shut-down, final part
Well, the state is no longer in shut-down, and I've been called back to work. Today is my last day of freedom. As happy as I am that I don't need to worry about it anymore, I'm also sad to give up my vacation. It was a good one.
Since my last entry, the bulk of my days have been spent house- and dog-sitting for friends. It's good for me to remember that owning a dog means structuring your life around getting home to feed it and let it out, and paying attention to it pretty much constantly when around (this dog is still a puppy). Having a dog is like 75% of having a kid. Well, maybe not that much, but it definitely would change my life. I have really enjoyed: petting a dog all the time, having a reason to go on long walks, cooking in a huge and well-stocked kitchen, eating up a CSA share, using a super-fancy Japanese knife, and sleeping in the air-conditioning. I liked testing out the Longfellow neighborhood too. I might like to live here or in Seward someday, but it's good to remember that it's sort of hard to get to from a freeway and that it's pretty sleepy. There's way fewer bar and restaurant options than I'm used to, and the ones around are all semi-expensive compared to the super-cheapie places that I often hit up.
I went to the family cabin for a night. Not sure how long it'll be in the family, since it's for sale. It was fun to stay there for a short time, playing board games, enjoying the weather and peace. On the way up we stopped at a rock quarry and swam. The water seemed super clean and crisp and mineral-y. It was like a daycare for racist teenagers. Super fun and weird, though. Oh, St. Cloud.
The other significant thing was driving to Pizza Farm with Jim and Kristina. For those not in the know, there's a farm like 90 minutes away from Mpls (in Wisconsin) where, once a week, they make the most delicious pizzas ever in a huge outdoor oven with mostly ingredients that they grow or make on the farm. I've been twice and it's totally a summer highlight when I do go.
Also, yesterday, I saw TWO "punk" marching bands. One was Chicago's Mucca Pazza (playing the surprisingly fun annual Tour de Fat festival put on New Belgium brewery), and one was a local Minneapolis group that put on a giant luminescent nighttime parade on the bike Greenway. Both work in the style of rag-tag, part Eastern European brass band - part art punk (in spirit if not in musical style) - part straight-up marching band. Both were pretty rad.
On break, I've dropped a bit of weight and toned up a little. I've been eating lightly due to the heat and only when hungry due to having nothing but unstructured free time. I've been free to make leisurely meals made up mostly of super-fresh local veggies, deal with leftovers efficiently, grocery-shop frequently in small batches to keep my kitchen pretty well edited. I've been eating and drinking out less to save money, and riding my bike hard. Before I started dog-sitting, I was jogging and doing yoga all the time, and since then, walking briskly every day for up to an hour. I wish it could always be that way! I'd be so effing healthy. I'm too much of a desk-jockey at work.
Since my last entry, the bulk of my days have been spent house- and dog-sitting for friends. It's good for me to remember that owning a dog means structuring your life around getting home to feed it and let it out, and paying attention to it pretty much constantly when around (this dog is still a puppy). Having a dog is like 75% of having a kid. Well, maybe not that much, but it definitely would change my life. I have really enjoyed: petting a dog all the time, having a reason to go on long walks, cooking in a huge and well-stocked kitchen, eating up a CSA share, using a super-fancy Japanese knife, and sleeping in the air-conditioning. I liked testing out the Longfellow neighborhood too. I might like to live here or in Seward someday, but it's good to remember that it's sort of hard to get to from a freeway and that it's pretty sleepy. There's way fewer bar and restaurant options than I'm used to, and the ones around are all semi-expensive compared to the super-cheapie places that I often hit up.
I went to the family cabin for a night. Not sure how long it'll be in the family, since it's for sale. It was fun to stay there for a short time, playing board games, enjoying the weather and peace. On the way up we stopped at a rock quarry and swam. The water seemed super clean and crisp and mineral-y. It was like a daycare for racist teenagers. Super fun and weird, though. Oh, St. Cloud.
The other significant thing was driving to Pizza Farm with Jim and Kristina. For those not in the know, there's a farm like 90 minutes away from Mpls (in Wisconsin) where, once a week, they make the most delicious pizzas ever in a huge outdoor oven with mostly ingredients that they grow or make on the farm. I've been twice and it's totally a summer highlight when I do go.
Also, yesterday, I saw TWO "punk" marching bands. One was Chicago's Mucca Pazza (playing the surprisingly fun annual Tour de Fat festival put on New Belgium brewery), and one was a local Minneapolis group that put on a giant luminescent nighttime parade on the bike Greenway. Both work in the style of rag-tag, part Eastern European brass band - part art punk (in spirit if not in musical style) - part straight-up marching band. Both were pretty rad.
On break, I've dropped a bit of weight and toned up a little. I've been eating lightly due to the heat and only when hungry due to having nothing but unstructured free time. I've been free to make leisurely meals made up mostly of super-fresh local veggies, deal with leftovers efficiently, grocery-shop frequently in small batches to keep my kitchen pretty well edited. I've been eating and drinking out less to save money, and riding my bike hard. Before I started dog-sitting, I was jogging and doing yoga all the time, and since then, walking briskly every day for up to an hour. I wish it could always be that way! I'd be so effing healthy. I'm too much of a desk-jockey at work.