Vacation Ramblings

* I love online banking. I paid all of my bills in less than five minutes.

* Crime sucks. While at the movies with my friend J. the front wheel to my bike was stolen. Depending on my schedule, I may not be able to replace it until next Saturday.

* Paid vacations rock! I still have three glorious work-free days before I have to head back to the office. I'm pretending I don't notice the little pit of dread gnawning away at my stomach.

* Gaining focus in hard. As I think I've written before, focus requires making choices, and I have difficulty doing that because I want it all!

* Choices I've made this past week include: committing to my return to the gym, walking away from the seductive television set, and cleaning my kitchen. All of these are mature, responsible choices that were made in favor of eating pound bags of M&M's, watching the entire last season of Six Feet Under for the third time, and hosting crawling bugs and emerging diseases.

* Things I've not yet accomplished on my vacation: I haven't written a single short story. I haven't finished Anna Karenina. I haven't gotten to the beach.

* Things I have accomplished on my vacation: I sang two concerts and a memorial service. I marched in the Pride Parade. I reconnected with my friends J. and C. I'm going to visit A&J tomorrow. I reestablished my gym routine. I did all my laundry. I hosted a small dinner party. And I chilled.

The chilling part is really what is most important during vacations, and I've perfected it. But I can feel the siren call of responsibility, so I'm easing back into the routine, and trying not to count the weeks until Labor Day Weekend. I still have nine days that I can take this year, but that just seems so paltry. I'm trying to save up time for next summer and a modest trip to Europe. More on that later.