Vacation's Over

Avid readers of the blog (by now they must number in the thousands, perhaps millions) are sure to have noticed that I've been away for awhile. Checking religiously day after day and finding no new posts, happiness and anticipation must have slowly eroded to denial, confusion, then, inevitably, to despair. Tears were shed. Hope was lost. Sackcloth and ashes and Old Testament-style mourning surely ensued.
But cheer up Sunshine, and drop those murder-suicide pacts, because I have returned. It was vacation time in my little world, and hopefully soon I'll have the pictures to prove it. For now though, a few random observations about the trip (to Scandinavia and Italy):

1. Norway has some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. I would compare it to the Pacific northwest, except more rugged and majestic. Endless fjords, canyons, waterfalls, mountains, and glaciers. Mile after mile of jaw-dropping scenery. I'll post pictures when I get them developed (still old school with the film), but the pictures won't do it justice.
2. In the battle of the Scandinavian capitals, Stockholm is the winner. It had the most to do, and had a beautiful old town, or Gamla Stan, as the Swedes might say. Helsinki comes in second, though technically not in Scandinavia, and Oslo third. Copenhagen, which is in Scandinavia, didn't get visited, so its disqualified. Sorry, Danes.
3. A week ago Wednesday I ran into somebody I worked with. Not so strange, except I was in Norway, at the Nordkapp, the most northern tip of Europe, 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. So maybe a little strange.
4. Seeing Snakes on a Plane at the late show at 100 Oaks is not nearly as fun as seeing it with a theaterful of Swedes.
5. Best book I read while away: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, about a 9-year old boy who loses his father in 9/11. Written from the perspective of the boy, it was both hilarious and very very sad. Strangely, all four books I read had loss as it central theme, whether EL&IC, No Country for Old Men (by Cormac McCarthy, a neo-western, loss of innocence and a simpler life), Amnesia Moon (Jonathan Lethem, science-fiction, loss of memory and identity), or The Ruins (Scott Smith, creepy-disturbing, just being lost). All four books were bought at different times, so maybe it something acting subconsciously? Who knows.
6. I had at least four people come up to me and ask directions in a language other than English. Although I wasn't able to answer, it made me feel good. It meant that at least I wasn't looking obviously touristy or American. However, the one day I wore my American flag bandanna and my "DUBYA RULES!!" pantsuit, that was a different story.
7. I wish that while in Italy there were at least eight meals a day. I also wish that you would be deathly hungry before each of them. And I also wish that there was always room for gelato. And I wish I was eating gelato right now. Chocolate truffle gelato was my favorite. Pure frozen joy.