Chasing the Sun

Thinking that  so many places and people that I love are existing simultaneously always blows my mind.  When I left La Roda at 4am, I could perfectly imagine my parents' home in Sierra Valley just after sunrise with the smell of sagebrush on the crisp mountain air; or Portland's cloudy skies that make the dawn light linger.  Just the same way, as I sit here now in my aunt's house in Raleigh Hills with the smell of the BBQ and potatoes grilling in the oven, looking out on her green, green garden (shocking coming from Southern Spain), I can imagine my friends drinking and dancing, perhaps getting some late night churros at the annual Feria de San Pedro. :)  I miss it, the same way I miss Portland or Sierra Valley when I'm there.  Isn't it too bad we can't be everywhere at once?!

I spent 11 hours flying from Paris to Seattle in perpetual daylight--flying out of Charles de Gaulle at 11am and landing in Sea-Tac at 1pm.  If only the flight were really two hours!  I am 9 hours younger now, and it feels great. ;)  Although, actually I guess having been born in Pacific Standard Time, I've just come back to my real age.
 
Bottom line: it's good to be back.

My flight was uneventful.  They stole my turkey tomato sandwich in Seattle because it could have contained fruit flies (?!).  However, I successfully smuggled in several packages of jamón, saffron, and even 2 kilos of bread. :)

I landed in Reno at 5pm on Tuesday and flew out of Reno at 5:30pm on Wednesday to come up here to Portland.  I'm staying with my auntie through the weekend and then with a friend for the rest of the week.  I had a DELICIOUS sushi lunch with an old Portola friend today (haven't had sushi for 2 years!) and spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around downtown together catching up.  Tomorrow I'm spending the day with my good friend, Sara; Saturday I get to hang out with my cousins and maybe swim in their pool if the good weather holds; Sunday there's a family BBQ; July 3rd I'm meeting up with an ex-professor and friend and the following weekend there's a BBQ with friends.  Whew!

You can see my social schedule is rapidly filling. ;)

So many people, and so little time!