Jun 13 2008
A Working Vacation?
In two days I’ll be off to Alaska on a cruise (I won’t have a new blog update for at least a week), and the kids will be with their grandmother, aunt and uncles. My husband is planning on spending much of the cruise relaxing on deck, a drink in his hand and a plate of food on his lap.
I am bringing my laptop. And it won’t be so that I can check e-mail (Wi-Fi on ships is far too expensive, from what I hear). I am going to write. I hope to spend at least two hours a day writing, plugged in at the library or pretty much anywhere I can find an outlet (and that may be pretty hard, actually). If it means sitting in my room to do it, it will still happen.
Now, why would I do that, you might ask. Isn’t this a vacation? Yes, it is, but I have an extremely low tolerance for boredom. I don’t have to watch television while I’m cooking dinner–I’m not that needy to be entertained–but I really like to keep busy. My husband Richard looks forward to the day he can finally retire and play golf every day, but I am not sure I will ever retire, not really. Doing the same thing over and over simply doesn’t appeal to me.
I believe this may be a result of my own brain. Not that it’s a highly unusual one (or that smart, for that matter). But entertainment, for me, simply needs to involve my thoughts. Half the fun in walking the trails out here in the Northwest is having a good friend to talk to, or having a book or chapter I’m mulling over (if my friend cannot walk that day). I detest treadmills, only using them when I have good music to keep my mind occupied. Movies that have no real meaning have little appeal to me. Books that are too simple or predictable don’t either. My brain needs to think about everything, and if it doesn’t need any thinking, it won’t be much of a challenge.
And imagining a world–through the book I’m writing–is just as much of an adventure for me as visiting Alaska. I am so lucky to be able to do both on this vacation. I can explore the beauty of a state I am visiting for the first time, and I can also play with the world of my own fantasy. Who knows what one adventure will do for the other? Perhaps both will weave into one fabulous and meaningful experience.
I will report back soon on how the both sides of my vacation went. I am SO looking forward to it!
