Sweet Smell of Solitude

I moved again. Two weeks before my contract with the school ends, the landlord decides that he wants to live in his apartment. Again, I had to pack my things and scurry back where I started from: the old house. I must say I have become good at packing. I've gotten quite efficient. Less than a 24-hour notice and I was out of the house and settling into the old/new one. Not to mention that while I was packing, I was also following step by step instructions on copying and installing MSOffice from Sachin. And believe me, that was not easy.

Coming back to this house feels oddly like coming back home. I remember telling Lynn that it reminds me of being away on vacation for a few weeks and then finally getting home. The smell, the sound, the sight, everything just seems so familiar and well, homey. Even random voices from the street sound like something I didn't realize was missing until I heard them again. It's almost frightening, knowing that I'll be leaving in a few weeks.

Just as I'd always lived in this house alone (except for a few weeks when my little sister stayed with me to practice her English), I'm once again roommateless. Sigh of relief here. Much as I was entertained by F's company, nothing compares to waking up to my own mess and getting to use the bathroom (and computer!) whenever I want. This smell that I find so familiar might be the smell of solitude.

So now I'm ticking the days before the 26th. I'm giving myself a week or two after that to rest, meet up with friends that I might never see again, and psych myself up for another journey, both physically and figuratively. I can sense a nostalgic entry coming up very soon. Not yet though. In the meantime, I still have classes to teach.