Tag: Vacation

  • Last Day of Work Before Vacation

    There are a couple of things that I miss about working. I was lucky enough to have a couple of office experiences with some really great people, so to camaraderie of working with stealer people is one thing I miss. The other was working on a day before vacation starts. It was such a wasted day, and also a day that felt the closest to what the last day of school was like. (And for that matter, the feeling of the last day of school is the greatest feeling that I wish desperately that I could experience again… but alas… that is a story for another blog.) Sitting in an office, talking to co-workers about the pending holiday that we would all be off for, and just watching the minutes tick by was such a slow burn of boredom and anticipation wrapped in one. I don’t think I spilling the beans on the fact that in an office, no one, and I mean no one, works on the last day before vacation.

    There were so many times in the office, before Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or 4th of July, when we would spend the whole day just taking, swapping stories about families, and crazy things uncles and aunts would do after a bourbon or two. Bad Christmas gifts from siblings was a popular topic as well. A few times, I think before Christmas vacation, the office would head out to a bar and hang out for a couple drinks. Christmas lights and martini’s is a state of mind during the Holiday Season.

  • Busy Morning

    I wouldn’t say that I was dreading today, but I knew I had a lot to do. That was the reason that I didn’t sleep the best. Sure, there was a good/bad late movie on last night, which didn’t help.

    But, today was the last day of school for the kid, and there was a finely dusted glaze of excitement in our apartment this morning. The cusp of Summer vacation was upon us, and the kid was bubbling over with glee to get it all started. For us the parents, we needed to take the appropriate pictures of “The Last Day of School,” so we could compare them to the shots we took on the first day of school. There was a noticeable bit of nervousness in me as we all walked to school. Something about last days that fill me with melancholy and the feeling of saying goodbye to people you’d grown accustom to seeing daily. The kid bounded off with her friends into school. No one really works on the last day – it’s just a fart around day.

    My next task was to take the car in to be serviced. As Summer is almost here, we are about to start our serious driving season – traipsing around the Mid-Atlantic states, and New England as well. I never thought I would be the type of New Yorker who owned a car in the City, yet here I am. And as such, the responsibilities of car ownership are thrown on me – the maintaining of our car which requires that I drive it to the service center on the westside of Midtown. I like to take West End Avenue to get down there, as it’s an avenue, and an area of the City that I am never in. Full of big old apartment buildings that I’m guessing were built in the 1920’s or so. It is a land of doormen, and people who have to go to work, but well to do jobs, because these people have expensive bills. Like I said, it’s a part of New York I never go to, so I always feel like an explorer when I am there.

    Then to round out my morning, I hit up the Trader Joe’s on 93rd. In the mornings, the place is a mix of older people, and people who look like they just got done working out, and aren’t in a hurry to get to work. Usually, I’m in and out rather quickly. I don’t dottle as this isn’t my favorite chore. Today though, 93rd TJ’s music player was ripping it up with some forgotten 90’s rock. Yes! I am now their target demographic, and they are catering to me! About damn time! Awesome choice with the 311 – and maybe I was too harsh to them when they came out! “I Alone”!!! I haven’t heard that song in years. Alive was a great band! Remember Alive? Me either! Because their name is actually Live. Good memory, I have…

    Now home, it’s blog and making a Summer playlist for all the driving that I’ll be doing. Yes, Live and 311 might make the cut. Going to eat lunch and pick the kid up from school. Hopefully the rain will hold off so she can have some park time with her friends. I still have to make dinner, and start planning the rest of her vacation.

  • After Effects of a Vacation

    I read an article yesterday that most people are happier leading up to their vacation, than actually on their vacation. I took a second to think about that, and I knew that this was true. Yes, the best part of a vacation is counting down the days. Once you get where you are going, then everything goes sideways.

    This year, we talked to kid about this. How, the one of the best parts of being on vacation is when things do go wrong, because that is when you make new discoveries. I know that isn’t 100% true, but I wanted to plant the idea in her head that when things go wrong, it becomes an opportunity to try new and different things. I think it sort of worked. There wasn’t too much complaining, but the trade-off was that she wanted to spend a large amount of time on the family iPad.

