The dreary cloudiness equals my mood. I take the steps begrudgingly. My stomach feels trepidation, and my blood pressure rises with each step. My head begins to swirl like an engine trying to start after weeks of rest.
That's what it was like when I returned to the office this morning.
I haven't set foot there since July 19th. I've had nearly three weeks off. No work. No thoughts of work. No stress from work. The SJ was tucked in a closet in the back of my mind only to be entered (or forced open) at a later date. That date has arrived. My three weeks on the coast ended yesterday. My exile is over. I escaped from the world but have now returned. Squig is back. Happy days are here again!!!!
Today, I just returned to the office to check my mail, make sure my desk still had my stuff on it, hinting that I still have a job. I haven't exactly begun working again. I'm just preparing my frame of mind for such an occasion. I kind of have a comp day since my vacation began a day late. So I may actually make some calls and do a story tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. I'm like the Bush administration (how often do I say that). I'm not setting a timetable to actually do work. I'm setting a time horizon.
I'm not exactly excited to be home. It's nice to return to the world after being secluded for so long. I can watch Hardball and Countdown tonight. I can catch up on politics and sports. I've been out of the loop on both recently. I've tried to keep up by reading the newspapers but with no cable, it is hard to keep in step with all the scuttlebutt. Did I hear it right John McCain selected Paris Hilton as his running mate? That certainly might bolster his economic policy but probably won't help him find Czechoslovakia any easier. I heard Manny Ramirez got shipped to La-La Land. Good place for him. I heard Russia invaded Georgia, and President Jugears condemned the act. Now that's the Rednecked pot calling out the Red Menaced kettle.
But, as nice as it is to return to a life of normalcy, it also hard to give up the carefree life of an ocean view and the escape it provides. Over the last few weeks, I've spent more hours in a boat of some kind than I have in my car. That's always good. I didn't worry about work. I hardly checked my email. I paid a couple of bills. All that mattered was the weather, the boating conditions, what book I was reading, what I had in the fridge that needed using up, what cocktail should I make. Life was quiet and simple and responsibility was minimized.
I cherish that time away. I always wondered if I could stand to be down there alone for a long period of time. Now I wonder if I'd ever get tired of it. During the rainy days of last week, I had a few anxious thoughts of returning home, but at the same time, I could stay down there on my own for longer. I like doing the social thing. I like hanging out with friends and having a good time with various people, but I also like my alone time. I like doing my own thing and getting away from everything and everybody.
During my three weeks on the coast, I didn't have to worry about anybody else. I ate and drank what I wanted. I did what I wanted. The only time I was dependant on someone else was when my brother was at his place and would take his boat out. I'd adjust my schedule around his boating plans. Otherwise, I was on Squiggy time. I took time to relax, read, think, enjoy the scenery, pick a few notes on my guitar or mandolin on quiet evenings on my deck.
I wasn't a complete loner for three weeks. I went to a party with a variety of friends (and jello shots). I interacted with neighbors and family. I even went to a bar a couple of times to catch the live coverage of my nephew's Little League baseball team playing in the New England Regional tournament on NESN. Never thought I'd impress people by name-dropping my 11-year old nephew.
But, that's all over with now. I'm back to the real world. My job awaits. My car still needs a new blower motor. My computer still runs as slow as a horse I once bet on - and probably needs to be put down like that said horse. The fall season is fast approaching and life is beginning to speed up again. And, there's a whole 19 days until my next vacation.
Vacation recap
Week One
Things got off to slow start. The TD Banknorth 250 was delayed by rain on Sunday, July 20. After waiting out the rain most of that day, the racing was postponed until Monday. I was asked if I was available, meaning I was working Monday. My vacation was put on hold. Your welcome, boss.
