I had a perfect cup of tea today. When I finished brewing it and added just the right amount of milk and sugar, I sank into my father's leather chair, closed my eyes, breathed deeply, and for a split second could see myself on the hills of Africa, trekking across mountains and plains to find the best possible tea. I opened my eyes and was still in Iowa, on a particularly rainy and messy day, but the tea made it all better. The tea itself was some looseleaf 'Kenyan Safari' tea that I bought when Aunt Becky showed me around some of the stores in the East Village area of Des Moines, but I did not drink it until now because my tea strainer does not fit into the teapot that I have here. But today I had an epiphany -- the tea strainer won't fit into the pot, but it will fit into the mug. And since I often only drink one mug before the pot gets cold anyway, making one cup at a time seems perfectly reasonable.
I'm so glad I had that idea; this tea is truly delicious, and while I was drinking it, I spent a few minutes thinking that if I could just sit there drinking tea for long enough, I could have the answers for what I want to do with my life. Alas, it wasn't to be; before I finished my cup, my dad and I ended up driving to Centerville to take my niece of nephew back from their other grandparent's place. So the relaxation and life-pondering got put on hold until at least tomorrow (and likely Monday or Tuesday, given that tomorrow will be packed with family stuff).
The rest of the day was pretty laid back -- my dad made brunch, which Grandma came over for. I showed her ~100 pics from my trip, and had an awkward moment when she asked me how I can 'save' my photos. It took awhile to realize she meant how can I have a physical, tangible version of the photos -- I don't think she's enamored with the idea of keeping photos on one's laptop. After she left, I took a brief nap, helped my dad with some stuff, had a conversation with my parents in which I acknowledged that I may be conservative enough that I would have a v. difficult time in academia, and then went to Centerville.
After we ate pizza, my parents, brother and I watched 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'. I can't remember ever seeing it, and I'm not sure I want to see it again -- the woman in the film annoys the hell out of me, and I feel that the story could have been told in an hour and a half instead of two hours. But I did like the entertaining, exploitative use of Indian culture to advance the plot, and watching it made me slightly homesick for India. Despite my lack of love for this particular movie, I'm still looking forward to seeing the new Indiana Jones movie, so hopefully we can mobilize in the next couple of days (since seeing it will require a trip to Des Moines, of course).
I was going to write a brooding post about my future, but I'm too tired, so I think it's time for bed. Check out the European Photo Contest below - round 2 starts now and ends Tuesday night!
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