now what?
my limbo between school/newyork/lifeasiknowit and ghana/theequator/humidity/theGreatUnknown was relatively brief, as i knew it would be, but it felt much longer than expected.
ate in & out with kat and vadim the moment my plane touched down. got quality time with family and against family. enjoyed one of the best vacations i've ever had, with families which weren't my own but were amazing. made hundreds and was dubbed "ms. vegas" by a craps table of cheering admirers. celebrated new years at the Fotovat abode--third year running!--with kat and johannes and patrick and samantha and syrus and a slew of new faces. broke-and-entered an old place of business in the middle of the night with some old coworkers, not so much to steal as to take a shower and bum around for old times' sake; that's probably all i should say in a public forum. played darts with old friends at a bar, where they swiped my fake ID but let me in for ian's sake. drank 24s of coors light in a pay toilet with noah & anna, with the worst stench i've encountered and an empty bag of pork cracklins. conored it up in his new apt, much to kyle's delight. watched my stepbrother's hip hop show in downtown san jo. said goodbye to the cat before she died. packed for many hours with my mother's support. went to the dentist twice (like new!); received a half dozen sore-making immunizations & nearly 200 pills to take along the way; bought bug spray and sunscreen and shampoo and contacts to last me for six months; plopped down hundreds of dollars for a digital camera and batteries and adapters and converters. i am carrying many pounds of books to read and then let go of and i am perhaps more excited about them than about any other part of this impending journey.
leila is asleep in the room next door, and i am eating coffee cake from hobee's (elisa! julian!) and drinking hot chocolate in the last appropriate weather i'll experience for many months. last night was wine and a sleepy movie (and pickles, popcorn, noodles, and cookie dough) with lei & steven, and an aiport cab ride split with rizzo. now it is time for me to try to make the Fra Angelico exhibit at the Met, and wander around a metropolis for one last time before i go. and drink lemonade, which i am not to trust in ghana. it's time to go.
i don't feel nervous. i'm not anxious at all, or scared. i'm not even excited.
only physically am i "off": i've slept unusually deeply all week, for about ten hours a night, but wake up every hour or two; intense dreams i can't remember when i awaken. i have had no appetite (forcing down only california burritos). yet even when i've eaten nothing, i'm shitting like whoa. that's calm, right?
ate in & out with kat and vadim the moment my plane touched down. got quality time with family and against family. enjoyed one of the best vacations i've ever had, with families which weren't my own but were amazing. made hundreds and was dubbed "ms. vegas" by a craps table of cheering admirers. celebrated new years at the Fotovat abode--third year running!--with kat and johannes and patrick and samantha and syrus and a slew of new faces. broke-and-entered an old place of business in the middle of the night with some old coworkers, not so much to steal as to take a shower and bum around for old times' sake; that's probably all i should say in a public forum. played darts with old friends at a bar, where they swiped my fake ID but let me in for ian's sake. drank 24s of coors light in a pay toilet with noah & anna, with the worst stench i've encountered and an empty bag of pork cracklins. conored it up in his new apt, much to kyle's delight. watched my stepbrother's hip hop show in downtown san jo. said goodbye to the cat before she died. packed for many hours with my mother's support. went to the dentist twice (like new!); received a half dozen sore-making immunizations & nearly 200 pills to take along the way; bought bug spray and sunscreen and shampoo and contacts to last me for six months; plopped down hundreds of dollars for a digital camera and batteries and adapters and converters. i am carrying many pounds of books to read and then let go of and i am perhaps more excited about them than about any other part of this impending journey.
leila is asleep in the room next door, and i am eating coffee cake from hobee's (elisa! julian!) and drinking hot chocolate in the last appropriate weather i'll experience for many months. last night was wine and a sleepy movie (and pickles, popcorn, noodles, and cookie dough) with lei & steven, and an aiport cab ride split with rizzo. now it is time for me to try to make the Fra Angelico exhibit at the Met, and wander around a metropolis for one last time before i go. and drink lemonade, which i am not to trust in ghana. it's time to go.
i don't feel nervous. i'm not anxious at all, or scared. i'm not even excited.
only physically am i "off": i've slept unusually deeply all week, for about ten hours a night, but wake up every hour or two; intense dreams i can't remember when i awaken. i have had no appetite (forcing down only california burritos). yet even when i've eaten nothing, i'm shitting like whoa. that's calm, right?