So I got back to the States last night, after about forty six hours of travel (and only four or five hours of sleep). \u00a0It’s good to be back, but I’m already missing Georgia and thinking about all the things I’ll do once I get back.<\/p>\n
The weirdest thing about being back home so far is how non-stressful traveling is. \u00a0I got to JFK, turned on my American cell phone and found out that the sim card is no longer recognized. \u00a0My train ticket needed to be rescheduled, I didn’t know who was picking me up back home or when, didn’t know the New York subway system all that well…and yet instead of freaking out, I just shrugged and figured I’d solve all that later. \u00a0Sure enough, Penn Station had wifi, so I instant messaged my brother in law and had him call my mom and work it out.<\/p>\n
The lack of beggars in New York City was kind of strange. \u00a0There was one kid on the Subway who announced (after apologizing for taking people’s time) that he was trying to make money by selling M&Ms, so I helped him out and bought one. \u00a0In Tbilisi, some ten year old gypsy kid would fall on her knees and give a huge sob story, then walk through the car with her tin can (and would get more money from it than this kid did in New York).<\/p>\n
So that was the first thing I ate when I got here. \u00a0The second thing was a Jamba Juice. \u00a0Next was a slice of American pizza–so much better than the stuff in Georgia–and then a bottle of root beer. \u00a0Man, the soda over here is so disgustingly sweet! \u00a0I was wide awake until the sugar hit my system, and then it was like taking a sledgehammer to the face.<\/p>\n
I’m doing pretty well now, even though I woke up at about 3:30 and didn’t really go back to sleep. There’s not much happening this week, so I should be able to get over the jetlag fairly easily.<\/p>\n
As far as\u00a0Star Wanderers<\/strong> goes, I finished everything but the last scene and the epilogue, so I’ll wrap those up today and get ready to publish Part I. \u00a0The last few chapters aren’t as awesome as I’d like them to be, but I should be able to work those out in subsequent drafts.<\/p>\n