Episode IV

Well, the new year has officially begun. It is January 4th in most of this country by now, even in that sun-kissed paradise known as Los Angeles. I have returned from my New York journey largely undamaged, though not as whole as I would have liked--I did not live healthily during my trip. I stayed up until 5:00 AM most nights, then slept until past 11:00 and woke up sore and unrested. I ate enormous quantities of food even when I wasn't hungry, just to fill the time. I spent almost half of my trip living with or visiting cats. All in all, not a physiologically beneficial trip.

Nevertheless, things are better. Hope is in the air. I have resolutions, relating to physical, mental, and emotional health. For almost two days now, I have successfully avoided that fleeting despair that so often ambushes me. And not by being too busy to pay attention to emotions; that route has been attempted and long ago rejected.

So, some interesting moments of the vacation:

-The Las Vegas airport. I spent at least four hours there between my outbound and return trips. Most of those hours were on the runway, waiting for various circumstances to clear. In case you were curious, using an airplane lavatory while said plane has no power is an extremely bad idea.

-Pseudo-bars. On two consecutive nights, I visited a gay-club-wannabe in Huntington and a hipster-bar-wannabe in Amityville. The patrons were adorable, in that cheek-pinching, condescending way (the bartender at the former was adorable, in that I-would-sleep-with-you-right-now way). Long Island tries awfully hard to be New York City, and it is often unaware of the enormous margin by which it misses.

-Weather. Snow and rain and below-freezing temperatures and also balmy spring weather. All in two weeks. Wondrous variety, and all delicious to experience. Note the lack of numerical quantifiers on the temperatures; I aim to please my Canadian following. All one of it.

-Many friends and family. Mostly it was good to see them all. Especially the friends. Notable exceptions included my mother's oblivious attempt to foist an unwanted, unfashionable, cruel to animals and humans, sweatshop-made coat off on me (it was on sale!), and my father's intimation that I should see a therapist because of my inability to ever have a relationship. "There must be something you're doing..." Thanks, Dad!

-Things. Good God, things. My parents' house is full of things. Everywhere. I cannot abide it any more. The omnipresence of objects drove me nearly frantic and surely did nothing to help my suddenly-resurgent allergies, as they were all coated with dust. Why anyone would want to own as many for-display-purposes-only dishes as they do is beyond my comprehension.

-Desmond Tutu. As I shared with a friend (what is his code name? Something about bagpipes, I presume) one evening, I have often wondered whether or not Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a homophobe. I didn't want, however, to find out. I have too much respect for The Most Reverend to learn that he despises me. I mentioned this idle curiosity while wandering the streets of Queens before dinner. A few hours later, after dinner, we were wandering the streets of Manhattan and saw a billboard with a big portrait of none other than Archbishop Tutu, alongside the phrase, "His Moral Compass Points to Equality." Thanks, Rev.

There were many more moments of the trip worth commemorating, but I have a slight headache and am in need of rest. Perhaps I will post more of it later, but I feel a need to let it slip into the past with the dregs of 2008, and to begin anew with 2009.