Let's Florida!

The lack of an Internet presence these past few days can be explained by my Easter vacation in sunny south Florida, where, yes, there is no Internet.

Most of my days were spent reading on the patio. Then, when it got too hot and I'd feel my skin start to burn, I'd jump in the pool, dope around underwater and laugh and scream at the sudden change in temperature, then get out and dry in the sun. I'd repeat this about 40 times.

And it was strange, since I've spent the first 2/3 of my life trying to escape America's wang (Simpsons reference), that this weekend was the first time I could appreciate how nice everything was.

It was very quiet. No car horns or nothing, just some people laughing as they rowed a boat on the lake. And birds singing, tons of birds. I don't know what almost any of them were. Some were crows or blackbirds, if there's a difference. Some were these tiny white birds that would dive into the lake and catch a fish. Those were new. The ducks were familiar, but those other water birds that splash so loudly, no idea about those guys. And off in the distance was a flock of green parrots that aren't natural to Florida's ecosystem (those guys are EVERYWHERE nowadays).

And the sky was ridiculously blue and the air was creepily fresh and the sun (which my body hasn't seen in six years) was bright and full of Vitamin D or K, and since the weather hasn't yet hit hellish summer levels, it all mixed very well with the pool.

I've never really been on a vacation where I could sit around all day lazing around (though that sounds a lot like my normal life, actually). I've usually got a ton of dumb things to do, so it was a pretty nice change of pace.

When I first got in the pool, I was gabbing and bitching on the phone with Pam about all the usual sort of NYC crap, and later my parents were like, "Is everything all right? You were shouting on the phone."

At first I was like, "Huh? Everything's fine. That's just normal conversation," but then it struck me, like, is that what my life is like (other than the lazing around)? Because it all seemed so loud and shrill compared to the serene peacefulness that is my parents' backyard.

It made me never want to talk again. I'd be fine just listening and reading, and occasionally screaming.