The Proper Use of Downtime

Following the lovely madness that was the Joss in June conference (and we're still in the "wrapping up" stage of that project as we collect comments from attendees and make some decisions about ongoing "best practices" for convening a conference) and the end of my two summer school classes, FryDaddy and I had decided to take some time off in July.  Some of that time is going to be devoted to a couple of home improvement projects that we've wanted to do for two years (funny how that works, isn't it?), but we also knew we needed a getaway to have a chunk of time that was devoted just to us.

I highly recommend it.  In our case, it wasn't expensive - remember that I work for a public educational institution in a state that is at the bottom of the barrel in terms of pay scale and FryDaddy is a grad student, so luxury vacations for us are something quite different than they may be for others - and it was wonderful.  Since I was a little girl, my parents have had a beach place at the upper end of the Redneck Riviera.  It's a 1960s motel that was cut up into condos (complete with knotty pine ceilings!) and, with a little planning ahead, we can usually get some time down there in summer.  This time, my sister was down with her two youngest.  (Other members of the family come and go, but my niece is doing a gymnastics camp, so she and my sister are the constants in July.)  Our schedules don't usually permit much down time to visit - we live about two hours apart and we're both insanely busy, so our visits are usually the stuff of holidays.

This was nice.

I still have trouble unplugging as much as I want to (and as much as I should, to be honest), but I did all right.  I kept up with my newfound resolution to exercise thanks to YouTube videos and a willingness to look a little foolish in the living room.  We also took our youngest nephew to see Despicable Me 2 and got him totally sugared up on Slushies and Nerds.  I had a walk on the beach with my niece during which she explained the intricacies of her level of gymnastics.  All of us worked on a gigantic puzzle that was bigger than the table it was laid out on.  There was sand, and sun, and surf.  There was coffee savored in the porch swing.  There were days that started closer to lunchtime.  There were bookstores to explore when it rained torrentially.  And there was that most precious of commodities - time.

Don't overlook that.  Time.  You don't know how much of it you get and, to my knowledge, on their deathbed, no one has ever said, "If only I'd spent more time at the office."  Yes, work matters, but remembering why you bother in the first place - that ought to be at the top of the list every single day.

About That Getaway . . .

In my last post, I listed "say 'yes' to something spontaneous and slightly crazy" as a way to pamper myself in my continuing quest to both enjoy life more and avoid burnout.  I said I'd go into more detail about that in this post.  Well, my idea of "spontaneous and slightly crazy" was put into motion by the incomparable FryDaddy, whose talent for knowing my moods and indulging my whims is nigh-uncanny.  He'd made a few plans and we'd tweaked them a bit, due to a prior commitment I had at school (New Student Orientation and Sushi Buffet Fish Fry Open House) and off we went for a whirlwind getaway to Durham, which was the only town in North Carolina to possess a theatre showing Joss Whedon's adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. (Turns out we were wrong about that, but by the time we knew that, we were already having fun in Durham, so there it is.)

When I say "whirlwind," I mean it.  We got to Duke Tower around 7 pm on Thursday and left by 8 am Saturday (remember the Sushi Buffet Fish Fry Open House?), so it was a short getaway, but all hands agree - it was a successful, much-needed one.

Highlights include:

