Funemployment: Shark Teeth at the Beach

Funemployment: refers to unemployed individuals who decide to enjoy the free time that unemployment provides. 

I've got several more "funemployment" posts to share. It's a weird thing because on one hand I have all of this free time and on the other I've been insanely busy with job applications and interviews. I miss blogging and I'm really behind so bear with me. 

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At the beginning of the month my aunt and uncle invited me to come visit them in Jacksonville. They even offered their guest bedroom in case I wanted to spend the night. I ended up just visiting for the day. It's about a 2 hour trip one-way but podcasts make road trips fly by, plus there wasn't any traffic. 

I pulled up as my uncle was doing yard work so I went inside and talked to my aunt for a little while. Once he got cleaned up they took me out to lunch at their beach club. Apparently I had been there years prior (like maybe 20 years prior - ha!) for one of my grandpa's parties. There were parts that looked vaguely familiar. It's really nice and it was a perfect day to eat outside. Usually, I'm not a fan of eating outdoors because of heat, wind, bugs, etc. but having the beach view was perfect. I got some kind of panini but my aunt let me try her lobster roll too. We caught up on all family business and then got to the important stuff like what TV shows and movies we had seen recently.  Everything was really nice, both the company and the food. 

After lunch we walked down to the beach to look for shark teach. I felt like an idiot walking on the beach in vans but I totally forgot to bring sandals. Oh well. My brain is just mush these days. I had told my uncle I have never found a shark tooth by myself and it was always something I wanted to do. Well lo and behold he finds one within minutes of us walking on the shore. Then another one. And another. I was just so impressed! He and my aunt taught me some tricks and by the end of our beach walk I had found TWO all by myself. 

photo

My uncle and aunt found most of the ones I'm holding in my hand but I found two of those suckers. Boom! That's a big CHECK! We went back to their house for a little while and sat on their back porch. I love their house as a whole but their backyard is just woods so you can watch squirrels and birds and occasionally their neighbor's very friendly cat Giuseppe. I said my goodbyes and headed back south. 

Sometimes taking a break from your every day life is exactly what is needed. Taking that trip was part of my self care throughout this ordeal. 

Last Weekend

Last weekend did not go as planned. 

First of all Liz was supposed to be in town visiting from Australia but she had to cut her U.S. trip short and flew back before the beach trip. Also Hayley was supposed to be here too so we could truly recreate the girls weekend vibe of 2015. But she, too, wasn't able to come. We were dropping like flies! 

I drove up on Friday morning. I couldn't get a hold of my mom or my aunt and didn't have the address to the beach house. Thankfully Hayley came through from 1,000 miles away and I was able to find it. My aunt and I talked a bit and she gave me my very own pink pussy hat that she had her friend make for Hayley and I. It's a tad too warm right now but I am going to rock that sucker later this year. Maybe Hayley and I can wear them together when I visit her this fall. 

My mom finally showed up and we all ate a little lunch before venturing out. This house is about 2 blocks from the beach BUT there is no longer beach access nearby due to them repairing the roads from last year's hurricane fiasco. You have to walk really far (or drive) in either direction and in the heat of the day we were all just like "fuck it". It was miserably hot that day and not a damn cloud in the sky so we decided to go for a drive in the wonderful air conditioned vehicle. We did a giant loop around Bulow Creek State Park down to Ormond and then back up through a very ritzy neighborhood. There was one house in particular that we all had pretty violent reactions to upon seeing it. Not only did we stop but we drove a circle in the driveway because why not. Also it's up for sale so it doesn't really matter. 

For photos of this hideous residence click here. 

Told YOU. Hideous. 

We got back to the house and hung out for a bit before I headed back to Orlando. Originally i was going to spend the night and what not but since everything changed I wanted to be a part of Pat's birthday dinner so home I went. 

Here are just a few excerpts from my text conversation with Hayley during the day:

Me: Your mom just pulled out in front of traffic and my mom screamed. 

Hayley: LOLL

(This is only funny if you know who these people are and what they are like.)

