Making your own vacation fun

A couple of weeks ago I did what I always advise people to do when they leave one job to take another — give yourself a break between gigs to have a carefree vacation. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no job that offers an adequate supply of days off. The best I’ve gotten was five weeks a year — and that wasn’t nearly enough. Of course, if you take a week or two off between jobs, it’s unpaid but still, it’s completely and 100 percent yours. Ahhhh.

A tale of two potlucks

What a difference a week makes. Last night I carried a dish of vegan-friendly quinoa risotto to the monthly potluck of a local vegetarian group. A week earlier, I’d made Town Band Baked Beans with bacon from Aunt Bee’s Mayberry Cookbook for a barbecue at Martin’s house.

So this is how it’s going to be

After a trip to the gym with a friend to lift weights, I stopped in to have a beer and see the progress on the deck she and her husband are building. After reviewing the home improvements in progress, we sat down with our beers out back.

One thing led to another and I was trying to recommend the movie GlenGarry Glen Ross to her. Here’s how a bit of the conversation went:

Me: It’s a dark movie but really good. And there’s a stellar cast . . . Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, uh that good-looking actor who’s name has Glen in it — Scott Glen or maybe Glen Scott