v.t. phone home

completely unconnected to the title of this post, i recently discovered i'm on imdb! i did a tiny role (looking a mess, too) in something still in post-production, but unexpectedly found it and myself on imdb; i'm tickled...
so i disappeared again just as i was getting back into regular posting because we drove to vermont last week (12hours each way) which required a shitload of prep (clearing of desk before deadlines that would pass whilst away) and, apparently, a shitload of recovery, since shit came up while i was gone that needed immediate attention upon return, but we'd brought back shit also needing immediate attention.
it was grims' last trip home to sort/repurpose/eliminate belongings before we leave the country for good but since he's hurt i went to halve his carrying (not at his insistence). then, midnight-ish, after the 12hour return-drive, i realised i now had to clean off shit that had sat in an outdoor storage unit for 3years so it could enter our house. i'm seriously asthmatic- no question it all had to get cleaned before it could come in my house because it's life or death for me. we'd done the full 12hour drive on sunday so grims could teach monday morning, so unless we brought it all back to leave on a d.c. gallery for bandits, it had to be done before i could go in for the night. by the time i finished that, come to find out about the deadline-related shit that'd come up, i got straight to work without sleep.
but i think i'm caught up, except for the last of the cleanup (dishes with 3years of gack still in the sink; multiple washings necessary) and think i can say that the trip was as painless as one could possible hope for, under the circumstances- the circumstances being 24hours driving (injured) in 4days for forced clearing of remnants of a previous life while meeting parent's new significant other and making decisions about who/what to see/do when visiting the place originally called "home" for the last time in some ways, and cold (my cross)- purge led efficiently to closure without recrimination (mostly), significant other seemed good, days were pleasantly, surprisingly warm, even if nights were abysmal.
the drive wasn't nearly as bad as i anticipated, not even for the injured grims. noticed a bunch of signs along the p.a. turnpike(?) using a new font, or at least a different version/spacing of the previous font- like the difference between times and arial to my eye. while reading sometimes i notice the font or letter spacing change and continue in the new font/spacing, and it drives me bananas but nobody else seems to notice. the signage made me ask grims if he ever sees that and he says no- but i can't be the only one catching this in books (spacing-change in newspapers too, sometimes)...
i learned that springfield (n.j., grims?) is both dangerous and redundant- as we crossed into it, the 1st green roadsign with white letters simply listed the name of and mileage to each of the 5(?) area hospitals, apparently all within a 25mile(?) radius; the 1st building neon i noticed was for a local newspaper, proclaiming itself daily+sunday. also, quite stinky- proclaimed not by neon, but by my nose.
speaking of which, skunks are apparently much smaller than i thought, but do look exactly like pepe le peu. very endearing. but more importantly, the reason marijuana is often described as "skunky" is that diminished skunk stink smells like fresh green- i mean, i guess i kind of figured as much, but didn't think it smelled exactly like it- dude, exactly. it woulda been nice to see a live one though.
speaking of which, i thought it was a sign the trip was lost when i lost a half-spliff in the deck the 1st morning, nearly ruining the whole spliff+tea-on-the-gallery-overlooking-the-lake-on-miraculously-warm-vermont-morning but i found (and smoked) it 2days later, so even that turned out better than i thought.
all that, plus coming back 15pyrex+lids, several excellent toys, an etch-a-sketch, many books and other random treasures richer and maple syrup+sweetie stocked makes me think maybe still not seeing a live skunk (or moose) is liveable-with (the latter less so). and i did meet a cat with 5toes on each front paw. that counts for something, right?
and last "catch-up" (v.t. unconnected) for the record, salvia divinorum tastes like shoes. very old shoes. the effect can be briefly enlightening, and thankfully the shoe-taste+smell fade quick+clean, but beware the 1st mouthful...
walk good.
ps: american tv+movies use bells or similar sounds to signal the end of college classes- i never had bells in university here- did anybody else?