Random Ramblings #7/8

I meant to post this last Sunday, but I just never got around to it, so here's 2 weeks of random ramblings. First, the week of March 3-10 and then March 11-17

This week has been quite long and tiring, though not much has happened.There's a lot of strange, underlying tension at work and keeping afloat of that can be tough.

Monday night after work I passed out really really early. I basically vegged out from the second I got home. My husband went to the store and was going to make something easy for dinner once he got home, but I was too tired to even eat dinner. I said no thank you, brushed my teeth and laid down about 8:30. I would have slept all the way through, I imagine, if it it weren't for our boisterous neighbor in the next building over. She likes to have ridiculously  loud ( and, if I'm honest, my snarky guess is that they're fake) orgasms, at random times late at night. Monday night/Tuesday morning she woke me up at 2:15 am, from  what felt like deep sleep. But her pitch is so high that it cuts right into my dreams and pulls me out. I definitely had a hard time getting up and ready when the alarm went off.

I drink a lot of tea now that I live in Canada. Being from Cali, I'm much more of an iced tea fan, but hot tea here is more the thing. Dearran likes to indulge my iced tea love though because he knows how I'm more used to iced tea. I really like just plain, Pureleaf tea. It's calorie free, yay!  I like some of their flavored teas as well, but those are full of sugar, so I only drink them every once in a while. There's a new flavor out, pomegranate. I love it. It's so good, and nice an authentic, not overly sweet or fake. If you like iced tea, I definitely recommend it.

Thursday and Friday of last week were very emotionally charged, and left me feeling very upset.

This past week was equally awkward, but I've been putting my best foot forward in ignoring the bs.

The time change has really thrown me for a loop though. All this week, I've been ridiculously tired. I think I'm finally starting to get over it though. I barely remember what happened earlier in the week. I've really enjoyed the couple of nice sunny days we've had recently though.


Instead of overtime we have "flex time" where we are paid at straight time, that we can then use later to take time off. Since I'm going to California for the four day weekend at the end of the month, I requested a few hours off on Thursday the 29th. Because of our one person off at a time rule, I was hopeful no one would have requested it. But, our TL told me that someone else had requested the same time. I was okay with that, was just going to accept it and move on. Then my TL told me that she went to a manager on my behalf, and asked if I could also be off during that time. It was really kind of her to do that, especially without me asking. Luckily, the manager was fine with it, and I'll get to work 5 hours and leave a bit early that day, so that I can get all set to go on my trip. It gives me a bit of extra time to run errands like going to the bank to get some US cash, getting a haircut, and packing without as much of the rush.

This weekend I walked a ton on Saturday. I got over 10,000 steps, whereas most days I usually only get about 6000. I went to the mall and got a few new 15 dollar dresses from Old Navy, and a backup pair of these super comfy capris I found recently. Being so short, capris on me just become pants that fit perfectly and don't need to be hemmed.

After so much walking around yesterday, I really should have gotten on to laundry and that kind of stuff today, but it was raining this morning and I just wanted to stay in my comfy bed instead. So laundry will have to wait til tomorrow after work. The plan for the rest of the day is to finish up a book (I'm four books behind on my GR goal :(  )

How have you been? Anything you want to share from your week? Let me know!

Random Ramblings #6

Hey everyone!

It's Sunday, so I guess that means it's time for another random ramblings post. 

Last weekend was really a quiet one for me, as I mentioned. I messed up my sleep schedule, with naps over the weekend and so ended up staying awake til 1 am again. At about 11:15 last Sunday night, I accidentally dropped my laptop on the floor. Whoops. My neighbor was none too happy about it either, shouting up at me, "If you do that again, I'm calling the manager, you got it?"

The way she said it made it seem like I'd been dancing a jig, or continuously dropping things all day long. All I did last Sunday was read and watch TV. (Super lazy, I know) I realize it's late, lady, but things happen, it was an accident. She's not the most pleasant person, and I honestly think she has a problem with the fact that I have to use my canes in the apartment from time to time. I use them as infrequently as possible, and am very conscious of my noise level, but she said something about their being 'stomping in the middle of the floor' when we unfortunately ran into her in December when the elevator in our building was being fixed. She's quite passive aggressive, banging on the ceiling and shouting things up at us, but we've never actually had the manager come to talk to us about anything.