Rain didn't stop there. It delayed things on Monday as well. What could have been a 4 p.m. start of the 250, delayed it until the evening. That put us all up against our deadline of 10:50 p.m. I had sidebar duty, but with the race running late and a 10:30 p.m. finish looking likely, I had to come up with something. I had a potential story with Kevin Harvick leading the race, but if he won, the reporter doing the main story would handle that. I finally decided to do something on his crew chief, a Vermont native with ties to the race. I had two stories in the works at once, but consolidated them and filed the story without quotes with 100 laps remaining or so. I was putting the whammy on Harvick's chances but had to give the desk something to work with in case the race ran late, and I couldn't get quotes. If Harvick lost the race, I was in trouble to scramble for another sider. The race ended about 10:20, and Harvick won. I rushed down to the track, running over fans in the process. I got quotes from the crew chief an
d raced back to the press box to file by 10:50. Then I grabbed a quote or two from Harvick and submitted a write-through by 10:55. Whew!!!
Wired from a mad-dash to deadline, I got to the coast about 1:30 a.m. The first week was decent weather-wise, better than I expected. The first couple days I got in a couple kayak trips and bike rides. I did my annual look around town during a rainy day and then drove inland on the weekend to visit friends at a party and returned by 11:30 p.m. that evening.
Week Two
My brother arrived to begin his month-long stay down the road. I rode my bike into town for groceries and then had a couple of good boat rides in my brother's boat. We went to Metinic Island, a good 15 miles or so out to sea, not far from Monhegan. The next day, we went to North Haven and visited Goose Rocks Lighthouse, where my great grandfather was the longest serving keeper. It was great boating weather those two days. I got some kayak trips in as well. The weather worsened later in the week.
We checked out the Lobster Festival, just because it's there.
Week Three
My nephew arrived for his two-weeks. We celebrated his birthday. I squeezed in a few good kayak trips around the bad weather. We took my brother's boat to Rockland and watched the schooners leave. We fished and waited for the Navy ship to depart. I caught nearly 10 mackerel during that stretch. We also got in trips to Tenant's Harbor and another to Rockland Harbor. We also cruised through the Mussel Ridge Islands and did some fishing off Fisherman's Island. About 20 mackerel got jiggy with Squiggy, and we had a haul of between 40-50 fish, our best in years.
That's what it was like when I returned to the office this morning.
I haven't set foot there since July 19th. I've had nearly three weeks off. No work. No thoughts of work. No stress from work. The SJ was tucked in a closet in the back of my mind only to be entered (or forced open) at a later date. That date has arrived. My three weeks on the coast ended yesterday. My exile is over. I escaped from the world but have now returned. Squig is back. Happy days are here again!!!!
Today, I just returned to the office to check my mail, make sure my desk still had my stuff on it, hinting that I still have a job. I haven't exactly begun working again. I'm just preparing my frame of mind for such an occasion. I kind of have a comp day since my vacation began a day late. So I may actually make some calls and do a story tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. I'm like the Bush administration (how often do I say that). I'm not setting a timetable to actually do work. I'm setting a time horizon.
I'm not exactly excited to be home. It's nice to return to the world after being secluded for so long. I can watch Hardball and Countdown tonight. I can catch up on politics and sports. I've been out of the loop on both recently. I've tried to keep up by reading the newspapers but with no cable, it is hard to keep in step with all the scuttlebutt. Did I hear it right John McCain selected Paris Hilton as his running mate? That certainly might bolster his economic policy but probably won't help him find Czechoslovakia any easier. I heard Manny Ramirez got shipped to La-La Land. Good place for him. I heard Russia invaded Georgia, and President Jugears condemned the act. Now that's the Rednecked pot calling out the Red Menaced kettle.
But, as nice as it is to return to a life of normalcy, it also hard to give up the carefree life of an ocean view and the escape it provides. Over the last few weeks, I've spent more hours in a boat of some kind than I have in my car. That's always good. I didn't worry about work. I hardly checked my email. I paid a couple of bills. All that mattered was the weather, the boating conditions, what book I was reading, what I had in the fridge that needed using up, what cocktail should I make. Life was quiet and simple and responsibility was minimized.
I cherish that time away. I always wondered if I could stand to be down there alone for a long period of time. Now I wonder if I'd ever get tired of it. During the rainy days of last week, I had a few anxious thoughts of returning home, but at the same time, I could stay down there on my own for longer. I like doing the social thing. I like hanging out with friends and having a good time with various people, but I also like my alone time. I like doing my own thing and getting away from everything and everybody.
