The (not-so) Lazy Days of Summer

While I’m usually all about getting my life organized and planned, I’m trying not to look at the calendar so much these days. Why? Besides being reminded that summer is already halfway through, I’ve also got nine days until the three-day AFAA workshop begins. AFAA is one of the many programs available to people who want to get certified as a personal trainer. This weekend workshop makes all the day-dreaming, studying, and discussions I’ve had about becoming a trainer a reality.

Typically the workshop includes lectures, practical demonstrations, and an examination. Since I’ve only been studying for a few weeks, I’m scheduling to do the exam portion on the next available date in D.C., which is in early September. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have to study and prepare myself for next weekend. I still have to know my stuff!

I know I have what it takes to do well at the workshop, but I’m still trying to balance a mixed bag of feelings. Anxious, excited, nervous, proud, and mostly in disbelief that I’m finally taking a big step towards becoming a personal trainer. The next few months will not only be an internal emotional balancing act, but also a test to balance my social, work, and study schedule. After all, summer is a popular time for plans with friends and family. I’ve got friends staying with me in August and I’m going up to the shores of Maine with my family over Labor Day weekend. My strategy to find balance? Find a shady place to lay outside and study at the same time – a perfect juxtaposition for my current situation; finding a moment of calm in a time of rapid changes.

So much for the lazy days of summer!

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Music, Lasers, and Animal Heads

I like my Music Mondays. It’s a necessary part of starting the work week. Listening to music at my desk; I find myself escaping to another place, and for a second I actually forget that it isn’t the weekend anymore. I may not be what you would call a die-hard music person that’s able to do a weekend-long event like Lollapalooza or Bonnaroo, but I did manage to go to the Virgin Mobile FreeFest this past Saturday. It’s September, and I’m totally okay with continuing to go to outdoor concerts and extend summer just a little bit longer.

Being an outdoor concert, it’s expected that there would be trees and animals. Freefest had both, except the animals were performing on stage and the trees were filled with lasers. Ah the great outdoors. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t understand what the deal is with music groups wearing animal mascot heads in their performances. Freefest was no exception to the furry-headed trend with performances by the Teddybears and Deadmau5. I just think my head would get hot and I’d probably topple over. I would much prefer glitter, face paint, and light shows.

Speaking of light shows, I ended FreeFest in the dance forest with Ghostland Observatory. I wish I could recreate the laser show they had during their performance. Since I can’t do it through words, here’s a clip of the show from Saturday. Enjoy!

The Art of Doing Nothing

It’s almost August, and I still haven’t taken a proper summer vacation. Yes, I played a little mid-week hooky to visit a vineyard in Virginia, and I’ll be going out to Harper’s Ferry for tubing this weekend; but what I really need is to GET. OUT. OF. D.C. Escaping to Virginia for a day trip doesn’t do it for me anymore. I need to fulfill my addiction to relaxation with a harder and more powerful dose of absolute nothingness.

Since I’ve fallen into the pattern of going to work and (what some may call) being an adult, I sometimes forget the importance of doing nothing. It’s always been a necessary thing for me to do in order to prevent burnout and recharge my inner battery. It gives me a chance to step back for a second and regain some perspective on my life. A favorite pastime of mine, doing nothing is both enjoyable for me and something I can do very well. I like it so much that I even bought a book the last time I was on vacation called The Art of Doing Nothing (buy it, seriously, it’s great). I can’t imagine anything more appropriate for a vacation than reading a book about doing nothing (besides the obvious nap after reading it). Reading is the perfect act of nothingness to do on vacation because it’s essentially doing nothing yet it still makes you feel like you’ve accomplishing something.

But why do we always feel the need to be doing something? There are many sayings that say we stop living when we stop moving/learning/etc. We feel the need to be doing something in order to feel accomplished and validated as a student, employee, good citizen, or whatever we may see ourselves as. From the time we are born, we are competing with each other. We compete for friends in elementary school, spots on high school sports teams, acceptance into college, and placement in the job market. Our society encourages (loves?) competition. With these expectations to perform at our best and be productive robots all the time, taking vacation has developed this almost  taboo-vibe about it. I mean, what kind of unambitious and lazy person would elect to take time away from work? Well, at work, they give employees something called “paid time off” for a reason. To USE it.  So if I decide to take a vacation using my earned time off, I refuse to feel bad about it. There’s already enough in the world to feel bad about.

Vacations are about taking a much needed break from being an adult. Even though summer isn’t the same as when I was a kid, it still brings out my nostalgic side. I find myself daydreaming about a time when things were simpler. When I was a kid, I didn’t have to worry about taking days off from work or how many work emails I’d have to go through when I got back. Vacations were carefree. They were summer.

Next week, I will be going up to Maine with my family. My first REAL summer vacation of the year. Despite my first instinct to try to plan out each day like I have to do in my little D.C. bubble world, I think I’m just going to let the days plan themselves.

What’s your favorite summer escape?