This week has been pretty uneventful, for the most part. I've been trying to decide whether or not to take vacation. I didn't think that I was eligible to pick vacation until I passed my 6 month probation, which for me is in May. I talked with my manager about it a few weeks ago, and they've decided to let me, since they foresee no issues with me passing probation. The problem is, vacation is picked in seniority order, which is fine, but the longer you've been with the company, the more supplemental vacation you get, in addition to the normal 3 weeks. For our team, only one person is allowed off at one time  And all of the people on my team have been there 20-30 years. So there's basically nothing left. There's a random week in June, a week at the end of September, and the last 2 weeks of November. But I think some of my coworkers even still have vacation hours left to use, so those could disappear too.I will probably ask for that last week of September, with the hopes that my dad will drive up for a visit then. I could take the week of US Thanksgiving, but my contract is up as of November 9th and I have no way of knowing if they will  post another listing for my position at that point, so I really don't know if I should even bother asking for that time off.

This weekend has been nice and easy so far. I even got spoiled with the lovely flowers in the picture at the top of the post. I'm not usually very big on flowers at all, but these really caught my eye. We saw these in a small flower stand at a local mall a few weeks ago. I wanted to get them then, but we had too much other stuff with us from running errands. My husband went to get his taxes done today and came home with them, which was really nice.

That's about it for me this week. Does anyone have any random ramblings they want to share?

My 2nd "Canniversary"

Melissa's Musings:

2 years ago today around 3 pm, I became a permanent resident of Canada. It was a long, stressful, expensive(!) journey to get here. One of these days, I'll sit down and do a timeline and cost breakdown of my immigration process. I really should, since I know it would probably be helpful for people who are currently going through it. Though, as far as I know, right after I completed the process, it was simplified, so it should be easier now. 

It wasn't easy to get here, but it was worth it. There was a problem with my immigration file, every step of the way, even with a lawyer (thank goodness we were smart enough to hire him.) My papers were issued, and then reissued, with only a few days to go before they expired. The time to get packed, quit my job, and say goodbye to family and friends was a short six weeks.

Actually landing and going through that process to get my official paperwork at the airport was easy. They were also impressed with my listmaking for the lists of goods coming in with me that day, and to follow me later. They even asked if they could take extra photocopies to use as examples.

I did have a rough time adjusting. I missed my family and friends a lot, and felt "trapped" in the country at first because I couldn't go back to the US, or even start applying for jobs until I got my permanent residency card in the mail (you need that before you can get the other forms of ID necessary for job applications) That didn't arrive for 5 long months. And even after that, I still had a hard time.

I'm doing much better now. I don't have as many friends as I'd like, but that's okay. I'm working, trying to enjoy the little things, and no longer in the super depressed state I was in for quite a while my first year here. 

The US will always be my home, nearest and dearest to my heart (especially when I'm wearing these):

 But, Canada is my home now, too,

If anyone has any questions about my immigration journey, feel free to ask!

Random Ramblings of the Week # 5

Hey guys!

Here's a recap of some random things of the week:

Saturday and Sunday last weekend we had some crazy weather. Saturday it went from snow in the morning, to rain, to half sunny and back to snowing again. Sunday it was mainly just chilly but sunny. I managed to sleep in a lot those days, which promptly threw my sleep schedule off, and so  Sunday night I didn't go to bed until like 1 am. And I get up at 5 am for work.

On Monday morning I had a tough time getting up and going. I was "late" because it was icy out, so I had to walk a bit more slowly. It was also so cold that the elevator at the skytrain near my house wasn't working. I've been told the cables freeze in place when it gets too cold. I had no less than 3 people ask me if I was okay getting up the stairs (when I was already halfway up) and one man who said, "Oh, you're doing a challenge." I politely said, not exactly, the elevators are out. He then proceeded to watch me climb the rest of the stairs, which made me uncomfortable, so I purposely waited for the next skytrain.

Work that day was pretty uneventful, but I ended up staying and working an extra hour. On my way home, the elevator I needed at that skytrain station also wasn't working, so I got more comments and stares, but I definitely got my cardio in for the day. I ended up exhausted that night, and I must have fallen asleep around 830 or so.