Me: Your mom sped up and said "I'm going from Katherine to Joe!" LOL

Hayley: Lolll omg

Me: My mom said "Is that Tampon Drive? Oh no, it's Tarpon."

Hayley: Rotfl I'm crying 

There was a package waiting for me when I got home. It was my super cool LED Light Box. Of course I was super pumped to come up with my own little message. I thought it would be fun to write a message to Pat from the cats (mostly Cheeto). It took about 40 photos to get just one decent shot of Cheeto next to it. 

We took Pat to Cheddars to celebrate his 32nd year, per his request. It was busy as hell but surprisingly we got right in and started chomping down on that spinach dip. Our waitress was super nice and on it but she left midway through our meal which is when things kind of turned to shit. I didn't get my croissant or salad until the end of the meal which was annoying but whatever. The three of us still had a great time because that's how we do. 

On the way back to our house I'm driving on the road in between the Super Target and car dealership when the car in front of me swerves. I immediately see a white kitten run to the side of the road into the woods. I whip the car around and Dustin jumps out to try and get him. It was pretty dark at this point so the little guy was hard to see until eventually he just ran back into the brush out of sight. I was incredibly bummed. Let's not even discuss us getting another cat (although we probably would have kept him) but about the fact I don't want a little baby kitten getting hit by a car or starving. It ate at me that whole night. 

The next day Dustin and I went to see Spider-Man: Homecoming bright and early. I loved that movie so hard. It's by far my favorite Spider-Man ever and that's saying something since they make about 3 a year. But seriously I loved Tom Holland better than Toby or Andrew. He's actually the right age and just completely charismatic and if you don't leave the theater with a little crush on him then I don't even know if we can be friends. He was one of my favorite parts of Civil War so I'm glad he delivered in his own movie. Also, I loved Robert Downey Jr.'s mentor role in the film. I'm so over Iron Man but in this movie it was just enough. Also this movie is hilarious. Truly funny and almost comes across as more classic teen movie than superhero movie which probably pisses some people off. Not me! I'm pumped to see where they take this Spidey. 

After the movie we grabbed lunch in Sanford and ran a few errands. Before heading home we parked my car and walked to the area we saw the kitten the previous night. We brought canned cat food, a towel, a box - the works. We wanted so badly to help this little guy. We walked up and down the area for a good 20 minutes before it started to rain. I had to give it one more shot before totally calling it quits. I'm still bummed but I feel like there's nothing more I can do at this point. It's a really hard thing to accept. 

The Best Worst Beach Day

I haven't been to the beach all year. That's right, sometimes us Floridians just have no interest in the blistering sun, salt water in our eyes, and sand all up in our cracks. Actually the last time I was at the beach was about a year ago. Katie's like me in the fact that she and I are not beach people. We are the types that enjoy one or two beach days a year and then we're good to go. 

So a few weeks ago I asked her if she and the girls wanted to check one of our two beach days off. I drove to her house and then the two of us took a scenic back road to good ol' Palm Coast. It was just the two of us since we had to pick up the girls from her mother-in-law's house. We girl talked, sipped on some iced coffees, and made a short pit stop to see a camel. Humpy is a camel that lives on some farm along the road to Palm Coast. I had no idea of his existence until she told me about him. He was pretty damn big and well, humpy. 

As we pulled into the driveway to pick up the girls the dark clouds passed over head. We were a tad concerned but we headed to the beach nonetheless. We got all set up with our towels, chairs and umbrella. We took some obligatory selfies as you do. We want to prove to everyone that we've been to the beach once this year and we're proud of it! It wasn't long after that I was checking out the water when I turned and saw Katie chasing my umbrella that had started flying down the beach. And then right after we tamed the umbrella it started to rain. Ok no big deal, right? We're already in our swimsuits so no problem, except it started to rain pretty hard and add serious wind to that mix and Katie and I were hiding under our towels for most of the time we were at the beach. At least there were a lot of crabs running around to entertain us.  It started to subside enough that we went to play in the murky Flagler water with the girls for a bit. I had a blast helping them boogie board! But then it started to really get dark and rainy so we called it and packed our shit up. We couldn't even dry off because all of our towels were soaked. So were our clothes. We made the best of it even though Aubrie was really unhappy that she was still sandy on the drive home. I'm with you kid. No fun at all! We stopped to grab a quick lunch and then stopped by Tommy's work to say hello.