• Duke Tower itself.  This hotel/condo establishment was created from an old cotton mill - they kept one of the smokestacks and the old fire tower is now the site of a breakfast cafe.  (We slept in and missed it, but maybe next time.  And we hope there's a next time!)  The Tower caters to long-term guests - corporate execs, folks participating in various programs at Duke University Hospital, that sort of thing.  For the cost of a room, you get an apartment - good-sized living room, full kitchen and bath, and a nice-sized bedroom with plenty of closet space.  It's an older property and the shower head was low enough that I had to buckle my knees a bit and poor FryDaddy whacked his nose pretty well at least once.  All rooms overlook the central courtyard, which features a pool (very romantic on a warm summer's night), plenty of shaded sitting areas with comfy chairs, an oversized chess set (the pieces were about knee-high on an adult), shuffleboard, and even a nine-hole miniature golf course! FryDaddy had carefully packed provisions and equipment and we had a lovely flank steak dinner cooked "at home" that first night.
• Much Ado about Nothing.  I'm an unashamed Whedon fan and I was stoked for this movie!  Full review details are found here, but suffice it to say it was worth a three-hour drive.  If you think Shakespeare is not for you, I beseech you - give this one a try.  The language sounds natural and the comedy is full and rich.  Give yourself a break from the boomboomblowemup and try this screwball comedy.
• Seeing old friends - we got together with a dear friend who we don't get to see that often for dinner and the movie and (mostly) I managed to not talk about work.  Gotta continue to work on that.
• Dinner with said old friend.  The hotel recommended Pop's, an Italian-style trattoria close to both the hotel and the theatre (more on that in a moment).  It turned out to be an excellent suggestion!  Pop's is the sort of restaurant that is upscale-scrumptious without being snooty-snobbish.  They pride themselves on local ingredients and the difference is obvious.  It was so delicious that FryDaddy and I returned for dessert after the show, where we managed to convince the amused wait staff to let us talk with the chef/owner Chris Stinnett.  Our goal was not only to compliment the food and service (which richly deserved the "attaboy"), but also to ask if we could buy a couple of the heavy diner-style coffee mugs.  Duke Tower is great, but the coffee cups are smallish and we are full members of the Caffeinated Tribe.  Chef Chris was taken aback, but graciously acquiesced to our wackadoodle request.  Seriously.  Pop's.  Go there.
• The Carolina Theatre.  Much Ado was playing in a small screening room and it was marvelous to watch this movie with an audience of like-minded folk (who also understood that YOU TURN OFF YOUR PHONE DURING A MOVIE.  Sorry.  Pet peeve).  The Carolina is a theatre for movie fans.  They also have live shows, but just check out their movie offerings - and don't overlook their "special screenings."  Great stuff, picked by people who know their films.

Sure, I wish the trip had been longer - but boy-howdy! - am I glad we took what we could!

Thanks, FryDaddy.  I continue to maintain that you're the best decision I ever made.

One Month Check In

Gold Star Days!

A month ago, I listed mock resolutions and then my real ones.  I thought now was a good time to check in with all of you as a way of keeping myself accountable (a word I use a lot these days!).  After all, the semester has started and is has nearly found its rhythm - let's see if it's one I can dance to.

So about the "eat better" part - I actually seem to be doing pretty well on this one.  Way more water and far less caffeine.  I chucked everything for my birthday weekend, but have still managed to lose 5 pounds this month without all that much effort.  Tracking my food on MyFitnessPal also keeps me accountable and I like that it's synced up with Striiv to keep track of my exercise calories.

Speaking of exercise, I started getting serious with the step count.  I like walking, so I decided to make it my primary exercise - it's cheap, easy, and doesn't require extra equipment (although I carry around the iPad with the Striiv app, since I have an older, "non-smart" phone).  I started the first week of January with a modest goal of 6,000 steps a day and have increased it by 500 steps a week, which means that I'm currently at a daily goal of 8,000 steps (with my stride, that's about 3.3 miles).  I'm sticking at 8,000 for the month of February to solidify the habit, then I hope to increase some more with the idea of eventually hitting 10,000 steps a day as a regular thing.

As to the house - well, it's a funny thing.  I was leafing through books over the holidays and my eye was caught by something called Body Clutter.  As I skimmed through it (and it's on my nightstand now), I discovered a whole organizational system called FlyLady.  What so attracted me to this was the idea that you don't have to get everything done today; in fact, don't try that - you'll scorch out and be in a worse place than you were before.  Just take baby steps and start with shining your sink.  I know - crazy, right?  My house is in chaos and you want me to fuss over the sink?!?  Yep.  I figured it wouldn't work, but that I could at least try so I could SAY it didn't work but - holy cow.  It really does.  Having that one little thing done right makes a spot of clarity in the house and you can work out from there.  While there's still plenty to get done, I have two closets straightened and I've become Goodwill's new best friend as started the de-cluttering process.  And my sink is shined, thankyouverymuch.

Travel - well, not so much just yet.  I haven't even gotten back up to see FryDaddy in Johnson City, although he's faithfully made the trip down here.  Weather's been iffy going over the mountains and his schedule allows for longer weekends than mine.  We're hoping to plan some designated "play time" this year - maybe with some time at the beach, maybe with some non-working time in the mountains.  The important thing is that we're planning it.

