So, Eric made it to New York last night. Don’t ask me how. He left Friday morning, got stuck in Oklahoma City from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning, and still arrived in New York about 3:00am last night. He must have driven 16 hours a day.
Here’s the problem: He already wants to come home. He says he made a big mistake. He says he didn’t think it out carefully. He doesn’t know where to keep the RV; he doesn’t want to drive it around, because it only gets 10 miles to the gallon and gas is so expensive. He doesn’t want to leave it, because all his worldly possessions (including his 5 bicycles) are on the rack and inside! I couldn’t believe my ears. I thought this was the answer to all his problems. He couldn’t wait to get out of here and he thought NY was the promised land.
Thank God he has three sisters who are happy to see him and will help him out. He stayed in his sister Susan’s house this afternoon and, when I called him at 5:30pm PT, when I got home from work, he was out to dinner with Susan, her husband, Steve, and their daughter, Ashley, who just graduated from Middle School.
I couldn’t believe my ears when Eric said he wanted to come home. All he talked about for 7 months was how much he hated San Diego, and all he did for the last 6 weeks is pack up all his stuff in the RV. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he doesn’t want to stay. He wants to come back to be with me.
It’s nice to know he misses me. I miss him, too, but I thought this was the best thing for him. I don’t know how he’s going to come back and all of a sudden make it work in San Diego, but he insists he can and he will.
I told him he has to stay a few days, to rest (because he obviously didn’t sleep much the last 5 days) and see some friends and family. Our niece, Melissa, is in the hospital. She has been ill for 5 weeks and they can’t figure out what’s wrong with her. So, Eric’s going to go see her tomorrow with his sisters.
I also want him to see our friends in New York. I asked him how he could come and go without seeing his friends and family, but he’s got it in his head that he needs to come back to me right away. I told him to just relax, consider it a vacation, and do some mountain biking, have some fun in New York with friends and family. And then, when he’s more rested, he can make the drive back.
I told him that if he comes back to San Diego there will have to be changes. He has to get a job, because he’s been sitting around the house moping for the last 7 months and that has to stop. He was riding when he was here, and he promised me he will continue to do that, and to work out, too. I thought he was doing well, and was ready for this trip, but he obviously didn’t think it all out, because he no sooner got there and he wanted to turn around and come home!
Meanwhile, his unhappiness is my unhappiness, so I was so stressed and distracted at work today. I don’t know how I made it through the day. The only time I really didn’t dwell on the situation was when I was out at lunch. There were 8 of us and we went to a place called QUE PASA. It was a cute Mexican restaurant and we ate outside under a big umbrella. The group is really fun and they’re all 40 or under, so I’m like the Mother Hen.
I was out almost two hours, so I told the group in HR that I will work through lunch tomorrow. It’s really no different than any other day, because I rarely take 60 minutes for lunch. I may read while I eat my salad, but that usually takes 15 minutes – the most! I always eat at my desk, so if someone needs me for something, I’m there anyway. I would never say, “I’m at lunch right now.” I just think that’s rude.
I did a lot of work on this new HR database today. There are three of us working on it, and it’s very slow going. I offered to work overtime – either at night or on a weekend, and the boss was very enthusiastic, so it looks like there’s some OT in my future! That’s great, because we can definitely use the extra money!
I called Gili Anna yesterday, but I got her voicemail. Today she left me a message and said she’d love to get together, and she had money for me, which means she sold at least one of my pieces! I was so happy! I’m going to see if we can get together one day next week for dinner.
When I got home from work I put on my walking clothes and went up to RITE AID. I have this stretchy bracelet that holds my key ring and it broke. I’m so used to hanging my keys on my wrist and I need that desperately, so I went to RITE AID and bought another. Unfortunately, mine was black and the only color they had was neon green! At least I’ll find it easily in my purse!
Then, I walked to the dry cleaners to pick up a sweater. I realized after I got it that it would make my walk a lot more tedious. I thought about going back to the apartment to drop it off and then walking, but I decided I’d just let this be a shorter walk today and spend more time in the pool.
I did 5 laps around the pool today. I REALLY feel it in my arms and the back of my legs. I so enjoy it. I should have been doing this for weeks. The water really is too cold in the winter (no one goes in the pool before May), but I’ve missed out on two months of good swimming!
I’ll let you know how Eric’s doing. I hope he can relax and enjoy himself for a few days, or even a few weeks, before making the trip back to San Diego. It’s a big country and I don’t think he should cross it twice in one week!
If you’d like to call Eric, and you don’t have his cell phone number, feel free to email me and I’ll be happy to send it to you!