It's a quarter of ten and the sun is stil up
Title: It's quarter of ten and the sun is still up
This seems to be as good a time to do some writing as any.
I'm sitting outside the Explorer's Lounge (deck 7, Promenade), listening to the Newlywed/Non-Newleywed game. Mom and Jim signed up for it but didn't get picked, but the questions make for amusing background noise. It's the formal evening on the ship, so the people walking past me are a mixture of jeans and cocktail gowns. It makes for really nice people watching. There's no smoking here, but there's smoking in the Lounge (I think--I can certainly smell it.) I'm next to a curtained window, and the light is gray over the wooden deck.
All settled in for storytelling? Good. :)
I spent the night before packing and, not to put it lightly, freaking out a little. I was doing fine running errands and getting laundry done and such, but then I couldn't get my laundry to dry (I keep forgeting that the usual dryer does not do what laundromat dryers do), and it was getting on roach time outside, and I had to get the cat to the apartment..
I took a breath. I packed up the cat and the laundry and went back to the apartment. I got the laundry to dry and thought, well, just maybe I'll clean. I ended up picking up a little and not much more than that, as the cat prowled around and gave me dirty looks. My laundry got done in record time, so I put it back in the car and went to lock up and...
It's weird. I've left her alone plenty of times, for longer spaces than this. But I've always done it just as I was going...and there was something odd and hard about shutting off those lights and leaving her there before I was actually leaving. Maybe this is just me, or just stress, or just hormones, but...it really hit me hard.
I went back to the house and attempted to a) pack and b) get the Circle I was working on out. These two things are rather mutually exclusive. I'd talked to Root earlier about whether I should drive down--she said either way was fine--and I got the occasional text from her, asking for an ETA. I finally messaged her and said, "I'm coming down," packed everything up in plastic bags, and drove down to Root's house.
There I flopped on her couch, surrounded by plastic, and said I needed to chill. So chill we did! We watched three episodes of Supernatural--I'm catching her up on the first and second seasons--before I finally gave up and passed out. As I've said more than a few times over the past coupla weeks, I haven't been sleeping, and I didn't sleep much the night before, either. Still, it was about two, three before I finally went to sleep.
She got me up at 6:!5; apparently my phone alarm kept going off. I got up and, as if possessed by the sudden ability to get things done, packed up the rest of the Circle and got my carry-on all settled. I then had to go up to NMH and drop some stuff off, then hit the PO with Root--which took awhile, something her son commented on--before she dropped me off at the airport.
It was time to get this show on the road.
Of course, I first went to the wrong counter...but that's neither here nor there.
I think I've expressed here before how much I dislike the Denver Airport.
Now, I am older. Wiser. Better able to read a map. So I rather like Denver these days, even if it's the worst airport to fly into during the winter. I went up to Mesa Verda, the restaurant-cum-smoking lounge, and had chicken fingers and several cigarettes. Then I headed down to my gate to...well, wait for the plane to come in. I broke out my new camera--I picked up a cheap one for the trip, since the old camera has been on its way out for a bit--and took some pictures out the giant picture window, then went back and got out my book.
Everything was pretty routine after that: got on the plane, plane was delayed on the runway, plane finally took off. The flight was all right, too, though I was kinda restless--I read a little, wrote a little, hauled out my laptop to watch SPN and got through some of an episode, ate jelly bellies, and tried to sleep. The writing I did last, and it seemed to go the best, though I was sorta envious of all the mighty laptop users around me. Only I would be envious of someone working on Powerpoint slides.
Yup, everything was fine until disembarking--and I spilled jelly beans all over the aisle.
And pretty much everything else out of my pockets, too.
Whoops!
So I pulled over to the seats in front as people picked their way over the jelly beans, got my pockets back in order (mostly), kicked jellies out of the aisle as best as I could, retrieved other bits from my pocket...it wasn't fun, but I didn't freak out. Score one for team Ten!
Then it was out to meet my family. I'd gotten several texts from Rachie, so I had a number to call when I got off the plane. I met up with them down in the baggage claim, at which point Mom went off to get my luggage. Mom, not so much for standing still. ;)
While she did that, my sister interviewed me on her digital camera. She apparently did that to everyone; we haven't seen them yet. I'm sorta afraid to at this point.
Luggage retrieved--it took a bit--we found our van, got to the hotel, and settled in. We got a bite to eat at the Pan-Asian place downstairs and caught up, then went back up. Now, I'd promised to pass out pretty quickly, given the lack of sleep. But first I just had to take care of a few Internet things...
Yeah, yall know how this guys. I looked up maybe a half-hour later, and just about everyone was sacked out. So I hunkered down and got some more Internet time in. I had no clue what the ship would offer as far as connections, after all!
Next day was getting on the ship...which will be the next post, as this is long and boring enough as it is.
It's now, oh, about quarter of 11. I've moved from the Explorer's Lounge to Horizon Courtyard to Horizon Terrace and back down to the Atrium. They've just turned the lights down up as the light outside fades to a darker and darker gray, but it's still not completely dark, and there are still people moving around the ship. Most events are probably over, but that doesn't mean people are in bed yet. The upstairs buffet will be changing over to its light selections soon; some of the bars will close. The Skywalker Lounge is probably just getting started. The gentle roll of the ship occasionally seems slightly less gentle, but not enough to throw people off too much. Next to me, a little boy has his bare feet on a glass and metal table. Soon, people will head back to their room. Soon, people will set their clocks back an hour--as they have been reminded--hit the light, and roll into their turned down beds.
"Personal" plays again on my headphones, as I think of what I'll do next. Piano music starts a lovely melody upstairs, a spritely counterpart to the melancholy in my ears.
