Vacation, all I ever wanted...

So today is my last day I have to go into the office until 2006. I’m not going to say my last day at work since I’m sure that, even on vacation, I’ll check my e-mail and such from time to time. However at about 6pm today I’m going to comfortably slip into a week-plus of full-time slacking.

Photogal’s departure to Africa to visit the C.I.A. agent her sister on Christmas Day makes my slacktitude possible. I love my gal dearly, but if she was in town I know that she would urge me to make me use my time off “constructively.” Instead, though, she will be 6964 nautical miles away and thoroughly unable to get me to do anything “constructive.”¹

So I’ve been sitting here this morning thinking of ways to spend my time off and have come up with the following list of possible activities. If I can’t go to Kenya I might as well take full advantage of the time alone, right?

• Get reacquainted with my DVD collection of all the Emma Peel episodes of The Avengers.
  
• Finally watch all the extended versions of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
  
• Drink. Fall down. Repeat.
  
• Grow a beard. Okay, maybe not.
  
• Get some serious writing done. Dream of grad school. Get some more writing done. Dream of book tour. Write some more.
  
• Record a podcast for donewaiting.
  
• DJ at innjoy on Friday December 30 for the eve of New Year’s Eve. Watch cute boys and girls dance.
  
• Oh yeah, and DJ at innjoy next Tuesday as well. Maybe I should make it a best of 2005 themed evening? Eh, we’ll see how I feel.
  
• Catch up on all my magazine reading. I like how every time the end is in sight (like yesterday morning) all of a sudden The Economist, New Yorker, Harper’s and Newsweek all decide to pop through the mail slot at the same time (like yesterday afternoon.)
  
• Read all of the books I’ve already partially devoured. Yes, I’m looking at you Mr Foster Wallace and Mr Eggers. And you Mr Tin House Collective.
  
• Four syllables. Home pedicure.
  
• Eat chocolate chip cookies.
  
• Finish compiling that Best Of list for donewaiting instead of constantly being guilty of procrastination in regards to that subject.
  
• Refuse to drive unless it is to see my mom and/or nephew.
  
• Find Jeff Tweedy. Kick him in the balls. Repeat until he promises to start writing good music again.
  
• Find the guys in Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Kick them in the balls. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
  
• Find Ryan. Shake some sense into him. Berate him for thrusting Clap Your hands Say Yeah on the world. Don’t forget the kick in the balls. Repeat.
  
• Get press release ready for the final Rockit Girl show.
  
• Get some serious puppy-lovin’ time in. I think Betty the Beagle and Lucy the Dog will be very happy to have me around so much.
  
• Make reservations at Bella Notte for New year’s Eve with Rudy and Josh. And their ladies. But not my lady.
  
• Find someone to kiss at midnight that night. Slowly allow it to sink in that that person may well be a drunken $in since he’ll be kissing anything in sight.
  
• Wombat.
  
• Get my snare drum and ride cymbal back. Playing the drums at Rudy’s last weekend put the bug back into my system and now is the perfect time to make noise while Photogal is so far away.
  
• Take out the garbage at least once.
  
• Teach myself Sanskrit, time allowing of course.
  
• Loaf.

¹By constructive I mean “fixing stuff up around the house and the two-flat she owns. You know, worthwhile uses of my time. But who wants to use their vacation in a worthwhile way? Not me!