I just got back from a family vacation to Park Rapids, MN on Saturday. (<--- there's the view from our cabin.)We were there for a week, which is just long enough I think. Any longer and I'd go nuts. I can only handle so much time with the folks. I'm so used to living on my own and having my own space that when I'm crammed into a little cabin with 5 other people, I get a little touchy. I had a headache nearly the entire time and I don't know if it's from the meds I'm on or not being able to get away from people or the crappy bed or what I was eating. I still have an excruciating headache now - the kind where light makes you keel over in pain and Ibuprofen doesn't help. Maybe I should go to the doctor.

In comedy news, or lack thereof, I haven't been doing it at all for the past 3 weeks or so. I couldn't do it last week, being up North and the week before I just wasn't into it. I got really down on myself and couldn't decide if I really wanted to pursue it anymore or not. That was mostly due to the fact that I haven't written anything in a long time. And by "long time" I mean about a month. I won my contest and now I'm coming down from that, trying to find something to look forward to with comedy. I was spending my time perfecting my timing and stage presence and all that and not concentrating on writing.

In an effort to increase my creativity I started making jewelry up at the lake. I bought a bunch of crap beads from the Ben Franklin and started making earrings. They're actually pretty nice. I gave a few pairs away and the recipients seemed to like them. It's fun, but it hurts the back and eyes when done for over 2 hours at a time. It's really refreshing to be doing something artistic again.

I also picked up the guitar again. I hadn't played in maybe a year. Not with conviction, at least. I used to play all the time, I wanted to be like Nancy Wilson from Heart. (there's my guitar --->) Then I got to college and all of my priorities were forced to shift over to school and whoever I was dating at the time. I realise now that you (I) should never give up something I enjoy for someone I'm dating or anyone, really. It leaves you feeling empty and insecure. So now I'm playing again, remembering old songs and writing new ones. Nothing serious, just dicking around for now.

Also, since getting back from the lake, I've made a concerted effort to do things I generally wouldn't have done before going up North - ie: not going to ACME on Saturday night and instead going to a party by myself thrown by a friend I hadn't seen in almost a year with whom I thought I had a falling out but apparently not. It was just a misunderstanding I guess, at least that's what I'll leave it at. It was a dance party and it was awesome. Also, I went to my ex's little sister's 18th birthday party yesterday. Bow and I dated for about a year 3 years ago and we've stayed relatively close since. His sister came to my contest night and really enjoyed it. His other sister lives in San Francisco and comes back twice a year or so and she wanted to see me too. Bow's going through kind of a rough time and I hadn't seen him a while either. I'm going to keep doing things I normally wouldn't and see where it takes me. Both of the aforementioned shindigs were things that I didn't see myself having a good time at. I thought I'd be uncomfortable and awkward, but I had a really good at time at both of them and they were way better than sitting around on the computer or napping all day.

So life is taking all sorts of turns and I'm trying to just go along with them without struggling or forcing it. It's a lot easier said than done, but I'm making an effort and that's better than most, right?