I Am Away Right Now

Hi, I am away now and can't take your call. I will be back within a couple weeks. Please leave a message and I will respond when I return. I am currently somewhere in Northern Africa, and may not have direct access to my email. Should your matter be urgent, have a beer and relax. It is vacation time after all.

That's it! Vacation time has finally hit us. I am not working. And my brain has shut off. As you are reading this I may be sipping mint tea, or travelling on some camel. I may even be sleeping by the pool, watching TV or dancing in a disco. Maybe I am downhill skiing. 

Vacation

Tell Your Vacation Story

Oh those last couple of weeks before vacation starts seem to last forever. The days at work grow longer and the nights feel shorter. I am not referring to the summer solstice. These last couple weeks were especially brutal.

A colleague came back from vacation the other day. Ten days in the sand in the sun with her family. She said it was great to be away, great to forget about work.
With my last few days in the office winding down, I'm trying not to forget to soon.


Last year I made a list of things to do on vacation. Now, with my vacation imminent, the list is short.

• Dentist
• Garage
• Beach

Oh, and maybe vacuum.

Chatham Lighthouse Beach, Cape Code, Massachesetts

This year my passport is ready and I could care less about renovations. Work doesn't suck as much as last year. And, the girlfriend entered the picture. Having a girlfriend changes many things.

No more planning around myself, no more making up my mind on the fly. Now, its making plans with someone. Wow. I finally have direction in life.

Or is that directions?

Here is the complete list of stuff that I may do if I ever get around to it

• Paint my balcony
• Paint my bathroom
• Get rid of old clothes
• Get rid of junk in my closets
• Get rid of old papers

But since I will be on the road for ten of the fourteen days, I don't expect much to be accomplished once vacation is over. I have asked Joe Bunga to watch over the site while I am away. I may still post but will be focused more on relaxing with my girlfriend, and the beach.

Vacation Daze

The vacation had to come to an end eventually. It is a magnificent day, sunshine and 30 degrees Canadian Celsius, or 86 degrees American Fahrenheit. I can't complain about the day, I will complain about returning to work on Monday. The two weeks off were truly enjoyable. I rested, relaxed, and did what I wanted. It is not enough. I want a third week. Now. Unfortunately, I will have to wait until November. Fortunately, I have another week coming to me, and it is not all that far off. And just as the cold hits the north, I will be hitting the south. Aside from rest and relaxation, my vacation was filled with chores, errands, alcohol and lists.
I made a list of things to do on my vacation. I have since added to it and removed a couple items.

• Shave my head. - Done.
• Don't shave my face. - I lasted 10 days. What with a funeral and a date, I had to clean myself up. And no, the date wasn't to the funeral.

• Finish building my bar - Almost there. Need one more item. 99% complete. I need a curtain. It looks awesome. And even at this early stage, my drinking efficiency has gone up by 17%. The photos are below. The photos of the bar, not of me drinking.
• Buy and Install curtains - Done! When your windows are 72" wide, curtains are not easy to come by.
• Plaster and paint my bathroom - my bathroom doesn't really need it. I don't where I got this idea.
• Go to Toronto - Yeah, well, that didn't work out. It's the five and 1/2 hour ride that keeps getting in the way of going. Yes, I will have to make some apologies.
• Go to Ottawa - It was only two hours away and it is family. And I ate at The Works (a review on Monday).
• Go mountain climbing - That didn't work out either. But I did walk a lot. And I can see Mount Royal from my balcony.
• Write for my Blog - With more time on my hands I was able to be more consistent and, I got started on some stories and came up with a few ideas for those times when I hit a creative wall.
• Ride my bike - I found it. Cleaned it. Rode it. Not enough. It's a start. Rode it this morning in the sweltering heat. 
• Buy a new car - I forgot about this. No, really. Getting into my piece of junk every day should be a proper reminder. Better conduct my research.
• Make a list - Didn't get around to it. Oh wait, this is one. Actually I made a couple. Some lists only had one item but lists nonetheless. 
• Repair my car stereo. I guess I forgot about everything to do with my car.  I will Google the instructions. I've already got the tools. Hammer? Check. Screwdriver? Check. Another hammer? Check? Um... what the hell is this? A wrenchy looking thingy? Check. 
• Build my bar - 99% complete. I used my knowledge of tools. My knowledge of bars. My hard earned skills in alcohol disposal, my possession of wood (I was going to write 'I've got wood', but chose not to.) Here are the photos.



Step 1 - Open Closet Door

I have tons of closet space. Too much for a single guy. Why not convert the one in the den into a bar? No reason not to.

Wood from an old Bookcase

Put it together, bolt it to the wall, cover the wood. Hang the shelves. And stock the bar...

Built-in Wet Bar

The wine rack won't end up at bottom but it looks good there until I put on the final touches.

I need to install the curtain on the bottom shelf.

Prior to putting the bar together I conducted some research. Mostly, to look for ideas on an ideal layout. Unfortunately, not too many people had much in the line of closets converted to bars. Rather than starting from scratch, I took apart an old bookcase and rebuilt it to my specifications. Refinishing the wood ended up being the easy part, I just had to find the ideal material. All done. And technically my vacation ended yesterday, today is just the weekend.

I'm on Vacation

This is What I Think of Work Right Now

I'm on Vacation! This has been one of the longest and most difficult weeks I have experienced at work and I questioned, at first tongue in cheek and then, in reality, if I would even make it until today. I did. After a week where I logged 52 and 1/2 hours in the office covering for the ineptitude and laziness of other people, I am done. A couple beers, a pizza, the TV and my computer will be the perfect start. Tomorrow is another day.

What to do on my vacation? I will finish all the beer in my fridge. I may go out of town. I may not. Montreal is awesome in the summer so I will try to take it all in over the next two weeks.
Things I might do on my vacation:

• Shave my head
• Finish building my bar.
• Plaster and paint my bathroom.
• Go to Toronto.
• Go to Ottawa.
• Go mountain climbing.
• Write for my Blog.
• Ride my bike.
• Buy a new car.
• Make a list.

Truly, Montreal is awesome in the summer so I am reluctant to go far. A Toronto-Ottawa long weekend to visit friends and family may be in the cards. Perhaps mountain climbing or hiking in in Ontario, Quebec, New York or Vermont. 

If I can find and buy the rest of the supplies, I can finish building my wet bar. I am in the process of converting a closet into a built-in bar. Once complete, I will be a much more efficient drinker as, I will not have to walk all the way to the kitchen between drinks, thereby cutting my travel time by two-thirds.

The Figurative Me, Free At Last, On Vacation

I have been sitting in front of the computer and on my butt for too long. Time to get back into shape. I need to do some road work and remove that outer layer of flab. I am sure I still have a six pack in there somewhere.

My car has also seen better days. I would need to put $2000 into repairs. After eight years I think it would be wiser to invest the cash in a down payment. Every car I have purchased has been an upgrade over the previous. It is time to scale back. I have always felt that a car is meant for transportation only. So as long as the vehicle is comfortable, safe and efficient there is no reason to sink a ton of money into a purchase of a flashy pretty little thing. I'd rather sink my money into a home, or a flashy pretty little thing called a girlfriend. I will be doing some research trying to find the cheapest, most fuel efficient, sturdiest, safest mid-sized masculine car that I can find. And hopefully, I will save enough and earn enough that sometime in my 50s - all those years away - I will be able to afford a Jaguar. Of course I will be checking in and writing to my blog every couple days.