I just have to tell you - one thing I'm doing to keep myself motivated during this "Year Of Change" is a habit from kindergarten.  I went to the dollar store and bought a slew of those foil stars.  At the end of every day, if I've made my goals, I get a gold one on the calendar.  If I didn't make all of them, it's green - hey, I tried and that's worth a star in any event!  In January, my "gold star" was earned for accomplishing three things - shining the sink, reaching my step goal with my walking, and drinking my 8 glasses of water a day.  A silly system, maybe, but I only had 2 "green star" days all month!

Not bad at all for Month 1!

If I Can Make It There . . .

So a couple of weeks ago, the Great New York Adventure was commenced.  You already know how this trip came to be (if you've forgotten, I wrote about it here), so I thought you just might be interested to know how things went.

The secret of the trip was kept - my niece knew nothing about the trip until she had been whisked out of a last-period test to go to the airport - and I arrived at the airport just a few minutes after the rest of the crew, who shall now be known simply as Sister, Niece, and Mom.  Niece was about to shimmy with excitement at the mere thought of going to New York.  I still had a reservation or two, but I was resolved.  I took my iPad, but not my computer, determined to vacation and not work.  My classes would be fine.  (I will admit that I repeated that a few times over the next few days.) Sister had planned things very carefully, while still allowing for last-minute changes of plan.  Niece had made up her list of things she really wanted to do whilst in New York,  knowing that the trip would happen someday - I'm proud to say we hit every one of them, or at least came close enough to make her mark it as a hit.

So what did we do?  Walked a lot, that I can tell you!  We stayed out by LaGuardia (Queens) and got to know the bus and subway system - which really isn't (a) hard or (b) dangerous.  While I'm on that note, let me sing the praises of New Yorkers.  Keep in mind that we took our trip not two weeks after Superstorm Sandy had tap-danced all over the Tri-State area (the Statue of Liberty is still closed from Sandy - we took the free Staten Island Ferry to get our harbor view).  Garbage was piled up, since city sanitation trucks had been diverted from usual "pick up bagged trash" duty to "pick up house-sized heaps of what had been houses."  The tourist areas of Manhattan were up and running, but our hotel was full of FEMA types making appointments to see homeowners who had lost everything - especially hard hit areas included Staten Island and parts of Long Island.  Yet - and this is very important - everyone went out of their way to help us.  (Well, the lone exception might be the guy cadging change from us on a street corner in Flushing who compared me to Sharon Osbourne.  It was our first night in the city and we missed our stop and had to wait a good long while for the bus.  Safe to say, we stuck out a bit to the after midnight crowd.  No one hassled us, but it was clear that we were Not From Around Here.)  Seriously - all the bunk about New Yorkers being rude, short-tempered, and having no time for anyone else - disregard.  People helped us figure out which way we needed to go to get to the museum, how to put more money on a subway pass, how to USE a subway pass, etc., etc.  New York - it's a great city and go see it!

And don't be shy about playing tourist!  New York is one of the greatest cities in the world - dive into it!  We took a carriage ride in Central Park (pulled by a horse named "Charley" - get the joke?), we took one of those hop-on/hop-off bus tours to get an overall feel for at least part of Manhattan, and we gawked.  We gawked at the view from "Top of the Rock," we gawked at the twinkly Christmas lights strung up in Saks Fifth Avenue, we gawked at the sheer mass of humanity in (the now Disneyfied and perfectly safe) Times Square, we even stepped into the Gilded Age glory of the lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria to gawk.  We took in the Broadway production of Wicked and even cynical backstage me got lost in the magic and the wonder.  We saw progress on the Freedom Tower which is being built on the site of the vanished Twin Towers and made an unexpected stop by St. Paul's, the oldest church in Manhattan which became a staging site for recovery efforts following 9/11.  (Make a point of going there.)  We took in both the Museum of Modern Art (sigh - "Starry Night" and a early version of Munch's "The Scream") and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (really - there just wasn't enough time.)  We took in the Lindt chocolate store (I joined the club) which is next door to the Swarovski crystal store (where I bought a pair of sparkly earrings that I will probably wear nearly every single day to justify how much I spent!)  Niece also spent hours in the American Girl doll store, blissed out of her gourd.  And all of us discovered how much fun a wax museum can be.  History, culture, and commerce - we hit it all!

Yeah, I missed a day of work.

But I didn't miss this trip and, by any scale you care to use, I believe I made the right call when it mattered.