April 14: Start of Summer, Plans, New Cartoon

Summer is approaching.  I know it's coming.  My summer really begins in about three weeks, when I submit the final grades for my two Intro to Film classes and the checks from the university stop coming for about four months.  That's when things get really interesting.  By the end of August, I'm looking at the totals in my savings and checking accounts and thinking, "Please, God, just help me get through the next three weeks."  And that's without factoring in surprise car repairs and other bills.

The start of summer is one of my favorite things.  I love the promise of it.  The possibility of it.  I always have big plans.  I'm going to write a new chapbook of poems.  I'm going to finish my memoir.  I'm going to start my resume-writing business.  I'm going to start running every day.  Yeah, I love the start of summer.

Of course, I rarely accomplish half the things I set out to do.  I have more time.  No teaching.  No grading.  However, the worries start piling up.  Bills to pay--dance lessons, gas, water, cable, phone.  The normal stuff.  And I have $1200 less a month to do it with.  That's the part of summer I hate.

I always hope I'll get summer classes to teach.  I never do.  I always hope I won't be faced with some big car repair.  I always do.

Saint Marty loves summer.  He just wishes it was about four paychecks shorter.

The Confessions of Saint Marty

August 3: All Day To-Morrow, Vacation, Plans

"You'll want all day to-morrow, I suppose?" said Scrooge.

Of course, this little piece of dialogue is Scrooge's famous response to Bob Cratchit wanting Christmas day off from work.  It's  a classic Scrooge move, feeling abused by Bob's request for a vacation.  Christmas is a losing proposition for Scrooge.  He doesn't get any work out of his clerk, but he still has to pay Bob.  It seems mightily unfair to Scrooge.  If I didn't know any better, I'd swear Scrooge was a Republican.

Next week, I'm on vacation.  As with most of my vacations, I have already made a few plans.  On Monday, the praise band I play keyboard for is performing at a local church camp.  That's going to take all night long.  I'm supposed to go to a movie with a close friend, and I'm going to try to get my family together with an old college friend and his family.  I also want to clean out a corner of my dining room and maybe organize my attic a little bit.

I'm not sure if I'm the only person who does this kind of planning for a vacation.  I'm trying to be realistic.  I may not get to the attic.  I'm determined to get to the dining room corner, and I really want to go to a movie with my friend.  The only thing that's definite is Monday night's band performance.  I should also get an oil change for my car, which is always a scary experience.  The garage always finds something wrong that's incredibly expensive to fix.

Sometimes working is less stressful than being on vacation.  When I'm on vacation, which happens only twice a year, I feel obligated to squeeze in as much extracurricular activities as I can.  In doing so, I usually end up exhausted.  I go back to work not feeling rejuvenated or refreshed.  I go back to work needing a vacation from my vacation.

I know this vacation scheduling practice of mine is not healthy.  I tend to be a Type A personality, in case you haven't noticed.  I like having fun, but I have to fit it into my day.  Fun cannot screw up my normal activities.

Saint Marty needs some time off to plan his time off.

No room for surprises