for the next 8 days, i am on summer vacation. “stay-cation” if you want to used a stupid made up word to describe the fact that i can’t afford to actually go anywhere. but regardless of my being tethered to this zip code for the next week, i’m actually quite optimistic about the prospect of a week of paid down time to do nothing but take naps and catch up on several year’s worth of to-do lists gathering dust in the back of my brain.
seriously, i’ve had the same bag of dry cleaning for at least 3 years. possibly 5. so long that i got too fat for the clothes in the bag, and then eventually lost the weight so that i can probably fit into them again. likely, they are no longer in style. i should really put “reevaluate contents of dry cleaning bag” on my to-do list before i spend $60 having disastrously dated frocks professionally cleaned.
i led my weekend as normal: goodwill bargain hunting (amazing satin hot pants with sailor buttons and a pristine j.crew cardigan), eating bagels (mr. bagel has garlic tofu cream cheese that blows my face off with delicious), and getting kinda drunk on free bourbon at a friend’s wedding. but i made a decision when i planned this stay-cation that i would dedicate my 8 days to activities that were productive, restful, and healthy.
so, i got up this morning, drank my home made tangerine/bok choy juice (with the bok choy that i GREW MYSELF) and then ran the back bay (well, the first 2.5 miles of it, and then i walked the rest). i felt like a fucking champion.
then i came home, i showered, walked the dog, and washed every dish in the house. i even made cream of asparagus soup (i used veg broth and coconut milk based creamer + a tbsp of nutritional yeast for zing) and spicy pink bean sandwich spread (tastes sort of like cheese and hummus had a delicious baby) in my sexy new blender (an amazing early birthday gift from new boyfriend). basically, i was more productive in 5 hours than i have been in the last 5 months.
but then, i started to wander.
minutes squandered on the internet.
ebay items remained unmailed.
on one hand, it is great to have clean dishes and delicious food. on the other hand, being productive is boring, and lonely. i had all these fantasies about how lovely it would be to shut out the world and finally read that book that i’ve had half finished on my nightstand since march… but it’s not even been 24 hours, and i already feel kind of bummed out and disconnected from the outside world. (not sure what’s sadder- spending vacation alone, or getting lonely after only 1 day).
i have an excursion planned for tomorrow that actually involves another human being, so i have high hopes for stay-cation day 2. although will the addition of actual social contact mean the end of me being able to pay my bills and make new curtains.
i’m taking a writing class at usm starting next week (“advanced memoir”- la-dee-da), so i’ve decided to limber up by trying to write every day this week. this is hand down the least interesting post i’ve ever written, so if you have an recommendations for things i can do to spice things up a little so you all don’t die of boredom. otherwise you’re going to have to listen to a whole lot of recaps of princess movies that i watched on netflix, and nobody wants that.
broke 207 
I don’t know about wasting your time on the internet. What about when you entertained your poor friend who was stuck at work all do doing boring crap and hating her job? Keeping people sane is God’s work, my friend.
the part where i talked to you = productive (and awesome). the part where i looked at puppy pictures for like 2 hours ≠ productive. i possibly also did some internet window shopping on ebay… those curtains aren’t going to make themselves!
i hear ya, i sometimes think, i am so busy! i have no time to do all these things! and then when i have a long stretch of free time, i’m all, uh… what was it again? and then i inevitably spend it reading on the couch. i’ve never been one of those people who could spend a who day doing errands apparently. on the bright side, my friend intentionally gets bored so she knows that she’s really relaxed. she forces herself to stay in bed until she gets so bored of her bedroom that she hates it. then she knows she’s relaxed. just say you’re doing that! not sad, strategic.
no no (p.s. your friend is a weirdo)! i hate sleeping, so i’m spending as little time in bed as possible. but apparently my threshold for being genuinely productive is pretty low. i did do all the dishes and make some food yesterday. that was a good start, but it swiftly became tiresome. i need to find fun things to do that are vaguely productive and not completely isolated. i think on thursday, i’m going to take the bus to THE MALL! shopping is sort of like an errand, right?
Good to see you’re writing, Brokey! I took that memoir class last fall. I’ll be interested to hear how it goes! Also, I’m familiar with that feeling you describe. I long for alone time (read kid-free time) and then when I get it, I feel kind of adrift. Weird, but I relate.
well, i’m still harboring fantasies about getting my MFA in creative writing, however foolish that may be. i work at USM, so i figure free classes and potential recommendations are a good thing. but yeah, yesterday felt very weird and a little sad. i think it was still a good exercise for me to complete, but i don’t know if i could do a full week of it.
p.s. when are you going to get writing again?!
I’m also harboring fantasies of an MFA, but since I already have an MA that I don’t really use, it seems crazy… But I have been writing a bit here and there. Maybe I’ll get one of the old blogs back up and running. I’m so glad to read your words again!
or perhaps a new blog? i’ve clearly abandoned the thrifty factor… but so far nobody seems to notice. [shhhh]