Spring break is sprung

I'm having a very nice day today and not working. I woke up to a very short and very nice email from someone close to my heart, and it started my day out on the right note. Actually, the note it started out on was my clock radio serinading me with bluegrass at 6 am, so I let it play one song at full volume then turned it off and went back to sleep for another couple of hours.

I had a hedonistic breakfast and was going to go hiking today, but the forecast said "Rain" and the radar agreed. Unfortunately I believed when I should have had some skepticism because it didn't rain on us until sunset, although it was threatening to the entire day. So instead of hiking I visited the State College AND Bellefonte libraries, took the scenic drive to Bellefonte, explored some of the downtown areas of both cities on foot, and got the biggest calzone ever! for a late lunch. I brought it home and ate it in my living room, and it was an all around satisfying afternoon. The fillings I chose for the pizza are probably much better on a regular pizza (sausage, feta and onions) but it was pretty tasty if a little salty. Anyways, I'm excited to move out to Bellefonte even if they don't have Indian food.

For the evening I will be engaged in books, beers, and baking. I'm making some granola right now, and I would like to make some no knead bread. I need to make a trip to the store for some baking supplies this evening, so I may make some cookies or a cake instead and save the bread for tomorrow morning. I would really like to make a nice cake for my birthday, but to do so is going to mean getting cake pans and a piping bag; I want to pipe on these big soft buttercream roses, which actually looks nicer and more appetizing then you would think.

For my birthday I wanted to cook a dinner for a small group of people and have them come eat with me and have a nice evening of music and conversation, but unfortunately it's probably not in my budget. I guess I get a little tired of going to visit with friends and have the TV on in the background, or sometimes in the foreground! Instead of doing this, me and a lab buddy are putting together a dinner similar to what we did on valentines and taking everyone to India Pavilion for dinner. It was a lot of fun, and the food is excellent. Afterwards it sounds like people want to do dance at the local "club" which I feel a little ambivalent about to be honest. I've been feeling very hermitish these days, and am much happier alone or at home then I am putting myself into social gatherings. This is probably due in large part to feeling acutely my missing friends from Bellingham, and not feeling very close or connected to my pals here. I have a few that I connect with deeply, but by and large there seems to be some barrier here and I couldn't say what it is exactly.

Regardless, the things that I am working on these days, independence, self love and deeper self reflection are improving monthly, and I'm taking this weekend to buttress my selflove with beer and carbohydrates. Three cheers for spring.