En Amerique!

It's ironic. I left Cleveland in the dead of winter, thrilled to the core at the prospect of basking in the warm Australian sun. Two months later, Adelaide weather teetered towards the brink of chilly, and when I left on July 1 I had to scrape frost off my car to get to the airport. I've been salaciously dreaming about warm sunshine for weeks, and now I come back to Cleveland to get it!

Do not let anyone tell you otherwise; the flight across the Pacific is brutally long. I highly recommend Virgin Airlines for their attentive service (even in economy! Singapore Air, take note!) and fantastic in-flight entertainment. But even the full first seasons of Glee and Modern Family, plus a partial viewing of Chariots of Fire (not a great plane movie) cannot stifle the fact that Australia-America is a long time to be sitting vertical at 30,000 feet. I went into the flight with severe post-exam sleep deprivation, and by the time I crawled into bed at 2am last night, I had been awake or napping in that sleep-like haze that happens on planes for 30 solid hours.

It will be good to see friends and family. I'm mostly looking forward to a month of reflection. Adelaide has been rather unkind to me and my bank account. I think there have been some lessons along the way, but it's hard to see things when you're scrambling to keep them out of your face. Hopefully too, it should be a fun time. I'll be in Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, and Jacksonville. If you're somewhere along that road, drop me a line and let's try to catch up.