Normal service has been resumed - the start of this month was my return from US trip #5, and I can't put into words what a great time I had, getting to see Nicole and friends again. I mean it when I say I really didn't want to go back home, and the day I had to fly back home, while not as bad as the last time, was still a bittersweet day. More memories to cherish, though...and also more on all things US a little later on.
For the most part, aside from a mini heatwave in the middle of this month, I've been getting back into the normal routine - and as I've experienced before, after coming back from a trip some things about the normal routine seem to be worse than what they were before - especially the jobsearch side of things. I feel like over the last few months the pressure on me to find a job is getting ramped up, to the point where I'm getting anxiety issues before I have to attend each of my mandatory jobsearch sessions.
On that note, as I type this I have two job-related "interviews" next week, but they're not really interviews - one is a recruitment day for a security/event steward job, and the other is an induction for a supposed assembly operative job. They're both well outside of my comfort zone, and I was pretty much press-ganged into applying for them by certain quarters, because I have no experience in either job and they're not careers I ever wish to take up - but I will go to both "interviews" anyway, if anything just to see what happens.
Also - I might've mentioned this before, I know I have to a few people - there's an issue I've had for the longest time. Whenever I'm in a group situation, either online or offline, and with anyone, I can't help but feel that I'm the odd one out, while everyone else just talks over. It's half my own fault, because I'm a very quiet person most of the time, and I don't know what to say or how to make myself heard, and I'm always afraid that I might come across as rude if I do speak up or say "Hey, listen to me!" However the other people in the group are half responsible too - I'm not saying that they do that intentionally (the vast majority, anyway), but that's how it can come across to someone like me. Plus, if everyone's talking over each other and/or talking about something that just completely goes over my head, it really doesn't help. I know this sounds harsh, but this is how it can be sometimes.
On the plus side of things, and going back to the US trip again - I wasn't expecting to say this so soon, but I have booked my next trip to the US - I'll be flying back over in December, for a month, and I will be there for Christmas, New Year and my 29th birthday - and also a wedding. Two of Nicole's friends, Paul and Crystal, are tying the knot in December, and I'm not only invited, I'm also in the wedding party, so it's a first - and hopefully it'll be a great occasion, too. And the best part is that I'll get to spend it with my lovely Nicole (how many times have I said that now?) - I can't wait.
I'll leave you with this comic I produced for one of Granitoons' art jams this month, based around the very funny improv show "Whose Line Is It Anyway", which he introduced me to recently - give it a watch, and also check out Granitoons' gallery if you haven't already.
