Exhausting but Fun Weekend, and Some Musings if I Have Energy

Last weekend was A) the opening of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (which I just saw for the second time today), and B) Rachel's Bday Campout. The movie is just freaking amazing, and even though I disagreed with some pf the license the director took, I trust him wholeheartedly with finishing out the series (David Yates directed 5 and 6, and will finish the two-part installment of the final book), so I just rolled with it in the hopes it'll all come together in the end.

And I have to say John and I didn't Camp for real, we "camped"--aka hung out until we missed flushing toilets, running water, and our own bed under the sweet cover of a solid roof. That said, we would like to give Camping a try, perhaps in the fall when it's cooler out and I'll feel less scuzzy having not showered. But we'll see. John's been bitten by the camping bug big time and is just about ready to go out and buy a tent, an air mattress, and an extra sleeping bag. I'm a little more reserved in my eagerness to make such investments, but we'll see how things pan out. I'm always up for new things, and I do want to push the boundaries of my comfort levels. I did canoe for the first time last weekend, which was really fun! We didn't wander very far because we had kids with us who were hungry, tired, and bored with un-plugged-in life, but hopefully we can have a big-people trip where we get in some good time on the water. : )

After baking in the sun at Atsion Lake and then nursing the bad bad bad sunburn that followed--let me just say my legs and feet are STILL red, but my back just looks toasty--John and I met my parents and brother for a Trenton Thunder game on Sunday. I've been to a lot of minor league games, but I've never actually gotten anything except for a free hat at the now-defunct AC Surf. At this game, though, it seemed like they gave everyone something every inning. It was hot as anything and sunny to boot, too, so the mascots were walking around with big water guns hosing us off to lessen the mass heat stroke I'm sure wasn't far away. Not to mention the players....I didn't want to MOVE let alone imagine playing 9 innings out there. No thanks.

In between the fun of last weekend and the fun of this weekend, I did a lot of soul searching and self-evaluating at work this week. I've been writing a lot, mostly in the afternoons when my mind starts to wander away from the databases, and I can't help but feel trapped. I mean, I take inventory of all things I'm good at (or think I'm good at), and I feel like I'll never be able to do any of them for a living barring a huge karmic pat on the back or act of divine intervention. I'm a planner, so I can't just be one of those people who quits her steady job to go Tahiti to paint for a year and the see where the wind blows her, but at the same time, part of me wishes very much that I was like that. That I could just walk out, go to wherever feels right and do all the creative things you can't on the canvas of corporate America. I mean, I can think of the careers I could have if I were ballsy enough to pursue them: full-time poet, photographer, interior decorator, professional organizer, party planner...boy what a useful bunch of talents I've drummed up. haha Not to say they are not lucrative, I'm just saying HGTV hasn't exactly knocked on my door with a sweet deal yet. But I guess as long as I can utilize these creative genes in some capacity, whether it's decorating friends' cubes at work with my poems and sketches, or changing up the apartment every now and then, it makes the 9-to-5 doldrums a little more bearable. Or maybe I just tell myself that to make it all seem wrothwhile. Who knows? I'm 23, and somwhere out there is the perfect opportunity for me. We just need to meet at the right time.

Anyway. Last night, John and I had a Christmas in July party, which was freaking fantastic...we have so much food and booze left we're set for quite a while. haha I made lasagna and lingonberry cookies, we bought a mushroom focaccia to heat up, Donna brought beer bread, Tara brough cranberry-orange muffins, Lisa brought brownies...boy it was a feast! A feast which will make delicious lunches this week. Nom nom nom. I even busted out some decorations to add to the festivities in addition to rotating classic holiday movies on the ol' DVD player. Good times. So who will host 4th of July in December? Anyone, anyone?

Lastly, our dining room table pretty much bit the sawdust after the party, but Mom and Dad gave us their old one, so we have that all assembled in the dining room and since it's a little smaller the space feels more open and has a little more comfortable flow to it. At least we can pull it away from the wall when we need and seat 4 people around it, which we couldn't do with the other one.

So till next time, friends...adios!