Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Is It Really Island Time, or Am I Just Lackadaisical?

I know you're dying to know how many of the items on my list actually got accomplished. I didn't do half bad!
  • Make it through the rest of today. Oy.
  • Buy a rat. (meh...he hasn't eaten since April. Another five days won't kill him)
  • And kitty food.
  • And poguey bait.
  • Vacuum and sweep (don't ask why...it just seems like the thing to do) (yeah, right.)
  • Eat four bananas (or make banana bread on Sunday!)
  • De-rootify and re-blackify my hair.
  • Finish some homework. (or not)
  • Brave the basement to find some suitcases.
  • Psych myself up to get up early enough to finish packin and be ready to leave the house by 0540. (or sleep late, fly around the house, leave Paul instructions on what to bring for me and leave at 0547)
  • Talk Paul into scooping out the kitty box... (kinda...he did it all on his own!)
Added to the list were:
  • Marvel at the ridiculosity of Port Orchordians...especially those who clog the aisles of Wal Mart.
  • Enjoy lasagna and mixed berry crisp with Mom A, Bill, Tiffany and the girls.
  • Grin like an idiot at the most fantastic Freudian slip ever.
  • Pack a cooler and a bag of junk food.
  • Watch a few episodes of South Park and Tosh.0.
  • Chit chat with my mom.
  • Chit chat with Lilli.
  • Yell at the cats.
All in all, a fairly productive evening.

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I came to a realization yesterday while traversing the intersection of Bethel and Sedgewick. When my light turned green, I gently applied my foot to the gas pedal and entered the intersection in no hurry, not wishing to jerk the Durango around on its unsteady chassis, not wishing to blow gas or tire tread on a useless peal-out. Right after I reached the midway point of the intersection, a truck, waiting to turn right at his red light, decided he wasn't going to wait for me any more. He pealed into his turn, forcing me to slam on my brakes and let him go ahead of me. I was annoyed!

And then I thought about it. After a year of living on the mainland, I realize that I'm still on Island Time. For the most part, I still live my life with the slow and steady cadance that is characteristic to islanders and a severe annoyance to those mainland dwellers who are in a rush to reach their destination.

I often look at my speedometer to discover that I'm cruising along at five miles under the speed limit. I'm slow to recover from a red light and quick to stop at a yellow one. I walk slowly. I talk slowly. I'm often late. I don't RSVP. I find no need to hurry through my day, and those that do hurry only succeed in making me feel annoyed, nervous, and unsteady.

I wonder if I should make an effort to acclimate?

4 comments:

Brenda said...

Nope, more people need to s l o w down.

Linda said...

Dude. You spelled vacuum wrong.

Heather said...

Wow. Yeah I did... How embarrassing.

Anonymous said...

what fruedian slip