Day Off

Other than the two days in June when I was out sick, today is my first day off from work since mid-April. I arose at the usual early hour and went through the morning routine. The only difference is that I’m still at home. Oddly enough, I feel somewhat guilty about not working today, even though I have nothing pressing on my to-do list for this week other than finish up an employee evaluation that is due on Friday. Possibly, I’m becoming too much a creature of habit, or work has become too central a component of my life that on some level I feel as though I should be there. No matter though. I have my pager and I’m sure I’ll be summoned at least once today.

Many things on the agenda today, the most pressing of which is the long-overdue acquisition of a digital camera. I’ve done some comparison shopping (mainly online), but am still not sure what to get. Whatever model I choose, additional memory cards are going to be equally important as I tend to take a lot (ok… maybe too many) pictures whilst away on holiday. Perhaps because it is so close to Christmas, I’ll be able to find something on sale. The downside of this is that it gives me less than a week to familiarize myself with the assorted functions.

Other things on today’s agenda are:
1. Haircut
2. Buying some additional clothes for the trip
3. Buying a new watch (my old one rusted in Thailand and has not been replaced)
4. Buying some walking shoes/hiking boots (not essential, but will shop around)
5. Cooking for tomorrow’s departmental Christmas party.
6. Stock up on cat food and litter
7. Buy assorted travel items (toiletries, a few rolls of film for backup camera, etc.)
8. Find passport and other travel documents

Will I accomplish all these tasks today? Probably not. I’ll be lucky if by the end of the day I can scratch the camera, haircut, and clothes buying off the list. Such a procrastinator sometimes. Not a big deal, as I still have six days.