I’m all full up on vacation time at work so I’ve been told, in no uncertain terms, that I need to actually use some of it. The boss said something about avoiding burnout… As if I didn’t feed on the fumes of overwork and stress, transmuting it through some alchemical process into the essence of productivity! It’s an alchemical process so powerful that it can only be used for good or evil. I dare not reveal the technique to the general public, but I can let you know that, in addition to stress, one of the other ingredients is coffee.
So it was a very relaxing day today. In the immortal words of Peter Gibbons, “I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be.”
That’s not entirely true, of course. My folks are down for a visit, so we tooled into town so I could show off the spacious new office and my immense desk. We kidnapped my Wife from her workplace and took her out to lunch. I got copies of the CDs from the Tanzanian choir guys who’ve been staying with my folks for the last four weeks. And just a bit earlier this evening we headed into my dad’s old hometown for a historical society meeting about a multiple-great uncle of mine.
It’s kind of a strange feeling to realize that I’ve got ancestors who are bona fide historical figures. Sure, it’s just on a local level, but it’s still odd to realize that there are actual historians who aren’t related to me who are interested in stuff that my family did.