On Wednesday, I came home to the gift of this guy:

Cute, isn't he? My favorite flavors/scents are Cherry and Lemon, and my husband got me this as a gag gift. I think I may call him Snicket. I think this may also become the default photo for my Random Ramblings posts, since it is quite cheerful.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, until Friday anyway. The weather was absolutely gorgeous on Thursday. Friday, there were calls for lots of snow, up to a foot. I was good getting to work, as it was nice and clear. The snow started around 8 am and our work actually closed for the day at 12:15. Lucky for us, we didn't even lose pay. My day would have been over at 245, but I'll take the early start to the weekend. It took me about an hour and 15 minutes to get home, since I had to wait out 4 trains to be able to safely get on. On the way home, I watched a truck cut someone off, and skid twice, narrowly avoiding what could have been a serious accident.

It's definitely going to be a cozy weekend in for me, since as of my writing this at 8pm Friday night, it's still snowing. I'm hoping to finish my current book and possibly read 2 more (the next two on my list to read are pretty short)

So, a pretty tame week this week. Does anyone have anything they want to share?

Random Ramblings of the Week #4

Hey everyone!

Here are this week's random bits and bobs:

Monday was a statutory holiday. So, I was off from work. I took the time to do absolutely nothing, and it was wonderful. Oddly, we did get mail delivery that day for whatever reason. (Usually mail isn't delivered on stat holidays.) The weather was absolutely gorgeous outside, and I do feel the tiniest bit guilty for not going out to enjoy it.

Tuesday, on my way home from work, I got to sit in front of a very interesting character. He reeked of alcohol, and spoke very loudly. At one point, he called a woman on the phone, told her where he was, and that he was going to stop at a gas station. He then said that since she wasn't ready to go, he was going to go into the gas station, stick his hands in the ice machine until they were so cold they hurt, and then come grab her tits. Lovely, right? Ugh.

On Tuesday night, it started snowing, much to my and a few of my coworkers dismay, but luckily it wasn't much, and it cleared up quickly.

Wednesday, of course, was Valentine's day. My husband and I usually keep our Valentine's days pretty low key. We're not into the whole hallmark holiday thing, with roses, chocolates etc. We do exchange gifts, but we both were kind of practical this year. I got him a beard grooming set, with some nice oils, a comb and a brush, and he got me a new smaller lunch bag.

 We also went for an impromptu trip to the bookstore in the mall, and I got a few 3 for 10 books. I got Luck, Love & Lemon Pie, Fake Plastic Love and The Invisibles. I've really wanted to read Luck, Love and Lemon Pie for a while, and if you bought it alone, it was 6 dollars, so it made more sense to buy all three. Has anyone read any of these?

Then we went to Walmart for a few necessities, a new heating pad, and a few random things. My husband also bought me a new purple windbreaker. I'm not a huge fan of jackets, just because wearing them makes me overly warm, and uncomfortable. But, other people get uncomfortable that I don't wear a jacket and are constantly making rude comments, especially when its raining. So,  I've taken to wearing one. Thankfully this kind is pretty lightweight. After Walmart, we went to Starbucks, and I tried the cherry mocha frappucino (thank goodness they have frappucinos since I hate coffee. Not the greatest flavor, but it was good. After that, I headed home while he headed down the street to pick up "our" pizza, which is pepperoni and pineapple, and we had that and Shirley Temples, which is a bit of a Valentine's day tradition for us.

The rest of the week dragged on a bit workwise. Our TL has been out for a bit, and we're also down 2 clerks right now, one due to vacation, so we've been able to work "flex" time. I don't know why I actually do this, because I never use flex at all. But, at least I'll have the time if I need it I guess. I finally got paid out my vacation hours this week. It was nearly 3000 dollars but I only got 2160 due to taxes and deductions, particularly since this past pay period I was automatically (mandatory) enrolled into the company pension plan. 150 dollars of that went to the pension deduction. I can't complain though, that's still pretty nice. Though if I'm honest I wish I could have used those hours to take actual vacation rather than be paid out for them. Since I'm still in my probation period in this new position as a clerk, I won't even be able to request vacation until May, when the 6 month probation period is up. And by that time, there'll probably be nothing left in terms of vacation weeks anyways, so I probably won't be able to use the hours this year, either. And the contract for this job is only temporary, until November. So unless I get another contract in this same position, I'd be in the same starting point again. I'll deal with that when it comes up though.

