Pre-Vacation Stress Mode

I love Yosemite Sam. He's always cracked me up. Some of my friends told me they thought I should get a Tasmanian Devil tattoo, but I really think that Sam truly captures the true essence of my personality way better than Taz.

So my boss is headed for China in July for 3 weeks on a "greatest hits" tour. I think he's insane to go, what with North & South Korea on the brink of war, the horrid heat and pollution. But he's got the Great Wall on his bucket list so he's off. I was reading one of his guides which was brutally frank about the bathroom situ, or lack thereof. I am sorry but there is no way in bloody hell that you will EVER find me in a country that doesn't have a western style bathroom. I mean, my idea of camping is no mini-fridge in the hotel room. Can you see me roughing it in Asia? Me neither.

Of course it just wouldn't be a vacation without all the stress that comes with it. We are T-minus 7 days from his departure, and cranking out work so fast that I am, again, terrified we are going to make a big mistake. On the plus side, the days are flying by. Today I almost peed myself when I got a call from Commissioner's Services about a hearing scheduled for next Tuesday. Now, if you aren't expecting a call from the Court, it's always cause for concern when they do call you out of the blue, because it can only mean that there is a problem. It didn't at all help that Steve came into my office and stood behind me, as I attempted to coherently and concisely, without stuttering, explain the string of events that have occurred over the last month hoping that they'd get it and not strike the hearing. They got it. Steve let out a huge "PHEW" and dashed off to Court. I really thought I was gonna have a cardiac event. I am getting too old for this stress. On the other hand, we are finally making some headway with the cases because he's forced to deal with the issues now, so that a crisis doesn't come up when he's gone.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if he asked me to work on Sunday, although all our deadlines are tomorrow and Friday. I just can't wait till next Wednesday afternoon, when I can finally take a breath. I'm off next Friday, July 2, for the 4-day holiday weekend. Then I am taking a week off and my dear friend Joe is going to be in Seattle for a couple of days, so we're gonna play tourist and go watch them toss fish at Pike Place Market and go to the top of the Space Needle. I can't help but reflect on this time last year and what a horrible, horrible summer we had. I try not to remember 2009, and I don't even like looking at any of the photos I shot last spring and summer. This is clearly 'the new normal'. So many more people still have it way worse than we do, so I cling to that thought like grim death.

I'll post some more pics of my jewelry this weekend.