Christmas Day

And it's quiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeet.

It also happens to be about 5 AM. Since I arrived in the Bay Area, jet lag blessed me with an unconscious state from approximately 9 PM PST to 4 AM PST. As the 3 year old I'm sharing residence with sleeps at 0 Dark Thirty and awakens at approximately "Coffee Grinder", her mother and I fixed it with a bag of Pre Ground from Starbucks. Now I have 2-3 hours of time to myself without the shell shock of a midget run-by, with my underwear on her head.

Busy residing, hot tubbing, eating copious amounts of ham and those teeny little chocolate chip cookies you get from Trader Joe's that are the world's best breakfast cereal. They come in a plastic package the size of a dutch oven; add milk and "The Bourne Ultimatum". You'll come down 3 days later in the rear seat of a Greyhound Bus, spare changing for organic celery and PBS access on the way to San Diego.

I used to laugh at people who fell asleep right after they ate. Up until about 6 months ago, I would eat and then feel like going for a walk. Maybe it's the first squeaks in my metabolism grinding to a shrieking halt, but staggering two steps to fall asleep on the futon after breakfast and waking up belching with saliva down my chin speaks less for me than for the cook. Who made it to his bedroom and crawled under the laundry before being located 2 hours later in much the same state.

Which reminds me...if anyone reading this has seen Pan Dyrektor, you can tell him that I'm coming for him. He's been hiding since I sang "Sto Lat" on his voice mail last September, and I don't sing THAT bad. T., if I have to drop another 2 grand to come back and kick your ___, it will be money well spent. Just make the Bigos.

Off to work up another appetite with a nice brisk walk. It is dark and cold- who wouldn't want to be wearing clothes and wandering around in the cold dark? This would explain multitudes about my dating prospects. That and the belching/saliva. Maybe I should just buy shares in a Retirement Home now...

Christmas Eve

We're in Clear Lake, California.

The one thing I've noticed is how much energy I've had since I stepped outside on Thursday morning- the air here is definitely cleaner and less stale. I want to walk, run, be outside. Something about the air in Kuwait just makes one lethargic by comparison. Maybe it's just me, maybe I need a good bracing temperature to make my body wake up.

And I haven't stopped eating. Everything tastes good, I'm eating every fifteen minutes because it tastes so good.

One thing that people don't understand about somewhere like Kuwait, is that the flavors are very different. You can head down a strip in Fahaheel lined with restaurants that will cook you everything from "Hambuge" to Chop Suey to "Ohmlete", but it's not going to taste like what you thought you ordered. In Kuwait, you're using flavor combinations and spices grown with a minimum of water. Cinnamons and curries and tumerics and cardamoms and pepper. In the west, you'll flavor your meat with rosemary and thyme and green onions and chives and fresh sage.

Makes those ketchup flavored cashews from Kuwait absolutely pale in comparison.

I had my first glass of wine in 4 months. People have always teased me about how long I take to drink wine and things haven't changed- I'm one of those people that would order a half glass with dinner if I could because I like the way it makes my food taste, with a little afterwards. Did I mention I have about zero tolerance for red wine? Two glasses on a full stomach makes for a colorful evening. I can guzzle whiskey, no stomach for Pinot Noir though.

This resort we've landed at for the Holiday is quite nice, overlooking Clear Lake. It is a little like the Kuwaitis who "Go to Chalet" for the weekend. It's like a very nice, large apartment with a hot tub and pool and...a television.

Did I mention I don't own a television? I haven't for the past 5 years. Maybe longer. I like to read instead. The end result, is that I get hypnotized when I fall in front of one. Marketing is an astounding field! I just watched an 8' Cabbage Patch Kid sell car insurance. The mind boggles.

This made

every second of this journey, every penny, worth it.

"A small plant with pretty flowers is our undoing, frequently."