I am sick as a dog, hacking my lungs up and wandering around bumping into things. I stayed healthy the whole time I was in France, thanks largely to my "why the fuck not" sleeping in almost every day until 9 or 10am, but all the germs of the world finally caught up with me following the 23 hours of travel home. B and I also experienced the worst jet-lag of our lives; I've been flying since I was a baby, but I have
never been so thrown off by long-distance travel. We're stoked because we finally managed to sleep until 6am today, instead of, like, 4.
But anyway! Happy new year's eve to everyone. Those of you in SC will forgive my absence at the history + astro grad party...new year's is one of those holidays B and I love to hate (too much screaming of "woo!") and, um, I'm sick. Like I said.
I wanted to note a few of my impressions on being back in Cali:
- The streets here are amazingly wide.
- The sidewalks are not only amazingly wide, they are almost completely clear of both dog shit and people running into you (me).
- People dress like hobos! But it's a relief!
- People sure do have stupid cars in California.
- My apartment is huge. Palatial. You could fit the whole Wu-Tang Clan in here, circa 1997.
Re: the stupid cars, B and I were out getting food and going on walks yesterday and I was quickly reminded of just how many would-be tough guys live in SC, with the hats and the pants and the cars and the bass. But then I realized that I have, in the past, been overly critical of what is really just a part of the quaint regional culture. If I were to go to New Jersey, for instance, and I bumped into a bunch of guys saying 'feggedabouit' and acting like Tony Soprano, I would take it like an anthropologist and be like "this is part of their culture! They have cultural CODES!" The same standard ought to apply here, for every doofus in a lowered Honda with a backwards hat. Enjoy your cultural codes, fellows!
So despite being sick, being home is so rad I can barely handle it. Join me in hoping that 2009 only sucks a fraction as much as 2008 did for most people, the Obama win notwithstanding.
5 comments:
Happy new year from Palm Springs!
Not something I ever expected I'd say. Let's just say that while fog is just one of those things, the ensuing logistics are doing their bit to adjust my feelings on flying ever so slightly towards yours.
Hungry. Oops, gotta board.
Someday, everyone will acknowledge that flying is deeply unnatural and we will all learn to be content with sitting, or, perhaps, walking.
I'm a little late to the game. Happy return to you both! I'm glad that your sojourn ended on a slightly higher note than most of its duration.
Bonne Annee!
Welcome home, happy new year! Yes we missed you guys, and we have lots of extra booze to prove it!
But seriously, hope you feel better real soon.
Oh yeah, and jetlag from there to here is also way worse on the way back. I don't get it either, but now you know how us E Asianists feel too. Egad.
Incidentally, though it is of no real consequence, the first comment on this entry was actually from me... I failed to notice that Rebecca was logged into the machine whilst thoroughly confused in the Palm Springs airport.
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