Countdown to the Break

Had an interesting day last week. It was Wednesday. The 11th. Had lunch with my mom and sister (the latter whom I haven't seen in seems like forever). Caught up on all the family gossip (which as far as my family goes, was pretty juicy stuff). Work was... work. Meetings. Chemical fumes filtering in. Evacuation.

Okay, okay... nothing so "Die Hard". But we were asked (politely) to vacate the premises as they are renovating the main floor of the building in which I work. It's an old mansion—very classic, very cool. Very old. So we work upstairs whilst the construction guys painstakingly restore the main floor to its original luster and elegance.

And that takes varnish. Lots of varnish. Needless to say, there were fumes. None that you could really smell actually (you could, but it wasn't overpowering); these were the kind that you don't notice until you stand up to take a project file over to your boss and suddenly feel a little light-headed. Yeah, those kind of fumes.

Looking at my Google Calendar these days has the same effect. Doesn't seem too bad at first, but then everything gets a little wonky.

I have decided that I need a vacation. Ideally I would spend about a week on a beach somewhere warm. In fact, I'd camp there. On the edge of the surf. Falling asleep to the crashing waves.

But reality and fantasy seldom make nice and play together, so I had to consider my alternatives. A long weekend. Yeah... a long weekend. I could do that. And since I can't get to an ocean, I'll take another of nature's luxuries on this go—a secluded forest. Camping. In a gypsy wagon. Yeah, I could handle that.

Not that it's been all uber-intense since the last post. It's more of a slow-burn coupled with visions of a never-ending future of meetings, e-mails, committees, projects, events, et cetera. The lack of woo and hoo in that last sentence stems from the spirit chilling fact that all that happens two-, maybe three-fold in my life right now. So yeah... some waves crashin' on the beach...

Did get a slight reprieve from the rigors of my self-induced scheduling this past weekend when Snowflake and Panda came bustling into town for a much needed (albeit altogether short) reunion. These are two people who always make me laugh and constantly remind me (especially when together) that letting loose is a key ingredient in the antidote for crazybusy. Letting loose. Ahh... if I only I remembered how; though, to give myself credit, I eventually was able to relax this past weekend and let go of the world for a while—I even controlled the urge to have some brats tossed out of Harry Potter 5 last night.

Never, ever in my life, have I ever been THAT GUY. The guy who tells people to "keep it down" or glares and shushes people in cinemas. Nope. But last night was a test on all of my nerves. And seriously, whatever parents let their thirteen year-old daughters out in public looking the way these children looked need to be arrested for child endangerment. And that's not what bugged me (but it did make me feel old and parental). It was their talking. TALKING (well, high pitched whispering that apparently only dogs and myself are capable of detecing). They took phone calls. From people in another theater at the multiplex.

Ever read or watch Peanuts? You know when Charlie Brown screams in frustration at the state of the world? Right then, I knew exactly how he felt.

For the record, HP5... wicked excellent. Darker. More grown up (i.e. more character and slower bits). Very cool FX. Better than the book (my least favorite of the series). Overall, it gets my recommendation and I'm sure I'll watch it on DVD a few times.

Wow... that really wasn't the ringing endorsement it sounded like in my head. Must be the fact that I've still got work to do and my break is over. Back to all that stuff that's raising my stress levels and probably reducing my life expectancy (it's no wonder we don't often make it to 100—life is hard; after all, it kills you).

Cheery, right?

Well, take stock. It's a lovely day in my part of the world. And the work day is ending soon enough. With any luck, I'll be eating dinner soon and will have just a few moments to ponder just how and where I'm going to vacation next week. I don't have the whole week. Like I said... a long weekend holiday, really. But it's something. And I've just about settled on it. Relaxes me just to think about it.

Will post more tomorrow. Hopefully Panda will email pics from this weekend and I can post them. OOOH.... should've done another video blog... hmmm... I do have something I could post from our Texas trip the three of us took last year. Maybe I will... it'll have to be a surprise. Stay tuned.