Bittersweet memories and an American classic

The past week was... interesting. It's Sunday evening and I'm completely exhausted, physically as well as emotionally. High highs and low lows; I've had some amazingly good times and fun encounters, but they've been mixed with severe anxiousness, frantic frustration and plain ol' sadness.

Yeah. This lady is singin' the blues.

That being said, Friday was one of the most magical nights out I've had in this city (and that says a lot), although technically it was a farewell party. Without going into detail, there are certain memories that will be kept deep inside my heart for a long time to come; equal parts thorn and feather.

Saturday was spent recuperating at the Frayos, drinking glögg, decorating their tree, eating freshly made Christmas cookies, sipping on wine, nomming down dinner, watching Elf and snuggling with Cian.

One of the highlights was getting a very special Christmas present. I've started working on a bucket list with things I want to do, see and experience before I eventually leave this part of the world; even though it breaks my heart just thinking about saying goodbye to Seattle, I've got to be rational and make sure that I'm not missing out on unique experiences by being in denial. Therefore, the list includes activities ranging from seemingly trivial endeavors to more adventurous enterprises. The gift from the Frayos might perhaps land in the former category rather than the latter, but it doesn't make it less precious.

On my list was: eat a Twinkie. This super processed, nutritionally horrendous sponge cake with "creamy filling" is an American classic; an "an icon of junk-food snacks and guilty pleasures", and I had not yet had one. So, Shani made sure that I could cross that item off the list.

How it was? Well. Pretty terrible, I have to admit. Nonetheless, "Eat a Twinkie": check! (In case you were wondering, Shani's sweet cookies were several orders of magnitude better.)

Sunday started with work from 7 to 11, but things improved radically after that. Most importantly, Seahawks kicked some Californian butts, knocking the 49ers out of the playoffs. (Hah!) Had a fun time at 9 Mill watching the game, making friends and enjoying the overall holiday pleasantness.

 
Monday and Tuesday will be a ticking clock, counting down the hours, minutes and seconds until I get my behind in the airplane seat and head eastwards. I have a ton of things to wrap up at work (and at home) before I go, however, so there will be no downtime to talk of.

Better that way, says Melancholy Molly.