Back In The Mix

What! No posts have been made since last Sunday? No new content?

This is blog suicide!

Well, more realistically, it resembles a thought loop I’ve been stuck in all week. Some of you have most-likely been here at some point. At home, there are more critical tasks, such as helping S with the baby and giving her a break, I convince myself that “I’ll do it at work”. Once I’m at my desk the next day, I get sucked into work tasks and say to myself “I’ll do it at home”. Then before I knew what happened, an entire workweek has passed! At any rate – TGIF!

This has been a challenging week. First off, it was difficult to get back into “the swing of things” after a 2 week break. Of course the first day back was near useless for everyone I work with. Similar to the first day of school, most water cooler conversations began the same way…”How was your shut down? What did you do?” Nobody really pushed it that first day back.

I was surprised to witness so many people say the same things. Here are some examples:

- “It was so great to have time off, even though we didn’t really go anywhere”
- “That was so much better that dotting the calendar with 3-day breaks that don’t result in the true goal – recharging”
- “I never would’ve taken 2 weeks off, if left to my own choosing”
- “It felt great to slow down. Usually when we take a vacation, we travel. This time we just stayed home”
- “I’ve never taken 2 straight weeks of vacation since I began working”

Above all, I’d say it was a successful 2 weeks for us, and we look forward to it again next year, assuming the high probability that it will be offered up for employees again.

To recap the time spent home on our “summer vacation”, here’s a list of some of my own personal observations. Some of these we already known, but it was enjoyable to “learn” them again:

• Going to the dentist is a LOT more enjoyable when you leave work early on a weekday rather than going during vacation!

• Doritos now produce a TON of different flavors and, when on sale at $2 a bag, it feels like an official summer to try some of them out! Not bad at all, but even the Spicy Habanero flavor isn’t as hot as I’d like them to be!

• Turner Classic Movies rock! Ellena and I had quite a tradition of catching the early programs (read: anywhere from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM) while we gave S a break to catch up on some well deserved sleep. What we found is we really love comedies from the 60’s. Check out www.tcm.com for more information. The site alone is worth the visit.

• The movie Fun with Dick & Jane is very creative, but a little too scary for these economic times.

• Pulling weeds in the early morning sun, while the grass is still dew-covered, can make a person feel retired. Rare enjoyable moment – waiving good morning to your neighbors while wearing no shoes and holding a bad of weeds as they drive off to work.

• Tom Hanks really nailed his role as a 13 year old boy surviving in a 30 year old body in the 80’s comedy, BIG.

• Changing diapers is easy, and to be honest with you, I think I’m pretty good at it. In my own personal search for God-given talents, I question – Is this one of them?

• Drew Carrey doesn’t do Plinko justice on The Price Is Right.

• Bug spray should always be applied before a fireworks show - always. If ignored, it’ll be simply too distracting to enjoy the celebration.

• Making cookies from scratch isn’t nearly as simple as using these quick packages of “ready-to-go” dough, although it’s more rewarding in 2 ways, both in the feeling of accomplishment and also in the consumption of lots of “extra” raw dough.