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I always expect some surprises when I get home from these long absences. (I wasn't shocked that the Aerogarden plants were dying.) I've gotten used to finding stuff in the fridge that had been there since I left, like the plastic container of tzatziki (Greek yogurt dip) I had made sometime in early July. Nobody had touched it; it was topped with a pouf of mold so puffy it could have been spun into yarn. There were some good surprises, too: since I left, the lighting people had been through, and now I actually have adequate office lighting! I can get rid of the two floor lamps I brought up from the basement last year: that will give me two more electrical outlets to plug technology into! I plowed through my mail (Staples rewards! the latest issue of Wired! a card from Mom!). I found ice cream in the freezer. I found that someone had cleaned my room and washed all my linens for me. I found the Tribune "Good Eating" sections piled by my door.
So here I am in my Michigan Avenue perch, with the rain dispersed and a bit of sunshine edging its way down from the Millennium Park area. I'm unpacked, my technology is mostly put away or ready to use. I even did my exercise!
Time to roll up my sleeves and play catch-up, while memories dance through my head (along with a single line from the "Ave Maris Stella," which was one of the first chants we recorded three weeks ago). (You can hear it on the new music player I installed in the sidebar. Just remember: this is a very rough mix. Even the music base is a rough mix, never mind our voices!)