We've Been Gone A While (Day 3585 - 9/18/19)

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Stephen woke up to go to the bathroom at 5:00 AM and thought about how if they left now, then they would be home by noon. They would also be able to join Lunch Bunch and have a lot of hours remaining in the day if they got home by noon. If they slept in, then they might not get home until evening and they still have a lot of stuff to do at home. Stephen asked Mallory if she wanted to leave now and get home early. She thought it sounded appealing, so they're currently preparing to leave the hotel.

Later, they arrive home where the cats greet them at the door. Stephen notices that his parents got them a new rug for the kitchen. He says that they've been gone a while and that they were gone for about 3 weeks. Stephen is glad to be home and is happy that they don't have any other trips planned for the rest of the year. The trip was fun, but he's ready to just stay at home. Then, he talks about how they had an issue room that smelled like electric burn before going on their trip to China. They had a HVAC person come to check it out and that person told them that this was the electrician's problem. The electrician came while they were on the trip and thoroughly checked it. The electrician said that this was a HVAC problem. But, a HVAC person didn't come back out again, so they will have to call their rental company about it.

This evening, Stephen's parents came over to see some of the pictures Mal took during the trip and to talk about the trip. Stephen says that his parents had been at their house a lot while they were on the trip. They would come over to take care of the cats and they also stayed over when the hurricane happened. Mal then gives Debra a small dragon statue souvenir she had bought when they went to the Great Wall of China. Stephen explains that dragons are thought to bring good luck because they're a symbol of power. In ancient China, only the emperor was allowed to have dragon statues, so only people with a lot of power had them. Then, Debra says that it feels like they went on the trip with them after seeing all the pictures. Stephen talks about how their were so many squat toilets and he avoided using them. He says that for some reason he never had to go to the bathroom when they were out on excursions, so he only ever went to the bathroom at their hotel which had Western-style toilets.

Later, Stephen talks about how they had a lot of laundry because they were gone for so long. They had been doing laundry non-stop ever since they got home. He also had a lot of a mail he had to go through and bills he had to deal with. Both of them also gave the cats lots of attention. Stephen had heard from many people that their cats become standoffish when they've been gone for a long time, but Sagan and Kepler don't do that. Sagan wanted a lot of attention the entire day. Stephen was working upstairs and Sagan was marching in a circle on his lap and trying to get near his face. It was very sweet, but it started getting a bit annoying after a while.

Stephen talks about how they had a fun trip and he made a lot of good memories. He thanks Mark and Rhonda for inviting them on the trip. Stephen is glad they got to experience China with them. He describes China as being an interesting place. It had a lot more familiar things than he thought there would be, yet it felt equally as foreign. Then, Stephen says that he is going to bed since he isn't feeling well. He thinks that he might have a sinus infection or upper respiratory infection, so he's going to bed early. Stephen also has to wake up for Breakfast Stream tomorrow. It will be their first Breakfast Stream at home in a while.