Friday happened to be another day of books for me. At midnight, I got an email from Goodreads, saying that I was a winner of one of their giveaways for The Word Search Oracle-Yoga for the Brain, This was my first Goodreads win in almost a month, so I was happy. I've noticed that they've been listing less and less giveaways that are open to Canada lately. Do any of you enter Goodreads giveaways? Have you won any books you've really enjoyed?

Then when I was at work, I checked my email on a break and saw that Chapters (a bookstore chain here) sent me an email saying that they topped me up to my next reward level in the points program, for a limited number of days. Only 5 dollars, but hey free points are free points, so I decided to use them. I ordered Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic. Rules of Magic is only out in hardcover right now, and the paperback doesn't come out until July, so I preordered the paperback copy. I like having paperbacks more, not to mention they're less expensive. I only order hardbacks when they're on major sale for lik 4 or 6 dollars for a series I like. I thought they would send these together in July when Rules of Magic is released in paperback, but I think they split the shipment so I'll probably get Practical Magic sometime next week.

Friday night I decided to do laundry again this week, so I could free up my Saturday and Sunday. It's a good thing too, since it snowed a bit early this morning. Now it's raining, so it's definitely going to be a snuggle under the covers and read kind of weekend.

How was your week? Did you get any new books?  Do you have anything that you want to share, dish, or vent about? Let me know!

Random Happenings of the Week #3

Hey guys,

I haven't done a random happenings post in a while, because not a whole lot of stuff has been happening. Or at least I haven't been taking note of it.

This week's been at least a bit more interesting. I started out with yet another cold. My 4th in 5 months. This one's pretty mild, thankfully. And I tried the onion by the bed trick a few nights to help me sleep. It seemed to work. But, I'm really really tired of this whole being sick thing. Hopefully this will be the last cold for a while.

Work has been interesting with different changes and exchanges between coworkers. Some of the exchanges have been driving me a bit crazy. I swear that place may be giving me gray hair. I noticed one in the mirror in the morning one day,and the next morning I saw two more. Thankfully this weekend is a three day weekend for Family Day, so I'll get some extra time to recharge. And then next week will be a short week which is also good.

I had another transit adventure this week. This one was pretty painful. I was on the bus after work on Tuesday, chatting with a coworker on our way to the Skytrain station. Apparently the light turned red when the driver was really close to an intersection. He jammed on the brakes, and I went flying onto the floor. According to my coworker, I lifted about 2 inches out of my seat. I hit a woman's rolling cart on my way down. My crutches kind of went flying (I was holding them in one hand instead of wearing them, probably saving myself some injury)

Luckily I wasn't badly hurt. My pride was hurt more than anything, at least that day. I did end up with a couple of odd bruises, but they're fading now.

On Friday, I got a phone call around 6 pm from my pharmacy. They were calling about my birth control prescription which I filled last month. I thought it was odd, but then the pharmacist explained that there is a recall on a certain lot of the pills I take, so she was just calling to check the lot numbers with me. Luckily mine weren't affected. I was impressed that the pharmacy was being proactive and reaching out to the people who take that medication to make them aware.

Saturday, I went to do a bit of necessary (and some unnecessary) retail therapy. I had planned on going to the bookstore, but decided against it because the bookstore was on one side of the mall (across the street) and away from where I needed to go. But, I still ended up getting a couple of books anyway, at Walmart. I bought A Wrinkle in Time to read ahead of the movie coming out in March. And I bought a book called Thursdays at 8 by Debbie Macomber.

I also ended up getting a new purple comforter, a comfy nightshirt, some socks, and a windbreaker jacket. The jacket was the main goal of the shopping trip. I have a couple of nice coats, but, because I wear leg braces, I get super warm when I wear them. The leg braces already trap some of my body heat, I use my entire body to walk since I use my crutches, and both of the jackets I own have fleece liners. So I end up an unhappy, sweaty mess. But, if I don't wear a coat I get asked constantly if I'm cold. And judged and eyes rolled at me when I say I'm not. So, I bought a waterproof, non fleece lined windbreaker.

I also wanted to try and find some new shoes. So, I went to Payless. No luck, but I accidentally left my phone on a bench in the store, and didn't realize it til I went to pay for some candles at Bath and Body Works. I had a 20 percent off coupon in my email. I pat my pocket and realize my phone is gone. So, my carelessness cost me 20 dollars in savings, but at least someone kindly turned my phone in and I didn't have to deal with replacing it.

