Summer Vacation. Everyone tells me to enjoy it. Unfortunately, it doesn't take much for me to get bored.
If I am not somehow occupied—physically, mentally, psychologically, however—my brain starts to encumber any attempts at simple and idle rest or relaxation by bombarding me with memories, thoughts, old quotations, images, songs, movements, movies, monsters, gods, books, articles, poems, ruminations, and any number of phenomena ranging from the banal to the bizarre that my synaptic responses—fatigued with tedium—can invent to thrust upon me. Television is a potential distraction for my gray matter. I try to occupy my brain with channel surfing in much the same way as some parents use the idiot box to occupy their children in order to allow them time to do the dishes. Unfortunately, unless there is a marathon of Mythbusters or Dirty Jobs on, my brain is not easily fooled by the limitations of my broadcast options. So, I look elsewhere for occupation.
If I concentrate really, really hard, I can focus the influx of random synaptical illusions flooding my brain into something constructive. I can't help but picture a funnel collecting an ocean of thoughts in one end and projecting a tiny beam of creative energy out the other end. Since my summer officially began last Monday, I have finished the script for the first chapter of a graphic novel I've been working on, I've listed ideas and themes for a children's book that I'd like to begin soon, I've finished my journal (which reminds me that I need to buy another one), I've read two books, I've walked all over my lovely city, and I've started this blog.
I have also tried to get out to see friends who I rarely get to see during the hectic school year. A couple of close friends of mine were kind enough to invite me to their house in York, Pennsylvania for two days last week. I got to finally meet their new son Cooper:
He is probably the happiest baby I've ever met, and that is actually saying a lot (I've met many babies). I am pretty happy with how much fun we had together. His parents were happy, too, because they got to get some other stuff done while I watched him. Cooper, by the by, is named after the character of Special Agent Dale Cooper from the early nineties television show Twin Peaks. Awesome.
I have two-and-a-half more days of this complete idleness before I start preparations to teach at my school's summer program on Thursday. I know it is probably annoying for some of you who are reading this to hear me complain of having days off. I do hear a lot of friends say, "must be nice . . ." Is it unAmerican of me not to want to sit around on my ass doing absolutely nothing? Maybe; maybe not. Either way, I am actually looking forward to standing in front of a classroom of students again in one week.
I have two-and-a-half more days of this complete idleness before I start preparations to teach at my school's summer program on Thursday. I know it is probably annoying for some of you who are reading this to hear me complain of having days off. I do hear a lot of friends say, "must be nice . . ." Is it unAmerican of me not to want to sit around on my ass doing absolutely nothing? Maybe; maybe not. Either way, I am actually looking forward to standing in front of a classroom of students again in one week.
No comments:
Post a Comment