The thing that’s really nice about being on vacation is that you aren’t pressured by things you should do. At home, even if I don’t have plans for something or a work project, I still think about how I should go to the gym, or I should vacuum or dust, or I should clean the litter boxes, etc.
I guess that’s what makes vacations so relaxing. I spent the weekend in Florida, and when I wasn’t at a baseball game or visiting the zoo, I was lounging around house–reading, playing with my cousin’s son, playing with the dogs. No guilt. No thoughts of the things that needed to be done. It was awesome.
Also awesome (and happily still an Oriole, at least at the moment)?
Oh, and this:
Sure, I wound up sunburnt on my face and arms because of it, but it was SO worth it. When I was driving down the highway Friday night, top down, I don’t think I could’ve been happier. I love driving and that was just ideal. Seriously, I was lighter than I have been in a long time. It was just a fantastic feeling.
I just got back from a lovely long weekend in Florida where I got to see my boys play. I’ll have a wrap-up, but to tide you over, I suggest the following for your viewing pleasure:
One of the challenges of packing for a trip to a warmer climate in mid-winter is that I have absolutely no recollection of what, say, 80 degrees feels like. I can check weather.com and see what the temperature is going to be, but I’m like, “Should I bring shorts? Would capris work?” Plus, it doesn’t help that all of my summer clothes are packed away in my closet.
And of course there’s the delayed realization that I’ll be wearing sandals, which means nail polish.
I’m going through one of those phases where the mere thought of having some sort of microwave meal–my typical lunch fare–turns my stomach. Which makes figuring out what exactly to have for lunch a bit of a challenge, particularly since I don’t really have anything else at home that would work. I suppose I could go to the grocery store. Anyway, so today I was debating where to get lunch. Very little was appealing to me, and I wound up at Chipotle.
Then I realized my error. I had been thinking about making Mexican for dinner tonight. And now…not at all appealing. Which means I need to figure out dinner, which has also been a pain. (I just went grocery shopping, and I still hate all the food I have in the apartment.) I suppose I could make mac and cheese or spaghetti with clam sauce, both of which I’ve had the ingredients for for, oh, probably a month now. I probably should not do McDonald’s, which is what I had last night.
On the positive side, the bubble gum ice cream I got is AWESOME.
The other day, I was walking from my office to the Metro station, where I catch the bus home. A guy stopped me to ask directions. The conversation went something like this:
Guy: How do I get to Walter Reed hospital?
Me: Walter Reed?
Guy: Yeah, the hospital.
Me: I’m not sure that’s within walking distance, so you might want to take–*
Guy: I’m pretty sure it is.
Me: Um, OK. I’m not sure. I think it’s that way.** (gestures)
Guy: I don’t think it is.
Me: Really? I thought it was on 16th Street, which is over there. (gestures again)
Guy: No, I think it’s that way. (gestures in the opposite direction)
Me: Um. Well. OK. (shrugs) Sorry!
Guy: (walks off in direction he gestured)
Bizarre. I guess he wanted confirmation? But we were near the Metro station, where he easily could’ve asked. But it’s like, Why bother?
* Turns out we were about 1.2 miles from Walter Reed, so I guess that’s walkable.
** We were actually both right. Walter Reed is pretty much directly due south from our location. To get there, you could’ve gone either the way I had gestured or the way he went. Still. Weird.
I was driving to Bethesda this afternoon, flipping through radio stations. About two blocks from my destination, I hear a familiar voice on the radio–Fred Manfra. I didn’t realize they were doing radio broadcasts of the spring training games, so I got a bit overly excited. As in, there may have been some jumping around in my seat (as much as one can do whilst strapped in). Yay!
And to make the day even better, when I stopped at the grocery store later, I saw that they had bubble gum ice cream. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a grocery store before; I usually get it at Baskin Robbins. Because I’m 10 years old, bubble gum is my favorite ice cream flavor. It’ll be interesting to see how store-bought compares to having it in cone form. Hurrah for a new experiment!
The other day at work, I spent the entire afternoon just completely dragging. After lunch, I was forcing myself through the day…and this is hardly a rare occurrence. I finally perked up and got some energy around 4. So I’m going to officially come out in favor of siestas. I feel like my productivity would skyrocket if I worked, say, from 8:30 to 1, then 4 to 7. Nap for a little while, maybe play with the cats. It would be great! Seriously, I think I spend more energy in a typical afternoon trying to keep myself awake than I do actually working.
Of course, this arrangement would really only work for people like me, who live close to their offices. Maybe they could add siesta rooms to office buildings…
