Sitting on my Boston-bound plane yesterday, I picked at my United Airways Jumpstart Snack Pack ($5 for a variety of “healthy” options like Wheat Thins, biscotti, and trail mix), tried to rouse interest in the in-flight movie (In Good Company, starring an extremely grating Topher Grace), and flogged my brain for a clever way to start this first post after a 10-day hiatus. Cause I’m all about the gimmicks.
My vacation soothed me to the point that my writing adapted a dull gloss. Emails and postcards barely scratched an eighth grade reading level, and employed rampant use of all conjugations of “is” (San Francisco is great! The people are nice! The weather was bad, but now it is good! Phoenix will be hot!) I finally excommunicated myself, fearing I’d pick up vacation habits worse than relaxing and purposeless wandering.
But nothing shocks reality back into one’s core quite like coming back to an apartment several notches above “squalid” on the cleanliness scale. I hadn’t cleaned before I left, hoping one of my roommates would realize that they are wallowing in their own filth and take the initiative. But my absence inspired the urge to mark their territory in exciting new ways. Like the leaky takeout container of Chinese food in the refrigerator that’s dribbling red sauce all over my milk and yogurt. Or the piled of wet, used Kleenex surrounding the trash can in the bathroom. Or the baffling appearance of a fourth toothbrush, my first clue that they missed me so much that they replaced me with an out-of-town guest who is sleeping on my couch. Ladies, I cannot thank you enough for showing me why my vacation was so very necessary.
Anyway, right now I feel like a kitten who fell out of a tree: I’m on my feet, but still trying to find my footing. Pictures and stories to come…
