdoors by the pool (you can tell how much I love the zero percent humidity, as I now have the sunburn to go with it), teaching my cousin and his daughter how to shoot film. It was the first time in a while I've felt completely at ease rather than the uncanny valley of being somewhere different than normal, but family has always been something that's centered me.  Visalia is such a weird dichotomy of history and "the new" that it reminds me of all the other places in California I'd like to visit, honestly. I can only hope I'll continue coming...

LISTENING TO: Robert Wilkins - The Prodigal Son (Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1959-1964) This trip has absolutely flown by; each time I come here I just end up wanting to spend more time in the area.  My last full day in Sacramento ended with me visiting what felt like to me was the most east coast part of town since I got here. McKinley Park felt like it belonged about three blocks from the shore, and walking through the residential areas around the park just solidified that for me even more. We ended up walking down to Sac Yard, and if you had blindfolded me and sat me down I would have probably told you we were in Brooklyn. Not only that, but combined with the outdoor patio, fun beer, live music... it just made me feel like I was at home. And once you add in some fantastic Filipino food from visiting food truck Pinorrito? It really capped off the rest of the night pretty perfectly - then again, I'm always a sucker for an outdoor band and good beer. One of my last stops out...

LISTENING TO: The Beaches - Blame Brett     Running late, or late running? This is going to have to be a bit of a quick one, since I overslept and am currently drinking coffee like my life depends on it while I wait for my Uber, but collecting my thoughts this morning may just be a lesson in futility. You'll have to let me know at the end of this post. I'm so happy that I'm able to walk around Sacramento a bit more this time around, which is how I ended up at the Tank House last night for dinner. It's literally about a five minute walk from the office (and on the recommendation list), and my boss had mentioned barbecue earlier in the day, so it ended up being the perfect solution to something that had been on my mind as an option. Although originally I was going to head over to Urban Roots (which is still on the list), the people watching opportunities, barbecue mac and cheese and vibe of the bar were just too much for me to pass by. I probably should have sat outside,...

LISTENING TO: Sun Casino - Driftwood     I should have written yesterday, but it just turned into one of those things. So where was I? The rest of Tuesday was me just getting my feet wet, so to speak - or more accurately, getting my time-clock back on track. I started my day with a bit of a walk and a cup of coffee at the Mill (it's always fantastic when there's an amazing coffee spot so close to work), as well as a well-deserved lunch break at Sawasdee. Not only is their food amazing, but the art around their building is such that it caught my eye the last time I was in Sacramento. I swear I had much grander plans than heading straight back to the hotel after work and absolutely crashing, but turns out that's exactly what happened. Yesterday was a bit of a different story, however. I actually started my day on time (with actual breakfast!) downstairs at Cafe Bernardo. There's something about being away from home that has my brain thinks breakfast is a great idea, an...

LISTENING TO: Kiiara - Gold As predicted, my trip through Dallas was way smoother than my brain always tells me it's going to be. It's always nice to have a layover there because even though it meant I wouldn't land in Sacramento until late (my trips in California always seem to start like this lately), I had a chance to catch my breath on the ground, which is a good reminder that parts of Texas are still on my wishlist for future travel. What really struck me this time around was the change in COVID preparedness from everyone in the airport (and this stands for Pittsburgh too). I know COVID is still out there, but I have to say it was nice to see things a bit more back to normal, if that makes any sense at all (especially seeing as the phrase "back to normal" seems more than a bit over-used these days, at least in my opinion). I was starting to drag a bit during the last hour of my layover, it was pretty nice to get a window seat for my night flight into Sacrame...

LISTENING TO: Zach Bryan (featuring Maggie Rogers) - Dawns Two tunnels in one day mark my grand return to Pittsburgh - although this time it's only to the airport. I've been trying to figure out if I've ever been to the Pittsburgh airport, if only for a layover, and although it's pinging the hell out of my brain that I've been here before, I don't actually think I have.  In any case, there's major construction once you get through the brightly painted sidewalks of the long term parking lot (definitely a fun aspect, if I'm being honest), which is probably what's messing the most with my memory. It's completely filled with art throughout security and the terminals, which I really appreciate - and there's no missing the giant T-Rex skeleton as you come down the escalators. It's not too long before I'm in the air though, although my memory of the first time I flew into DFW is almost implanted into my brain at this point. Here's to a...

LISTENING TO: The Weeknd (featuring Gesaffelstein) - I Was Never There The Squirrel Hill Tunnel is always one that brings back memories when I drive through it; I still can't believe it's been nearly three years since I've made my way back to the city of Pittsburgh. A bit more of a straight line of a trip from my sister's rather than Indiana this time around - past Ghost Walk Trail, an actual castle outside of Blairsville (Dane Castle - I so want to figure out what that's about), a restaurant with a giant bare-assed pig on it's roof (way to get stuck in people's memories, Clem's)... you can't ask more out of driving into the city. I don't know why it took me so long to remember the name of the first bridge I ever traveled into the city on - Hot Metal Sheet Bridge, for the record), but like the tunnel, it gives me a visceral reminder of where I am. There's really nothing like Pittsburgh, really. Being in Point State Park in the sunshine is a...

LISTENING TO: Cody Johnson - Til You Can't There's something strange about living in someone else's home while they're not there. Granted, this isn't the first time I've been housesitting (see London ) or even been residing in someone else's house while they're elsewhere (see multiple trips to North Carolina over the years), but maybe it feels differently this time because I'm not completely alone. As I'm writing this, I'm currently being used as a comfortable place to sit for two small dogs, which seems to be a continuing theme of the last 24 hours or so. Although I've been camped out at my sister's since this weekend, today is the first time I've really been alone in this space. It's been a while since I've had a whole house to myself (which sounds weird, I know, especially since I live alone), but it's been really nice to just be sitting here, listening to everything outside and just enjoying the quiet of it all. It...