I am in high-stress mode. I have three weeks until my senior thesis work is due. THREE WEEKS. And only TWO DAYS until the performance I’ve been producing/directing happens. My back is in knots, I am weary no matter how much sleep I get, and my capability to speak in full sentences is incredibly diminished. BUT, for your sake and mine, I am trying to relax. I’ll tell you how.

1) Wednesday night, I will be getting a 1-hour massage. Hopefully that will reduce my physically manifested stress by a LOT.

2) I’m also trying to think of comforting things in general. I’m going to take you to one of my happy places…

We are sitting on the couch in our favorite comfortable clothes. We are drinking cold beers. Maybe a Red Hook ESB or Brooklyn Pennant Ale ’55. (If you’d rather hold a cup of tea or water, that’s fine, too).

There’s an array of food on the table in front of us: Chili and Cheddar Dogs from Spike’s, a pizza I just made, probably with prosciutto and fresh basil, and a big basket of buffalo wings I made (I still have to fine-tune my recipe–thank goodness for baseball season returning so I have many excuses to practice) accompanied by celery and bleu cheese dressing, of course. There’s also more beer in a cooler.

We are watching a baseball game. In my happy place, it’s a Red Sox game and we are in Boston, and it’s a game worth shouting about. If you want to take this to your happy place, we’re watching your home team in your hometown (but many would argue that’s not really the comparable to the Red Sox in Boston).

In my happy place, we’re allowed to fart and burp whenever we want, HOWEVER, because it’s MY happy place, neither of those things produces a foul smell and, therefore, both will be forever hilarious.

The sun has just set, but it’s still warm enough to be in a t-shirt with all the windows open.

The Red Sox (or your home team) win by a hair, and we can hear neighbors cheering from down the street.

End Scene.

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Lucky for me, I will be exiting the academic-stress-world when baseball season is in full swing, and I will make this not just my dream, but my reality. At least I have something to work towards… chili cheddar dogs and a diploma.