Re-adjusting to 'murica

It's been exactly 27 days since we've arrived back in the States, and I have to admit I'm still adjusting. It's been wonderful and hectic, as every vacation here has been for the past few years. But this time, the vacation is continuing into real life. (Although we're not quite there yet.)

Vacation mode along the Hudson in New York City

I may be back in my homeland, but I'm now here with a slightly altered perspective. It's undoubtedly the same beautiful place I've longed for, and I'm thankful for that - with the exception of a couple things. The most prominent one being traffic. Having not driven even once in more than a year, it was honestly a bit of a jolt being thrown into 4-lane, bumper-to-bumper traffic, lines of shiny cars stretching along the steaming pavement as far as the eye can see. Where is everyone going on this one road at exactly the same time? 

Luckily I haven't experienced a stand-still yet, but it's only a matter of time. And it's not just the number of automobiles - it's the way they drive, the most accurate description of which is aggressively. Man, are they aggressive. As I type this, I'm wincing a bit as I know I've lapsed into this dangerous category more than once in the last few weeks. (Note to self: give myself more time to get everywhere.)

Another adjustment for me has been grocery shopping. I guess any kind of shopping could fall into this category, but groceries is what I'm experiencing these days and it is crazy. The selection of bottled waters alone takes up aisle space greater than all the beverages in the biggest Swedish food market combined. Heaping baskets of fruit snacks in five new colorful flavors greet each consumer at the entryway, begging to be noticed and grabbed by the handful. I'm realizing that my go-to meals in Sweden aren't so go-to here. Try finding halloumi cheese in the US. It's no small feat, I can assure you.

I can say, though, that I'm loving the heat. I've missed this heat, even when it's sweltering and sweaty. And I'm loving all the people I've missed so very much: being a part of their lives again, being a quick phone call or drive away. 

Thanks for taking me back, America. Now let's see about starting a real life here.

Travel woes in Sweden

Hello, Midsommar in Sweden! Or rather, the eve of Midsommar Eve. Undoubtedly one of Sweden’s biggest days for travel. Which means the usually speedy 2-lane (sometimes 4-lane) roads that cross the country are jam-packed with travelers, eager to celebrate the coming of “summer” (which means rain and 10 degrees C today) with snaps and pickled herring. Isn’t that what we all crave when we think of summer?

But before all that, we sit in a very long line of cars which, for NS and I, has made what is usually a 4-hour drive from Stockholm down to Västervik more like 6 hours. But that’s just speculation – we’re not there yet.  

It feels like half of our journey so far has been at a full stop. And when we’re not motionless, our bus driver is driving in circles trying to find the next pick-up spot. One disgruntled passenger went so far as to yell at our driver from the back of the bus (this never happens in Sweden).

Transportation in Sweden doesn’t get more exciting than this. And it’s not only the start of Midsommar weekend. 

My Saving Texas Truck

I had my first highway collision last Friday. When I say highway, I don't mean that it was a high-speed hit. I was actually stopped, halted by I-95's typical bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic south of D.C. The guy behind me failed to notice I wasn't moving and BAM a horrible sounding metal-on-metal crash slammed my body forward. All the stuff that has gradually accumulated in my car, despite my best efforts to contain it, flew to my feet - pens, nail file, post-it notes, shoes, directions, half-eaten banana.

I'm the guy in red

Thank God the man wasn't going very fast... maybe 20mph or even less, I really don't know. My head banged back hard against my headrest and I sat there for a few moments wondering what to do. The shock subsided as a merging 18-wheeler jolted me to action and I pulled off the road, the perpetrator following.

I stepped out of my car on wobbly legs, shaken and sore in my neck, but otherwise fine. The damage was, to my surprise, not much more than some chipped paint and an imprint of his license plate, and after exchanging insurance information, each of us drove off.

The problem was I still had 4 hours to go until I reached my destination: Durham, North Carolina. That's a long way to go on a good day after almost 3 hours already stuck in the car - and after the crash, all I wanted to do was get there - or anywhere really - and get out.

I continued on my journey, and somewhere around Richmond started following a little white pick-up truck with Texas tags. For some reason, I found comfort in this nondescript car, and stayed behind it for awhile before losing it as I got off I-95 onto I-85. But a few miles later, I found the little white truck again and kept in its wake well beyond crossing the NC border.

I'm not sure what it was about this car - it was pretty nondescript, and I never saw the driver. I doubt he thought any more of me than a pair of bright lights on his tail. But when I finally got too low on gas to risk waiting for another exit, I veered off the road, regretfully parting from my leading guide.

I finally did make it to Good Fellows bar at midnight, just in time to ring in JC's birthday. The next day we drove to Wrightsville Beach in Wilmington, and I can honestly say that jumping in the cold salty ocean never felt so good.

Road Rage in Charm City

Coming home from downtown Baltimore today at 5pm, I drove exactly 300 yards in 48 minutes. That's a little over 2 football fields. Not even a lap around a track. A distance I can cover on all fours in less than 5 minutes. And yet, as I sat through an endless cycle of green - yellow - red, my car did not move anything more than mere inches. One at a time. u n b e l i e v a b l e

And the worst part is, I have to do it again tomorrow

SnowSnowSnowSnowSnowSnowSnowSnowSnow.

I love snow. My thought is, if it's going to be cold outside, it may as well be pretty too, with the ground covered in a clean white blanket of fresh powder. 36 inches in 5 days is a bit excessive, but I still have to say I'm enjoying it. The problem comes when that freshness becomes massive mounds in the right lane of every road, and is then coated with a layer of filth from the exhaust of passing vehicles. The beauty is gone and you're left with a traffic jam, not to mention some extremely hazardous conditions.

If I could walk to work, that would be one thing - but I'm supposed to make the trek into Baltimore tomorrow and

considering this is what downtown looks like right now,

my plan to get there in the morning might not work out so well.

Unless the snow plows pick up the pace in the next 12 hours like never before.

And why would they do that when more snow just keeps coming?

But wait... it stopped you say? Just now? Is this real? Oh... no, sorry, false alarm. It's hard to tell with the 50mph gusts whirling the flakes in every direction, but snow is indeed still falling. With no end in sight. At least I'm not getting bored. Yet. All I can say is I'd rather not have to plod through a 2-hr commute tomorrow - my little Corolla has had enough.