Nothing like time to give you a little perspective. I wasn't completely sure if my staycay worked in the way I intended it to, 'worked' meaning that I wanted to emerge fresh, relaxed, enlightened and having experienced new things. I definitely experienced new things and I really had no choice but to be relaxed having been away from the daily grind for two weeks.
Fresh? I wasn't so sure. Then I returned to work last week and realized that YES, I was fresh as a freakin' daisy. Everyone said I looked great and did I get a haircut? (Yep.) Had I lost weight? (Um, no.) Most importantly, any and all work and personal life weirdnesses were rolling off me like water off a duck's back.
Enlightened? Hmm... I'd say I'm only as enlightened as I ever get on my vacations, which is more a matter of realigning priorities that have gone out of whack. It feels good to realize that I need to give my existing, more local friendships some TLC rather than putting all my energy into making new friends. It feels good to remember that both romance and a little bit of independence is of upmost importance to keeping my marriage happy and thriving. It feels good to discover that (re)trying new things, especially art-oriented, makes me feel alive and accomplished. And hey, it feels good to pamper myself by doing things that I like!
Speaking of things I liked... here are The Top Five Things I Liked About Staycay, in a very particular order.
- Being able to wear the same thing for days in a row
Gone is the keeping up appearances thing that comes with having to go to work everyday, where someone may or may not be watching to see that my wardrobe carefully varies from day to day. (But let's face it: the only person that's monitoring me is, well, me.) Also, Staycation seemed somehow more kind to the cleanliness level of my clothes than work is, and I'm speaking particularly about those tops that were new (ie. sprayed by manufacturer with toxic but highly effective water- and dirt-repelling substance). Mostly though, why endure a waiting period to once again don that fabulous outfit you put together yesterday? Just wear it again today. But, DO drape a dish towel over your chest and lap whilst eating burritos or else your cute outfit could go up in flames and you'll have to create a new one. - Inspiration for photography again!
It's been a long time since I've actually wanted to take photos. It's been a long time since the things around me seemed interesting enough that I wanted to capture them on film (er, pixels). The best thing was looking at the small body of work I did during Staycay and seeing that I still have my "voice". For me the line is thin between snapshot and art, which is the point of view I developed in university, and I could not be more proud to see that it's still going strong 12 years later and even after a long lull. I feel like I'm cheating on my nice camera - and on Photography, capital P, in general - by using my iPhone, and in particular the Hipstamatic application, but I'm going to forgive myself for that. I've always loved making the lo-fi camera and it's output work for me. - Great food, yummy food, fresh food, tummy food
Eating is awesome, particularly when you do it from a genuine and enjoyable place. I discovered that I love to eat when food is well-prepared, fresh and has a story. Or, in the case of Zona Rosa, if we have a lil' history together. I'm not ashamed of my love for fine food. Also: suck it Maggie Mason. I'll talk about what I ate for lunch all friggin' day long on my blog if I want to. (Just kidding... I think you have beautiful hair and write well and I stole your Life List idea, but that book title has always irked me.) - Going to bed when I felt like it, getting up when I felt like it
Well, duh. Lemme say this, though: I thought I'd veer into all kinda crazy territory like I did when I was a teenager on summer vacation, like when my mom's Wiccan friend told me I was clearly a witch because my most awake time was 2am (aka The Witching Hour), but I didn't. I went to bed by midnight most every night - because I was tired, not because I had to - and always woke up between 8:30-9am. It goes to show that your body's clock is smart and will right you when you let it. I felt very well rested. - Not listening to people bitch all day long
Aside from not having to listen to irritated coworkers, I also decided to tune out negativity from a variety of other sources. This includes, but is not limited to: myself (I get on jags, I admit it); my soul mates, both human and feline, on the occasion when they get crabby, hungry, want to play, etc (I love you with all my heart, though, it's all good!); certain NPR programming (I'm looking at YOU, Michael Krasny and your prolific exasperated sighs); the newsfeeds of a couple Facebook "friends" (no one reading this blog need worry); and, my mother-in-law (love her dearly but had to move on from the mama drama). The only downside to this is that now I've reentered the world and it is shocking how gripeful most people are.
Oh, and I've decided to keep this blog going eventhough my Staycay is over, as a way to keep myself motivated to try new things, get out in the world more, get out of my rut and get happy. I hope you'll join me on my ride. Stay tuned for another To Do list!
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