I’m finally home. I’ve been out all day, and I’m exhausted. I’ve always had a hard time being out for long periods. It’s difficult to explain to people who don’t experience it, but being away from home makes me anxious. The longer I’m out, the more that feeling tends to build. Home is where I feel the most comfortable and relaxed. Strangely, when I’m on vacation, I don’t usually feel the same level of anxiety. I still get some anxiety now and then, but it’s different. Maybe because vacations have a different purpose and mindset attached to them.

Alex and I left this morning to go into the city for my doctor’s appointment. At first, Alex thought we should ride down with his parents, but eventually we decided it would be easier to take the other car and go by ourselves.

My appointment was for a mammogram. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I had built it up to be in my head, although it did hurt a little. I’m glad it’s over with.

Afterward, Alex wanted to stop at Costco because he was looking for a particular soda that is apparently only sold there. Of course, he chose the same Costco that Tommy and I had visited a few days ago, the same one where I had already told him they didn’t have the soda. Unsurprisingly, they still didn’t have it.

After Costco, we ate. Alex paid for lunch, which was nice, although I keep thinking he should probably be saving his money instead of spending it on meals out.

Then Kel texted and wanted a drink from Sonic, so we stopped there before heading home. We picked up her drink and dropped it off for her. After that, we finally started the drive back.

When I write it all out, it really doesn’t sound like we did very much today. A doctor appointment, Costco, lunch, Sonic, and home. In theory, it was a pretty simple day. But somehow it took forever. Every stop added more time, and with each passing hour, I could feel my anxiety creeping up a little more.

Now I’m finally home, sitting at my computer and watching Everest. I decided to spend some time writing, so I won’t have much time left for studying today. I had really hoped we’d be home by around one o’clock so I could spend the afternoon studying, but the day just got away from me.

One exciting thing did happen, though, I have Bluetooth again!

I found a little dongle sitting on my desk and realized I had no idea what it was. In general, plugging random unknown devices into your computer is probably not a great idea. In fact, from a security standpoint, it’s exactly the kind of thing you’re not supposed to do. But I had a strong suspicion that it might be my Bluetooth adapter.

So I plugged it in, opened my Bluetooth settings, and sure enough, Bluetooth appeared. I was able to connect my headphones immediately. I was ridiculously happy about it. No more being tethered to my computer with a cable. I still need to find my original headphone cable because it has to be somewhere, but at least I can use my wireless headphones again.

I also discovered another problem this morning. I use a portable charger to keep my phone charged when I’m out, and I thought I had charged the portable charger overnight. Unfortunately, the hub I had plugged it into wasn’t actually connected to power. I didn’t realize that until this morning when I picked up the charger and found that it had no charge at all.

I plugged it in for a little while before we left, but it wasn’t enough to fully charge it. Now that I’m home, the portable charger is finally charging properly, so I can use it to charge my phone, which is currently hovering around 10% battery.

Overall, I just feel like I got nothing accomplished today. I had wanted to wash some towels and bathing suits. I was also planning to wash the bath mats in our bathroom later. None of that happened. I didn’t get any studying done either.

I know logically that I spent the day taking care of things that needed to be done, and my appointment was important, but it still feels like one of those days where all the hours disappeared, and there’s nothing tangible to show for it.

At least I’m home now, and tomorrow is another day. I have a doctor’s appointment in town in the morning to take the hearing aid piece out of my ear. I’ll be glad when it is out. But that is in town and should only take a few minutes. Then I’ll be home to get things done and study.