The end. (of the road trip.)

This morning, we shot out of bed at 7, and were out the door of the desert house by 8. Well, by 8:20.

The night before, we had done the "how long will it take us to drive back?" calculus, amplified by two amplification factors: (1) the "it always takes longer on the way back" multiplier, and (2) the Pacific-to-Mountain time drag.

Even with these long-assifying factors, we made it back by 8:42 p.m. To our door, where we were greeted by our happy, happy dog and the young man who had kept him company.

Here are important factors about the day's trip:

1. we figured out what that giant light was, just outside of Searchlight.
2. we reminded ourselves why the iPod Classic is classic. Was, I guess. Always will be.
3. we had items we had brought from our desert house stash to restore us: San Pellegrino Melograno Arancias; cookies of the Chessmen variety; crackers, all sorts; oranges, navel. Also! at a grand--seriously, so huge!--AM/PM store outside of Vegas, I got (bought) us two cups with pebble ice. Score/deluxe!
4. the Virgin River Gorge is 90% less thrilling when it is restricted to one northbound lane. Also, and related: 98% more frustrating.
5. The closer to home you get, the more likely you are to be thinking of a (a) to do list; (b) stuff you should have been doing whilst on vacation but (c) did not do. Related: stress rises at a rate inversely proportional to the shortening distance of your journey home. (that's a thing, right?)

Well, we're home. I have put away stuff and done a load of laundry. My workout clothes are packed for tomorrow, and I have sent messages to my students (in lieu of actually having graded their work, but you know. It's something.) It's considerably chillier here than it was in the desert, but tonight while we took Bruiser for a frisky walk, he enjoyed it and so did we. See you tomorrow at work, if I happen to work with you.

Head in the game.

The question is which game? 

I have been

• playing with grandchildren.
• putting together a Star Wars Lego ship with C3PO and R2D2, as well as a couple of menacing stormtroopers.
• building a house for Buzz Lightyear.
• helping with packing, mainly by playing Zombie Grandma with the children in the backyard.

• eating the leftovers from a family (farewell) party.
• watching the weather in Phoenix/Tempe. (pro tip: it will be very hot.)
• watching endless episodes of The Killing.
• making gestures at other work--writing a very squishy outline for a chapter, for instance, or going to a meeting and nodding my head at the work I know I need to be doing, and will be doing, at least I think so.

I have a window open on my iPad to an article about Caedmon, who it turns out was in residence at Whitby Abbey before it was called Whitby Abbey. Caedmon, of Caedmon's hymn. (Dear reader, if it happened to have been you who clued me into the Caedmon/Whitby connection, I hope you will remind me that it was you.) I think I might write about this. I might make a digital story. I might write a draft of that chapter, with or without the outline, but definitely with my colleague.

All of this will wait, though, until I have driven to Phoenix in a UHaul with my sons, eaten road snacks and listened to road music, and helped to see them start in their new place.

[here, please insert the apt and fitting words I am not composing, even though I have tried, about all of this, about them going.]


This is the order of things, and this is where, pardon my preposition, my head is at.

Hightouchmegastore: The Quarterly Review.

My day's activities, rated on a five point scale.

Sex and the City, viewed in the afternoon with Dr. Write: ****1/2
My new haircut: *****
Lunch at Big City Soup: *****
Getting the stuff on my "To Do" list done (bills, library books, buying snacks for the road, list-making itself): *****
Returning library books on time, no fines: *****
Loading stuff onto iTunes: **** (one cd caused my cd-rom player to make a terrifying grinding noise)
Syncing my iPod (music collection now measurably more awesome): *****
Bruiser out for some exercise: *****
My packing plan (to be executed in the morning): *****
My outfit (polka dot sweater, yeah!): *****
Cute but also comfortable shoes: *****1/2

Comprehensive review of today: *****!

[Scale: * = abysmal
** = abysmal, and one
*** = level-ish
**** = darn good
***** = stellar]