I got back home from San Pedro (and Long Beach, where I had the pleasure of making sure Miss Nancy got to the airport safely) approximately 24 hours ago, and have been asleep for approximately 18 of those. No, that’s not a typo. It’s a condition I refer to as Post-Vacation Homo Horizontalness. Apparently, I have a severe case.
In my defense, I spent the past week entertaining my long-term frenemy Insomnia. Somehow that selfish bitch stowed away in my luggage like the emotional support gremlin she insists on being. So technically, it wasn’t a completely solo cruise. It was me, myself, and the nocturnal nuisance who refuses to let me get a full night’s sleep, even at sea.
Still, even with her along for the ride, I had an amazing—if exhausting—week.
There is a unique kind of tired that comes after being relaxed for so long. My body finally let go, loosened its grip, and exhaled. But the moment I stepped through my front door, I collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been snipped.
One minute I was marveling at how refreshed I felt. The next, I was drooling on my pillow like someone had slipped me chloroform.
If I could figure out how to leave Miss Insomnia behind reliably, maybe tuck her into someone else’s suitcase or bribe her with unlimited drink vouchers, I might cruise a helluva lot more. Because the truth is, I get it now. The hype. The obsession. The people who talk about cruises the way some folks talk about religion or CrossFit.
There is something magical about waking up on a floating hotel, wandering into a lounge with panoramic ocean views, and sipping a cocktail before noon without a shred of guilt. There is something even more magical about not having to cook a single meal or wash a single dish. That alone feels like a spa treatment for the soul.
So yes, cruising once or twice a year might be my jam. Any more than that, and I might dissolve into a margarita-flavored puddle of bliss and exhaustion and never return to land.
After seven days of salt air, sun, sea, and new friends, the re-entry into real life has been what I will politely call a soft landing. Assisted by naps. Many, many naps.
Today and tomorrow, I plan to catch up on emails, laundry, and all those real-world chores I ignored while I was floating around the Pacific Ocean, pretending bills and responsibilities were nothing more than myths.
But I also plan to catch up with myself. With my creativity. With my joy. With the parts of me that only wake up when the rest of my world powers down.
Give me another 24 hours of sleep and caffeine, and I’ll be ready to fully dive back into the work, the art, and the motley mix that is COLLIDE PRESS.
Until then, goodnight. Or good morning. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what time it is. I just know it feels good to be home again.
Keep calm and carry on!
Clint 🌈✌️
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ON THIS DAY = DECEMBER 8
BIRTHDAYS
65 BC = Horace = Roman poet
1765 = Eli Whitney = American engineer and cotton gin inventor
1861 = Georges Méliès = French actor and filmmaker
1861 = William C. Durant = American founder of General Motors and Chevrolet
1865 = Jean Sibelius = Finnish violinist and composer
1886 = Diego Rivera = Mexican painter and educator
1894 = James Thurber = American humorist and cartoonist
1915 = Ernest Lehman = American filmmaker
1922 = Lucian Freud = German-English artist 🌈
1925 = Sammy Davis Jr. = American actor, singer, and dancer
1930 = Maximilian Schell = Austrian-Swiss actor and filmmaker
1933 = Flip Wilson = American actor and comedian
1936 = David Carradine, American actor, director, and producer
1937 = Charley Shively = American writer, anarchist, and educator 🌈
1939 = Jerry Butler = American singer-songwriter and producer
1943 = Jim Morrison = American singer-songwriter and poet 🌈
1947 = Gregg Allman = American singer-songwriter
1949 = Nancy Meyers = American filmmaker
1950 = Dan Hartman = American singer-songwriter and producer 🌈
1950 = Rick Baker = American actor and makeup artist
1953 = Kim Basinger = American actor
1953 = Sam Kinison = American comedian
1963 = Wendell Pierce = American actor
1964 = Teri Hatcher = American actor
1966 = Sinéad O’Connor = Irish singer-songwriter 🌈
1976 = Dominic Monaghan = German-British actor
1978 = Ian Somerhalder = American actor
1979 = Ingrid Michaelson = American singer-songwriter
1982 = Nicki Minaj = Trinidadian-American singer-songwriter and actor
1988 = Brendan Burke = Canadian hockey player 🌈
EVENTS
1660 = A woman (either Margaret Hughes or Anne Marshall) appears on a public stage in England for the first time, in the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare’s Othello.
1962 = Workers at four New York City newspapers (this later increases to nine) go on strike for 114 days.
1980 = John Lennon is murdered by in front of The Dakota in NYC.
2013 = Metallica performs a show in Antarctica, making them the first musical act to perform on all seven continents.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Where’s your will to be weird?”
Jim Morrison
Thanks for coming back!!!
Welcome back Clint, nowwwww get the washer working full time for those post cruise clothing. These things have to be done 😲 Cheers DougT 🇫🇴🇬🇧