Night Receptionist V - Reading & Writing

My first incoherently drunk man. I watched him on the security camera slowly and deliberately walk through the automatic doors, pause to reorientate himself, and then regain his balance to – God knows how – stumbled up the stairs to the front desk. I swear I could smell the booze coming off of him before he even entered the hotel.

I can’t believe it’s this late already! Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess. This is like hanging out. Chill, check out the fridge aimlessly knowing there’s nothing there worth eating but hoping that somehow, if you stare long enough, something will appear, go back to doing nothing. I meant to bring my new Dane Cook DVD (courtesy of my wonderful new Texan pen-pal) but forgot it at home. (I’m shocked I could forget it – I was so excited to receive this nice gift today accompanied by a much-needed packaged of sweaters from home, also mail note-worthy in kindness.) Instead I’ve been writing. A lot. Blog, yes, but also – and more importantly – a book? A story worth reading whether you know me or not.

Also to keep me entertained I’ve been reading short stories by Italo Calvino. He’s phenomenal. I love his fables and enjoy his writing style immensely. “The Man Who Shouted Theresa” conjured up such romantic emotions I thought I might cry (that’s how you know I’m REALLY exhausted), possibly because it reminded me so much of a time when a former boyfriend of mine recruited 8-year-old campers to accompany him in an acapella declaration of love in the form of a private concert of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” He’d follow that sweet concert with another years later, this time joined by the pledges in his frat.

“A Love Far From Home” could be my story. The way he describes the cities sound so familiar to me, probably because both the towns of which he writes and the towns near which I live are Mediterranean villages – complete with orange tile rooftops, rolling stone roads and painted green shudders. In this piece, he is roaming from town to town, seeing new things, meeting new people, constantly searching for something more. It’s about love and philosophy, beauty and life. He talks about how as different as it all is, everything’s similar – and it reminds me of how, like him, I have met people here that mirror so many of the people I knew at home in Mendon, or in Boston, or Dartmouth…

But that’s not all. I’m not even half-way through the compilation entitled Numbers in the Dark and have already found “Making Do,” “Black Sheep,” “Conscience,” and “Solidarity” are all fun briefs worth reading, too.

Finally, I love the ending of “Enemy Eyes.” But I’ll let you discover that on your own.

Time for coffee #2. I wish there was something to eat around here…