I love running errands in the morning.  And, now that fall is finally here, I love it even more.  There’s a sense of renewal, nostalgia, anticipation, and reflection in the air.  Fall has always been my favorite season.

We’ve been traveling for the past couple weeks.  We went back to San Francisco to unwind and then to Portland for a wedding.  It was our first time in Portland and, yes, it is a bit like Portlandia.  If I were to describe the city to someone who’s never been there, I’d describe it as a very clean city for the wash-and-go set that has a fantastic public transportation system.  The uniform of choice of many there is cargo shorts or jeans, tanks, and T-shirts (all with no makeup).  In other words, you can roll right out of bed, head out, and you’d blend right in with the crowd.  There’s a Nordstrom (which meets my minimum requirements for a “real” metropolitan area–there are exceptions such as New York City) but no Saks or Neiman’s.  Although Portland isn’t exactly my kind of town, I fell in love with its public transportation system, TRIMET.  It’s a tram or above-ground electric train system.  A hybrid between a city metro bus and subway (but so much cleaner [not a whiff of exhaust fumes] and smoother [didn’t get motion sickness even once]).  Every major city should have a tram system like TRIMET (it is worth every tax payer dollar).

As for the wedding, it was beautiful.  My first Sri Lankan wedding.  It was full of traditional customs, colorful grandeur, and rich culture.  Perhaps I’ll wear a sari for my and D’s renewal of vows in a couple decades :).

In other news, I recently joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Horror Writers Association.  Are there many (successful) writers out there who write in two (or more) genres?  Many of you know that I have such a blast writing thriller and horror works.  As for the children’s stories, it’s still fun but it’s more to leave a legacy for my son (and, fingers crossed, subsequent children).  The children’s book is still in the works and the scary stories are still on the way.  And, as I head into the third trimester of my pregnancy, I will likely be doing even more writing.  So stay tuned!