Detox

Since the creation of Dreams In Blue, this is the longest I've gone without writing. I'm here and I am alive. I miss writing but I'm exhausted as we wrap up 2006. From the last busy week of work before Christmas vacation to staying at my parents' house for 5 straight days, to fleeing up to San Francisco less than 12 hours ago to hide out at a friend's house till the new year, there's been swirls of activity and much to reflect on before I succumb to the alluring waves of sleep every night.

I hope to sleep, read, write and unwind as much as possible now that I'm up here. It's been a week since I stepped foot in the workplace and only now are the work dreams starting to subside, the work people fading from my brain. The stress of what I should be doing versus what I want to be doing no longer looms at the forefront and strangles all enjoyment of life and living in the present out of me.

The morning I arrived at my parents' home, I cracked and wept for an hour. All because my family was inconsiderate enough to not wait for me for lunch. Again. For the third time in the past month. That was the first sign that I was not well. As I cried uncontrollably in my room and the despair of everything that was wrong with my life gripped me, the sadness felt so inconsolable. All I could do was nap it off, and spare myself the embarrassment of having to explain to my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend that sometimes, I just get sad for no reason and there's nothing they can do about it. It was better to let them think I was being childish and petulant, mad that they simply didn't wait for me.

It still scares me that despair can strike at the strangest times. I can go for months feeling great about life, baffled at how I could ever feel so low and without hope. Then a minor catalyst can set it off and I have to go about fixing myself in any way possible, whether it means sleeping, running, writing or simply reaching out to a good friend who will listen and console me, assuring me of the intactness of my sanity.

It's a tall order, but I hope to be at peace with myself by the end of the year. I have three more days to try.