This seems to be as good a time to do some writing as any.
I'm sitting outside the Explorer's Lounge (deck 7, Promenade), listening to the Newlywed/Non-Newleywed game. Mom and Jim signed up for it but didn't get picked, but the questions make for amusing background noise. It's the formal evening on the ship, so the people walking past me are a mixture of jeans and cocktail gowns. It makes for really nice people watching. There's no smoking here, but there's smoking in the Lounge (I think--I can certainly smell it.) I'm next to a curtained window, and the light is gray over the wooden deck.
All settled in for storytelling? Good. :)
I spent the night before packing and, not to put it lightly, freaking out a little. I was doing fine running errands and getting laundry done and such, but then I couldn't get my laundry to dry (I keep forgeting that the usual dryer does not do what laundromat dryers do), and it was getting on roach time outside, and I had to get the cat to the apartment..
I took a breath. I packed up the cat and the laundry and went back to the apartment. I got the laundry to dry and thought, well, just maybe I'll clean. I ended up picking up a little and not much more than that, as the cat prowled around and gave me dirty looks. My laundry got done in record time, so I put it back in the car and went to lock up and...
It's weird. I've left her alone plenty of times, for longer spaces than this. But I've always done it just as I was going...and there was something odd and hard about shutting off those lights and leaving her there before I was actually leaving. Maybe this is just me, or just stress, or just hormones, but...it really hit me hard.
I went back to the house and attempted to a) pack and b) get the Circle I was working on out. These two things are rather mutually exclusive. I'd talked to Root earlier about whether I should drive down--she said either way was fine--and I got the occasional text from her, asking for an ETA. I finally messaged her and said, "I'm coming down," packed everything up in plastic bags, and drove down to Root's house.
There I flopped on her couch, surrounded by plastic, and said I needed to chill. So chill we did! We watched three episodes of Supernatural--I'm catching her up on the first and second seasons--before I finally gave up and passed out. As I've said more than a few times over the past coupla weeks, I haven't been sleeping, and I didn't sleep much the night before, either. Still, it was about two, three before I finally went to sleep.
She got me up at 6:!5; apparently my phone alarm kept going off. I got up and, as if possessed by the sudden ability to get things done, packed up the rest of the Circle and got my carry-on all settled. I then had to go up to NMH and drop some stuff off, then hit the PO with Root--which took awhile, something her son commented on--before she dropped me off at the airport.
It was time to get this show on the road.
Of course, I first went to the wrong counter...but that's neither here nor there.
I think I've expressed here before how much I dislike the Denver Airport.
Now, I am older. Wiser. Better able to read a map. So I rather like Denver these days, even if it's the worst airport to fly into during the winter. I went up to Mesa Verda, the restaurant-cum-smoking lounge, and had chicken fingers and several cigarettes. Then I headed down to my gate to...well, wait for the plane to come in. I broke out my new camera--I picked up a cheap one for the trip, since the old camera has been on its way out for a bit--and took some pictures out the giant picture window, then went back and got out my book.
Everything was pretty routine after that: got on the plane, plane was delayed on the runway, plane finally took off. The flight was all right, too, though I was kinda restless--I read a little, wrote a little, hauled out my laptop to watch SPN and got through some of an episode, ate jelly bellies, and tried to sleep. The writing I did last, and it seemed to go the best, though I was sorta envious of all the mighty laptop users around me. Only I would be envious of someone working on Powerpoint slides.
Yup, everything was fine until disembarking--and I spilled jelly beans all over the aisle.
And pretty much everything else out of my pockets, too.
Whoops!
So I pulled over to the seats in front as people picked their way over the jelly beans, got my pockets back in order (mostly), kicked jellies out of the aisle as best as I could, retrieved other bits from my pocket...it wasn't fun, but I didn't freak out. Score one for team Ten!
Then it was out to meet my family. I'd gotten several texts from Rachie, so I had a number to call when I got off the plane. I met up with them down in the baggage claim, at which point Mom went off to get my luggage. Mom, not so much for standing still. ;)
While she did that, my sister interviewed me on her digital camera. She apparently did that to everyone; we haven't seen them yet. I'm sorta afraid to at this point.
Luggage retrieved--it took a bit--we found our van, got to the hotel, and settled in. We got a bite to eat at the Pan-Asian place downstairs and caught up, then went back up. Now, I'd promised to pass out pretty quickly, given the lack of sleep. But first I just had to take care of a few Internet things...
Yeah, yall know how this guys. I looked up maybe a half-hour later, and just about everyone was sacked out. So I hunkered down and got some more Internet time in. I had no clue what the ship would offer as far as connections, after all!
Next day was getting on the ship...which will be the next post, as this is long and boring enough as it is.
It's now, oh, about quarter of 11. I've moved from the Explorer's Lounge to Horizon Courtyard to Horizon Terrace and back down to the Atrium. They've just turned the lights down up as the light outside fades to a darker and darker gray, but it's still not completely dark, and there are still people moving around the ship. Most events are probably over, but that doesn't mean people are in bed yet. The upstairs buffet will be changing over to its light selections soon; some of the bars will close. The Skywalker Lounge is probably just getting started. The gentle roll of the ship occasionally seems slightly less gentle, but not enough to throw people off too much. Next to me, a little boy has his bare feet on a glass and metal table. Soon, people will head back to their room. Soon, people will set their clocks back an hour--as they have been reminded--hit the light, and roll into their turned down beds.
"Personal" plays again on my headphones, as I think of what I'll do next. Piano music starts a lovely melody upstairs, a spritely counterpart to the melancholy in my ears.