I made it home safe to New Jersey. Holy cow.
I was still cleaning and packing, delayed my flight by a day (airline let me change it for free), and thought I’d be taking my time until the evening. Then I got an alert about curfew being 4 PM in Culver City and a frantic call from my father to get out of Los Angeles as soon as possible. So I listened. I dropped everything, in a bit of a tizzy, and reassessed my plans. Chuanyuan wanted to hangout and take a picture and I had to sadly tell her we couldn’t spend time together. Ugh. We took our graduation photo together so I’m glad we at least got to do that. Ally, Kyle, and Katharine were originally going to come by for a socially distanced goodbye but then I told them I needed their help. They had already offered before, but this time it was serious and I needed them immediately. I was getting ready for Bobby to do a walk through and still hadn’t packed up all my luggage. Then the cavalry arrived and saved the day. Plus, Ally and Kyle got to meet Katharine since they were both folks that couldn’t make it to the one and only party I threw in the apartment. I’m glad that could happen as well, though I obviously wish it were under different circumstances.
My friends swept in, geared up and ready to go. Ally got me a coffee along with everyone else (and I was able to drink it with no ill consequence) and then they all cleaned up, packed my car, organized, and took care of business. Chuanyuan had threw out a bunch of the accumulated trash bags the night before and Heidi helped me clear out the cabinets and separate what food to trash and what to donate. Bobby did a walkthrough, said the apartment looked great, that he knew I always took care of the place, then he gave me a fist bump and said I’m a good person that deserves good things and to stay safe. I was exhausted and stressed but that put a huge smile on my face. I hadn’t finished cleaning and he said he knew I was good for it.
They are the real MVPs and I’m so blessed to have amazing folks like that in my life. I think I’m pretty fortunate to have wonderful folks on both sides of the country. It’d be a dream if they could all meet each other one day. It was a desperate moment and I couldn’t have accomplished that and so many other things without their support and incredible help. We got done in about an hour and then we threw my luggage in Kyle’s car, I handed Chuanyuan my keys, then I ran out and Valerie and Melissa saw me off from their balcony. I went out to the street, said bye to the group, we said we loved each other, then Kyle and I zipped down to the airport and that was it.
I got into the airport at about 3 or so and had 8 hours before my flight, but at least I was there before curfew began. The airport was desolate. It never looks like that at LAX.
A few places to grab food were open so I picked up a burger and fries and annihilated it in a few minutes. All I had eaten that day was a small amount of food Chuanyuan had ordered to celebrate and the latte Ally got for me. It was amazing. I sat around near my gate and eventually passed out in the chair for a couple of hours. I’m pretty sure I looked like a crumpled up wad of paper since I was folded up in the seat. When I woke up I decided to head over to the bar (there was a bar!!!). I had two margaritas and being able to order a drink safely after so long was like mana from heaven. The bar counter had tape to measure the social distancing and I stood there and enjoyed my drinks. I thanked the bartender for the luxury and he said everyone that has drank there has said the same thing because people miss the experience so much. Same, y’all.
Got on the plane at 11:55 PM, and now I’m back in New Jersey as of 8 AM. Phew.
Mama’s garden. I can actually go outside and experience nature!
I haven’t had time to fully process everything that’s happened in the last week. I’m at a three day deficit for sleep but it’s amazing that I can actually stop and rest now. My period arrived after getting home too. Gosh. It’s over.