Ah, the bliss of summer vacation. Would that I were experiencing it, instead of simply idealizing it.

(Realism: I do remember being exceedingly bored sometimes, even as an adult, during vacation. I’d go out to breakfast, spend a lot of time writing, do some other art project, read, cook, and then at the end of the day still have enough time to watch so much TV that I was made stupid. Why didn’t I cherish it more?!)

In spite of the fact that my life is pretty good right now, I feel almost desperate for a huge chunk of time off – not only have I been trained to feel that I’m owed it, I feel like I need it. But to do what? I can’t turn my brain off anyway.

(True story: yesterday I was talking to a friend & told her that I wished I could get really lazy and watch way too much TV, but that my efforts so far have been in vain. That is a really dumb problem: incapable of binge-TV consumption because I am reading too many books.)

So I plan trips that I probably won’t take: biking in Italy, horseback riding in South America, a scientific cruise to Antarctica. (You can do that as a tourist! Really! It is actually my dream vacation.) And sometimes I cook elaborately: tres leches rice pudding with cinnamon-dusted whipped cream. Cheese and mushroom tart with handmade cornmeal crust.

How do people adequately relax when their downtime is not force-fed to them, as in graduate school? So far I’m not sure. If anyone has tips, please let me know.

In the meantime, three points:

1. Tomorrow is Dave’s & my fourth wedding anniversary. We both completely forgot, and then got simultaneous thoughtful expressions when someone mentioned that it was early June. Hooray! Luckily it is never too late to decide to go out to dinner.

2. This terrifying video. Watch it, and do not be fooled by the saccharine-sweet first minute or so of cartoon. “Green is not a creative color.”
(Note to my sister: do not watch this with Lily.)

3. A man built a secret apartment in a Rhode Island mall, and got away with letting people live there for four years? The most baffling piece of this article is the incoherent artist’s statement/apology at the end. “Thank you mall.”

Thank you mall, indeed.