During my three weeks on the coast, I didn't have to worry about anybody else. I ate and drank what I wanted. I did what I wanted. The only time I was dependant on someone else was when my brother was at his place and would take his boat out. I'd adjust my schedule around his boating plans. Otherwise, I was on Squiggy time. I took time to relax, read, think, enjoy the scenery, pick a few notes on my guitar or mandolin on quiet evenings on my deck.
I wasn't a complete loner for three weeks. I went to a party with a variety of friends (and jello shots). I interacted with neighbors and family. I even went to a bar a couple of times to catch the live coverage of my nephew's Little League baseball team playing in the New England Regional tournament on NESN. Never thought I'd impress people by name-dropping my 11-year old nephew.
But, that's all over with now. I'm back to the real world. My job awaits. My car still needs a new blower motor. My computer still runs as slow as a horse I once bet on - and probably needs to be put down like that said horse. The fall season is fast approaching and life is beginning to speed up again. And, there's a whole 19 days until my next vacation.
Vacation recap
Week One
Things got off to slow start. The TD Banknorth 250 was delayed by rain on Sunday, July 20. After waiting out the rain most of that day, the racing was postponed until Monday. I was asked if I was available, meaning I was working Monday. My vacation was put on hold. Your welcome, boss.
Rain didn't stop there. It delayed things on Monday as well. What could have been a 4 p.m. start of the 250, delayed it until the evening. That put us all up against our deadline of 10:50 p.m. I had sidebar duty, but with the race running late and a 10:30 p.m. finish looking likely, I had to come up with something. I had a potential story with Kevin Harvick leading the race, but if he won, the reporter doing the main story would handle that. I finally decided to do something on his crew chief, a Vermont native with ties to the race. I had two stories in the works at once, but consolidated them and filed the story without quotes with 100 laps remaining or so. I was putting the whammy on Harvick's chances but had to give the desk something to work with in case the race ran late, and I couldn't get quotes. If Harvick lost the race, I was in trouble to scramble for another sider. The race ended about 10:20, and Harvick won. I rushed down to the track, running over fans in the process. I got quotes from the crew chief an
d raced back to the press box to file by 10:50. Then I grabbed a quote or two from Harvick and submitted a write-through by 10:55. Whew!!!Wired from a mad-dash to deadline, I got to the coast about 1:30 a.m. The first week was decent weather-wise, better than I expected. The first couple days I got in a couple kayak trips and bike rides. I did my annual look around town during a rainy day and then drove inland on the weekend to visit friends at a party and returned by 11:30 p.m. that evening.
Week Two
My brother arrived to begin his month-long stay down the road. I rode my bike into town for groceries and then had a couple of good boat rides in my brother's boat. We went to Metinic Island, a good 15 miles or so out to sea, not far from Monhegan. The next day, we went to North Haven and visited Goose Rocks Lighthouse, where my great grandfather was the longest serving keeper. It was great boating weather those two days. I got some kayak trips in as well. The weather worsened later in the week.
We checked out the Lobster Festival, just because it's there.Week Three
My nephew arrived for his two-weeks. We celebrated his birthday. I squeezed in a few good kayak trips around the bad weather. We took my brother's boat to Rockland and watched the schooners leave. We fished and waited for the Navy ship to depart. I caught nearly 10 mackerel during that stretch. We also got in trips to Tenant's Harbor and another to Rockland Harbor. We also cruised through the Mussel Ridge Islands and did some fishing off Fisherman's Island. About 20 mackerel got jiggy with Squiggy, and we had a haul of between 40-50 fish, our best in years.
Overall, I got some reading done. Got some thinking and research done for my second novel. I didn't get some of the kayak trips I wanted to and didn't get in the island bike ride I had hoped for, but sometimes you take what the weather gives, and I feel like I made the most of what Mother Nature provided. Now, the weather sounds as iffy this week as it did all of last. The good thing about that is, now, I don't care. I'm not on vacation any longer. Life isn't and no longer has to be perfect. Well, not until my next vacation.
1 comment:
Thanks Samantha. I'll keep that in mind. My computer is just old. I'm not sure anything can save it at this point. I'll replace it soon enough.
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