Hello Grind, It's Me Again

Here I am. Back at it.

The project that was supposed to go out the week I was on Vacation, got delayed, so immediately upon my return, I was plunged into the Deadline Zone working long hours to get the drawings out the door. After having a week of long leisurely days doing a whole lotta nothing, this was a cruel shock to my system.

Vacations are like anesthesia, they should wear off gradually, gently easing a person back into life’s routines. Being thrown abruptly back into stress and chaos effectively erases the week’s worth of serenity you carefully cultivated.

Sitting at my computer at 8:30 pm, working on dreaded elevator details and OR layouts, the memories of this begin to fade.



As I drive home on the dark deserted streets the calmness of Vacation ebbs to be replaced with anxious stomach acid and I have to try to remember this.



Eating dinner at my desk, again, while making sure dimensions are accurate, it’s difficult to recapture the sweetness of this.



Instead of schedules, sketches, lists, and contacts pinned up inside my cubicle walls, I think I should plaster it with these images of Vacation instead.












Vacation was lovely. We had ideal summer weather, which is highly unusual for Erie at any time of the year – even in summer. The beach house we rented came with its very own adorable private beach. The lake was cool and calm for most of our visit and it was such a soul satisfying treat to spend the day bobbing amongst the waves and tiny silver fish.

It was glorious waking up to the sound of waves instead of the sound of an alarm clock. Reading a good book on a beach chair, in the warm sun, with the waves lapping over your feet is truly one of life’s ultimate pleasures. One night we went to a late movie, afterwards returning to thick summer darkness and the ever-present sounds of the water. One evening we ate grilled fish, outside on the dock while the sun set slowly. One afternoon we nosily poked around a dusty, sweet-smelling used book store. We ate fresh corn, and beans, and tomatoes and zucchini from my grandparent’s garden.

We were able to enjoy our friends and family without the burden of time constraints or holiday obligations.

By the end of the week, I was ready to head home, to my own bed, to my fuzz-butts, to my neighborhood and my unfinished house. And I’m happy to be back. I just miss the joyful simplicity of Vacation. The peace that comes from an unhurried pace.

Time for Vacay*

Tomorrow morning at 5:00 (yes, 5 A.-fucking-M.), Danielson and I will be driving the 10 hours to my hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. Woo hoo!

I am very excited about this for a couple of reasons:

1. I REALLY need time away from my job right now. I've been feeling pretty burnt-out/despondent the past month. I'm tired of deadlines. I'm tired of OR layouts, and ED headwalls. I'm tired of Revit. I'm tired of my office. I just need a break, OKAY!? *deep breath* In through the nose...out through the mouth...

2. We will have an entire week in Erie. This is unprecedented. Typically if I venture to Erie, it is not only during a major holiday, but it is also only for a few days in which I am staying with friends or family, and basically running non-stop in an effort to see everyone. It's always fairly exhausting.

Not this time, my friend. This time, we will be renting a beach house all to ourselves. Sweet. AND we're going at a time when there is nothing else going on. No Christmas. No Fourth of July. No long Labor Day weekend. We will actually be able to spend leisurely days together and then enjoy our friends and families in the evenings. We don't have to make excessive plans in order to fit everyone in...we can just play it by ear. Which is exactly how I like to play it.


Even though it's a long drive, I'm looking forward to it. I like road trips. And, we just bought a new car, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of gas mileage we get. We traded in my old V8 Oldsmobile for a new Nissan Versa (meep meep!). And no, we did not qualify for the Cash for Clunkers program. It was just the right thing to do and the right time (for us) to do it. We'd been talking about getting a fuel-efficient vehicle for a while now and when we test drove the Versa, we just really liked it.

I can play with the satellite radio the whole way there - bonus! Plus, we're breaking up the drive a bit with a brief layover in Columbus Ohio to have lunch with Daniel's brother and nieces (commonly referred to as "Jimnthegirls").

Erie - Here We Come!

* that's for you, honey! ;) (psst! Danielson gets annoyed with "words" like "vacay"...and sometimes it's just too damn hard to resist annoying him by using "words" like "vacay")