I love that we made the best out of a otherwise pretty annoying weather day. 

But the truth is, it's always a good time when I'm with the Zinzi girls. 

Can't wait until our next beach trip...in 2017. HA!

Death By 10,000 Cuts

To say Dustin and I have had a rough month is a bit of an understatement. I mean, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. From car accidents to a death to family issues to house issues to illnesses. IT HAS BEEN ROUGH. And still we know, it could be so much worse. It can always be worse. I cannot wait to say goodbye to September because quite frankly it hasn't been any fun.

Dustin and I aren't beach people. I enjoy the beach here and there. And he tolerates the beach, for me. But we've been going to the gulf coast once a year for awhile now. This year we had to change up the location because I forgot to book our normal Siesta Key hotel 6 months in advance. So by the time I did get around to booking, the only rooms left were incredibly expensive. I decided to book something in Clearwater back in July thinking it wouldn't be too much different. I have been before and remember it being really nice.

After dealing with the shit that has been September, we decided we didn't really feel up to going any more. So two weeks ago I actually tried to cancel our reservation. They required a cancellation 30 days in advance in order to get a full refund. It was either eat the hotel cost or go and try and have a good time. We chose the latter.

Saturday we set out early. By the time we got into town it was around 10:30 and Dustin was starving. I always eat breakfast the minute I get up but it takes him awhile. We stopped at Bob Evans. I know, I had the same reaction. I'm not saying I'm better than Bob Evans, I'm just saying there are better places. Dustin assured me it would be just as good as Cracker Barrel or IHOP. It wasn't bad but certainly nothing special.

Now that we were super stuffed, we headed to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium; where movie stars Winter and Hope of Dolphin Tale (and Dolphin Tale 2) call home. I've of course seen both movies. Top notch animal films along the quality of Homeward Bound, Andre, and Flipper. I've actually been begging Dustin for years to go visit Winter (and now Hope). If you don't know the story, Winter was caught in a crab trap which resulted in the loss of part of her tail. She was eventually fitted for a silicone tail that helps her swim normally. She has lived at the Clearwater Aquarium ever since. The aquarium also took in Hope after she was found at only a couple months old next to her dead mother. So now they are best friends. I just find it so awesome that they found each other.

I've been to a lot of aqauriums and this one certainly stands out in it's rehabilitation. They seem to put the rehab first and the "attractions" last which is pretty refreshing. It's not the prettiest aquarium but it's just as cool as the big ones. We got to see turtles, otters, a Pelican, and of course Winter. We watched Winter play with two kids for a good 25 minutes. The instructor would let one of the kids spray Winter with a hose. They both loved it. The kids were able to pet and feed Winter too. It was such a cool and intimate interaction.

We had some time to waste before checking in to our hotel so we decided to go up the road and check out the local mall. This mall was pretty damn nice and to top it off it had an ice skating rink in the middle! Dustin and I were so impressed by this. We just stood by and watched everyone skate around.

I have been to Clearwater before but I must be romanticizing it in my memory because the reality did not live up to what I had envisioned in my head. It's kind of become (or maybe always was) the Daytona of the gulf coast. It's certainly no Siesta Key. The traffic is worst than Orlando and the people are pretty douchey. It just wasn't the atmosphere I was hoping it to be.

I could sugar coat the trip and say we had a great time but we didn't. There were moments of fun but overall it just wasn't great. The weight of all the bullshit is still holding us down. And then more bullshit in the form of my A/C going in and out and me getting really sick was the breaking point of the trip we didn't even care to be on. For a lot of reasons, but mostly because I wasn't feeling good and wanted to be in my own bed, we headed home that same night. Dustin described this month perfectly, calling it "death by 10,000 cuts". A lot of little things just keep adding up and chipping away at us. I'm glad that I have Dustin to go through all this shit with. It's hard but better together. Come on October, show us a good time!