Somewhere in between vacations

That's where I am right now.

A couple of weeks ago I was in South Carolina. That was pretty much exactly the vacation I was looking for at the time. The first half of my week went basically like this:

Wake up. Cook breakfast and eat it, watching country music videos on CMT. Run an errand or two (i.e. going to the supermarket, mailing something to my dad, etc.) Sit on the porch, reading, listening to music, enjoying some kind of summery cocktail (mojito, gint and tonic, Jack and gingerale), and futzing around on the internets. Cook dinner and eat it. Drink some beers, smoke some weed, and watch a movie. Go to sleep. Repeat.

Sweet, sweet relaxing.

For the second half of the week, Eric and Matt came down. We then actually did some stuff. had dinner with my cousin Melissa and her husband. Went to Charleston one day. Walked around, Had awesome BBQ. Enjoyed looking at the southern ladies. That night we out to a bar/club on Hilton Head one night. Met a couple of girls, one of whom said she was a stripper, (but wasn't), and left Eric's credit card there. Went to Savannah the other night, and partied there. Enjoyed beers, dancing bartenders, and late night pizza. Went back to Hilton Head the last day and just walked around some. All in all, some good times.

Of course, I'm back at work now. Even still, I'm feeling more relaxed. That vacation drained a lot of work-related tension. That and the fact that someone here reminded me that I now have less than a month before my next vacation.

And that's the BIG one, as far as I'm concerned.

Italy.

10 days in Italy.

It's big for me for a few reasons. One, because I've wanted to go for a while, and now it's actually happening. And two, because this is my first trip anywhere that requires a passport. Being that I really dig travelling, I'm sort of surprised it's taken me this long to reach that milestone.

For that kind of trip, for some reason, there's a different sort of conotation in my head. It feels sort of like a "new level" of vacationing. And as such, it feels like the 28 days (or so) between now and when I leave is not enough time to get ready. Hell, in my mind, it's going to take at least two weeks to get to Radio Shack and buy the power adapter so I can plug in my iPod or computer over there. Of course, this isn't true, but it feels that way.

I had hoped to learn a little Italian for the trip. I even went out and got a book. But it seems like there just hasn't been time enough to sit down and get past Chapter 2. Or even when there has been time, there hasn't been motivation. So, looks like I'll be going the dumb American route. Oh well, at least I'm holding up the proud heritage of the good ole U.S. of A. I'll just talk louder and slower if them dern Eye-talians ain't understanding me.

But anyway, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It should hopefully be awesome.