I haven't seen/heard the actual news but I have seen people saying they are okay and I think I prefer it this way for my own selfish peace of mind.

Same as Plei, plus I'm not actually in Seattle. Nor is Parker, though I haven't heard from her.

Ooops. I mistook the general PNW for Seattle.

The shooting was in a place where out-of-towners might have been, though. I'm just grateful none of Our People were.

Taking a break from the last day of packing. There is always more than we think. I'll need to get more tape to finish.

The shooting was at what has been the nastiest corner of downtown since I was a kid. Which I don't get, why it's so bad. It's cursed, though.

I'm so tired that I think I might actually be dead. I just spent 2 hours on a work problem that was fucking ridiculous and someone else could have handled it for me, but they didn't. So now I'm going to head to the hospital, and I am envisioning parking way the fuck out in the far reaches of the parking lot and walking all the way to the hospital (and then to Tim's room), and I just want to cry because I am so so SO fucking exhausted. Which makes no sense, because I slept fine last night and the night before. Also I have a migraine, so that's extra fun.

And I realize that none of that is anywhere near as serious as actually undergoing heart surgery, so I feel like a whiny spoiled baby for even complaining. Being tired and having a migraine is a walk in the park compared to heart surgery. So I'm exhausted and have a migraine AND I'm a dick. Not my best day.

Tell more about your trip, Jess!

Oh man, Cuba is amazing. Coming back to real life is hard. Don't wanna ANYTHING.

The course was mostly field trips in and around Havana. We visited a bunch of farms, the ELAM medical school, other cultural sites. Lectures in the morning from Cuban nutrition/agriculture experts. Evenings we were on our own so we got to see a lot of Havana nightlife (spoiler alert, it's all just sitting around drinking rum). One night a few of us went to a Cuban drag show in the LGBTQ neighborhood which was AWESOME. We spent two days in Vinales, which is like the Cuban Catskills. I hiked up two mountains. Ate a TON of delicious but monotonous food - food is hard to import because of the US sanctions so basically the options at all restaurants are ropa viejo or roast chicken, plus rice and beans. Plus mojito or cerveza. Even 5-star hotel restaurants with extensive international menus are mostly out of everything except ropa viejo and mojitos.

I have pics but haven't uploaded them anywhere yet except to the group WhatsApp group. Will post to Insta probably this weekend.

{{{Tep}}} Being worried about a person undergoing heart surgery is very tiring! Having a migraine sucks full stop. You are not a dick.

Wow, Jess, that sounds wonderful!

The shooting was at what has been the nastiest corner of downtown since I was a kid. Which I don't get, why it's so bad. It's cursed, though.

Yeah, that corner is legendary as a danger spot for downtown Seattle. And it's in a heavy pedestrian traffic area AND a few blocks away from one of the major bus stop hubs.

Caretaking is exhausting, Steph. Migraines are miserable. Surgery's no fun either, but it's a lot more lying around and doing nothing.