First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

filed in Daily Life

How To Subdue Loneliness

October 3, 2011 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

It was one of those unplanned weekends that crept up on me. I woke up Saturday morning, facing a stretch of 24 hours, alone. My usual anchors were of no help – a close pal with whom I phone chat daily, is in Vietnam; my dog Rose, was spending the next few days with her “dad”;  there were no movies I was dying to see. After a moment of panic, followed by a deep, cleansing breath, I decided to explore my new neighborhood, like a tourist. At 8 AM, Sunset Blvd. was still waking up. I walked for a couple of hours, gazing into every store window, discovering a quaint doggie parked tucked away, a cool taco place (both definitely in my future) and a Hookah bar (which I’ll probably pass on). I ended my urban hike at the high-end grocery store, strolling from aisle to aisle, inhaling the gourmet foodstuff just minutes from my front door. I bought a glistening orange-cranberry muffin, returned to my terrace, and finally caught up on those back issues of The New Yorker. It was a blissful morning. And rest of the day was…a cakewalk.

Image: Chris Ware

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