"It's so hot this year!" (Road diary #1)

(Bedroom practice, during downtime, for work coming up in December) 08.03.2016

I'm in San Diego for the next two weeks and the locals continue to tell me "It's so hot this year!"

I snicker a little bit.

Life on the road. Folks experience the world so differently from region to region. This is why I love and hate the road. On one hand, I feel as though I've stepped into utopia. Compared to Baton Rouge, the humidity and temperature here in San Diego are consistently 10-20 digits lower (or more)... Almost all the time. Fresh produce is everywhere. I can sleep with the windows open and the fan on. There are no refineries around the block. Societal baggage from the Jim Crow era is noticeably absent.

On the other hand, I already miss my home in southern Louisiana.  My wife (a teacher) and three hellions children are facing the beginning of the school year without my help. There is no gumbo out here. The sweaty early mornings under the shade of the huge live oak in the backyard, drinking coffee and swatting at mosquitoes, have grown on me; so too has the shock of moving from 95f and 80% relative humidity (outside) into an air conditioned 72F and 40% relative humidity. To me, the sunlight in Louisiana, filtered to a warmer hue by pollen, tree cover, and refineries is more comforting than the clear and stark sunlight of Southern California. The active, open societal conflict seems to be paving the ground for better times.  

I could go on.

I sometimes wonder if this is why the most successful "road folks" are the ones that do it all the time. Away becomes home. Different becomes the norm.

Purcell and Mozart for two weeks. Tons of downtime. Tons of time to practice. No car (yay?).  Far from downtown.  

Peaceful comfort and confined boredom in the same situation. Life on the road!