And that's about all the randomness I've got for this week. Any random happenings you want to share?

Random Happenings of the Week #2

Hey everyone!

How's your week been? After having short work weeks due to the holidays the last two weeks, this one sure has felt long.

Not a whole lot of random things happened to me this week, but I'll share a few.

One not so pleasant one is the fact that I am sick....AGAIN!

This is my third cold in 4 months. I had one in September that I knocked out pretty quickly with a ton of sleep and lots of tea. One that was more resilient in November, and this cold is just kind of middling. I am so tired of being sick! Hopefully this cold is done with soon.


The other random thing that happened this week has to do with transit. No fun transit adventures. But rather with my card. Our transit is zoned off, and you pay specific amounts based on the zones you travel, via bus skytrain, or seabus. If you don't use Skytrain often, you can buy single tickets, but they're more expensive. And they expire after 90 minutes. You can buy a day pass for 10 dollars, It's cheaper to have a compass card that you keep stored value on, or have a monthly pass with the number of zones you usually travel, for unlimited trips within the number of zones you buy.

I have my own Compass Card, and I buy a monthly 2 zone pass since I live on the outer edge of one zone, and my job is in another zone. If I go into the third zone (rare on a weekday) I just pay for the additional zone with extra funds I keep on the card.

The nice thing about transit here is that after 6:30 pm on weekdays, weekends and holidays, all travel is considered one zone. So I can go as far as I like on my 2 zone pass without having to pay extra. Plus, you can share cards if you like. Since my husband works from home, he doesn't really need a monthly pass, he just keeps funds on his card and uses it when he needs to, or when we go out together. When he's going out by himself, I usually lend him my card, which saves him money.

And that's just what I did Thursday night, when he went out to get me some tea, and get us something for dinner.

Cue panic on Friday morning, when I'm getting ready for work and realize that my transit card isn't on my bedside table where I put it when I came home yesterday. After a bit of frantic searching surrounding areas, I finally remembered that I lent it to him.Normally I remember that he has it, and immediately ask for it back when he gets home, to avoid situations like this one.

 Given that I get up at 5 to be at work for 7, my husband was asleep at this point. So, I tried searching for his wallet, to see if I could get it, but couldn't find it.

A few months ago, my husband lost his card while we were out running errands one day. If you lose your card, you can buy a single exit ticket, to get beyond the gates and then report your card lost and have it replaced. Or you can buy another card from the machine. Well, against my urging at the time, he just bought another card and loaded money on it. So we actually have 3, mine, the lost one he did have replaced, and this backup card.

Thank goodness we keep the backup card in a specific spot. So, I got to use that Friday morning rather than spending extra money on single tickets to and from work.

Another random happening was a phone call at about 4:30 yesterday. It was from a BC number that I didn't recognize, but I decided to answer it.

Me: "Hello?"
Caller: Helloooo....
Me:Silence...
Caller: "Are you still driving?"
Me: "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number."
Caller: "Oh I'm sorry"

She sounded like  grandma to me. It makes me wonder who she was checking on and how the conversation might have continued.

And those are my random happenings of the week. Does anyone have anything they want to share?

Personal Post # 1: Random Happenings of the Week

This is my first non-bookish post of the new year. I thought I might just recount some of the random things that happened this week.

Shortly after midnight on the 1st, I got a few texts from California phone numbers, wishing me Happy New Year. Not super unusual, given that before I moved to British Columbia, I lived in California. Except, I didn't have any of these numbers saved in my phone, so I had no idea who these people were who were texting me.

Not wanting to be rude, and wanting to spread some positivity, I sent short texts back, saying, "I'm not sure who this is, but Happy New Year to you too." If anything I figured someone would answer back and it might be an old friend who's number didn't get transferred  correctly when I turned off my Cali phone and got my new one. Although, that's saying something since I moved here 2 years ago next month.

What I didn't expect though, was someone to answer back saying, "I'm not sure who this is either, I'm Charlotte, who are you?"

 I text back saying "I'm Melissa."

They sent another text saying, "Happy New Year, it's your aunt."

Now, as far as I know, I don't have an aunt named Charlotte. At least not that I know of, anyway. I tried calling my dad to ask about this "aunt Charlotte" in case it was someone who I'd forgotten about. He didn't pick up.

