What I Did On My Summer Vacation

The bank I work for has a policy requiring all employees to take off 10 consecutive days.

The past two years, I've waited until November to take my time off. It was nice having something to look forward to.

But this year, I decided to take off the last two weeks in July instead.

August and September are particularly busy months in my department, so I was hoping to "detox" and have a better attitude this year.

I have my doubts, but either way, I had a great "summer vacation"...

• Saw the Old 97's at The Bell House in Brooklyn
• Went to Charleston
• Finished one book
• Started another
• Cleaned out a closet
• Had a root canal (that wasn't great)
• Refinanced my mortgage
• Went to Iowa
• Painted the bathroom

And then today I went back to work.

And reality.

One Down!

There's a desk in my apartment, where I keep things like envelopes, paper clips, notebooks, pens...

a bluetooth headset and extra mobile phone charger (both still in the package), label maker (also still in the package), candle holders, extra umbrellas...


Whenever I open it, I have to balance the label maker on top of a stack of notebooks, just to get it closed again.

But not anymore!


This was one of the many projects that's been in the back of my mind forever. But last night, in a fit of productivity, I took everything out and found new places for it all.

It's nice to get one project on my list done.

It's also nice to be able to close my desk again.