2009-10-24
#2540 updates and the usual crapola, vacation version
Two entries ago, I was pondering what direction a possible road trip might take. That was Monday. Lots of possibilities, eventually going with southwest. I had a plan, kind of. Head out on the lake road toward Ohio, stop at Erie Bluffs State Park and let that spur me on to whatever else was in store. The Bluffs were underwhelming, just as I had remembered from my two previous visits and I headed on in a semi-aimless meander. I was only about 5 minutes into Ohio before deciding I didn't want to spend the whole day driving around looking for someplace to be and did a quick U-turn, heading back to Erie. Yeah, where I know every trail in town.
No, that's not a bad thing.
So, two weeks off and I barely leave town. And surprisingly, I don't feel I missed a damn thing. Yes, I would have liked to go to Ithaca, but I'm pretty sure I'll get there next summer, and very possibly again in the fall. Now? I have bills to pay and money to save and if I go conservative for a while, it isn't going to hurt. Besides, Wintergreen Gorge, Asbury Woods, and Presque Isle State Park proved to be very worthy.
AND, for a change, I spent time off getting caught up instead of burying myself further in a mountain of projects. Reading - done. Pictures - mostly caught up. Music - in good shape. WTF, my apartment is actually pretty cleaned up and organized. Yeah, I could have done worse.
Dell sent a guy to replace my CD/DVD burner today. They were quick to recognize that whatever the problem was, they weren't going to fix it with remote tweaks from India, and the guy they sent was in and out in about 10 minutes. 15 minutes later, I was playing a perfectly good CD. I've been holding back on music projects - now, I'm ready to rock, even if it is mostly folk/rock.
Lastly, I took a big step toward deciding what will replace my aging fleet, aka, the Saturn and the Supra, when the time is necessary. I've checked out Mini Coopers before, but only from the point of sitting in the front seat, not driving it. Today, that changed. No, I didn't buy anything. Didn't even pretend to be seriously (or imminently) interested, and the sales guy didn't pretend to know anything about the car, so it was a very non-pretentious ride. Cleveland (78 miles) is the closest Mini-franchise, but it is fairly common to see used Minis passing through dealerships here in Erie. Not a bad car, not at all. A little pricey, but they seem to hold up pretty well. Now that I know what I want, I can save some money and wait until the one I want passes through town.
I've been off for two weeks and tomorrow, I go back to work. As is typical, I always wonder how the hell I fit a 40-50 hour work week into my schedule. In other words, I can't really say what the hell I did over the last two weeks, but it apparently took all my time. I ate well, drank more than usual - which still isn't very much, got to relax and do things on my own time schedule, and basically, not let anything get in the way of what I felt like doing. Yeah, pretty much like every other day, except tomorrow, I won't be able to nod off for a late-afternoon power nap.
That's ok. Still gotta pay the bills, right?
steve out.
posted by swimmmer72 at 12:57 a.m.
mood:
top pic: Presque Isle - lagoons, from the Ridge Trail.
4 comments so far/go ahead, tell me something!!
p r e v i o u s l y
#2569 I don't live in a happy (?) state - 2009-12-20
#2568 discoveries - 2009-12-17
#2567 it's a donna day - 2009-12-16
#2566 it must be the wine - 2009-12-14
#2565 decisions - 2009-12-13