Tag Archives: essay

The Routine.

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clockAfter saying goodbye to Portland, I was free from any type of routine. I was excited about the unknown possibility of what was going to happen next in my life. I no longer had to wake up to an irksome alarm clock, nor did I have to do laundry on Sundays. I didn’t have to go to the grocery store on Mondays and I definitely didn’t need to go to bed at 10:30.

That mundane, weekly routine was no longer. Poof! Gone! 

In fact, my life was going to be the exact opposite of a routine.

Fast forward two and a half months: I drove across the States with two cats for the second time (and with a boyfriend, for the first time) back to Florida where I spent many weeks by the pool. After leaving Florida, I spent a few days with the city I first fell in love with, New York City, before taking the longest plane ride I’ve ever been on (15 hours) to Bangkok, Thailand.

I often romanticize the idea about traveling around the world refusing to settle into some type of monotony. After all, who wants to be in a routine? Who wants to know what their life is going to be like in the next week? I presume most people, actually.

Yet after a while traveling like a gypsy gets tiresome and often unrealistic. You suddenly realize your funds are getting low. You realize that you want your own bed to come home to. You miss your cats greeting you every morning. The idea of cooking dinner instead of eating out sounds more appealing. You’ve seen enough temples (“They’re all the same!” you say to yourself). Eventually, you want the routine again.

After six weeks of seeing Thailand, I really was ready for the routine again. I was ready to have a laundry day and a grocery store to call my own.

We are slowly making our Korean apartment feel more like home. The pillows no longer feel like strange ones that you’d find at a hotel. The kitchen staples are being added to the cupboard. We have a new 32-inch television (and PS3) which greets us every evening after work. The only things that seem to be missing are my cats. (Although, it sounds like my mom is enjoying their company.)

The routine is complacent, which unsurprisingly is why most people often get stuck into it. There’s something comforting about knowing that Monday night is when we watch Game of Thrones, while Fridays is when we go to the grocery store.

Soon enough, though, I know I am going to be itching to get out of the routine again. And I will.

That’s the difference between me and most people.

In Perspective: Close-talkers

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Have you ever met a close-talker? If you’re wondering a what, it sounds exactly as it reads, my dear reader.

Close-talkers do not solely occupy one region of the world either. In fact, a close-talker can be found anywhere in the world. I’ve come across some in Florida to even a couple in Oregon. Although one may believe close-talkers travel in packs, they are somewhat of an individual, even among their family.

Yet, how can you be sure it’s a close-talker and not someone who is about to give you CPR? Well, this is why it’s imperative that a person knows how to identify a close-talker, especially when at first glance (and from afar) because he or she will appear to look like a normal-distant talker.

How to identify a close-talker.

  • He or she will be completely unaware of your personal space. They don’t realize that people have a boundary. Most of us have an imaginary bubble around ourselves, shielding us from the outer world. The size of our bubble depends on a few things: our weight, height, sex, and cultural background. (It also doubles in size when you’re a couple in love.)
  • Within minutes of speaking to a close-talker, you feel your bubble pop. Uneasiness will most likely ensue. Bubble will rebuild itself in three to five days. Again, it depends on the size.
  • After your bubble has been popped by said close-talker, he or she will continue to talk while inching closer, and closer, and closer to your face.
  • Seinfeld has given a visual example.

How do you act if you encounter a close-talker?

  • Don’t run. Whatever you do, do not run. It will just confuse the close-talker. Or worse–he or she will follow you to continue telling their story.
  • Lean your head, subtly, in the opposite direction of the speaker.
  • Although you’re likely thinking, “Why is his nose touching mine while talking?” Pretend your listening to them by smiling and nodding.
  • If close-talker has just came back from eating a garlic pizza and having a cigarette break, sometimes a step (or two) back is needed. Fortunately for you it’s likely they won’t even notice. They’re too engaged with what they’re saying.

So, why do they do this?

  • No one knows (not even scientists!), but some like to speculate it’s because they lack a bubble.

*Getty Images