2014
homebodies
maura @ 11:11 am
It’s spring break week here, and while we initially had various plans for traveling, as it turns out we are on vacation but staying put. Looking back through this blag I think this is the first time in many years we haven’t traveled during the break, so this is kind of new for us.
Gus is midway through his break, me a bit moreso (I’m going back to work on Monday next week). So far it’s been delightful. We’ve seen two movies (Captain America and Divergent) and watched some TV we’d been storing up (read: hadn’t had time to watch). I’m reading 2 books and have another queued up for when I finish them (probably today). Gus has been playing videogames til his eyes bleed, watching Bob’s Burgers, and reading the Divergent books, plus a smidge of homework (though there’s more to do before the break’s out). We’ve had some fully inside days and haven’t hurried to get out of pjs even on the days we have left the house. We went to the AMNH and saw the poison exhibit (which was fantastic) as well as the new Dark Universe planetarium show, and spent some time in the always awesome reptiles and amphibians room (How to Get Bitten By a Snake!). We ate lunch at the incredible Food Court 32 Asian food mall on 32nd St. I’ve gotten 8 hours of sleep each night, did some work on an article my research partner and I are finishing, and got back to playing Papa & Yo, one of the videogames I got for xmas.
Today might turn out to be an inside day — it’s sunny but very cold (seriously April what is with this crazy weather?) — but other plans for this week include going to the Bronx Zoo, getting my bike out of the basement and ready to ride to work on Monday, and working on a conference proposal. Plus the aforementioned reading and videogaming. We could walk over to the botanic gardens or through the park. We could go to the fancy ramen place in our neighborhood for dinner one night.
Really there are lots of options for things to do, though the staying-in options are also tempting. This is somewhat new territory for me — whenever we travel I want to make a giant list of all of the things we could do, and often have to fight against my tendencies to march us through the list without time to relax in between. Partly that’s because I worry (especially if we go someplace far away) that we’ll only ever have one visit to that place, and I want to be sure we see the interesting stuff. But also I think I do better when I’ve had some physical activity, even if it’s only walking around. Or standing around — I can’t play Papa & Yo while standing, but I can read and type just fine.
The nice thing about taking time off but not leaving town is that there’s no pressure to run around and see everything, because it’s all here for us on any normal weekend. That Swoon exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum? Definitely want to see it, but it can wait. It’s been a busier semester than usual so maybe that’s helped me accommodate to relaxing this week, too.
So my staycation verdict? Two (relaxed) thumbs up, five stars, would do it again. But now I’ve got to run, I have a book to finish.
