Homecoming
Air travel is always a little surreal, even now. It adds a dreamlike haze to the trip I've just taken, and I looked through my photos to reassure myself that it really happened. Of course, that might also be the sleep deprivation.
It's an unfamiliar feeling, traveling such a long distance almost due north. South America has a big benefit to my, as a traveler, that jet lag isn't an issue. Certainly, today will be difficult since they served us a meal around 3, my body was ready to be awake at 6:30 as always, and the time in between wasn't necessarily the most restful experience for all my impression of being in a coma. Still, I've been sleep deprived before, and found that it's a strangely gentler experience since having given up caffeine.
With my layover and connection, I should get home around 3, just in time for the perfect afternoon nap. With no time zone shift, I hold out hope for a pleasant evening and a productive tomorrow. And, of course, catching up on a few movies before they go out of the theatres: Lego Batman is up tomorrow and I'll catch Logan sometime in the next week.
I've got a few days in Ohio, and looking at my schedule I'm pleased with my planning. I'll have all Wednesday and Thursday to get my ducks in a row before heading south on Friday morning, catching an overnight in southern Tennessee or northern Alabama, and rolling into Hattiesburg, MS on Saturday afternoon. I'm headed to the Gulf Wars SCA event, but not to camp; it seemed silly to haul so much SCA gear in my car for six weeks with only four days at the event, so I'm day tripping from a local Airbnb. I'm curious to see how that goes.
From Gulf I head onward to the Sherwood Forest Faire outside Austin. I'm very excited to be back, especially with all the friends I made last year; after a few months of delightful isolation I'm ready to be a social creature again. Then I'll head back up north in order to catch a flight to Europe May 2, for a three-month tour. I deliberately decided to push myself this year, partly in celebration of my fortieth birthday and partly in defiance of it. I still love what I'm doing and this is my way of redoubling my commitment.
Interestingly, the past week has shown that I'm not very good at vacationing; I enjoyed the rhythm and flow of my tour much more when I was building my daily schedule around work. In addition to the social contact provided by interacting with my audience, I appreciate my recreation time a lot more when there's less of it to overwhelm me. That's not to say I didn't enjoy my week off, but in hindsight four days would have been a better choice. Noted for the future.
So that's the status of the Vince. On a plane, introspective and, as always, with one eye on the past and the other on the future with too little appreciation for the present. Let's make the magic happen.
It's an unfamiliar feeling, traveling such a long distance almost due north. South America has a big benefit to my, as a traveler, that jet lag isn't an issue. Certainly, today will be difficult since they served us a meal around 3, my body was ready to be awake at 6:30 as always, and the time in between wasn't necessarily the most restful experience for all my impression of being in a coma. Still, I've been sleep deprived before, and found that it's a strangely gentler experience since having given up caffeine.
With my layover and connection, I should get home around 3, just in time for the perfect afternoon nap. With no time zone shift, I hold out hope for a pleasant evening and a productive tomorrow. And, of course, catching up on a few movies before they go out of the theatres: Lego Batman is up tomorrow and I'll catch Logan sometime in the next week.
I've got a few days in Ohio, and looking at my schedule I'm pleased with my planning. I'll have all Wednesday and Thursday to get my ducks in a row before heading south on Friday morning, catching an overnight in southern Tennessee or northern Alabama, and rolling into Hattiesburg, MS on Saturday afternoon. I'm headed to the Gulf Wars SCA event, but not to camp; it seemed silly to haul so much SCA gear in my car for six weeks with only four days at the event, so I'm day tripping from a local Airbnb. I'm curious to see how that goes.
From Gulf I head onward to the Sherwood Forest Faire outside Austin. I'm very excited to be back, especially with all the friends I made last year; after a few months of delightful isolation I'm ready to be a social creature again. Then I'll head back up north in order to catch a flight to Europe May 2, for a three-month tour. I deliberately decided to push myself this year, partly in celebration of my fortieth birthday and partly in defiance of it. I still love what I'm doing and this is my way of redoubling my commitment.
Interestingly, the past week has shown that I'm not very good at vacationing; I enjoyed the rhythm and flow of my tour much more when I was building my daily schedule around work. In addition to the social contact provided by interacting with my audience, I appreciate my recreation time a lot more when there's less of it to overwhelm me. That's not to say I didn't enjoy my week off, but in hindsight four days would have been a better choice. Noted for the future.
So that's the status of the Vince. On a plane, introspective and, as always, with one eye on the past and the other on the future with too little appreciation for the present. Let's make the magic happen.