human, being

One. I am on vacation — from work and from most of my online activities and from most TV and from most music. The past couple of days have been empty of forced sound, and I’ve loved hearing the things that are usually drowned out. Such as my windchimes, the voices of kids playing Marco Polo in the pool, birds singing, an airplane flying overhead, my daughter singing to herself in her room. I’m falling in love with quiet again.

Two. I’m beginning to think that Steve is cursed. Every time he builds up some cash, something big happens to wipe it out. Right now, his car warranty company is the culprit. We are having the car towed from the dealer to an indie shop, who will remove the engine and take it apart for a mere $750 (vs $1300 at Mike Shaw Saab, the vultures). Then the warranty company will send an inspector out to determine if his engine blew due to neglect on our part. Because the car is worth about $8,000, and rebuilding the engine is about $7,500, it’s likely that they will total the car and cut a check for what it would fetch at auction IF they find the engine blew due to no fault on our part. We may wind up out about $1,000, and still have to pay the fucking warranty’s monthly cost and still have to buy him a new car and still have to pay off the $7,000 he owes on the Saab. This situation is beyond fucked up, and we’re both scared about what will happen next.

Three. I don’t miss my job. I’m feeling a bit worried about my job, not being there, but I don’t miss it. I do, however, love the paycheck so I will be going back on Monday. But if I didn’t HAVE to, I wouldn’t.

Four. Today Lauren and I played three games of Clue. She won 2. She loves to be Miss Scarlet, as did I when I was a kid. She’s definitely the prettiest character–actually very sexy, with her cigarette holder and smoldering gaze–and she always gets to go first. We also rented two Wii games from Blockbuster: a putt-putt golf game and Dancing with the Stars. We played 2 rounds of mini-golf before her dad picked her up for dinner. It’s been so much fun hanging out with her. She’s very well-behaved and chill.

Five. On Friday, I threw myself a birthday party. Yes, maybe that was kind of sad, but screw it. Everyone who said they would come did come, except my sister-in-law and her family. I knew they were iffy, because her husband has been very sick lately–could have MS. I spent way too much money, but I had a lot of fun. For once, I didn’t worry about whether people were having a good time. I let go of control once the party started. And I think everyone did have a good time. So did I.

Six. Lauren and I are having a Girls Day on Thursday to celebrate her 8th birthday. First off, I can’t believe she’s 8. Secondly, she is getting more and more fun to be around. Third, I’m letting her pick the activities: right now, we’re getting a manicure/pedicure, having sushi for lunch (her favorite) and either going to see a movie or playing real mini-golf, depending on the weather. I think I’ll take her to Whole Foods for a short chair massage too–she loves those. Thursday night, we’re going to my parents’ for my dad’s famous Bill Burgers and cake. We’re both really excited about the day. She said that we need to have at least 2 girls days each year. I wholeheartedly agree.

Seven. Things I haven’t done on my vacation that I thought I would: checked my work email, taken lots of photos, written, watched a lot of movies, worked out every day, ridden my bike, taken care of some financial loose ends. Things I have done on my vacation that I didn’t think I would: slept in, took naps, worked on my garden (almost finished!), hung out with Lauren, had multiple massages (2 so far, with 2 more scheduled), read 2 books, gone to the ballet. Things I thought I’d do and did: went to Santa Fe, went salsa dancing, played with the ferrets, went to the gym during the middle of the day, stayed up late, kept up with my personal email and Facebook (but just barely) … and will go to the Denver/Boulder Blogher meetup this Saturday, even though I’m not going to Blogher.