Sister Vacation

Hey everyone!

Wow! I have been away from a whole week~!
And I don't just mean from the blog.
I was away from the rest of the family to visit my twin sis, Kathy, down in the Bay Area for seven days!!
What a treat it was!

Truth be told, the initial reason for the trip was to wean William, but it really was so much more than that.
It was a packed week, so I'd like to go over the details of each day just to help me remember the most glorious and indulgent week I've had in a long time. :)
Here goes:

Sunday:
Still grounded in Corvallis, I spent the majority of the day making soap with a lady friend, which was awesome!! I was supposed to leave for OAK via EUG at an early 1pm, but Allegiant Airlines can be unreliable and Sunday proved to be quite an example of that. Granted, itt worked out on account of how long making soap can take, but after a myriad of delays, I finally touched down in OAK at 11pm (!!) So our first day together was not really much of anything. Nah, I take that back. The car ride to her house was full of great conversations about art and whatnot, and even at home we shared many a giggle over imgur and funny things we've seen online. Aah, the simple pleasures~ The week was off to a great start.

Monday:
Whenever we visit one another's homes, we tend to help each other with around-the-house chores and errands that have been put off, so that was the first thing we did. We installed a light that had been sitting around in her home for two years and donated a couple of bags' worth of clutter. That brought us to Goodwill, where we shopped around for some costumes for Kathy's job (see below), and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching Portlandia~ Oooh, such laziness! Then that evening I got to accompany Kathy to one of her costumed modeling gigs which was very cool! So many talented artists, and I got to help her keep time. Yay!

Such a beauty~ Her costume was like an elegant salsa dancer. Lovely!!

Tuesday:
This was the day for the city (San Francisco)!
We hit up the city together on Kathy's motorcycle! First, we stopped by the University of San Francisco to stroll around with my good friend from college and bridesmaid, Shannon. It was great to catch up, and I appreciate how no matter how long we may be out of touch for, we can pick up right where we left off when we see each other again. I appreciate Shannon a lot and love all the time I spend with her.
After seeing Shannon, we cycled on down to Japantown where I picked up some materials for the kiddos, and generally reminisced about all things Japanese. Aaaah, love it.
But!! Upon returning to Kathy's motorcycle, we discovered that somebody had stolen the protective gear I'd been wearing right off her bike!! Grr!! >_< A leather jacket and riding pants. Not cheap, and not cool!! In Japantown, in the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday?? Come on! But at least we both had our helmets still, phew! And Kathy handled it cool, called the police, etc etc, and then we were on our way to our next stop...
The Viz office to see Hope, Alexis, Fawn, and other friends :) They are at a new building now, and it was great to be in that kind of manga-drenched environment again after so long. I'm so happy they all seem to truly enjoy their jobs.
After that, we rode to Hope & Shannon's pad, where we browsed photos, drank wine, dined and snacked, guffawed, drooled over doujinshi, and overall had a great time. Man, it was great seeing them in their natural habitat (heh) and just sort of marveling at the very different way they lead their lives compared to what I've been doing up in Oregon. No children with immediate needs to be met, or even husbands to have to be considerate of. Just good old young-in-the-city fun. Le sigh~~ :)

Wednesday:
So we totally crashed out at their pad, which was so nice of them to accommodate seeing as how they both had to go to work early in the morning! Kathy and I cycled on home, ate some breakfast, and then did some little tasks we'd been meaning to do. Kathy worked on steno, and I mailed off preschool photos of Ella. Heeee :)
We then took a long walk to the library, then sushi for dinner, then "The Cabin in the Woods" in her living room. All in all, a lovely day where I had Kathy all to myself. Yay!

Thursday:
Here's where things took an unexpected turn.
Kathy wanted to go to at least one class while I was still there, to show me what it's like, so we took bicycles to her campus. But they were not typical bikes, but rather the types that have clip-in pedals that require special shoes and whatnot... So I was very unfamiliar with them, and after 20 minutes of riding, when I decided to stop and adjust my helmet, I forgot I was clipped in and fell off my bike! It was onto hard pavement, and I fractured the radial head in my elbow!! ;_; I actually didn't cry, but I was definitely bummed and incapable of doing much beyond walking. No knitting! No typing! No eating with two hands!! We went to the E.R. but besides getting a sling to rest my arm in, there was nothing they or anybody could do, since only time can take care of such things. By the time we got home from this whole morning debacle, it was 2pm so I napped and stayed on the sofa for the remainder of the afternoon until Martin got home, and we went out to a restaurant. In an act of solidarity, Kathy and Martin ate their meals one-handed, which was very sweet of them. {: )

Can you see that little shard of bone sticking out there? Yeah, ouch.

Friday:
Martin had taken the day off with plans to take us all hiking, but with yesterday's surprise fracture, it turned out to be a very relaxed day, with Kathy translating, me websurfing on the sofa, and Martin chopping wood outside. Wow, I really inundated myself with internet mindlessness as I caught up on old webcomics, read some fanfiction, and hyucked it up on imgur some more. Again I was sweetly treated out to sushi, and then The Walking Dead at home. I had watched the first episode of that long ago and was thoroughly spooked, but either I have a thicker skin or the show is tamer than I remembered, but I was able to watch an episode without feeling as shaken as I had before. So that was good.

Saturday:
More lazing around. Only my arm's mobility was that much more improved that I felt up for another long walk with Kathy before I accompanied her to another modeling session where I managed to knit the entire time!! Go, human body, right?? Interestingly enough, the doctor who saw me at the hospital said that rather than immobilize the fractured bone, they want mobility to keep the muscles from tightening and getting sore/weak. So it's a delicate balance between using my arm but not to the point that I (re)injure it. Go figure! I think knitting is a good exercise for it then, because I'm using the muscle but not doing anything too crazy.
The evening brought a lovely treat of pizza delivery + a casual interview with a ethnographer friend about video games. It was fun getting to talk to somebody who is completely outside the world of video games and share my perspective on it as an extremely casual/backseat gamer. Heh heh!

Sunday:
My flight left at 9am, so we had to wake up early at 6am. Ouch.
But the plane was on-time, there were no hiccups, and I got home safe and sound.
The moment I got in the car and turned around to see William, he said "Hi." and I started crying. He looked like he'd suddenly grown so much and I guess I was overcome with a lot of love and all the "missing" I'd had for the family at a subconscious level suddenly came bubbling up.

Getting to visit Kathy in the world of childfree/metropolitan/warm weather was really a world so unlike my own, it gave me an incredible breath of fresh air. Sleeping in? Zoning out in front of the TV? Sushi dinners? It was great!
I've been a little emotional today, but I think it was a mixture of poor sleep, feeling debilitated because of my arm (can't even hold the little ones!), and almost like culture shock being reintroduced into the old norms from my weeklong fantasy away~

I am sure it will get better in no time, especially seeing as how quickly my arm is healing. I mean look at this, I just typed this entire essay-long entry! So who knows what I'll be able to do by tomorrow even! Besides the limited mobility, there's not much else wrong with my arm so I'll be able to go to some of my own modeling session too. Woot!

Anyway, thanks for reading the entire journal entry about this week in San Jose with my sis.
Do you ever go on trips away like this? They are so good for the heart and soul. Especially when in as great company as family aka sisters. :)

I will talk to you again soon until then take care and Happy Sister Vacations!!