next stop: home for now

white marsh, baltimore

wednesday | 19:30 — aboard this amtrak that left baltimore almost 2 hours ago. headed for new york now. home, finally. no travelling for around a week and a half for me. and i just might pass on that next trip out to an art show in chicago to save myself for the big trip to manila and hong kong and november.

around this time last night i was stuck in a minivan making its way through terrible beltway traffic—finding our way from bethesda, maryland to baltimore. once we reached our hotel, we had been notified that some of us we're being moved to another hotel some 8 miles away due to the rain causing a mess in some of the rooms. 10,000 free marriot reward points and free lodging for the night after, i found myself in a residence inn in a town called white marsh. between the 2 hours of being in a van where baseball and american football was the main topic of conversation and being in a town that felt like the middle of suburbandom, the sense of being in foreign territory was high. bit awkward feeling obviously but there was a sense of broadening one's horizons that came with it. the residence inn was no drake hotel and the chicken marsala delivery dinner no morton's filet mignon, but the depressing/stupid quality of the night was short-lived coz i was fast asleep.

private chef prepared lunch

it was another early morning today. way too early actually. was in the lobby by 6:32 and by 7, at the research facility. by 7:30 it was back to business. nice little fruit, eggs, bacon and toast breakfast to start up the system. and by 10, facility's private chef was telling us the menu for lunch. it was decided that we'd have the steak & lobster option. sweet. steak was good but i didnt bother with the lobster for fear of turning into some puffed up allergic mess. drawback about the place though was that the internet was on and off. being able to check my mail every 5 minutes was definitely cut down. and so was the occasional instant messenger here and there.

around a half an hour more and im finally in penn station. travelling business class of course. bit weird feeling again coz here i am in a car packed with business people in their 40s. dressed up in their suits while here i am just a kid in a golf shirt in his 20s. same awkward proud feeling i guess during those moments when id be infront of clients or colleagues, speaking and listened to as though my ideas really mattered. or even the thought of being promoted to art supervisor in january with only 2.5 years with the company. or the what-if goal of buying an apartment next year.

must get myself into some trouble, i guess. or at least do something silly. this sense of being all set, though great, feels somewhat wrong. but i guess i'll have time for all that action & adventure once i hit manila in around a month. for now, i guess it's time to live this life here in this home away from home.

next stop: new york penn station. a black town car awaits to drive me home. there better be not much traffic. im treating myself to a nice cup of italian ice at the neighborhood corner.

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sunday | 10:00 — turned out the black town car wasnt there at penn station. apparently the mets game at shea had all the cars delayed. hopped on a cab instead. and instead of ice cream, got a slice of pizza at the corner. great to be back in the office thursday. none of the heightened propriety of having clients around—supervisor burping out loud in the middle of a meeting, creative director letting everyone listen to an original song of his, "dinner and a blowjob"— there's no place like home. a real slowed down weekend so far to recharge the batteries. home-cooked meals, sleeping in, and movie night. off to union square now for some action.