Back to the Front

After a whole week of sleeping late every morning, I was worried about getting to work on time today; that's always the hardest part of returning from vacation, getting back into the timetable routine. But for some reason, I accidentally set my clock forward an hour while I was setting my alarm back an hour (I decided to start getting up at eight instead of nine). I don't know how this was done, the buttons for the alarm and for the regular time are on opposite sides of the clock. But I was already awake and drinking coffee and reading my morning blogs before I discovered the time difference, so it gave me an extra hour to sit down and start chatting with you, and to have more coffee, and to enjoy a little more peace and quiet before going back into the fray at the office.



I spent so much time this last week lying in bed, sleeping and reading and watching videos, that my lower back is starting to ache and I'm getting little spasms in my ankles... that's a sure sign that I've enjoyed my time off. I've also got three books open and am reading them in turn, another good sign (I always did this when I was in college, so I choose to interpret it as a sign of intellectual stimulation... though it could easily be a sign that I can't concentrate on anything in particular after a week of mental dissipation).



However, I am disappointed that I didn't get much done in the way of writing, nor in the way of research, nor even in the way of housecleaning (though I did rather more of it than usual), during my week off. I've been working on that last bit of Worst Luck, rewriting a part of "Chapter One Part Three" and continuing on from the rewritten paragraphs, but it's been slow going. I never did get over to the City to check out their courtrooms, and will not have a free weekday to do so anytime soon, and may end up having to rely on video reference (I've seen San Francisco courtrooms on the news many times) and non-definite descriptions of rooms and procedures that will not show up my ignorance. And though I have washed dishes and wiped counters and loaded the dishwasher I don't know how many times, I never reached the bottom of the hand-washing stacks and the kitchen is an even bigger mess today than it was this time last week... and I didn't even think about my bedroom or my drag-room or any of the other messes in my life. All very disappointing.



But I am rested, and we shall see if that rest has prepared me for an increase of activity... or whether it has instead spoiled me for it. The whole concept of work is alien to my nature, and I get used to vacation all too quickly, mightily resenting the return to schedule and effort.



Actually, now that I think of it, I believe I should start getting into the effort now, take advantage of my serendipitous extra hour and go load the dishwasher again, and maybe water the lawn, before I go into the office. I'll post now but finish this once I'm there, or else after I get home (if it's as madly busy as I fear it will be after my week's absence).



In the meantime, try this interesting quiz, which I discovered via Paul:

Category IV - The Musketeer

You have a small, highly edited social group, and you like it that way.

What Type of Social Entity are You?

brought to you by Quizilla.



?

2:45 p.m.: Okay, so it's official: returning to work after a week's vacation sucks. I feel like I've been sitting in this chair and working for eight or nine hours straight, but I've only been here for four and a half hours. There wasn't an awful lot of extra work to wade through, my boss was here all last week checking messages and all, so there wasn't a big backlog. But I am suffering terribly from the overwhelming desire to go lay down and dip back into Gaudy Night or Wasted or Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, or perhaps to watch a movie, or maybe just take a nap. But I can't L!



Still, I have been productive, I've achieved everything I wanted to do today, and that always feels good. And there are people here I can talk to... people who hear every word I say, and who don't interrupt to ask what the words I've just used mean (it's bad enough having to define such potentially advanced words as 'irrelevant' to the Small Children, but when an adult and college graduate like Caroline stops me in the middle of a sentence and makes me explain the meaning of 'prudent' and how it differs in connotation and denotation from 'wise'... and then have to explain 'connotation' and 'denotation'... well, it's just too much).



So I guess I am glad to be back at work, for the most part, despite the strong desire to be horizontal: it's intellectually stimulating and is probably better for my soul than lying in bed all day. But it would be nice to have a sofa or something here in the office where one could lie down during one's little breaks. Maybe that's something we can do in our new office (whenever we find it and move into it).



Well, I'm going to close up now and get back to work. I got in nice and early due to the Clock Mystery, so I can leave nice and early, and there are a couple of things I ought to do before I go. I hope you're having a super lovely day!