Update on the home front: Mark has a new job! He joined Kobo, a Toronto-based eBook retailer. They make eReader devices, including the best touch eReader on the market, which is highly rated by Consumer Reports, amongst others.
Buy one. Buy two. Buy another for your mom/boyfriend/cousin/partner/best friend/yourself! Did I mention Mark is in sales? I think it might be rubbing off…
Mark travels a lot for work – almost every week so far. Sometimes with his nice Canadian co-workers (hello to Dave, who I haven’t met yet, and who is schooling Mark in the ways of bringing small gifts home to significant others :^).
I have joined Mark on a couple trips (Seattle & SoCal), but most of the time he is doing the road warrior thing alone. And it sucks to be apart. After 18 months of almost 24/7 togetherness, you’d think we’d get sick of each other, right? No.
Sigh. I miss him.
In Mark’s absence, an unwelcome visitor has started calling: Insomnia. Once I’m asleep, I am out for the night, but crossing the border to the Land of Nod is difficult.
Last week Insomnia paid an extended visit. Mark was flying from Toronto to Vancouver, and his flight was delayed for five hours due to thunderstorm and tornado warnings. Frickin’ TORNADOES. His 5-hour flight didn’t leave until almost 1:00 am ET.
I went through my evening routine, mentally ticking off the boxes on an unwritten ‘Sleep Prep’ checklist.
Soothing herbal tea? Check.
Hot bath? Check.
Good fiction book? Check.
It was no use. I thought about thunderstorms. And tornadoes. And one relatively small pressured metal canister hurling west through the sky. Possibly through thunderstorms. And tornadoes.
I tried to distract myself. I read Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain straight through (thanks again to Joy WD for gifting it to me!).
I folded laundry.
I processed 46 emails out of my inbox.
I caught up on my blog reading.
Mark landed in Vancouver at 2:41 am PT. I called him while he was still on the plane, relieved to hear his voice. The flight had been smooth, no problems. He was exhausted, but didn’t have meetings until the early afternoon. There was time for a few hours of sleep.
And then it was my turn. Insomnia slipped out the back door, with threats to come again soon.
And sometime around 3:30 am, I finally fell asleep.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey you. What an amazing blog you have created. I confess I have not read all of your entries so I need to work backwards and catch up. I am sorry about the insomnia. If you remember I had terrible insomnia during undergrad. I think a steady routine helped. Exercise. And, giving up on trying to control too many things. I need to check your backlog but where are you living right now?
Jamie!!! I owe you a seriously long email. We are up in Incline Village, NV – on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Moving soon, I’ll send you details! Thanks for the kind words – it is fun to write here 🙂 Hope Greg and the boys are well too!
I know exactly what you mean. Now that hubby has a job and he’s working 10-12 hours a day, it’s hard not having him around like I did while we were traveling. At first, I was tasked with finding our new home and moving everything in, but now I’m at loose ends sometimes. When you get back to the Bay Area, we have to get together. Cheers
Kate – yes, let’s get together! I’m just starting the process of moving us too, and totally get the feeling of being at loose ends. Welcome to the Bay Area!