Back to Reality (For a Few Days, at Least)

I can't believe it's already the Sunday after Christmas and I'm going back to work tomorrow. Fortunately, it's a short week. We get Thursday and Friday off. I wish I had enough paid time off to skip going back to work at all between Christmas and New Year but, alas, I used it all up before Christmas.

Nevertheless, I'm trying to remain in the Christmas spirit. In our house, and many British houses, Christmas lasts until after New Year- we don't take our decorations down until January 6th- Epiphany. Thus, even though I'm back in my own home away from my family, I'm still going to be celebrating Christmas so that when I go back later this week, we can continue where we left off.

It's a bit of a long drive to come back home for three days but it had to be done. People wonder why I bother going back home for New Year's when I could stay home and relax here. The truth is, I think New Years is a time of celebration and for me, celebrating means being with loved ones. Granted, it's not like we're party animals but it's a nice time of year to sit at home and be mellow with my parents.

Coming home from the parent's today was a bit of a nightmare. For one thing, my poor mother fell last night and fractured her shoulder. She didn't think it hurt that much until she woke up this morning. Unfortunately, it's also her right arm so she's feeling a little handicapped. I think she'll get used to it but I know it's going to be frustrating for her. It's another reason I would like to have stayed with my parent's instead of coming home. Also, it's snowing. Now, regular readers knows that Captain Monkeypants adores snow. I do. In fact, I'm viewing this snowfall like it's my belated Christmas gift from nature. We had the anti-est white Christmas you can imagine- it started white and then as the day went on it rained and the whiteness melted into soggy greys and greens.

Thus, I'm claiming today's snow just for me. However, it did make it a little hard to drive the 2.5 hours to get home from my parent's. This is a note to the state of Indiana: PLEASE PLOW YOUR ROADS! Seriously! Ohio makes you look bad!

I'm not joking. The entire time I was driving through Indiana, the highways were snow-covered and unplowed. Literally, the minute I crossed the state line, the roads became clear and merely wet. That part of my trip wasn't so bad. Driving in Indiana, however, was a little tricky. I actually had to focus instead of zoning out like I normally do.

I am home now. I've unpacked my Christmas goodies. My family was ridiculoulsy generous this year with their gifts, as were my friends. It's a little sad to put everything away and not enjoy the standard Christmas muddle for much longer but, at the same time, it's also nice to get everything put a way. It's a paradox.

Now I plan on relaxing since I have to work tomorrow. This is probably the real reason I'm not too happy about leaving my parents'. It means I have to work. It's going to be a quiet week since many of the staff chose to take this week off rather than last but I still have to be there. Hopefully the time will fly by and I won't find any new ways to be resentful at my company. I think I'll have to make that one a New Year's resolution. Actually, I might make finding a new job a resolution but we'll work on that. Is it sad that I've been eyeing the jobs at Jungle Jim's and wondering if there's any possible way to make a salary that's competitive with my own by being an assistant Cheese Manager? I love cheese. I know quite a lot about it. I think it would be far more interesting than my job. And, also, I love Jungle Jim's International Market. But you've probably figured that out by now. I do blog about them rather a lot. I might have actually bought my house because it had the added bonus of being less than 15 minutes away from that store although, obviously, it's not the only reason. It's just nice having such a splendid place that supports my new obsession with cooking nearby. Where else can I find the ingredients that Mario Batali and Alton Brown recommend? Also, it makes it convenient for my family who usually have a few items they want me to pick up.

For now, however, it's back to the office I go. I'll try to do it with a smile or, at least, without a quiet growl as I sit at my desk. I think my boss is gone this week so hopefully the flaunting of the Mac computers will be minimal. Also, it means we can be a little more relaxed in our cubicles because he won't be in his office nearby. That's always a nice thing. Then, at the end of the week, barring bad weather, it'll be back off to Indiana to continue the holiday festivities.

Of course, I do have to stop at Jungle Jim's first. I have a shopping list from my family. Naturally.

Happy Monday!