Recap: first three days of vacation

2:09 am, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA, Saturday morning, April 16, 2022, first day of vacation. A triage call from work woke me up at 1am. A patient was having an issue and our nurse was not picking up. I called the caregiver and the situation is managed. I tried multiple times to get a hold of the nurse as well. Thankfully, we have a new clinical manager to address things like this. The drive on Friday went well. No major issues or traffic.Getting out early in the day helped immensely. Saturday, April 17, 2022, Dana Point, California, USA, second day of vacation. Took care of some work issues in the morning, went and grabbed burgers in the afternoon with my daughter then, in the evening all three of us got caramel apples and went clothes shopping. 7:58am, in the apartment, Dana Point, California, USA, Easter Sunday morning, April 17, 2022, third day of vacation. The dog and I went for a walk, got coffee, then bought Easter lilies and cards for the girls.

April 17, 2022, Easter morning, Dana Point, California, USA

Pictures from Dana Point, California, U.S.A.

Captaining this particular ship

5:47am, in parking lot, Laguna Niguel, California, Sunday morning, March 27, 2022. The dog and I are in the car outside a random office building in Laguna Niguel. We are killing time because the coffee shop up the street doesn’t open until 6am. It is so quiet at this time of day. The sky is dark, birds are singing and there aren’t any other people around. We are here because we got up earlier than usual this morning, which, in a way, was my fault. I fell asleep early, which made her last bathroom break just before 8pm. By 3:30am she whined to be let out of the kennel so I got up and got dressed for our morning walk. The fact is I was already awake at 3:30am because I was thinking about work. The month of April is going to suck. There is too much left undone, financials that look terrible and, in a couple of weeks, a mock survey which will create thousand more things to worry about. I am not giving up but, right now I am starting to feel, one way or the other, I won’t be captaining this particular ship very much longer.

Another morning tomorrow

5:29am, apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Thursday morning, March 24, 2022. If everything about my time in Arizona was to end tomorrow I would miss mornings the most; going for a walk in the neighboring subdivision, listening to 80’s Hair metal and watching sports talk television while working out, then coming back to the apartment to catch the weather and drink coffee. What I do at my job is in many ways irrelevant to my memories. It is just something I do to take up 10 hours of time so I can get one step closer to another morning tomorrow.

Good morning Phoenix

5:39am, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, Tuesday morning, March 22, 2022. The company is holding a three day sales training at a hotel by the airport in Phoenix this week. It starts this morning at 9:30am. They had a couple of extra spots available and offered them to directors. When I agreed to go I mistakenly thought it was just for one day. When I realized the truth I began to feel stress. Being out of the office three days would put me even further behind. But now that the time has arrived, I am grateful. Since the training starts later, my morning is not rushed. I am going to read a little longer, have an extra cup of coffee and listen to some music. It feels so good to know I don’t have to go to the office. My already late tasks may back up more but, a change in perspective is very much appreciated.

Arizona weekend

3:03pm, apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Saturday afternoon, March 12, 2022. This is the first weekend in Arizona since the beginning of February. Not much going on but that is alright. Having a weekend of relaxation and doing nothing feels wonderful. I tried a new coffee shop this morning then watched a little television before grocery shopping. Now I am lying on the couch looking for a good movie to watch. I might just take a nap. Not sure what to do tonight, if anything.

What I did today

4:56pm, apartment, Chandler, Arizona, Sunday afternoon, January 16, 2022. I woke up at 5:30am, went for a walk, then came home to drink coffee and catch up on the news/weather. I lounged around until 2pm before working out at the apartment complex gym. After that I went grocery shopping. Now I am occasionally checking the football game and watching a show on Netflix.

How I spent my Saturday morning

8:04am, in my apartment, chandler Arizona, Saturday morning, December 4, 2021. Woke up at 4am. Went for a walk, went to the gym at the complex and worked out. Watched television, drank coffee, had a protein bar. Then I took out the trash, unboxed some new shoes, loaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counters and put things away. Going to get out the Christmas decorations and stream Christmas music. 9:18am, got everything out and put up decorations. Time to take a break. Side note: for the past year I kept a plastic box On my balcony I assumed held an escape ladder. I opened it and realized it was just some pieces of a ladder we threw out a decade ago. Glad I didn’t discover that when there was an actual fire. Side note x 2: go buy an escape ladder

12:12pm being lazy, watched some television, took a nap, snacking/grazing, on string cheese, salami, salad, peanuts, crackers, Doritos and coke. I am going to post this now.

Sunday

7:48am On Sunday I woke up and made a pot of coffee. The alcohol from the night before made my mouth dry and I needed to wake up. I drank two cups without cream, showered, then headed across town.

Sunday morning

9:20am you are in the bedroom in Dana point. You woke up this morning and went for a walk with the dog. You got gas and washed the car, bought treats for the dog then coffee with breakfast for everyone. Your daughter is showing you videos she made. She is being so creative. She is proud and happy. That is all you care about in the world.