Monday, January 7, 2013

Long Division


Math has never been my strong suit.

When I was in third grade and learning long division, I often feigned stomach aches so I could stay home from school and avoid exposure to the evils of mathematics. When I had to take placement tests for math and English senior year (Yes, for financial and maturity reasons, I went to a junior college instead of a university after graduation, thus the placement tests) I scored a 90% on my English exam and a 41% on math.

What can I say—numbers are a bit befuddling to me.

Yet as I went to bed last night, and again this morning when I woke up, I found myself trying to crunch them. One visit per month for five months times an average of 4.5 days equals Mr. W and I seeing each other twenty-some odd times from now through June. 

Tomorrow morning, Mr. W leaves me for a movie shoot in Vancouver.

This isn't our first rodeo. We were apart for more than two straight months in 2011. And in 2009, our average gaps between time together was about 6 weeks. Because this latest location is just a 3-hour flight away, travel will be easier and more frequent. But I still have a sinking feeling about his departure. I want to fake a stomach ache so maybe he won't have to go.

When I force myself to see the upsides of this long division between us, I recognize that I'll get to do some great traveling and have some delicious Canadian seafood and maybe even hit some of Washington's hotspots for wine-tasting. Being apart means a little adventure is inevitable. We'll even get to meet each other in Hawaii when part of the shoot moves south. And it's likely I'll be able to keep the house a little cleaner and have more time to work on coaching endeavors over the next six months.

But oh, the hundred-plus days we'll be separated by a country's border feel like too many. The spans of time and distance feel so vast, I'm not even sure my fancy Texas Instruments graphing calculator could accurately compute them.

16 comments:

  1. Nice of you to blame the messy house on A.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HunnerWoof, boys are messy. I feel like you should know this, being one and all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aw love, distance....well, sucks. As you said, thank goodness you have the $$ to meet up now and again. Hawaii? Um, I might take it just for that! (typing with 7 inches of snow outside of my window)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankfully the movie studio takes good care of people and actually gave Mr. W a travel allowance. So that is a major plus! Especially because it should cover Hawaii, too. I would feel sorry for your 7 inches of snow, but your blog always makes the weather there seem so romantic and lovely!

      Delete
  4. I was never good at math either. I got a great SAT score EXCEPT for the math section. I also hated 3rd grade for the math part alone. There was this race track made out paper that went around the entire room above the chalkboards and doors and we each had a car that had our name on it. As we did well in math, the car would move. I was always in the back. It caused me traumatizing anxiety!

    Anyway, I hope that the next six months fly by for you both and the time apart only grows your bond to each other AND allows for you to have some adventures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My fellow Aries sister hated 3rd grade math, too? Kindred spirits, I tell you. ;)

      Delete
  5. And here I thought that you being able to work in your pajamas from your couch meant you could also work in your pajamas from a couch in Vancouver or Hawaii (dreamy!). Bummer that you'll be apart for so long, but at least you're in the same time zone, which is huge when it comes to saying goodnight to your honey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You might punch me for saying this, but the cats are a factor in me not packing up and going to stay with him the whole time he's in Vancouver. Ridiculous, right? We also didn't want to leave both houses behind without a proper owner. So the pj work will continue, but only from LA. And yes, being in the same time zone helps immensely!

      Delete
  6. Your placement tests sound the same as my GRE scores. I've always assumed I was an idiot savant. (Really hopeful about that savant part. Maybe that's being too generous.)

    Ha.

    I used to hate separations. I used to get freaked out by them. But slowly, over the years, I've learned to enjoy them even. Appreciate the alone time. Appreciate the time apart so that we don't take each other for granted. I find them interesting now, these separations. They do add a little variety to our routine, no?

    But yeah, aside from that, they totally suck.

    ;-p

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm certain the savant part is correct. :)

      And you're right - there are definitely upsides to the separation. It keeps things interesting - and reuniting is like being back in the days of dating. I'll try to remind myself of this when I'm staring at that empty spot in the bed!

      Delete
  7. I was never and still am not a fan of math. It caused me only anxiety in school and always made me feel like an idiot. They should tell you that if you cannot handle geometry there is the option of paying someone to do it when you grow up and that you do not, in fact, have to build your own house if you don't want to. Ugh. Not good memories.

    I hope your time apart flies by and you find it time to pack for a visit before you know it. Oh, and if you're feeling dramatic you have a great opportunity to use the mob wife line "But this is the life I have chosen!" And sigh deeply a lot. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seriously - I don't know why they make us take anything beyond basic math if we're not interested in pursuing a career like architecture.

      I like your dramatic idea. I may use that at some point!

      Delete
  8. Well that just stinks!!!

    But it's nice he's got some work too. Working is usually a good thing. Still, I hope you get a lot done, and don't feel lonely too often.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah it's much better than him having no work - you're right! And hopefully the time will go by fast.

      Delete
  9. Yes, that's right, for 2013, the GeekHiker is trying to return to commenting. Dream come true or worst nightmare? I'll leave that for you to decide.

    Hmmm... perhaps you just need to have Mr. Wonderful hire you as his personal assistant. I mean, you know, nepotism occasionally happens in Hollywood. Every so often. Rarely, really. ;)

    I know it sucks, but you do seem to be seeing the bright sides, such as a bit of travel and adventure. Let's face it, it might not be as nice as being full-time with your husband, but paid-for trips to Vancouver and Hawai'i are nothing to sneeze at! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! I feel so honored that you stopped by (finally ;). The personal assistant idea is a good one...although I don't think he'd hire me. I'm too surly. So I'll take the travel and adventure instead.

      Delete

Well, whatdya think?