Day Off? Never Heard of It.

Today I took the day off. I decided to take a long weekend to travel down to Texas for my friend's wedding. If you don't want to read the rest of the post, know that the moral of the story is that I shouldn't take the day off assuming that it will be relaxing and that I am always becoming more awesome. If you want to read on, go for it.

I woke up at an ungodly hour to a freezing cold house and a cranky dog. Those aren't the reasons that I woke up, they were just the first things that struck me after my heart attack due to a painfully loud alarm clock jolting me out of my slumber. I stumbled through the dark of my room trying to remember why I thought an early flight was a good idea while simultaneously knocking over about 8 things in order to find the light switch. How are those things so hard to find?! I mean, they are pretty much in the same location in every room- right next to the door. But I digress... I get ready and rush to the airport. I could tell you tales of everything that is annoying about airports and flights, but I'll save that for another time. We all know the stresses of going through security and the camaraderie created due to our vulnerability as we remove our shoes. But as much as I loathe certain parts of airport travel, there is something oddly nostalgic and enchanting about it.

After getting in to Houston, I knew I had some free time because everyone was scheduled for wedding activities, so I decided that I would go relax and get a pedicure before joining in. To make my day even better, I swing by Starbucks to grab a wonderful tall light ice soy chai then head to the salon.   What a great way to enjoy the day off, right? I pick out my nail color (OPI- I'm Not Really A Waitress), hop in to the massage chair and start soaking my feet. This is where I make a mistake. I check my email. Dear lord. Emails from my boss' boss about some event concerns. Emails from some of my staff about a project falling through. I try to send off some responses and provide direction on some of the situations as much as possible. Once I send responses, people realize that they can just call. So my cell phone starts ringing off the hook. As my toes are getting painted, I do what I can to try to put out fires. After I hang up with a call, my pedicurist looks at me and says "I thought you had today off?". So did I. Needless to say, that was the most stressful pedicure I have ever had.

After the pedicure, I finally get to meet up with my friends and catch up with them. There is plenty of excitement. It feels so familiar and comfortable. Even after a "day off" that was more stressful than it should have been, it was relaxing to spend time with everyone. We covered stories of past romances, mistakes and adventures. We discuss mutual friends and what people have been up to. I found out another friend is expecting, which is a little crazy. Really? Is there something in the water these days? In the past week I have had to purchase cards and/or gifts for 3 couples that are engaged/married and 2 people that are pregnant. Is it fair to cap the amount of people that I celebrate in one year? I mean, at what point is this completely excessive?

Someone posted this picture of NPH and I decided that it was fitting. Even after a day like today, I'm just getting more awesome.

Listening to Muse.