12:05 p.m. - 2003-07-15
travelling...
You know what I�ve decided? It�s been far too long since I took a trip somewhere.
Fortunately, I�ve got a small one coming up. Two weeks in Ireland/Scotland/England, and while I am definitely looking forward to the trip, it�s just such a different dynamic from anything I�ve done before.
First off, I�m going with people. Any major trip that I�ve done before have been solo jobs, and this is for two reasons: the first being that I didn�t really know anyone close enough to me who wanted to come along, and the second being I�m a bit of a control freak and doing it on my own meant not having to answer to somebody else when it came to decision making time. I could go where I wanted, when I wanted with whom I wanted and I didn�t have to consult or concede to anyone else. It was, in many ways, perfect for me.
It�s also fairly short. My record for consecutive days of being away from home is about 88 (12 weeks or almost 3 months). I know this because I calculated it out in a moment of extreme homesickness while in the UK. So, doing three countries in 2 weeks is going to be a bit of a whirlwind tour. I�ve already figured out that I won�t be spending more than one night in any city for 9 days in a row. This isn�t so much a vacation as it is a different kind of work. Much more fulfilling work, I�ll give it that.
There�s also the fact that I�ve been to all of the countries before. Edinburgh and England I�ve done to death. Ireland, however, is the main attraction for me, since the weekend I spent there 5 years ago just didn�t quite cut it. And since the majority of my time will be spent there, it�s all good.
What�s especially good about this trip is that I get to see my pregnant sister-in-law�s belly. Unfortunately, plans for the two of them to come to Canada this summer were cancelled. Low-lying placentas and a freaked out brother were the main causes. So, as I�m going to be in the general area (i.e. country) I�m going to pop by Cambridge and visit. Otherwise, I wouldn�t see them until after the baby is born, and that just wouldn�t be right.
In any event, with all these differences, I think this trip is going to be quite a different experience for me. And a good one, at that. I get to do something I love with people that I have fun with and I get to sleep in my own bed sooner than later. I�ll let you know how it goes.
Also�speaking of travel, I was thinking about doing a cross-Canada road trip next summer. Me and the Wonder Wagon on the road exploring our home and native land.
Seeing as how I�ve been doing a bit of a marketing campaign with this here web site lately, anyone out there have any suggestions for a trip such as this? Anyone done it before? Any advice? Anything?
3:04 p.m. - 2003-07-10
bed time
First off, Mad Props go out to my fourth reader, Connie, who was so nice to include an entry in my little ol� Guestbook. Welcome!
Second, I would like to announce that I have been quite responsible this week with respect to my bedtime. I generally get up around 7 each weekday (I set my alarm for 7, I actually get out of bed at 7:30�evil, evil snooze bar). But I�m a night person. It�s when I have the most fun and get the most out of my day. Whether it�s vegetating myself in front of the television for a relaxing evening of nothingness or getting tanked with friends who don�t have to wake up early-early, the nighttime is My Time. And I hate missing it by having to go to bed.
Not that I don�t enjoy sleep, mind you. I am, to say the least, an avid Sleeper. I could spend, and have spent, most of the daytime sleeping. I don�t look forward to the weekend for time off work (especially since I generally work on weekends), what I look forward to, what gets my juices pumpin�, is the fact that I can SLEEP IN. Heavenly sleep in, I do worship thee.
But that�s my day thing. When it comes to My Time, I want to be conscious for it (in the case of my nights of tankedness, I want to be at least semi-conscious).
So, for a lengthy period of time, I wasn�t getting much sleep. Five maybe six hours at the most. It was a trying time, but I couldn�t help it. If it wasn�t bars, it was coffee or drive-ins or drinking my lonely self into a stupor in my non-air conditioned, no circulation apartment that I can�t smoke in. And I wasn�t making up for it on weekends. There was always something getting in the way of my adored sleep in time � gym, shopping, work, hangover, whatever.
This week, however, has been a different story.
Sunday � alright, a bad start. What was supposed to be 1 glass of wine at the bar after work turned into 5 (or was it 6?). Still, I was home by 12:30 am, in bed by 1, so it could have been a lot worse.
Monday � Coffee. Going for coffee basically means Kristen and I grabbing some Timmy�s and driving around aimlessly while trying to think of things to talk about. These can go on for quite a while (our record being the time we spontaneously drove to Niagara Falls and back). Nevertheless, this particular evening, I dropped Kristen off at the respectable hour of just after 11, was in bed by 12. And I was sober.
Tuesday � This was a tricky evening. My work (restaurant, not office) had organized a �Beer Tour� � basically it was a guy trying to sell his brand of beers on us so that we, as food and beverage industry workers, would sell it for them. We got free re-fillable beer and pizza, so who can complain? The gang eventually made their way over to the Madison, and while I was nowhere near sober that night, I did manage to get myself home and into bed by just after 12. A little groggy, but still well above functioning the next morning.
Wednesday � This was truly an evening of nothingness. As plans to go out drinking got cancelled (not in the least bit disappointed), I managed to get my sorry ass into bed by 11:15 pm. I don�t think it was even dark out yet, that�s how early it was. And I was sober. Again.
And that�s been my week of responsible going to bed. Tonight � no plans. No plans to make plans. No plans to accept plans that are offered. So, I�m thinking me-time - a bottle of wine and the remote control, baby. Ain�t this the life?
11:49 a.m. - 2003-07-08
a whole new me
You know what I�ve noticed?
Apparently, most of the webbloggers out there have no life.
No, seriously, I don�t mean this as some kind of rag on the Computer Literate thing, it�s just I�ve been visiting a lot of random diaries these past few days and about 4 out of every 5 have complaints that nothing interesting ever happens to them. So my question is�
If your life is so unexciting, then why the hell I�m I spending my good time reading about it?
I have to admit. I do the same thing. I suppose it�s because the computer/internet is such a good time killer. It�s what a lot of people do when there is nothing else to do. I mean, if my life were more exciting and filled with adventure, I probably wouldn�t give my computer the time of day. It would sit alone in the corner of my living room, keeping company with the TV that doesn�t get watched.
And if I had a more fulfilling and fascinating job, I probably wouldn�t goof off so much to look up these random entries of boredom or fill out my own.
But my life isn�t generally like that, or at least it doesn�t seem that way most of the time. So I sit in front of my computer, play a lot of free cell, and write on my little web diary that I have no life, nothing interesting ever happens, ho hum, poor me.
So, I�ve made a decision to stop doing that.
Now, when I write, I�m going to make sure that I write about something. Short, long, funny, sad, stupid, or just plain crazy, I�m no longer going to bore my (3) readers with tales of a sad, pathetic life, no matter how true it might be.
I might be gone for a while�
