This was the only full week of break I got between summer school and the 24-25 school year.  I’m back at work on Wednesday.  That’s why I’m currently on my way to Oswego, NY for a few days of rest.  Just needed to get away from Long Island since I’ve been having a terrible year.  I can already see the last 4 months aren’t going to be any better, so I need downtime.  We’ll see how that goes.

This was the only week that I had my son, so we tried to fit in as much fun as we could even though he had a lot of appointments.  For various reasons, all of these ‘had to be’ done on my time.  Not going to get into it, but I wasn’t happy that this is a rather consistent trend.  So, a lot of our days were Pokemon Go between appointments, school supply shopping, and Halloween costume shopping.  Next Saturday is going to revolve around sewing, so I’m having to watch videos on clothing alterations.  The things we do for our kids, right?

Aside from Pokemon Go and appointments, we did get two trips in.  Last Saturday was the Bronx Zoo with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece.  It was fun and we were pretty much at the whim of the little one.  Got through most of the zoo, but it was a weekend and some lines were too long.  It was pretty hot too, so a lot of the animals were resting and taking naps.  Can’t say I blamed them.  Best picture is probably this one:

The other outing was on Wednesday when we went to the New York Aquarium with my parents.  I haven’t been there in years and they were still repairing from damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.  Most was fixed, but this exhibit on invertebrates wasn’t open.  It was cool with all of the jellyfish and crabs.  It isn’t a big aquarium like the one out east, which is fine since we’re only allowed 3 hour parking.  It was just nice to get out to some place new and relax a bit.  Best picture of the trip was:

I know I said the main goal was fun, which I did have this week.  Yet, there were a lot of things that had to get done.  So, I didn’t get to rest and felt like everything was being rushed.  Appointments set the pace more than I expected.  You can’t go off and do much if you have to be somewhere in the middle of the afternoon.  Either you wake up early and run around in the morning or just take it easy.  Doesn’t help that I had to start packing as I got closer to today, which meant staying home for a bit.  Can’t really say that a rushed, somewhat tiring summer is par for the course this year.

Writing-wise, I didn’t get to anything that I wanted.  With Darwin & the Avenging Elf done in terms of edits, I didn’t want to dive into the next book until after my trip.  It means I have to carry less since a printed out manuscript is heavy.  I had hoped that an afternoon long appointment for my son would have given me time to work on ‘Phi Beta Files’.  It didn’t because there wasn’t any place for me to work in the room, which makes sense.  That and the company wasn’t very inspiring for creativity.  Guess those outlines are my goal for when I’m in Oswego.  Want to at least get most of them done and then I can start designing one of my other ‘group stories’.  These aren’t really outlines so much as one line explaining what happens in each of the 10 short stories that compose the volumes.  I hope I don’t just end up sleeping the whole two days away before I come back, but it’s entirely possible.

As I said, I go back to work next Wednesday even though the students will still be off.  It’s two Superintendent Conference days and then a 4 day weekend.  Got some minor stuff planned on those days like I said.  Seeing a friend on Friday for a full day hang out and sewing to get as much of my son’s costume done as possible.  Once I get all of that done, I’ll be starting in on Darwin & the Demon Game.  Although, I might start that on the work days when I have downtime.  The school district is changing the high school times from 7:50-2:26 to 8:25-2:55.  I’m still showing up at 7:15 because my son has be into his own school by 7, which means I’m just getting a longer day.  Might as well get my body used to it instead of making it a shock to the system on the first day.  Definitely going to need a Dunkin breakfast since I go in the day after I drive back from Oswego, which is going to be about 7 hours or more depending on traffic.  I really can’t get any long-term rest unless I catch Covid.

So, what are the goals for the week?

1. Drive safely on both travel days.
2. Relax and enjoy Oswego.
3. Do NOT fall asleep during conference days.
4. Get back home on Tuesday in time for Pokemon Spotlight Hour in evening.
5. Finish ‘Phi Beta Files’ prep.
6. Get together with friend for day of chillin’.
7. Start editing Darwin & the Demon Game.
8. Get to Oswego before the place with unique candy and chip flavors closes.  (These are the types they have in China and Japan like Strawberry Chocolate Torte Kitkats.)
9. Remember to sleep.