State of the Blogger (post-vacation staycation edition)

I'm awake. I'm yawning, but for first time in the near-week that I've been back, I haven't had that middle-of-the-night feeling during the day. That's a painful feeling, and it hasn't been awful this time around (for whatever reason--maybe because I'd adjusted more fully then and didn't have such a disorienting flight back--it was worse when I got back from Europe in June).

Normally, a full week off (my office closed this week) after more than two weeks off and before a few more days off might be too much for me, but I've really needed it. I did sign in to do some work today, and it actually felt good, and I've been periodically clearing out and dealing with work email. But I was such a mess before I left--the weekend before the trip, I...

-started Saturday morning with yoga, then
-swung by UPS to return half an order to Eddie Bauer, then
-swung by Ace to try to get a washer to fix my shower head, then
-participated in a parade, then
-dyed my hair, then
-delivered some pecans for the Smith club, then
-got my hair cut, then
-went to Home Depot, unsuccessfully, in further search of said washer, then
-got home and somehow tripped the fuse in my bedroom and adjacent room, which houses the internet router, and couldn't reset, and then spent the remainder of the evening trying to find an electrician who'd come out on a Sunday because I couldn't take more time off work before my trip.

-On Sunday, I ran a quick errand to stock up on cat food ahead to last my helpful cat-feeders throughout my trip, and asked the friend I'd be babysitting for whether she knew an electrician. She texted a friend whose husband was one, but he was swamped for weeks.
-Got home and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned.
-Friend dropped her daughter off around noon. I dropped off more pecans on the way to the playground.
-Friend picked up her daughter, and her friend offered her brother-in-law, who's also an electrician. He identified the issue (rogue lamp) and also fixed my outdoor outlet, and I didn't even care about the price because I was just happy to have power and internet again.
-Clean, clean, clean, clean, pack a bit. Crash.

The week, too, was a blur. I didn't pack each night as much as I should have, though I'd pre-packed (i.e., prepared stuff) a fair amount. I remember my dad asking me, maybe Tuesday night, whether I'd packed, and I remember saying, 'no but my kitchen is SPARKLING'). I got up early on Thursday and did laundry so I could leave the cat a clean bed, and then headed to the airport. I was on vacation.



Well, I was on a 12-hour flight to be followed by an 8-hour flight, but it wasn't too bad. ANA had decent movies, until they ran out. I watched "Girls Trip," which made me laugh, though I was sad that Luke Cage was being a dick (even though I was already mad at 'Luke Cage' because Rosario Dawson turned out to be a Bernie Bro). I watched Dunkirk, which was good and horrible. What else? One of the Planet of the Apes movies, and Tarzan on the way back to round out the ape theme. Also "Tangled" on the way back, which I really enjoyed, and "Finding Dory" which I initially eschewed because I found Dory annoying in Finding Nemo, but the movie was good, and I felt sappy for loving the Disney movies for the values they were promoting. The "mother" in "Tangled" shared some antics with mine. What else? A Filipino movie called "Can We Still Be Friends" that was enjoyable but struck a nerve in terms of what Ann Hornaday--in reference to "Celeste and Jesse Forever," which I enjoyed, and "Ruby Sparks," which I hated--characterized as women being punished for failing to accommodate the man-child in their life. The new Spider Man wasn't bad, Home Again was fine, "The Glass Castle" was excellent and horrifying, especially when I found out it was a true story. And how is Woody Harrelson in just about everything? I mean, good for him.

We got back not too late Friday evening, and it took me all weekend to get some food, sort through my unpacked stuff, and sort through my photos. Hell, I was sorting through my photos into this morning--in part because Apple and Google aggressively uploaded stuff and then downloaded it onto devices that didn't need it. This was the first time I took a bunch of live and motion photos, so I had to get photos of phones as well as the camera, and upload pictures as videos. I learned a lot of lessons about how to do it better in the future. I only finished blogging about the trip this afternoon.

What else have I done with myself? Installed the new shower head, acquired a fire pit from a neighbor who's moving away, fed some cats for another neighbor, made donations, sewed some buttons,  made some food, volunteered, worked out, dyed my hair, did yoga, got my devices sorted (bought a new iPad before I left, will give old one to my dad), paid bills, shopped for the sunglasses I lost, caught up on TV in the evenings, etc. Nothing I don't do in the course of a normal workweek. I wouldn't say it's been too much time off; it's been just right.

After the staycation, I'm going to see my dad for the holiday. By the time I get back mid-week, I'll be ready to work my ass off again.