Hangin' Around the House, Drinkin'

Yep, it's been that kinda week here at the ol' homestead. I've had more time than money, so basically I just hung out at the house the whole time. The truck hasn't moved, and the only sunshine I got is when I took some trash out to the dumpster. I've made a couple of trips down to to the hot tub and the mail box, but those have been in the middle of the night.

I really wanted to crank out some writing these past few days, but I haven't had the bug. So instead, I've sat at the computer, surfing for a few days (the latest topic was sightseeing in Russia and eastern Europe--I have no idea why, that's just where my clicking led me to--and I would've thought my random clickiness would've led me to a motherload of undiscovered pr0n). When I wasn't glazed over in front of the computer, I was glazed over in front of the TV, trying to catch up on all the stuff I recorded back during Shark Week.

So, you could say that it's been a pretty dull week. There has been *nothing* of interest going on in my neighborhood. Hell, I haven't even had the desire to experiment in the kitchen and rattle the pots and pans around to come up with another creative dish to write about.

I guess I'm just not hearing the muse this week.

Oh, I could gripe about work, but that's been overdone like an Ellis Island steak. I could write about the pennant race and how my Cardinals have finally woken up, but damn, they're still three games out. Not quite close enough to get excited yet.

I think part of what's giving me the blahs is that it's Cruise Season amongst my homeys, and I'm missing out again this year. Hell, this makes three years in a row that I haven't been on a cruise--this record shall not stand! Anyhow, a big chunk of the family is taking off on a ten-day Eastern and Southern Caribbean Cruise (that I picked out last year!) within the next sixty days, and I don't get to participate in the excitement and anticipation. I really love going on cruises--it's a perfect vacation as far as I'm concerned. And dammit, I'm missing out again. Ugh. Money, time, not enough of both right now. At the current pace, I'm about four years away from being out from under my student loan debt. Coincidentally, if I don't pay off my truck in advance, I'll own it free and clear at the same time. That's almost a thousand dollars a month I won't have to give to other people!

I guess there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.

But back to cruising. Yes, it's the ultimate vacation, and ten days away from the flashing lights, the ding-ding-ding of slot machines, the secondhand smoke, the fleas, those hideous shirts, the black wardrobe, and the dark undercurrent of desperation that flows through this town like a river would do a body good. Hell it'd be almost like two weeks away if I went--travel time and all. But it's just an impossibility--I'm saving my vacation time for next March (I only get two weeks a year, and I don't get reloaded again until next May), and I have to use my extra time that I still have left for a quick couple of days out to L.A. for a big-boat sailing refresher in either January or February.

So I'm stuck here in Vegas, my second favorite place in the world. I guess life really ain't that bad. I got a lot of friends, a lot of visitors, there are plenty of hot women around, and I live in a nice place. The weather is good, the money is ok, and my opportunities are limited only by my inherent laziness. I spend eight hours a day doing a fairly easy job that I really enjoy doing about 95% of the time. Other than a mostly-empty wallet and a deathly fear of steak, I'm doing just fine.

I'm just bored and in need of a vacation.

Mikey