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Dazed Recovery
I didn't sleep for four days straight, but I was definitely nothing short of a useless blob for most of the past week.
For all I know, I'm still a useless blob now, but I'm finally a blob that knows what day it is, and that's progress. Let's see. I got back to Honolulu on Wednesday morning (arriving earlier than when I left Japan, which was Wednesday night). I got home and promptly crashed. I have little recollection of that day, except a spontaneous mid-nap outing to Burger King for a Whopper, for which I had an incredible, inexplicable craving. I went into the office on Thursday, if only for a bit, to start unpacking and lining up the next few post-conference projects. But then Jen and Katie joined me downtown, and we all joined mom for lunch at Ken Fong's, at which point I began to realize I was home again. Jen and I then took Katie to the library, where Katie got some more books and where I got a new library card for no particular reason. Finally, we ended up at Zippy's, meeting up with Lacene, who was eager for news. (I sure had some.) Friday — Good Friday — I couldn't resist stopping in at work again. But this time I pulled myself out quickly, and returned home for a big, wonderful, family nap. Then, we packed up and headed to Magic Island to spend the afternoon at the beach. As Katie buried my feet in the warm sand, I finally realized for certain that I was home. Jen worked on Saturday, so Katie and I spent the day at mom's. Or rather, Katie spent the day at mom's, while I slept the day at mom's. By Sunday I was feeling whole again, just in time for Easter. We all got dressed up and did the church thing (the place was packed with fairweather Christians), then drove out to mom's to celebrate the holiday. A great time was had by all, as Katie really got into hunting for easter eggs around the house, laughing, shrieking and jumping every time she found one. For dinner, Jen and I crafted a masterpiece, involving rotisserie Cornish game hens, homemade mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, baked sweet rolls, corn on the cob, and tossed salad. Katie capped off the night with an ice cream cone — a new favorite food for which she developed a taste while I was gone — and one more easter egg hunt. We lamented that we didn't see a mall Easter Bunny or color eggs, but there's always next year. Yesterday, the first full day back at work, felt a little weird. We got the "welcome back" pep talk and all, but I think many of us failed to end up fully at ease. I couldn't concentrate, and almost begged mom to join me down the street at lunch just so I could get out for a second. I needed something to clear my head, and Jen came to the rescue by reminding me about the gift certificate to Assagio we got from Todd for Christmas. It was very nice, as romantic a dinner as one can have with a rambunctious three-year-old at the table, and after a big plate of mushroom and garlic linguini, I could relax and smile. Today was a little better, as our next few projects become clearer, and the boss further treated us all out to a surprise lunch at Big Island Steakhouse. With specific work to do in the near term, I think I'm not alone in quietly resolving to not worry about the long term for a while. And that was the last week for me, faint as it was. For everyone else? I should note that Jen took my uselessness in stride. She even tackled both our federal and state taxes this year, with no help from me beyond a signature and a stamp. I barely had time to get really worried about the strike, when just tonight the news broke that UHPA settled with the state, and that classes will be back in session by Thursday. Good news, I guess. Now Cayetano only has the public school teachers to worry about. And I only recently came to terms with the fact that Jen and Katie will be leaving for Florida next week. They'll be gone for three weeks. Not only am I already missing them and getting annoyingly clingy, but I'm scared for my survival. I better evolve back into a productive, thinking human being quick, or I don't think I'm going to make it.
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· Created: 13 November 1997
· Last Modified: 14 January 2008