Back to the Real World -
What a mellow vacation that was. We spent five days in Eureka Springs, mostly lounging in our hotel room (a quaint, little cabin with a kitchenette, microwave, coffee pot, and TV! Wow!). No computers, no telephones, no day job for a week. Spent two days at Silver Dollar City; we have season passes, so we go quite a bit.
Didn't actually leave until Monday, as Saturday (the 23rd of Oct.) was the annual TDWVS Halloween film festival. We suffered through Taste the Blood of Dracula, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and the MST3K episode: Mitchell. Enough people showed up to make it an orgy of pain, though the jabs and riffs during Mitchell were occasionally hilarious. All in all, a worthy event, though I wish more people would come and suffer with us.
That same evening, we were GOING to have our Halloween bonfire, but rain prevented that. Instead, Elaine, Jeff, Travis, Scott, Ruth, Vince, my wife and I held an indoor drum circle that lasted for a couple of hours, followed by a round of Munchkin (my current favorite game). We love playing hand drums, though usually we end up playing the same rhythms all night long which can be a tad cumbersome.
Sunday - well, I really don't remember what we did on Sunday. But we left here Monday morning to start the vacationing. I think I spent all day Sunday surfing the web in my underwear. What better way to spend a day of vacation?
The first evening in Eureka Springs, we visited a local bakery and sucked down coffee while I read Patchen out loud for what seemed like hours. We took a seat outside, so it was nice and cool, and somewhat away from people. There is nothing in this world as satisfying as reading Patchen out loud. He is deliciously pessimistic at times, and amazingly hope-filled at others. I truly have never read a more authentic poetic soul than Patchen.
At one point I (nearly) immediatly recognized one of the patrons as Missy Crider, a good little actress that shares a birthday with me (same year and all). She also happened to guest in an episode of Jeremiah, one of my favorite series, as a determined collector of gasoline, saving the precious fuel for a trip to Europe to find out whether the plague that wiped out everyone over the age of puberty hit the rest of the world. In spite of the efforts of pyromaniacs (burners) sent out to eradicate whole villages by the orders of surviving US Government (Valhalla Sector) VIPs, she manages to get away, and we are left hoping that she's made it.
Anyhow, meeting Missy Crider wasn't all that extravagant. Especially since I didn't realize who she was until she had run away from us and zoomed off in her SUV. :-( If I ever do run into her again, I'd like to ask her how it was to work with David Lynch.
We spent the next several days touring historic downtown, driving around the countryside, and watching oodles of television in our comfy, cozy and secluded hotel room.
Silver Dollar City happened on Friday and on Saturday, the final two days of their Fall Celebration. There were craftsment of all flavors, from fresh-brewed apple butter to homespun weavers and beadmakers. And food. And rides! We rode the Wildfire twice in a row without getting off, with the option of riding again but thinking better of it.
All in all, a memorable week. It could have more exciting and action-packed, but then it would have gone by so much faster. It was mellow, and much needed, rest.
Of course, now I'm back to the real world, and all the aches and pains I'd gotten rid of last week are slowly coming back. Tension in the shoulders, headaches, back trouble. All from stress. Grrr. Getting old sucks, and on top of that I've actually gained weight over the past few months, when all the while I was trying to lose weight. No matter; I won't be chubby for long because I'm changing my eating habit.
My sample CD finally arrived from mixonic. Aside from a bug being smashed onto the silver part of the CD, the case being broken, and the tray card being wrinkled, it's actually a pretty quality print job. However, the delivery time was terrible. It took them 3 weeks or longer to process my order of 1 CD. I'm so unimpressed with the service that I'm going to hold off ordering a large batch. Will either order a small batch later this week, or else I will sample Morphius.com and see what their quality is like. I just want this album thing to be over!
Nothing much else going on. I'm too much in the vacation spirit to address the 200+ emails in my inbox, so I'm going to take my time. NO PRESSURE. I get enough of that at work.
Lastly, we are standing on the eve of the 2004 election. I personally cannot stand to think of another four years of the Bush Administration, and I pray for swift victory on the side of the Democrats. My only wish is that the Democrats pursue a stronger anti-war policy than what Kerry is promoting. He is great, charismatic, and far more capable of being a leader. I hope Kerry realizes his potential as much as we do!
posted by novachild @ Monday, November 01, 2004,
