Dawdling

Once again, I am faced with a day in which I have more to do than time to do it in, and I'm stalling. It's just so comfortable here with my computer and my coffee, listening to nice music and not having to hear the neighbors upstairs stomp around because it's Monday. Ah....

There is a continuing kink in my morning schedule, and that is my sleeping habits. I've been going to bed later and later, and in return haven't been getting up until the morning is mostly gone. Last night I was up baking a cake for Jere's office (the last one, sad!) until almost 2, and the night before I was planting an herb pot at midnight. This flux in times is screwing with my cat, especially when she sees me put on my pajamas and gets onto her spot on the bed, assuming that's where I'm heading. But as I was baking in my flannel last night, and hopping around to work in different rooms, I found her camped out, giving me the evil eye everytime I moved.

Yesterday was a fun day, actually. I took on a couple of craft projects and got them finished, and booked some cheap cheap cheap airfare to Orlando. Never let it be said that living in a small town makes ALL destinations expensive. If you watch close, small town fares can drop pretty low to certain places, and Charlottesville to Orlando just happened to dip at just the right moment. And parking there is pretty cheap, considering the poor car will be there for quite awhile!

I said a few days ago I didn't want to be here for my birthday. And I meant it. No party (not hard, since I don't know anyone down here), no cake, no whatever. 25 is not something I especially care to celebrate. My friends, do you realize how close we are to a ten year high school reunion?

So I started surfing around for a vacation, of course finding very few tours that left around my birthday. I thought I was just going to have to book a hotel somewhere and go myself, but then I got an email from the company doing my Eastern Europe tour, and decided to check out what I could find there. And voila! An 11 day tour of Peru through their sister site, with a very cheap single supplement. After some playing around with the numbers (because airfare is mostly a bitch right now) and schedules, I am going to Peru for a bargain! I even get to fly into Orlando before and after to see my family for a few days. And come my 25th birthday, I'll be in Cuzco, exploring the Sacred Valley.

In the meantime, I'm waiting for my self-purchased Mother's Day present to come. (Note: Don't even get me started on this holiday. While I think it's great to celebrate most mothers, I think it disenfranchises those of us who a) don't have kids and b) have fertility issues. Seriously, where's the Hallmark holiday that celebrates me? So I figure my very demanding cat owed me a Mother's Day gift, and screw you, Hallmark, I'm celebrating me anyway!) On a truck somewhere between here and Kansas City is a very nice digital piano with my doorstep as its final destination. No, I'm not talking a Casio keyboard you buy at Walmart. I'm talking a Yamaha Clavinova, with graded keys and set on a rosewood base. I was going to wait until I got to Michigan to go shopping for one with my dad, but after doing a little internet research found a little problem with that idea. The one I wanted weighs almost 150 pounds, and wouldn't fit in my car. So I found a company online that had a sale and free shipping. I haven't had a piano of any kind in years, and this was the perfect solution to apartment living. It should be here on Wednesday. YAY!

It's probably time to get moving and find something to wear. Not to mention I have a cake to frost.

Today's lesson: Loyalty is a wonderful thing. Especially when loyalty to your travel agency gets you over $200 in credit to spend on a vacation, loyalty to your airline gets you free upgrades, loyalty to your credit card company gets you free hotel rooms, and loyalty to Coca-Cola gets you free car rentals.

(Bonus funny moment: When talking to my grandma a few days ago, I mentioned I was going to Poland in December, to which she replied, "Why the heck would you want to go to Poland?!" And in the background I heard her husband shout, "HEY! What's wrong with Poland??" At which point she laughed because she'd completely forgotten her husband is Polish.)