I'm back, I'm rested, and I'm ready to go!
Category Everything Else
Hi, everyone! We got back from our Disneyworld vacation last night, and it was great. This is one of the few vacations where I don't feel like I need time off to recover from my time off!
We were down in Orlando at Walt Disney World for eight days, and it was the perfect amount of time (short of just staying down there permanently). We've been down there numerous times, so it's not like we have to see everything for the first time. We have our likes and dislikes, so we don't usually have to waste time on attractions we've done once (and thought that was one too many times). In the past, I've always felt that we HAD to be at the parks when they open, we HAD to be there all day, and sleeping in was not an option. This time, we slept in, hit the parks a little later, and generally just had a laid-back vacation. It was plenty warm down there (around 90 degrees each day), and we didn't have major rain issues until the last couple of days. The humidity was high as usual, but there are so many air-conditioned areas down there. In fact, you can walk in front of storefronts about 30 feet out and still get blasted with cool air from the open doors. I'd hate to see their electric bills. My two kids will probably consider this the best family vacation ever, as they both figured out the WDW transportation system early. We spent some family time together, but we also let them come and go as much as they wanted. Let's see... 17 and 15, complete freedom, and not a lot of time with mom and dad... I'm seeing a trend here...
Another thing that helped out was the medication for my dysthymia. We're at the point where everyone in the family is aware of how much I've improved since I sought help. I've been told that I've emotionally "sabotaged" many a vacation in the past (ok... perhaps ALL of them!), and that this one was vastly different. The few times I started getting tense during the vacation, the kids just kidded me that I should double my dosage for the day...
The only real rough spot was traveling back and the short layover in Phoenix.
We were trying to get food for the kids (as the flights had no food
service and Ian is diabetic), and there was some tension over who was doing
what. Other than that, it was emotionally a relaxing time. Usually
when we leave the Disney property, I get very depressed and melancholy.
I wasn't feeling it this time at all, and I actually wondered if
perhaps I SHOULD be feeling more sad over leaving! Guess I still
need more time to adjust to this new feeling! 
I'm also very excited to get back to work. The time off was long enough to get refreshed, and I was able to step away from technology enough to allow me to see the forest a little better (instead of all the trees close up). I took the laptop along on the trip, but the only thing I used it for was downloading the digital pics from the camera. In fact, the kids used it more than I did for listening to CDs and doing a little homework due the final week of school.
And speaking of digital pictures... In the past, we've taken a camcorder along, and I've always felt that I lived my vacation through a three inch screen. I get back home, transfer the video to a regular VHS tape, and then we hardly ever watch it again. This time I took my digital camera along to see if it would be any easier to capture memories. I'm completely sold on digital cameras now! I normally don't take too many pictures as I want "the perfect picture". As a result, I end up taking very few. With digital technology, you can take multiple pictures of the same scene with no "waste". It's also far lighter to tote around than the camcorder, so I ended up carrying it with me nearly all the time. As a result, we have a nice set of 400 or so pictures that I'll burn off to a CD, and of course we'll never watch again!
I finished three books while I was down there, and I'll post on them tomorrow. It's not as bad as it sounds... The first was was nearly done before I left (and in fact I finished it before getting on the plane), and the third one was read during the flight back. Limiting myself to a single book over an eight day period is actually quite an accomplishment, and it means I was actually DOING stuff on vacation instead of just sitting around...
OK... the third period of the sixth game of the Stanley Cup playoffs is coming up, and the Ducks are ahead (GO DUCKS!). I'll end this post with a few of the pictures and scenes I enjoyed during my vacation...
Hi, everyone! We got back from our Disneyworld vacation last night, and it was great. This is one of the few vacations where I don't feel like I need time off to recover from my time off!
We were down in Orlando at Walt Disney World for eight days, and it was the perfect amount of time (short of just staying down there permanently). We've been down there numerous times, so it's not like we have to see everything for the first time. We have our likes and dislikes, so we don't usually have to waste time on attractions we've done once (and thought that was one too many times). In the past, I've always felt that we HAD to be at the parks when they open, we HAD to be there all day, and sleeping in was not an option. This time, we slept in, hit the parks a little later, and generally just had a laid-back vacation. It was plenty warm down there (around 90 degrees each day), and we didn't have major rain issues until the last couple of days. The humidity was high as usual, but there are so many air-conditioned areas down there. In fact, you can walk in front of storefronts about 30 feet out and still get blasted with cool air from the open doors. I'd hate to see their electric bills. My two kids will probably consider this the best family vacation ever, as they both figured out the WDW transportation system early. We spent some family time together, but we also let them come and go as much as they wanted. Let's see... 17 and 15, complete freedom, and not a lot of time with mom and dad... I'm seeing a trend here...
Another thing that helped out was the medication for my dysthymia. We're at the point where everyone in the family is aware of how much I've improved since I sought help. I've been told that I've emotionally "sabotaged" many a vacation in the past (ok... perhaps ALL of them!), and that this one was vastly different. The few times I started getting tense during the vacation, the kids just kidded me that I should double my dosage for the day...
I'm also very excited to get back to work. The time off was long enough to get refreshed, and I was able to step away from technology enough to allow me to see the forest a little better (instead of all the trees close up). I took the laptop along on the trip, but the only thing I used it for was downloading the digital pics from the camera. In fact, the kids used it more than I did for listening to CDs and doing a little homework due the final week of school.
And speaking of digital pictures... In the past, we've taken a camcorder along, and I've always felt that I lived my vacation through a three inch screen. I get back home, transfer the video to a regular VHS tape, and then we hardly ever watch it again. This time I took my digital camera along to see if it would be any easier to capture memories. I'm completely sold on digital cameras now! I normally don't take too many pictures as I want "the perfect picture". As a result, I end up taking very few. With digital technology, you can take multiple pictures of the same scene with no "waste". It's also far lighter to tote around than the camcorder, so I ended up carrying it with me nearly all the time. As a result, we have a nice set of 400 or so pictures that I'll burn off to a CD, and of course we'll never watch again!
I finished three books while I was down there, and I'll post on them tomorrow. It's not as bad as it sounds... The first was was nearly done before I left (and in fact I finished it before getting on the plane), and the third one was read during the flight back. Limiting myself to a single book over an eight day period is actually quite an accomplishment, and it means I was actually DOING stuff on vacation instead of just sitting around...
OK... the third period of the sixth game of the Stanley Cup playoffs is coming up, and the Ducks are ahead (GO DUCKS!). I'll end this post with a few of the pictures and scenes I enjoyed during my vacation...
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Comments
Glad to hear things are going well. I'll second the "Go Ducks"
Monday, 5:00p.m.!
One of the guys I worked with from IVIS has season tickets to the Devils. It will be fun to raz him when the Ducks win!
Are you still working at the big blue insurance company? If so, please tell Mike S. howdy for me!
Ted
Posted by Ted Erickson At 04:35:48 On 08/06/2003 | - Website - |
One last thing...The Ducks will know defeat!! This win is simply a way to increase the anticipation of the series. :-)
See you soon.
Posted by Alex At 20:01:49 On 07/06/2003 | - Website - |