On the up and up...
I'm in a 'think positive' mode right now. After all, I do get a vacation starting Saturday. wOOt.
My vehicular malfunction turned out to be a faulty coil pack (and bad spark plug) on cylinder #4, causing it to misfire. So I'm going ahead and replacing all 8 plugs and the coil pack, since I've put off the 60,000 mile tune-up far too long. Props to Jack S. for pointing me in the right direction for an auto repair shop.
On the downside, in the midst of all this I'm either sick with a head cold or struggling with a late-summer round of allergies. Sore throat, sinus headache, congestion...the works. Much joy and happiness there... Still, nothing a little salty air won't fix in a few days.
...
If I haven't reiterated it enough, let me say again that I'm LONG overdue for a vacation. I think my last vacation was the early summer of 2001, and even then it was a large group trip to Gulf Shores and only lasted 2 nights. Before that, Stacey and I were lucky to be able to get away anywhere for just a weekend.
And family 'trips' don't count. Going to see her parents and my parents is great (well...seeing mine is...heh), but that doesn't quality as 'getting away' from it all. In the past couple of years, I've only taken time off for friends' weddings and funerals.
So no more excuses. The world will still spin without me if I leave for a while.
I hope.
You see, that's my problem. So much of leaving town consists of making sure everything I need HERE is covered first: Who's covering for me on Sunday? Who's going to feed my dogs? Etc., etc. Then I feel trapped...like I can't leave. Yeah, it's my own fault, but it's been a real problem for me to feel 'free' to just go...anywhere. And it didn't help that - at my old job - I had to put so much work into preparing for leaving (the weeks before and week after), that I didnt' feel like I'd really had a vacation since I wound up cramming those lost 40 hours into the previous week anyway. Sheesh.
But I need to get away for a few days. So I'm just going. Away from Decatur. Away from 'routine.' A chance to re-focus...relax... To sit on a balcony, look at the beach, feel the wind off the surf, and not have to worry about ANYTHING. 7 days and 6 nights of ocean. Starting Saturday.
Funny thing is, I'm not a big 'get-in-the-ocean' person. I don't mind getting in the water, but I mostly just like the atmosphere - 'ambience' if you will - of being on the coast. I love the sound of the waves. I love the relaxed feel of the places to hang out and eat...or just hang out. I love the smell of the salt on the air. And, spiritually, there's something moving about standing there on the land's end staring out at where the endless ocean meets the star-filled sky above it at night...I've had some of my most 'connected-with-God' moments standing on a beach at night just...thinking...meditating...praying...
And knowing this is coming in a few days can make me feel better about the car expense and the current state of my sinuses.
True dat.
My vehicular malfunction turned out to be a faulty coil pack (and bad spark plug) on cylinder #4, causing it to misfire. So I'm going ahead and replacing all 8 plugs and the coil pack, since I've put off the 60,000 mile tune-up far too long. Props to Jack S. for pointing me in the right direction for an auto repair shop.
On the downside, in the midst of all this I'm either sick with a head cold or struggling with a late-summer round of allergies. Sore throat, sinus headache, congestion...the works. Much joy and happiness there... Still, nothing a little salty air won't fix in a few days.
...
If I haven't reiterated it enough, let me say again that I'm LONG overdue for a vacation. I think my last vacation was the early summer of 2001, and even then it was a large group trip to Gulf Shores and only lasted 2 nights. Before that, Stacey and I were lucky to be able to get away anywhere for just a weekend.
And family 'trips' don't count. Going to see her parents and my parents is great (well...seeing mine is...heh), but that doesn't quality as 'getting away' from it all. In the past couple of years, I've only taken time off for friends' weddings and funerals.
So no more excuses. The world will still spin without me if I leave for a while.
I hope.
You see, that's my problem. So much of leaving town consists of making sure everything I need HERE is covered first: Who's covering for me on Sunday? Who's going to feed my dogs? Etc., etc. Then I feel trapped...like I can't leave. Yeah, it's my own fault, but it's been a real problem for me to feel 'free' to just go...anywhere. And it didn't help that - at my old job - I had to put so much work into preparing for leaving (the weeks before and week after), that I didnt' feel like I'd really had a vacation since I wound up cramming those lost 40 hours into the previous week anyway. Sheesh.
But I need to get away for a few days. So I'm just going. Away from Decatur. Away from 'routine.' A chance to re-focus...relax... To sit on a balcony, look at the beach, feel the wind off the surf, and not have to worry about ANYTHING. 7 days and 6 nights of ocean. Starting Saturday.
Funny thing is, I'm not a big 'get-in-the-ocean' person. I don't mind getting in the water, but I mostly just like the atmosphere - 'ambience' if you will - of being on the coast. I love the sound of the waves. I love the relaxed feel of the places to hang out and eat...or just hang out. I love the smell of the salt on the air. And, spiritually, there's something moving about standing there on the land's end staring out at where the endless ocean meets the star-filled sky above it at night...I've had some of my most 'connected-with-God' moments standing on a beach at night just...thinking...meditating...praying...
And knowing this is coming in a few days can make me feel better about the car expense and the current state of my sinuses.
True dat.
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