A quick message to my sister helped me verify that, no,  I do not have an aunt Charlotte that I forgot about.


Another random thing I've been thinking about this week is the inconsistency in clothing sizes. With the new year, I made some resolutions to lose some weight, and drop a few pants sizes. But, right now, in my closet I have size 12 pants, size 10 pants and size 8 pants  in women' s and 11 and 9's in juniors, which all fit relatively well enough at the moment.. With this kind of variation in sizes, I feel like I wont really notice any progress until I get down to a size currently not in my closet.

Does anyone want to share something random that happened to them this week?

A Little Update..AKA Where I've Been

Hello out there in the blogosphere....

I've been MIA for quite a while, I know. That's happened a lot over the past few years.

For a while, it was due to the fact that I worked full time, and had a looong commute. While I loved my coworkers, and was definitely grateful to have had a job, without which I wouldn't be where I am now, even it had drawbacks. My former job consisted of a lot of getting yelled at over the phone, and that in itself was draining enough, not to mention the long commute on top of it.

A lot of my lack of posting has also been due to the fact that I have been working towards getting permanent residency in Canada, so that my husband Dearran and I can finally start our lives together.

Let me back up a little bit...

Dearran and I met online, in March of 2004. We made our relationship official in September of 2005 and have been in a long distance relationship ever since. In August of 2014, we got married, and started on the part of our journey that is long distance marriage.

I couldn't tell you why, but somehow, long distance marriage is different, and more difficult, than a long distance relationship. Especially when it's an international marriage (taxes are way more complicated!)

In February of 2015, we submitted an application to the Canadian government, asking them to grant me permanent residency in Canada, so that Dearran and I could be together. This process included an extensive application, criminal background checks in both the US and Canada, (since I lived here for more than 6 months previously,) and a medical exam.

After months of waiting, and a few snags with the application, (all I'll say about it is thank goodness  we hired an excellent lawyer. He was worth every penny) we finally got word that my permanent residency had been approved.
The only catch?

 Due to the aforementioned snags with the application, my visa validity period was only six short weeks. And permanent resident visas cannot be extended for any reason. If you don't land in Canada by the expiration date, you are out of luck. The only step is to start the long application process all over again, and just because it was already approved once, does not mean it will be approved again.

I found out my application had been approved on January 15th. I talked with my lawyer about the next steps. Then, I gave notice at my job. Because of the time sensitive nature of my paperwork, I was only able to give my work 1 week notice, but they were very understanding as I had been transparent with my plans  throughout the entirety of the application process.

There were other issues, like my visa paperwork needing to be reissued due to the fact that it had outdated passport info on it (I had renewed my passport before I knew my file was approved. )

Sending that paperwork back was probably one of the scariest things I've done in a while, just because I was so afraid I wouldn't get it back in time.

Among all that worrying, I still had to decluter all of my stuff, (including a ton of books) get myself packed up, find a moving company to handle an international move, find time to hang out with friends, take care of a million things like bills, lists of goods I was bringing to Canada, etc.

I honestly never thought I would get it all done. But, I finished with time to spare.

And, on February 28th, after a few hours and procedures at the airport, I officially became a permanent resident of Canada.

I am beyond grateful to be here and finally be home with my husband.

The adjustment has been a little difficult, and I do miss my family back in the States a lot, but I will be back to visit them soon. As hard as that is, I know that I am where I should be.

The past 10 days I've been trying to relax and take care of the important stuff at the same time. I already have a bank account from when I lived in Canada temporarily in 2010, so that was helpful. I got myself added to Dearran's lease, and I have keys. I also have my Social Insurance number (the equivalent of a Social Security number) I have my transit card, and last week, I got a library card as well.

I've actually read two books and started a third in the last 5 days, and it's been glorious.

I haven't gotten the reviews done yet, but those will follow shortly.

Since I have my social insurance number, I could start looking and applying for jobs right away, but I've decided not to.

I've been through a lot of stress in the last few months, and honestly,  I need to decompress and take a break for a while. As much for myself as for any potential future employer. I can't be a productive employee if I'm stressed out and overtired.  So, I'm just going to enjoy some time with my husband, explore my new city, and read, A LOT.

So, that's where I've been. What have you all been up to?

Does anyone have any recommendations for books that I should add to my immediate TBR pile. Any new series I should dive into?