Monday, April 20, 2009

I Set The Alarm

I normally don't go too far from home on the first day of any school vacation if I can help it. The idea of having nowhere to go is kind of appealing to me. I may venture down to The Convenience Store Where They Call You Honey And Sweetie And You Sort Of Like That...but not much further. It feels rather decadent to lounge around the house all day.

Don't get me wrong. I'm usually up pretty early. As much as I like spending the day in sweats and slippers, I hate the idea of wasting any precious non-working time. But I don't get all crazy about it.

Today, however, I set the alarm so I could be up and out the door. I used the "Singing Birdies" setting so I'd know it was a day off. "Screeching Seagulls" and "Crowing Rooster" are for work days because they are loud and unpleasant noises designed to get me out of bed as quickly as possible. Bird songs kind of ease me into a waking state.

I'd managed to forget my camera and some of the wedding pictures from my brother and sister-in-law when I left my parent's house on Saturday night. If I didn't get over there today, I'd be sans camera and would soon lose the will to travel over there to get it. I wanted the trip over and done with so I could get back to the business of not leaving the house as early as possible. As an added incentive, I promised myself I could make a stop at the discount store on the way home to purchase low-cost baubles.

I also did some of that sweet, sweet "cupboard shopping" while at Mommy and Daddy Sheep's abode. I may be middle aged, but there is still a cheap thrill that comes with scoring stuff like I did back in my college days. I'm not proud of it. However, since Baby Brother Sheep had already done a fine job of clearing cupboard space of late, I don't think I was completely out of line. Fair is fair...

The camera was retrieved, free tuna packed up and the discount store shelves scoured for bargains. Then I was free to come home and do that which I do so very, very well:


Good book, mediocre knitting and a kitty who likes to help me nap. That is what I call vacationing!!!


I also watched Trailer Park of Terror because the viewing of all films featuring dead things walking is a vacation tradition as well. To call this one a true zombie movie would be stretching the genre a bit. Just because the trailer park inhabitants are dead and terrifying doesn't necessarily mean they are zombies. Sometimes the walking dead are just regular folk having a bad day. For example, if you and your neighbors happen to accidentally kill The Very Pretty Girl Aspiring To A Better Life's boyfriend and all end up cursed for your poor behavior, you aren't necessarily a zombie. Frankly, I think these people were just using their situation as an excuse to behave even worse.

I wouldn't be surprised one little bit if the zombies showed up just to set the record straight...

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good first day of spring break. The only fly in the ointment was having to get up and face the outside world before I was really ready, yet I can't help but think that this would have happened anyway. There was something of an issue with the sleeping arrangements last night. After spending months working out an acceptable division of territory in the family bed, we are suddenly spending the wee hours squabbling over who gets to sleep where. It's not me. I know where I sleep: in the two square feet allotted to me on the right side of the bed and only if I sleep on my side and not move until whatever animal sound the alarm clock is making that day is heard.

Others, however, are less willing to stick to the Bedtime Treaty.



Waz not me! Waz jus' dufendin mi spot!!!!


It's vacation. I can nap. They have until the weekend to come to some resolution. After that, the rooster alarm is back on and there will be no time for this nonsense.

SA

9 comments:

sheep#100 said...

You know something? Sometimes I get exactly the same amount of sleeping space in my bed: those nights when Neatnik has a bad dream.

It is a king-sized bed and I'll end up with eighteen lousy inches - snores on one side and pointy elbows and knees on the other.

Kath said...

I actually have a sort of homemade cat bed on the corner of the bed (an old bathrobe and fleece throw) to designate "her sleeping space". But somehow, mysteriously, the darn thing seems to be taking up more and more space...

Oh and by the way - Huzzah for vacation!

Mia said...

happy vacation :)

catsmum said...

You get a whole 2 feet of bed?
I usually share my bed with roughly 18 lbs of Oakley, the antipodean AGK [ pillow behind my head ] Sophie [ somewhere around my knees ] and Bear-the-dawg [ the other pillow ]
On Saturday due to an overload of visitors I also shared my bed with darling daughter ... and did those animals complain? ... move? ... not on your Nelly. I think Nadie and I ended up with 6 inches of bed each and were suitably grateful for THAT

Anonymous said...

All in all it sounds like a pretty good start to your vacation week.

I find that flipping the covers will sometimes make the furry roomates move over (sometimes meaning once every 100 times I try it). Good luck with the sleeping arrangements.

See you tonight!

Karen said...

Happy Vacation! It sounds like you are off to a great start. As for the sleep issues, good luck with that. We banished the dogs from the bed a few years ago and have no regrets. There were a few sleepless nights though.

Knitting Linguist said...

Ah, yes. Bed squabbles. My two occasionally have to fight over which of my legs each of them gets to sleep on. This, as you might imagine, is very disturbing to my sleep...

Your first day sounds downright perfect. I want one of those!

Jeanne said...

Yay for vacay!

While channel surfing the other night, I passed a movie titled "Zombie Strippers". I didn't watch it, but the title made me think of you. Because of the Zombies!

Wendy said...

Aw, I want a "staycation", too! I'm a little bit bitter about shopping at the parents house. My mom never has good stuff. Do you parents need more kids? I think I'd be a really good sister.