Where have I been?

I know I've largely been absent from this space over the past few weeks. I'd like to be able to offer a reason for my little hiatus, but the truth is that there isn't one. In general, I've been on exciting adventures around the city and have been in the midst of several projects, but there's something larger that has kept me from writing more.

Looking back on years that I've kept a record of my days, I notice that I tend to write more when life seems easy. The past couple months in New Orleans have been great, no question about that, but a little sad, too, as two of my best friends have moved away. Coupled with the news that a handful of work friends have moved on to new endeavors, it's been hard not to feel like there's an exodus of people in my New Orleans-based life. It's not that losing a friend to a different city or a different life path or a new opportunity is an especially sad thing; I think it's just overwhelming when it happens at a greater-than-normal rate. The resulting lingering blah feeling has left me without anything meaningful to say here. To cap it off, a sobering piece of health-related news came my way last month, which has me reevaluating my priorities. More on that later.

On the bright side, I've instead been consumed by thought: new projects to do around the house, new recipes I want to try, things I want to organize and put into monster spreadsheets, new running distances I want to try, and generally how to soak up every last drop of summer and enjoy it to the max. So, to clarify, these are good days. These are extremely happy days. I am the happiest I have been in years. But yes, there's a little bit of a shock when life swirls violently around you and the only thing you can do is help a friend pack a U-Haul while holding back tears.

I'll be back here more often, I promise, now that it feels like the rain cloud over my creativity has given way to sunshine. Here's to many more days of NOLA goodness, probably thousands of trips to Mississippi (have yet to hear about that rewards card, though), and the fine abdominal muscles of Ryan Lochte.