Mangia Piu Kale!

no more anatomy of heartache

Monday, January 01, 2007

*don't think twice, it's alright*

traveling during the holidays is not choice. i normally opt out, but this year i wanted to say goodbye to my grandfather before he sinks completely into alzheimer's-related dementia. he's been sick for 2 years but lately it's nothing but supremely bad news.


the rest of my trip was pretty fantastic. i met some awesome new people, partied like a rawkstar jedi w/ my old friends, did karaoke, drank my first Side-Car, got hooked up in a variety of ways from my family, bonded crucially w/ my dog, got to see my brother's band, and felt happy and lucky most of the time. my mother and i didn't fight once, unbelieveable.

on the way back, a bunch of Texan tornados forced us to land in Little Rock. they had us in that plane for 10 hours. a sick person almost died, and one woman had a screaming fit. and a really unattractive couple sitting in front of me had a problem w/ PDA. the airline put us up in hotels, and once in my room, i turned on the television and it imploded. a large popping sound and a vicious stink so bad i had to re-pack and change rooms. i slept 2 hours, rose at 4:30am to run for the airport shuttle in a rainstorm of the f'ing gods, then proceeded to wait for 5 hours for a 30 minute flight to Dallas. seeing as i am a friendly girl, i met a bunch of people. Paige is a divorced interior decorator from Austin who talks more than i do. we have the same middle name, and she saved me from an insanity brought on by no sleep, no food, and shit luck. John is from Pittsburgh, works for UT Arlington's sports media relations. he seemed like a total random but ended up being kind and interesting and we shared travel stories. Noah is young, just out of college, from NY, in the army, and will be sent to Iraq w/in the year. the 4 of us sat around, talked about everything (why is it so easy to do that w/ strangers?), and watched the sun rise in Little Rock.
We made it to Dallas fine, but as hundreds of flights were cancelled the previous day, i was told that I was f'ed, that every flight was full and I would be enjoying a warm and lonely Texan new year. My new friends said I should call and hang out w/ them on Sunday night, which was kind, but I really wanted to make it home.

There were hundreds of people ahead of me in stand-by, and after two blithe dismissals when i tried to get help, i finally bullied the airline person( in the spirit of grandpa Orlando), saying that i had a daughter to get to in SF and a nanny who would not work on NYE. that worked wonders, i ran thru half the airport just in time to dive on a flight to california, and all was well. my friend picked me up at SFO w/ a burrito and E-40 on the stereo. true.

i made it to suzanne's birthday party, had one of the best nye's of my life, and feel generally grateful for things.
something i thought alot about while i was away, and in the hours at various airports, was that i am now officially the most important person in my life. i still have endless love for my friends and family, and i still want revolution and to have a huge part in making shit better. but i've finally quashed the habit of putting other peoples's needs ahead of mine. the weirdest part is that i can't believe i was EVER any other way than I am right now.