Disorder and Disarray

Whenever I get back from a long trip it takes me at least a week, possibly two, to feel like I have any idea what's going on. I usually take 2 or 3 days just to unpack my suitcases, and another couple of days before I go to the grocery store. I just tend to exist in a sort of no-mans-land until I can get my head wrapped around the idea that I live here and it's time to put on my "normal" hat. Also, usually I have a week or two off after a period of intense focus and concentration, so I tend to let my brain go a little frazzled for a little while anyway. Add to that the fact that I have never been able to get anything done when I have to structure my own time. If I have a rehearsal schedule, even a really busy one, I remain utterly productive, scheduling in practice time, social time with friends, and running all my errands. If I have two weeks of nothing, I end up procrastinating, watching tv, spending way too much time looking at furniture on craigslist (I am forever decorating and redecorating my apartment), and chatting on the phone. With no enforced schedule, I am lost in a sea of procrastination and distraction.

Today was one of those new york days where I wind my way through the day only to realize I haven't really gotten anywhere or accomplished anything. In the morning I made my way to the performing arts library to try to get my hands on a score for this rare french operetta that I have to perform excerpts from in a couple of weeks. In fact, rehearsal starts Thursday for this project and I still don't have this music. After special ordering the score, I had to return today to pick it up, but I couldn't check it out, so I had to photocopy the arias, except I wasn't allowed to copy them myself, so I had to have a librarian copy them for me, and I only noticed when I got home that she had left out a page in the middle of one of the arias. I tried to get my air conditioners installed in my windows today but the guy who does them for me wasn't working at the hardware store today. Then, I made an appointment at the Genius Bar at the Mac store for tonight at 8:20 (forgetting that it was Friday night and having a "date" with a guy who is working in the mac store REALLY doesn't count) only to be told that the thing I wanted to do with my computer is possible but only if you download third party software, which they don't recommend. And having thought I had totally conquered jet-lag, it seems to instead be completely knocking me on my ass at 11:30, when I become delirious and lose the ability to communicate.

Maybe tomorrow I'll be fully functional and get everything on my list done. But considering the first night I arrived home I wrote down "buy dental floss" and I still haven't one week later, things aren't looking so good in the Rivera department of productivity, or in the oral hygiene department for that matter.