On being in transit.

At the end of this week, I’m going back down to Florida. I’m going to sort of switch places with Dad, so he can come back to New Jersey and really start working on selling the house. I wasn’t planning on going back so soon, but I do miss Maddie. And as my departure date for Ireland looms closer, the time I get to spend with Maddie is limited, so I need to capitalize when I can.

I need to get to Ireland between August 20th and August 23rd so there’s enough time to complete a mandatory quarantine before classes start. Before my flight, I need to get a negative COVID test, taken no sooner than 72 hours before. I should be able to move into my dorm room (or “accommodation,” as they call it) early, so the plan is to quarantine there. The quarantine period was originally 14 days, and then it was shortened to ten days, and now it could be as short as five days as long as I show another negative COVID test. I’ve been holding off on booking my flight as the COVID regulations keep changing and because the University of Limerick is working to arrange transportation from the airport to the university. I’m not sure if flying into Dublin or Shannon would be better, so I’m trying to get as much information as possible. I don’t want to wait too long because, according to my group chat of postgraduate students also traveling to Ireland, prices are going up.

Recently, I entered CRAFT’s First Chapters Contest. I submitted what I used for my application to the University of Ireland. Keep your fingers crossed. Other than that, the writing is slow going. I’ve been in touch with writer friends I made from conferences, and we’re all in different places in our writing projects, so that makes me feel a little better about it. I have ideas–and I’ve been reading a lot–so I think I just need time and space. Enter Ireland.

I cleaned out my classroom today. It’s incredibly hot, so I left the lights off. Nearly a decade of teaching fit into five plastic bins (all books I’d brought in for a classroom library) and one box (knickknacks from my desk). I moved them to my car and that was it. I remember when I first started teaching and I traveled from classroom to classroom. I didn’t have a place of my own, and wasn’t able to acquire a much sought after cart, so I had a traveling briefcase. It helped me become a minimalist teacher, and it wasn’t until my eighth year that I got my own classroom, so I didn’t have anything to fill it with and didn’t have the predilection to fill it up. I guess it’s all worked out, though. Not having a lot to move or travel with has made this newly adopted transitory lifestyle easy.

Since being alone and bored, I’ve taken to buying things advertised on Instagram. I bought the Il Makiage foundation–the one that’s supposed to match perfectly once you take their online test. Intrigued, I took the test and ordered the foundation. When I opened the box, I read the instructions and followed them very closely. And I have to say that it DID match perfectly. I love it. I use more than their recommended two pumps, but it gives solid coverage. I guess if the writing doesn’t work out, I could be product reviewer.

I finished reading Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I wasn’t all that impressed while I was reading it, which disappointed me because I’d heard such great things about her earlier novel, Daisy Jones and the Six. When I finished the novel, however, I was definitely moved and think Reid has a subtle mastery of storytelling that blindsides the reader. So in truth, I really did enjoy it and recommend it, especially for a summer read. Now, I’m working my way through Matthew McConaughey’s memoir Greenlights and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The plan is after I finish reading that, I’ll check out Jo Nesbo and then return to nonfiction with a book dealing with Maddie’s situation.

What are you reading? What are your travel plans for the summer? Comment and let me know!