Things are okay now, as the situation resolved itself in the end, but it ended up being sort of a sad story for a couple of different reasons, and really for all of us in the end. I suppose I wouldn't have had to be cryptic if I'd just left it more anonymous, but too late for that.
Trip otherwise went well. I was glad to be back in TX for some reasons, but also very sorry to leave for others. I'm still pretty fucked in the head by a lot of stuff, but seem to be taking it a lot more in stride, so that's a plus. Found my dad's old tobacco pipe too, which he used to help himself quit smoking cigarettes, and bought a couple bags of pipe tobacco which I've been smoking. It's nice, though obviously not entirely like cigarettes. But it gives me enough of a fix at the end of the day to not inhale 15 cigarettes, so it's infinitely better even if still not good for me. All goes as planned, I'll ween myself off of doing it regularly and maybe just enjoy a pipe every few weeks or something when a low-key evening is needed to unwind.
I don't really know what to make of my life right now, but I did manage to get a good chunk of writing on in Cali, and I'm trying to keep myself focused on that. Pretty much every time I focus on something else, it falls apart or bites me in the ass or causes someone I love to get hurt. Cali was a good break from that. Aside from the one incident, which turned out to be short lived, it was a vacation from emotional stress too.
