Lately, I’ve been stuck in a pattern of not doing much. There’s this idleness to my quasi-spring break, and I must admit it is less than stellar. I think it’s more due to the lack of anything meaningful taking up the majority of the day— with classes not in session and being sequestered on the island, there isn’t much besides reading, working out, watching Netflix, and spending entirely too much time scrolling through Reddit or sports websites.

Even with the time to write, I find myself in a habit of fits and starts as snippets squirm free but hardly get far. I maybe had two drafts in the Salmagundi section two weeks ago, and now I have something like seven. A couple of them are pieces for Malton World. A couple are general entries, and some are the barest wisps of shorts that haven’t decided to pop a proper head up to say hello. So, I’ve been parsing lyrics, thinking of random people from the past, and figuring out how I will eventually pack up my apartment in July.

Tonight, my thoughts have been on the subtle incredulity of having spent nearly two years in this apartment and knowing that within a couple of hours and a couple of trash bags and pieces of luggage, all traces of my life here would be gone. Outside of a couple of photos on the walls and my hat collection, it’s hard to see any real personality in the place. I’d wager all the notebooks on my TV stand make a fair contribution, but lifting heavy in this competition doesn’t take much.

I’m trying to track the small wins. The sakura are blooming in town. The mix of white and pink blossoms spread across the mountain canopies like flicks of colored soap spreading out in a bath. I’ve been cooking several times daily, and my culinary innovations haven’t been half bad. Today I experimented with some sweet and spicy combinations for a stir fry as well as an added citrus kick to some chicken. No one is going to be battering down my door for an invite to dinner, but if I had to fill in last minute, you wouldn’t be disappointed if you were starving.

I did wake up to a nice email from a friend about coaching plans for when I return. It was nice to see some plans are in motion, even if there isn’t much I can do to help with pre-season prep. I am looking forward to being back out on the pitch. This time around, it’ll be a new school and a new position. Onto the next stage of coaching and life— but before that, a couple of months to wrap up this adventure.