Stranded in my home town

 Well the good news is I made it! I landed around 11pm and just got home a bit after midnight. But luckily, I felt weird enough to shower. So I'm clean.

My comfy robe smells though.

No signs of any big animal intruders. A new dead worm and some weird debris in the kitchen. But bed and office seem safe enough for sleep tonight and work tomorrow.

Yay, I have Wednesday off. 

So yeah, I tried for about 40 minutes to call an Uber or Lyft. I think Uber kept getting a driver who kept declining. The regular rate is $6 and it went up to > $20 and still nothing. Luckily I learned, there was a taxi stand at the end of the curb. I talked to the people waiting; called 2 cab companies and even spoke to the rental car counter. I thought about walking in the dark, but luckily I didn't have to.

Luckily, there were 2 other people waiting for a cab, so I felt more comfortable. And luckily, I used my voice again to jump in the cab with them cuz it was a very strangely marked cab. 

I sat in the front and the driver dropped me off on the way. Phew! He said he took cards, but then said if I had $5 cash that would be enough. The fare was a little less than $7. That's how close I live to the airport.

So I have now added, take $20 cash with me for all trips.

For now, I want to just take the win/loss of a staycation for the next 2 months. There's an 80% chance my workload will be low to light between now and May 15 (next big kickoff). I'm kind of on reg response backup, but other than that, nada. This was causing some mild distress on --- what will I do with my time! But I don't think traveling is it. 

I haven't completely ruled out SC (or somewhere driveable). But right now, I don't want to fly/travel anywhere for awhile. 

I've written out a couple things I can do to break up the day:

- Random meetups with my old ladies, preferably outdoor or active ones

- Contact the softball coach to see if they still need players

- At least for March - Fridays for fish sandwiches at Arbys

- Wed = african food take out. Not sure if this week counts for Wednesday though.

- My personal colleague is ordering me some cookies. So that will be nice.

- I plan to dabble in a few free trials of some streaming channels, and give Peacock a break. I might actually pause it. That helped with Hulu.

- This was all for March. And that's as much as I can think right now, eventhough this could potentially span a few months. 

- Considering - sitting/walking outside at least 20 minutes a day/ 3x/week

- So nothing big planned for my birthday which is on Saturday!!!

- Oh, I didn't end up texting Dan. Being in the airport was too distracting. I kind of hate being in the airport. I know it's just the exhaustion talking, but I don't want to fly anywhere for awhile.

I think if I go anywhere else for no reason other than to escape the loneliness, I would prefer driving distance. Lessons....learning...(not yet fully learned). 

Sunday was not a good day, but Monday was better, mostly because I was distracted with trying to live

I'm so glad I got my cookies from Whole Foods! I was hot and sweaty but tasting the chocolatey goodness after the trek was worth it! 

I'll try to only eat 1 Tues and leave the last one for Wed after my long day of long errands.  (Might need to put it in a baggie or freeze it to keep it fresh.)

Funnily, the weird package that was left on my doorstep that I was pretty sure was mis-delivered (ie, not a surprise birthday gift from my no-close-contacts) was....actually misdelivered! I'm surprised my neighbor didn't come looking for it. The box was for frozen food but when I picked it up, I think it was just a re-used box because I could lift it with just a few fingers under the flap. 

Glad I didn't embarrass myself asking people if they'd sent me anything. Oof.

I don't feel like sleeping. 

I left my rental around 3p CST and got home around 12 midnight EST. That is a long day of traveling to go such a short distance! My goodness. 

I saved a couple bucks taking the bus vs Uber, but after all the sweating, not sure it was worth it. But old habits I guess. Plus I had nothing else to do. Even still, that just extended an already needlessly long travel day. The bonus was getting the cookies. That was the real motivation for taking the bus. 

Also, I'm just giving in that I'm now someone that purchases airport food. I've been getting a bit sick, and the airport ginger ale and Lay's chips hits the spot. Easily $7. I tried bringing my own chips on the way to Nashville, but it didn't do the trick. (They weren't Lays!)

P.S. - The coat and sweatsuit that I was stressing about in the beginning of the trip, didn't end up mattering after all. Glad I never picked them up and then have to stress about returning them. 

So yeah, summary of reflections:

- Take a breath and consider staying your happy butt home the next 2 months

- If going anywhere, drive

- Take the pressure off optimizing your life, free time, your last year of the decade.