No travel plans in sight. I looked into flying to the Yucatan for the 4th of July weekend, but I probably won’t. Several considerations: 1) the pandemic is ongoing 2) if the Mexican border opens for American travel in June as planned, then airports, hotels and sites will be beyond crowded; 3) due to various ongoing issues, I’m considering saving all my extra $ this year for a down payment on a house to escape apartment living.
There is simply no consistent privacy or quiet enjoyment to be had where I am, and given that I’m working from home indefinitely and therefore on calls and in meetings every day, my current living situation is not sustainable for the long haul. I can’t keep getting disrupted by the floor-shaking techno music next door or the neighbor’s boyfriend randomly appearing outside my office window in the shared alleyway. Or the impromptu gatherings on the shared porch with loud conversation that goes on for hours, day and night. I’ve had multiple conversations with the neighbors about noise. The landlord is useless. I won’t call the cops for what I hope are now obvious reasons. I know I sound like a grump. Maybe I am.
In the meantime, I wear headphones and dream of Kungsleden, and I wait out my lease. Last night I dreamed of Iceland, of a roaring fire in a fireplace, piles of fluffy blankets, hot mead and snow outside the window. It was a good dream.
I went to a protest last week. I’m writing a piece about it. Maybe I’ll publish it here.
I hope everyone is doing as well as they can. I’m taking a news break today to mentally recover from last week and from the stress of the first hurricane scare. Between work obligations, I’m doing some writing and other tasks unrelated to social media or the news.
I encourage anyone reading this to take time to care for yourself. The news will still be there when you’re ready to get back to it.
My Scandinavian Summer 