I've been home for 1 week and am finally sleeping to a normal hour in the mornings. Repeatedly waking up at 3:30 am day after day is one of the tough adjustments of working through jet lag.
So how does it feel to be home? Weird. It's weird knowing that I put the suitcases away and don't need to pull them out again for the foreseeable future. Weird that I look around my house and although it's familiar, it doesn't feel quite right. I don't feel quite right.
In India, we really had only what we needed. Here, I just can't believe how much stuff there is. I'm used to clear kitchen counter-tops, not clutter. My closet was laughable: it was as if a totally different person returned from India; someone with no interest in anything that was still hanging up. So this past week has been about cleaning out, throwing away, and making room for the things I brought with me and for the 64 boxes that will arrive in 6-8 weeks from my sea shipment. 10 bags of clothes and shoes have been donated to Goodwill, piles and piles of papers, old medicines, and toiletries have been tossed. (I found some NyQuil that expired in 2005!!). It's as if I need to reintroduce myself to my own home and basically say "This is your new master now...deal with it!"
Am I happy to be back driving? I guess. I feel like I've been spending too much time in the car lately. Day 1 Back involved getting a new battery for my car. Last summer I bought a portable jump-starter and had to jump my car EVERY time I started it up. So a new battery was necessary. When I went to pick the car back up, the girl at the shop said to me "Just so you know, we had a police officer here earlier and he wanted me to let you know that your tags (registration) has been expired since September 2011. I told him you had been out of town..." Whoops. I thought I renewed that online, but no. Day #2: go to DMV to renew registration. Notes to self: make sure you drive on the RIGHT side of the road. Consciously make WIDE left hand turns!! Yes, once last summer I was alone, at night and yes, drove on the left...saw a car coming at me and thought "What's this idiot doing? Oh Sh--!! I'm the idiot! Screech" Scared the crap out of me! So I really pay attention now.
How are the girls adjusting? Ummm...they are frequently at each other's throats. Fun times.
Which do you like better: India or Virginia? Short answer: there are good parts of each.
High points of being home: Birthday dinner at Fossets at Keswick Hall with Bill. Excellent food, wine and atmosphere. 5 Guys Burgers and Fries...Bacon Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, grilled mushrooms, mayo, ketchup, with a side of regular fries. YUM.
Low points of being home: Man I miss having a maid. Even with a dishwasher, I still don't like washing dishes.
So now let's see what week #2 brings.
So how does it feel to be home? Weird. It's weird knowing that I put the suitcases away and don't need to pull them out again for the foreseeable future. Weird that I look around my house and although it's familiar, it doesn't feel quite right. I don't feel quite right.
In India, we really had only what we needed. Here, I just can't believe how much stuff there is. I'm used to clear kitchen counter-tops, not clutter. My closet was laughable: it was as if a totally different person returned from India; someone with no interest in anything that was still hanging up. So this past week has been about cleaning out, throwing away, and making room for the things I brought with me and for the 64 boxes that will arrive in 6-8 weeks from my sea shipment. 10 bags of clothes and shoes have been donated to Goodwill, piles and piles of papers, old medicines, and toiletries have been tossed. (I found some NyQuil that expired in 2005!!). It's as if I need to reintroduce myself to my own home and basically say "This is your new master now...deal with it!"
Am I happy to be back driving? I guess. I feel like I've been spending too much time in the car lately. Day 1 Back involved getting a new battery for my car. Last summer I bought a portable jump-starter and had to jump my car EVERY time I started it up. So a new battery was necessary. When I went to pick the car back up, the girl at the shop said to me "Just so you know, we had a police officer here earlier and he wanted me to let you know that your tags (registration) has been expired since September 2011. I told him you had been out of town..." Whoops. I thought I renewed that online, but no. Day #2: go to DMV to renew registration. Notes to self: make sure you drive on the RIGHT side of the road. Consciously make WIDE left hand turns!! Yes, once last summer I was alone, at night and yes, drove on the left...saw a car coming at me and thought "What's this idiot doing? Oh Sh--!! I'm the idiot! Screech" Scared the crap out of me! So I really pay attention now.
How are the girls adjusting? Ummm...they are frequently at each other's throats. Fun times.
Which do you like better: India or Virginia? Short answer: there are good parts of each.
High points of being home: Birthday dinner at Fossets at Keswick Hall with Bill. Excellent food, wine and atmosphere. 5 Guys Burgers and Fries...Bacon Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, grilled mushrooms, mayo, ketchup, with a side of regular fries. YUM.
Low points of being home: Man I miss having a maid. Even with a dishwasher, I still don't like washing dishes.
So now let's see what week #2 brings.
