Actually, I’m very good at traveling vacations. I’m not good with the kind of vacations where you stay home and ostensibly relax. If there’s a massive project to undertake I can handle it. When I worked in industry, I’d often take a week off in the spring or fall to reconstruct the garden or study for finals. The goofing-off around the house vacation that I attempted this past week — I ain’t so good at it.

My plan was to sort of spring clean and sort of make some appointments for next week and generally do whatever I felt like doing. And I did that, and got progressively grumpier and pent-up each day, until I woke up at 4:00 Thursday morning with every muscle in my back and RSI-arm knotted to pieces*. The pain is better after stretching sessions and hot baths, but it’s not gone by any means. I have an appointment with the massage therapist on Monday morning.

Some of it is the post-semester depression that I get every time. Some of it is not being mobile enough yet to really be out and about like I normally would have been. But also, I wonder if I’ve sort of forgotten how to play. In Arkansas, I would have been out with friends most of the time, to lunch and movies and the Arts Center or whatever. It’s taken me this long to notice that I haven’t really made any friends up here. Lots of good acquaintances, yes. But the fall semester was so getting-settled and stress ridden, and I was out of the department so much of this spring that I haven’t really become close to anyone there. The people I would most likely be friends with have circumstances involved: one has a new baby and some family matters that have come up, and one has moved to a different city altogether. Others that I might have called for lunch have been out of town or in hiding. And I certainly haven’t made a point of meeting anyone outside of the department. I should stop being such a hermit and do something about that. And I should find a hobby (besides cooking) that doesn’t require mobility. I’d take up knitting again, except it would probably aggravate the arm. Must contemplate.

*Which means that my de-RSI summer projects are definitely going to get done: put myself in physical therapy for the arm and ergonomicize my study.