    Oh well…

    But we did experience something new with the kid this year when we came home from vacation; she was a little depressed. The kid is seven now, and not little anymore, both physically and emotionally. We all have known that feeling of coming home from a vacation; if you had a good time, then there is that feeling of letdown; a little sadness of having to come home and go back to the old routine. That’s normal.

    This year was the first time that the kid experienced that. And she didn’t know what to do with these feelings. She was sad, sullen, and even had a little bit of a breakdown, and cried in her room for a bit. The wife and I talked, and made sure that we were on the same page on how to deal with this. The most important thing was not to make her feel ashamed for feeling sad. We let her tell us in her own way what was wrong, and let her just experience feeling bad. Then when she calmed down, we started talking about the fun we had, the memories we created, and what we should do with the rest of our summer.

    I know we can’t stop her from feeling bad, or sad, or experiencing emotions that are hard to put your finger on. But we can help her understand that having strong feelings is normal, and can be a good thing. And that there are constructive ways of dealing with them.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Tottenham Wins, Hiking, and Crypto

    (What time is it? SHOWTIME!!!)

    I have no faith in the sports teams I support. I blame the lifetime of following the Cubs for that. Yesterday, going in to the North London Derby, and even though Tottenham was playing at home, I was not confident that the Spurs would beat Arsenal. Clearly I was wrong, as the 3-0 win was rather resounding, and Harry Kane was playing like he had something to prove. Tottenham is still one point behind Arsenal for fourth place, and they have to win their final two matches, and hope that Arsenal ties or loses at least one match. Looking at the schedule, Arsenal is playing the more competitive teams, but Tottenham has a habit of playing badly against bottom of the table teams, which is what they will be facing in Burnley and Norwich. I still stand by, that if Tottenham doesn’t place fourth, thus not making it into the Champions League next year, Harry Kane is gone, and I will add that Conte will take off as well. So, there is a lot on the line.

    Tomorrow, Saturday the 14th, my little family kicks off Hiking Season 2022. I am actually very excited about this, as this will be our third year. I have a feeling that we are working our way up to going camping next season. (In fact, I was looking for a place to rent this summer for a vacation with the express purpose of being near hiking trails.) But in the meantime, we are aiming to go for two hikes a month through the end of October, and expanding our range to further from the City, and hiking trails longer that an hour. Soon, I’m going to be that guy that gets up at the crack of dawn on the weekend to get a jump on the day. Three years ago, I never thought I would be here, and excited about it as well.

    My crypto is tanking. But I will buy low and sell high. I have a cunning plan.

    (Say, don’t forget to like this post, or share it, or leave a comment. I got bills to pay, you know.)

  • ODDS and ENDS: FIFA Men’s World Cup, Easter, and Soup

    (Things I think…)

    The Men’s World Cup teams are pretty much locked in now. I know there are three play-off matches left to go, but, on the whole, the World Cup is set. I am glad that Team USA was able to make it in this time around. All they had to do was not lose to Costa Rica by more than six goals, so Team USA lost by two goals. It would have been nice to qualify with a win, but I’ll take what I can get. Also, it’s kind’a cool that all of North America will be represented; Canada, USA and Mexico will all be there. Which is a little bit funny as that Continental Trifecta will be hosting the 2026 Cup, and means they all get automatic bids as the host nations. I will be rooting for Team USA, but will also follow England. And I will keep my eye on Senegal; I got a good feeling about them. The only downside to all of this is that the tournament doesn’t kick off until November. I got eight months to sit on this, and do a grand amount of speculating.

    When my daughter got up this morning, she asked me, how soon till Easter? It’s almost here, and we, the wife and I that is, haven’t hand a single thought about it. We did talk, at the start of the year of getting out of town for that weekend, but I don’t think that’s likely. The kid, on the other hand, is ready for bunnies, and eggs, and going to see farm animals, and flowers, and candy. Lots and lots of candy. In my kid’s mind, I think she believes the year is divided up into periods where she receives candy.

    I like soup now.