A Breath of Fresh Air

Today is saturday. I spent the past week in DC. I say DC as opposed to where I actually was, Virginia to avoid the questions about farm life. I save my breath, opting to say DC and not to explain to every person not from the area, that Im from Northren Va, which is a suburb, not a rural environment. And no, I never dated a cousin. Thats West VA, people. Anyway, after missing my bus on Fri night, I awoke bright and early at 6AM the next morning to catch the earliest Sat bus. The 4 hour trip was a nightmare! Normally I put all my available luggage on the seat next to me and claim its for my cousin/boyfriend/sister/friend who conveintly "misses" the bus last minute, leaving me with two whole seats to sprawl out on, and no nagging urge to avoid awkward conversation with the stranger next to me. I knew I was in trouble when a 300 pound man kindly asked if the seat was taken. I nodded yes, but when I saw the sad, disapointed stare he shot back at me, I realized this prob happened to him often and didnt have the heart to destroy his self esteem even more, so I hesitantly moved my bags and offered him the seat. Bad move. Bad, bad move. Had I not been so sleepy when first encountering this man, I would have observed the pungent odor exuding from him. Lucky for me, I had four long hours to endure this pleasent scent. As if I werent suffering enough, I was ridiculously tired with no where to rest my head, besides the massive lump of lard next to me. And my Ipod died within the first 15 minutes. TORTURE.


Four impossibly long hours later I arrive in DC (The real DC, not NoVa) I have tickets to see Phantom of The Opera at The Kennedy Center, but I have a good hour before the show starts, so I shop a little at Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, and get a tomato mozzerella panini with my mom. About a year ago I bought a gorgeous crochet dress, the fabric (not pattern-it was a chic nude) was similiar to that of Missoni garments, but I never had a chance to wear it. I seem to bring it with me whenever I travel, convinced that on the spur of the moment I'll be invited to a black tie benefit ball and have the chance to slip it on, yet a year had passed and no such luck, until last Sat, that is. It was perfect for an afternoon of Opera with the Grandmother, yet sexy enough to wear out afterwards for wine on one of those boats that circle the harbor giving views of the capital. THat second thing didnt quite happen, but it wouldve been nice if it did. Anyway, Phantom was phenomonal. I love musicals and all their overproduced, over acted glory. It was nice to see my grammie, although I swear all she talked about was how fantastic the recent Shakespeare she'd seen had been. My estranged cousin and sister were there as well, although we didnt talk much.



Three hours later, after the show, my sister drove me back to VA, Gainesville to be exact, where my other estranged cousin was having a birthday barbeque (although I'm not sure whom it was for? There was a cake though, with balloons, which Im pretty sure signifies a birthday?) All the relatives from the other side of the family were there. Half of them were drunk. The other half acted like they were. I kid, they are all very nice, loving people. People whom I havent seen in ages, so I guess it was good to see how everyone was doing.



I got home at 10PM, unpacked, and enjoyed good, bad cable television. Some classic E! or something. And cuddled with my puppies.



Sunday I rode my bike to the community pool. I've been spoiled with NY pools, with thier views and towel service and mojitos. I was slightly underwhelmed with the VA Run Neighborhood community pool. Its in desperate need of an upgrade, with its flimsy, 90's lounge chairs and stained concrete floors and locker rooms that reek with stinch of urine. But I settled because well, the other option was... actually there was no other option. I laid out for a good hour or two, and reread the Owl and The Pussycat and made some calls I'd been procrastinating.



I forget what I did later that day, needless to say it was more or less uneventful, which I genuinly enjoyed. Its nice to be lazy for a few days, with no schedule, no obligations, no responsibilities..its almost as if life moves in slow motion. After a while this slow motion can become nausiating, but for a moment its blissful. My mom cooked dinner that night. I cant remember the last time someone cooked for me. After dinner we sat on my back porch with a glass of Chardonnay. Suddenly I was so aware of the atmosphere... to hear mere sound of crickets chirping- and absoulutly nothing else- is slightly disarming when your accustomed to the roar of sirens, the hum of traffic, the voices of strangers. I looked up and saw nothing but I clear raven sky, scattered with a million tiny stars. No building, no air traffic, no pollution. It felt like a long needed fresh breath I had been waiting to take, the oxygen slowly pouring in.



The rest of the week was spent in the same manner. Long mornings lounging by the community pool, bike rides to no where, lazy afternoons spent in front of the TV, doing activities like trips to the mall or walking the dogs, for the simple purpose of killing time. By day 3 I was itching for my obligations, stresses, and responsibilities. Or at least some social interaction, apart from my forty-something year old parents. So I called some old friends from Golds Gym. That chapter of my life seems so distant, yet as I sat in the room of an old friend, smoking and generally doing what I did for 3 months, it seemed like only yesterday.

Tuesday I went to the tackiest amusement park in America, Kings Dominoun. Good family fun. The crowd there was so grose, though, it almost ruined my day. I sound so pessimistic, but all I could think about was all the germs I was contracting by being in the same lines and sitting in the same roller coaster seats as these people. I have major OCD. But it was nice to spend time with my whole family, which is rare. The last time I was with them all was probably two years ago at the beach. Its so strange to see my kid brothers as teenagers, two of them are already taller than me! Its also bizarre to think that two people who grew up in the same house, with the same parents, under the same circumstances could turn out so radically different. Im referring to my sister and I, but now that I think about it my brothers too. I mean, I shared a huge chunk of my life with these people, you would think we would have something in common, other than a last name. My sister and I were practically joined by the hip when we were little... we shared a room, shared secrets, shared clothing... and now we couldnt be more opposite. Strange right?

Wednesday had the same attitude as the other days... general laziness. I did a little home shopping with my mom. I got some cleaning supplies, food, laundry detergent, neccesities that sadly, I rarley buy.

Thursday, I drove back to the city with my mom. More or less an uneventful drive. Good conversation, good sleep time. We didnt get to the city until about 7. We walked to the East River and then to Cilantro for a dinner of Sangria and steak fajitas. I went home, unpacked, fell asleep watching Sex and The City on DVD.