I got to the airport late, meaning I checked my bag at 9:14. The cutoff, of course, was 9:15. I got in late, probably 12:45 am, but at least my bag was the first one off the plane. Then I waited a really long time for a van ride home, but it worked out. There was a lady in a wheelchair on my van who was being dropped off at a retirement community in Largo, so instead of taking 60 and going through Clearwater Beach, we took 275 to Ulmerton and then to Roosevelt/East Bay to the Belleair Beach Causeway. This means I drove right past Trader and past Timber’s grandparents’ old house, among other 1994–98 landmarks. The crappy diner where Mike Riley and I used to eat breakfast is still there. There’s a new Carmax across the street from the turnoff for Trader, which is bizarre. The crappy outlet mall is now a relatively nice-looking strip mall. I remember trying to go there to buy a dress for my aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary ten years ago, and it was closed because of Hurricane Eunice (not sure on the name, but it was 1995 and it was an E, so look it up if you want). I got home around 2 am and endeavored (successfully as it turned out) to enter the house and go to bed pretty much silently. I went to sleep around 4. My mom woke me up around 8, and we went out to breakfast, and I took them to the airport. I saw my parents for maybe an hour and a half, total. I didn’t think it would bother me, but it really did. I missed them over and over all weekend.

Friday, I watched my Friends season 5 DVDs. Lest you misunderstand, I watched ALL of them. Something like seven hours’ worth of episodes, plus special features and menus and disc-changing and rewinding to catch jokes I’d never seen before because they hadn’t aired originally or were cut out of the syndicated episodes. So basically, what I’m saying is Friday I watched Friends. And nothing else.

That isn’t true. I also ate all the deviled eggs my mom had made for me. That night I woke up with stomach cramps, so that was fair.

Saturday, I went to Timber’s shower, and we had a lovely time. Timber is such a cute pregnant girl. She’s due in less than a month, and she waddles, and she can’t get up out of a chair or make her knees touch when she sits down, and she’s clearly really uncomfortable, but oh my god she’s adorable. The baby is a girl and will be named Aria Marie Faught. After the ‘regular’ shower guests left, we sat around and talked for a while. We talked about music and the military (Thomas is in the Air Force reserves) and about Tommy. It makes me simultaneously happy and sad that they smile and laugh when they talk about Tommy. We played a really good card game called “Apples To Apples.” I liked that, even though I did not win.

Sunday, we went out for Mexican food at Carmelita’s, a fair-to-middling restaurant in the same shopping center where the Bruegger’s Bagels Kim and I used to eat breakfast at when we worked at Trader was (it’s now a bar called Beef O’Brady’s, which is awful). We always go to Carmelita’s. Kim and Mark live in Altamonte Springs (though they were staying at Timber and Thomas’s for the weekend), and Timber and Thomas live in Holiday. Yet we always go to Carmelita’s. It’s weird. Anyway, then we went to the movies and saw “The Brothers Grimm,” which was lovely to look at and not a lot better than I had expected. It was a nice fun matinee movie. Heath Ledger was really pretty good. I should watch some other stuff he’s been in.

My flight being at 6am, I stayed up all night. I finally watched “Shanghai Noon,” which I have had from Netflix for—no lie—five months. It was cute, and as always I’m amazed at Jackie Chan’s inventiveness, but of course it wasn’t worth what amounts to an $80 rental.

I got to the airport about 45 minutes ago, parked my parents’ car with the keys and the ticket inside, and checked in. Now I’m at the gate waiting to board in about 35 minutes.

And now we arrive at my point.

FREE. Sometimes I really do love Florida. That’s all I’m saying.