Vacation prep

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N! That’s right, vacation is imminent and preparations are in full swing. About this time on Wednesday I’ll…um…OK, I’ll probably still be on a plane. But I’ll be really really close to landing at Dulles and I’ll already be many hours into my precious time off…

I enjoy my job, but that doesn’t mean the twelve hour days don’t wear me down a bit. A girl, she needs a break from time to time. After the past seven months or so I think I’ve earned a few days of respite.

It occurs to me that a vacation is not really a break from the many months preceding it. Rather, it’s a break from the scant few days leading up to it. Those few days when you’re madly scrambling around trying to tie off loose ends in all aspects of your life. Who will feed and medicate Moira? Who will wrangle the off-shore contractors? Are all travel arrangements in order? Have all the questions of the Sales VP been answered? What music will be brought? Good god what in the hell is going on with the August release?

Ah, yes. Never a dull moment. This past weekend was like a little warm-up for the week off which starts on Wednesday. Sure, I did a lot and spent a lot of time working. But I also slept almost twelve whole hours. And that was on TWO nights in a row. Can you believe that? It’s unprecedented. It was, dare I say, downright blissful and thanks to those two nights my appetite has been whetted for the week to come.

So now I’m in the final 24 hours of preparation before the trip. Thankfully I’m low maintenance and pack astonishingly light[*], so that’s not a concern. I’m likely to bring more media (books, music, podcasts) than clothes. The laptop? Staying home. I admit that it freaks me out to be separated from my lifeline for an entire week, but I begrudgingly acknowledge that it’s for the best. After all, it’s not like I’m a foreigner to the concept. Normally at this time of year I would be in the back woods somewhere, far from a cellular tower let alone a wireless access point. No, it will be good to unplug for a while. Yes, I’m trying to convince myself. The friend with whom I’m staying has net access, so it’s not like I’m going cold turkey. I’ll likely be checking in from time to time.

So unless I get bored in the next 24 hours (HA!), the next time I post it’ll either be from the lovely (if muggy) East Coast or I’ll have recently returned thence, full of tales and photos of the capital of this country of ours.

*: Everything fits in a meagre carry-on backpack, avoiding the need to check (read: lose) luggage. The general principle of packing: If you find yourself asking, “Will I need X?” then you don’t. Leave it out. If you really really end up needing it on your trip you can either borrow it, buy it, or bloody well live without. Just don’t pack the damn thing, for crying out loud.