"Where all existence is a dream of ease . . ."

"Snowfall is never known there, neither long
frost of winter, nor torrential rain,
but only mild and lulling airs from Ocean
bearing refreshment for the souls of men--
the West Wind always blowing."

So Homer describes the Greek paradise reserved solely for heroes who could claim relation to the gods. It's uncanny how similar my little existence is. I didn't realize how much I had missed the embracing sea air until I got out of the car in Mission Beach with my dad to eat at Taco Surf (the proprieter's first language must be Spanish; else whence the noun preceding the adjective?). I grinned and thought, I'll never be cold again.

The desert really is icy in the winter. Icy, and dry. No more compulsive lotion applying; no more biting morning jogs past frosty front lawns. I'm in San Diego through May. I missed the ocean, too--the unbroken horizon and the reliably stunning sunsets, the sailboats spotting the peaking crests.

So that passage above is from my first homework assignment of the semester: the first four books of The Odyssey. Due Wednesday. I'm pretty much ready to get back into this whole learning thing. I'm just trying to adjust to the rhythm of college life. How odd it is to spend four months with people, then take off for three weeks only to reconvene once again, now having to reevaluate and resume all these relationships. I've caught myself on this weird auto-pilot setting at times, which can come in handy. Like when I moved back in yesterday--I discovered my fridge was full of mold. I immediately scrubbed and disinfected it, then proceeded to systematically unpack the insane amount of luggage I had (why is it that I have so many clothes, and yet I continually seem to need more?). I didn't spend much time thinking about it, or moaning or procrastinating about it, for that matter. I did the same thing in most of my conversations today--just went for it, didn't really think about what I was saying or even worry about it too much. Just babbled, in some cases. Yeah, I was totally on auto-pilot, come to think of it. Because, I mean, I haven't thought about it until now.