© Dawn Quyle Landau
The prompt is to write for 10 minutes, “no more, no less.” Check out other writing for this Word Press Challenge, here.
Alone In A Hotel Room
The temperature is strange, the pillow foreign. I toss and turn in the dim light– room darkening curtains make it hard to know what time it really is, and I always turn the glowing clock to the wall. Time limits the potential for sleeping in, or seizing the day. It’s still early though, and I have nowhere I have to be. All expectations are my own.
When I finally get up and throw the curtains open, the city of San Diego greats me, through filthy windows. I hate dirty windows. It confuses me for a moment– is it raining? Is it that early? It’s cloudy– dark gray clouds are unexpected, given the forecast of sun and temperatures in the low eighties.
I’m fortunate to travel a lot– more than usual this year. I was thinking about that last night as our final flight took off and fears of crashing grabbed me. It happens more and more as I get older, even though I fly enough to know that it’s safe. A miracle: taking off in a metal cylinder and landing in a new place. I’m lucky, blessed to travel, despite the moment of fear.
Every time I wake in a hotel I struggle with the same quandaries, should I: sit in bed; watch out the window at the mysterious world below, taking in the hum and movement of a new place; should I spend the day writing; or get dressed and go out exploring? Which direction? It’s always a slow decision for me. I am impulsive to distraction. Should I stay or should I go, now… badadadadada!
I hear the housekeeping cart down the hall and feel a vague sense of urgency. Guilt? I don’t want to seem lazy… but to who? Whom? I have the day alone, to myself, in a city I have visited before but don’t know. Which direction should I go? How fast should I move? The decisions shake me, and cause me to question my sense of independence, adventure, motivation, age. My knee hurts. Walk? Rent a bike? Which direction? So many options make for so many possibilities– taken or missed.
When I wake in a new hotel, in a new city, traveling again, these are the thoughts that fill my head as I wake and start my day, alone in a hotel.
Notes on the process: I set an alarm on my computer and typed for exactly 10 minutes. I did not add anything once the timer went off, but did correct punctuation. The spelling I did as I went. I went with the first thoughts I had, versus planning out a writing strategy. I wrote the final sentence too soon, and put it aside. I knew that that’s where I wanted to end. So, not watching the clock, I wrote free-form, and checked at 1 minute, so that I could wind up and finish where I wanted to end.
When I work with seniors on their college essays, we always do some “blitz writing,” so it was fun to wake up, see this prompt and challenge myself to do it… alone in this hotel room.
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What do I want? I’d love to see my Tales From the Motherland Facebook page reach 500 likes in 2014. Have you stopped by to spread some fairy dust? Follow me on Twitter, it’s where I try to be brief. Most importantly, if you like a post hit Like, and leave a comment. I love to hear what readers think. Follow along; you’ll get each new post delivered by email, with no spam. If you see ads on this page, please let me know. They shouldn’t be there. © 2014 Please note, that all content and images on this site are copyrighted to Dawn Quyle Landau and Tales From the Motherland, unless specifically noted otherwise. If you want to share my work, please give proper credit. Plagiarism sucks.
TALES FROM THE MOTHERLAND 
Sometimes independence can be as big a burden as having a whole group of family members to consider before making decisions. Hope your day turns out to be one you’re happy with.
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Thanks Sandra! Figuring out what to do next… as the clock ticks down. Thanks for stopping by Tales From the Motherland; I appreciate your time and feedback. 😉
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Though I prefer my own bed, there’s something exciting about waking up in a hotel room, especially alone. You captured the solitary experience beautifully. And of course, as an introvert, you know I love being alone in that room. 🙂
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Carrie, while I mostly an extrovert in most people’s eyes, there’s a big piece of introvert to me as well. I too love the solitary times in a hotel room. I feel so anonymous and free! Thanks for reading the post, I always appreciate your feedback.
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Thanks for sharing my work! Much appreciated. 😉
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Dawn, I hope you accomplish whatever you plan to do. Have a good trip. 🙂 —Susan
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Thanks Susan. I planned to explore San Diego and lie in the sun. √ Done. 😉
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Seems like when I travel I hardly ever have the quandary of what to do first thing in the morning. There’s always someone elses agenda to deal with. When I get up early, it’s a rare chance to do my own thing. On those rare occasions when I get to travel alone I’m generally doing it with a purpose in mind. But I have occasionally been at loose ends.
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I hear you! My nest has only emptied in the past couple of years… months even. So I’m not taking this for granted! 😉
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Thanks for linking. I appreciate it.
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So much atmosphere in 10 minutes. Bet it felt good, too…
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Oh yes. It did. 😉
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You make traveling and waking up in a hotel sound rather enticing. I could not relax, no lie. I look forward to hearing more about your travels…I hope you mixed it up.
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Thanks Audra. I love to travel and I love the thrill and mystery of a hotel. Generally, I find it very relaxing. I’m working on a piece now about something very special that happened there. Watch for it. 😉
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Well done Dawn, and an interesting challenge. When I was still a working stiff, I spent lots and lots of time in hotel rooms. (Terri and I once lived in a hotel for 7 months!) I moved around so much, that the biggest challenge for me was waking up for the middle of the night bathroom trip, and I couldn’t remember which side of the room it was on. In my travels today, I have much more control, and hotel rooms look and feel completely different. ~James
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I have totally had that surreal experience of not knowing where the bathroom… or walls… are in a new room, at night! Thanks for taking the time, James!
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