Visiting Dallas: Statement Life

“I feel overtly lazy at home. When abroad, I’m forever straining to capture nuances of a culture I don’t understand. In my homeland, that subconscious effort vanishes.” – Old Sean

Homeland Shuffle

After my first time back in the United States in over year, I worked with a company to take a long work-based tour of North America, driving throughout the States and Canada.

Since then, its been roughly a month-and-a-half since I returned to my de facto hometown of Dallas. I’ve settled into a random series of odd living situations and odd jobs. Before long, I’ll be leaving the country once more.

In the meantime, life has been strange and fun.

Ghost House

When I first returned to the US, I spent a considerable amount of time living in my father’s old house. The building was totally empty since my father was moving away and my sister was keeping it clean while people visited for walkthroughs.

Despite the echoing nature of the building, it was a free roof overhead. I rolled around in a sleeping bag and taught Chinese students English online. Eventually, I decided I probably needed a more consistent form of income. So I scooted over to an old friend’s house and whined a lot.

Cookie Stacker

An old friend of mine from high school named Thomas offered me a floor position at his factory, which makes cookies. My entire job was spent stuffing boxes full of cookies and cookie dough, carding the cardboard packages back and forth.

For a while, the money was good and I rejoiced.

But after a week, I re-learned that factory jobs are soul crushing monstrosities. I came to the realization that too much more time putting cookie dough into cups would eventually remove any semblance of humanity I’ve managed to fake these last two and a half decades.

Not that it was a bad job.  It was honest labor and the pay was… well, not quite decent but close.  But it was a regular schedule and a nice change for a while.  Fold boxes, tape boxes, pack cookies, hide in the freezer, make cookie dough, and take out the trash. 

It was a mixed bag of no music, decent company, no podcasts, and line managers cracking the whip. 

Overall, the job was standard stuff.  I gave a Mormon man going on a mission trip some travel advice.  I grew a beard again.  I ate a copious amount of spare products and packed on a goodly number of pounds.

Eroded Mind

It only took about half a month before my sanity was flayed away. I became desperate to find employment that could restore my relationship with reality.  So I regained my substitute teaching license and started working in a Special Ed program in Plano.

During the same stint, I managed to find a new living situation. I moved in with a friend and house owner, a modern Viking with whom I attended university with. This towering man was named Crom.  He put me up for my remaining time in the US, and my waystation became a home.

Living with Crom is awesome.  We had DnD nights filled with old friends and Russians. We repaired literal fences and cleaned out storage units and failed spectacularly at fixing laundry machines.  We strove to get to Zenna’s happy hour for sushi rolls and compared beard prowess.  (Crom won).  It was, overall, my most pleasant living situation in recent memory.

With my two jobs in hand, I managed to stay fairly busy. 

Social Hops

When I wasn’t working, I was reconnecting with old friends.

I fed giraffes at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center with my friend Rubov and his girlfriend Dani when they visited. 

Next, I plotted out an upcoming trip to South America and completed a swell of Visa-oriented paperwork.  I went to small dinner part gatherings with sushi and practiced cutting grass with a recovered Katana.  I sporadically cared for baby goats and lugged around wood in order to set up a new barn. 

I joined another friend named Annie for a couple of hockey games with the Stars, made numerous visits out to Irving to say hi to another friend and her cats. 

Otherwise, I enjoyed Fight Club movie nights and I joined Justin for a walk and Ice-Cream Doughnuts at MilkyTreats Ice Cream Shop.  Some other friends joined us for Fight Club Movie Night and I met up with another friend named Charles before he flew off to Japan for an architecture job.  Lucky man.

And that’s about it.  Otherwise it was mostly a matter of dinners and social calls.  All fun and wholesome.

But now it’s time to get going again.  I’m delivering my Dad’s car to Delaware on a long journey up the East Coast before flying to South America for work.

I start rolling in seven hours.  Wish me luck.

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written April 23rd 2019

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