Must. Have. Sleep.

So. I made it back in one piece! The rest I had hoped for? None. At all. But it was still worth it. Of course there's a good chance that the red lines in my eyes will never go away.

Isabella was very good for the ride. For the first hour she didn't move. If I accelerated or hit the brakes she just kind of rolled in the same position - kind of like a stuffed animal. After a while she got the hang of it and was fine. She sucks at conversation, though. Although as a cat, she is more skilled than some humans I know.

I stopped in to the hospital where I used to work and visited there for a while. In some ways it felt comfortable, but a part of me really felt out of place. Just the passage of time I guess. It was nice to see them again, though.

My wonderful lake and noisy seagulls were there to greet me, along with a few herons to add to the mix. I really miss that. Alot. I hate being land locked; rivers don't count.

Made it to my 'nephew's' 4th birthday party and didn't even have to up my tranquilizer dose. Came close. He's spending time with some really beastly children and it seems he's taking on some of the behavior. Blech. Even so, it was a good time. And there was a big yellow Sponge Bob cake, so how bad could it be?

My friend's grad party was pretty fun. Her family is nuts, which I've known for years. After a few drinks they are swinging around light poles. Really, they are. It was wonderful to see her reach her goal and have us all there to share in the celebration. A former co-worker went with me and he and I had the chance to catch up. Of course, I'm pretty sure he's mad at me now but I don't care. He spilled all sorts of info that I had told him that night at work the next day. Not that it was classified, but it was a private conversation. As soon as I found out, I got him on the phone and set things straight. Yeah. He was not happy with me. Oh well. Sometimes I just don't know what get's into that boy.

I almost ran into two other friends, one at each party but the timing was off. First was my friend Lisa; she and I drifted apart about a year and a half ago. We've got the others' number so hopefully we'll be able to catch up. The second was Matt. Oh boy. He comes in and out of my life every couple of years and every time it happens, I realize that I still have that schoolgirl crush that I did back in the 7th grade. But that could be an entire post on it's own.

Spent the entire day on Friday getting my Gram out to shop and run a few errands. It felt really good to have the familiarity of such simple tasks at hand and to be doing them with her. She really enjoyed my visit (and Bella's, too) and was feeling pretty depressed when it came time for us to leave. She'd really like to have me back there.

Mom was kind of busy pet-sitting but I still got to spend time with her. Not as much as I'd have liked, but sometimes schedules don't cooperate. She did, however, accompany me to another interview. Ok, well, not to the interview itself, but she drove with me because she knew where it was and I didn't. We were both tired and cranky from lack of sleep, but it was time well spent. She and I used to hop in the car and just go. Anytime, anywhere. It reminded me a little of that.

And the interview, it was a last minute thing... yes, this is a different company. Perhaps the largest hospital system in Cleveland, they wanted to interview me. So I got up at 5:45am (keep in mind that my current schedule typically sees me going to bed at 4am!), drove there, interviewed, returned to get Isabella, drove back to Pittsburgh, unloaded my things from the car, fed Bella and immediately turned right back around to go to work. Almost 6 hours on the road, an interview, and working all in one day is not something I recommend.

No, I didn't get any of the rest I'd hoped for. If anything, I'm more tired than before. But you know what? It felt good to be there. Now, how it's comparing to being back in Pittsburgh and my comparisons along the way... well, that's just as exhausting; and more than I can think about right now. For now... all I can think about is sleep.....