Friday, Feb. 04, 2022 - 9:55 pm.
The first week of February has been a success. It's summer break at our uni the whole month, God bless. And thus this week, Andrew and I managed to do a bit of shopping (or a lot, if you look at the receipts), go for nice meals and coffee, I got a much-needed haircut, and we went to have lunch by the sea.
The latter has been the biggest adventure we've had in a while. Not that anything out of the ordinary happened, we just: (1) went out of the city (2) for fun. A couple of friends (they're married) lent us their car for the week while they're out on vacation. Bless their hearts, man. That's why we've felt safer to go out this week.
So we went for lunch on Wednesday to a town in the coast. That was the first place I visited outside the city when I moved here. There was a restaurant on a beach, and after lunch we went for a stroll. Almost 11 years later, that restaurant has moved a bit up a hill, with its old building in ruins and the beach completely gone.
And hey, this is like a passage in the novel I wrote. Friendly reminder that many scenes in that book end up happening to me. I really hate that this book of mine isn't popular. It's timely and well-written, I'm telling you.
Anyway! We had our friend A. join us for the trip, as she's also on summer break in her own uni. It was an amazing day. I drove all the way, it was cloudy and chilly, the food was amazing, and the town has friendly spaces to enjoy the view. The tsunami evacuation routes are also very clear.
Today we were supposed to drive up north to see Andrew's parents, but instead we spent the entire morning getting a PCR test. Just as a precaution. I felt like I was getting a fever yesterday, which triggered my panic, but I'm almost certain that was just my body acting up as it does when I'm exhausted (after the trip to the beach the day before).
Also, it's summer and our apartment gets direct sunlight and traps the heat in the afternoon, which sucks. So I've felt like this before, but best not to take any chances.
So hopefully we'll get negative results so we can go visit the in-laws on Monday. And next Wednesday and Thursday Andrew and I are going on a romantic getaway! We booked a night at the hotel at another city in the coast, so our plan is to drive there, have lunch by the sea (yes, again!), stop in a small town for coffee, and then check in an overly luxurious hotel overlooking the river.
(Not so) fun fact: in this river you can still see chimneys sticking out from the water. They belong to houses that were swept away by the strongest earthquake ever recorded, in 1960. Hopefully we'll also see the sea lions that lounge by the river. And yes, I'll also keep an eye on the tsunami evacuation routes in this city.
I'm supposed to work during the summer break, too, and I've made some progress. However, I didn't make as much progress this week as I'd planned. Alas, fuck everything. I'm on vacation. I'm not gonna be forcing myself to anything.
Here's to a negative PCR test and thus to another week of well-deserved but socially-distanced fun and relaxation. Stay safe!
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