The Sweetness of Sleep

I came home yesterday, Sunday, July 27, I think it was. Yes, it was. My week is confused already. Instead of coming straight to San Francisco, I stopped in Boston for a couple of days. I’m glad I did, because it took off some of the Jet lag. But I was still tired when I got home. I had about 4 ½ hours of sleep the night before, and had been on the plane all day. I didn’t sleep much. Maybe because of the coffee. But I did watch a lot of TV. I don’t own a TV, so I thought I might as well. I saw “Super Troopers” on the Comedy Network. I watched Scrubs, the X-Files, Law & Order, and the Tour de France. Also the Weather Channel. I didn’t do much reading. But I had a friendly seat-mate, so that made things interesting. He was out to SF for a business trip. I told him about the Exploratorium. When we landed, there was a back-up of planes, due to weather delays in New York City. So we waited on the tarmac for about an hour, or nearly, before docking into a terminal. I never really had lunch, but rather subsisted on Jet Blue snacks. I think I tried about everything. So then I got by baggage. I got on the BART, and 40 minutes later, I was in Berkeley.

It was kind of surreal coming home. There was the rose garden, the fountain. Just as usual. But I was different. I didn’t feel quite like the same person. But then again, I realized, I was delirious from lack of sleep and a 7-hour plane ride.

So I hauled my things upstairs and went to check out the different rooms of the house. It’s good to say hello. My housemate/landlady was not home, which was just as well. I wasn’t quite in the mental mood or condition for talking. I just wanted to go to sleep. Actually it was more than a want or a desire. It was more like a physical certainty that the next thing on my list was sleep and nothing else. Nothing, that is, except ice cream. I had a major craving for a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream. Luckily, I discovered in the freezer some Breyer’s vanilla, which I had meant to eat before the trip, but didn’t. It was just enough for one bowl. I considered that it was now over a month old, but I didn't care. It wasn’t even frosty. I poured maple syrup on it, and let it soothe my travel-wearied soul. After that, I was ready for sleep.

Just a little nap, I thought. Maybe two hours. Then I would wake up and do some grocery shopping. Maybe go for a run. That was at 4:11 p.m. The next time I opened my eyes, it was dark. I checked the clock. 9:30. My roommate was home. I didn’t feel like going downstairs. I went back to sleep. I woke up several times after that, but I made myself stay in bed until 8:30 the next day. It’s not like I was going to get anything done in that time. And anyway, I obviously needed the sleep. It was a taxing trip. In so many ways. After a while, I think I even ran out of dreams. Sixteen hours is a lot. But it was good. And in the morning, I did go grocery shopping. I ate my lunch, and here I am.

I have a backlog of things to post, but for now, let’s just say I am home, I am safe, I am happy. I did my traveling. I got my France. And I my Ikea bed was here to welcome me.