I guess if I don’t travel anywhere, I don’t write blog posts anymore. I miss writing consistently on here like I used to, definitely pre-COVID but also a lot during 2020 since there was nothing else to do. But I’m still here! Not as online as I usually am these past few weeks, and I haven’t had the itch to write in a long time.

I ran a 5K race on Sunday! It’s one that I’ve done in the past, and I don’t think I’ll write a separate post about it, mostly because I didn’t take any pictures. Gasp, I know. Folks, this might (not) come as a shock, but running with asthma is hard??? I know I’ve been at this running thing for six years now and do use an inhaler, but sometimes it’s just really hard. (It doesn’t help I’m super jealous of people who decide one day that they’ll take up running and then run 10:30 miles after two months. That’s what my old mile time was circa-2019, and I miss it so much.) This race was more about the cause than my time; I will say I didn’t finish last, though. Always the goal.

My entertainment lately has been tree-cutting. A company has been here at the condo complex the last few weeks cutting down trees. For some reason, we live in a forest of massive pine trees, and a whole bunch were taken out right behind the back of my building, like where my balcony faces. So much more sun comes into the living room, and I can finally live out my dream of being a cat and lying in the sun during the day. Some days they have a crane on site that they use to lift the trees out but other times the guys have been rigging ropes up into the trees and then just cutting them down. I swear I turn into a little kid and would just sit and watch them all day if I didn’t have to work.

Christmas shopping is stressful. I took yesterday off for Veterans Day and decided to use the morning to go Christmas shopping. Granted, I don’t have to buy for a lot of people and I was prepared with a list, but the stores were already getting busy and there were just too many people. Not like too many people in the COVID era but just crowds and lines and I hate driving in a ton of traffic. I got stuff for Josh and my mom, and I think I might have to go back out—probably the Monday of the week of Thanksgiving since I’m off that entire week—or see if I can just order the rest online (stuff for Josh and my parents). I’m probably being dramatic; everything was fine, I was patient waiting in line, but the loud Christmas music (especially in Old Navy, jeez) and kids running all over the place doesn’t help with overstimulation. I came home and made myself into a blanket burrito to decompress.

It’s finally cozy season here. For most of October, it was unseasonably warm in New England, and, unfortunately, most of Connecticut is dealing with brush fires that have been going on for weeks. The temperature is actually November-ish now, so that means I’ll be going into hibernation soon. That means lots of blankets, hot coffees, candles, fuzzy socks, binging shows*, and reading while staying inside. I’m running a 5K on Thanksgiving, but after that, I’m hanging up my running sneakers for the year. All indoor activities until at least April.

*My current one is 9-1-1: Lone Star and once I finish that I’ll be going into 13+ seasons of Chicago Fire.