The Remodeled Blog

Cabin Trip

Though these are not all the photos, these are my photos. The cabin trip was awesome. All we did was lay around eat, chat, drink beer, sit by a fire, eat some more, go shooting, eat and sleep in the sun. No to mention it was beautiful. The weather was good. It was sunny and nice. A couple of nights it was a little chilly, but nothing that a fire wouldnt cure.

Yeah, I didn’t want to leave. A bunch of friends were there. A few of us traveled from the east coast and I even had a hitchhiker from Mass. A friend of mine from work bought a ticket last minute and joined us. People always talk about doing that but no one ever actually does. I LOVE that she actually did it! Awesome! So here are the pics:

Hauler Ride:

Fun at the Cabin:

Vacation Hangover

Now that I am back from the Land of Vacation the vacation hangover is hitting hard. At work I hit the ground running. A weeks worth of emails and questions and pieces to a puzzle with no master picture to cheat from. Slowly answering and prioritizing and talking and catching up and figuring out, my day ended an hour later than normal. A pile of mail that could weigh down Dorothy’s house before its trip to Oz, with only 2 pieces that are even remotely relevant to me and neither of which are actually interesting. I haven’t even checked the voice mail yet.

The vacation hangover is the tiredness from traveling, from not being on vacation and your body’s rebellion against the real world, and from the onslaught of responsibility that smacks you in the face. After the vacation there is no slow gradual entry back into the world. There is no subtle slipping into our roles.

The vacation hangover is easily identified by a few hallmark symptoms. The first being a return from vacation. Then tiredness, reluctance to go to work, not wanting to step back into responsibility, tired but not wanting to go to bed, laziness, mild depression, feeling that your time away was not long enough and a general reluctance to stepping back into the routines of daily life.

This is all perfectly normal.

I now know that my vacation is over. Bills are due and in need of contestation. Emails are demanding attention. Phone calls must be returned. Stances need to be made. Budgets need to be balanced and I need to go to bed. I just wish Advil, OJ and some water worked as well on a vacation hangover.

The Land of Vaction

Sitting at the airport, waiting for my connecting flight, I feel the Land of Vacation slipping away. It is not yet gone. I do not yet have a returning sense of responsibility. I move from gate to gate as my flight updates over the 4-hour layover. Each time I settle into a new movie. First it was “Fun with Dick and Jane” and now I have moved onto “The Simpsons Movie.” I am too tired for cinematic excellence. I just want something that will make me chuckle while I look forward to sleeping through my next flight.

I have been in the Land of Vacation for a little over a week and it has been wonderful. In the Land of Vacation you have plenty of money; everyone wants to spend time with you; you eat great food all the time and you have no responsibility or bills. It is as though life is at its most desirable. I am in love with the Land of Vacation. The only problem is if you move to the Land of Vacation, it quickly turns into the Land of Unemployment. It is not a place you can live, but it is a wonderful place to visit.

I am slowly leaving this land. I know the Land of Real Life is on the horizon, but for today I have a little more time left. When I get home I will kiss my cats and sniff my bed and curl up to a movie and get one last night sleep before the Land of Vacation is no longer visible in the horizon.

Dave’s Birthday

Today is Dave’s birthday. He is now 31. I will be following suit in a week. 31 seems like a strange age. Turning 30 was a landmark, but it somehow seemed just barely out of the 20’s. But 31, you can’t deny that you are in your 30’s. You are solidly, firmly, realistically there.

I keep feeling like our plans need to be in place. That our next big move needs to be in the works and that we have a responsibility to our age group to do certain things like get married and breed. I am not ready for that yet. Soon enough, but not yet. I need to get through the next big change, which will happen with graduation next year, before I can tackle the other life issues.

We celebrated Dave’s birthday last night. A friend came over and we watched a movie, ate some cake and gigantic hot dogs. It was nice. Another friend was supposed to come over today and stay the night, but I had to say no. I actually had to rescind the invitation. She very graciously understood and was not upset.

I have realized that I am not setting boundaries very well. I am not thinking about myself enough. I have been more concerned about how others feel and react than how I am feeling and what I am needing.

This weekend, besides being Dave’s birthday, is my final and the last weekend we will have together until July. After this weekend we will be surrounded by family and friends for a month. This is amazing and I am so excited my head is about to pop off…or maybe the popping effect is the final, regardless I can’t wait. But amidst all the excitement, we are coming out of a month worth of finals and stress and I realized that we just needed a weekend of quiet and each other. Unfortunately my final has to be mixed in, but you work with what you have.

I am almost done with my final. We had a really nice night last night and today is turning out to be a beautiful day. A little calm before I freak out in preparing for my trip is a good thing.

Oh, and yes, we are both Gemini’s…and it does make things interesting. =)

Scooting

So I am thinking about getting a scooter.

Seriously, how cute is this!  It is modern, but with a vintage flare. Ooo…I am in love. Some of its finer points:

80 mpg!!!!!

Yeah, since we have topped $4.00 a gallon, this is becoming a really tempting alternative to my car.

Before you even ask what I would do in bad weather, I would not get rid of my car. I would only ride during good weather and not on the highway. I would take 5&10 to work. It would add about 15 minutes to my commute, but that is ok.

So I would save gas, more than double, reduce wear and tear on my car, better on emissions and the environment and fun. Though, it is more dangerous than a car because it is a bike.

I have not made any decision yet, but I am researching. I would have to take a motorcycle safety course and get a moto license. I would need a helmet and riding jacket and gloves and rain gear (just in case).  But just think how cute I would look and feel on that little scooter!  Yum!