Birthdays

I have been sick for almost 3 weeks and the more I think about it the more I want to live in a walkable city, preferably somewhere with a dry, arid climate (Las Vegas?).  I also like to think that I would want to live somewhere where I can skinny dip in a pool should I choose, which also lends to having a pool? Or access to one where I don't have to worry about getting in trouble for skinny dipping.  I don't want to go full on nudest colony.  I'm much too repressed for that.  Me getting up the gumption to actually go to the Korean spa with my girlfriends that one time was plenty for me, thank you very much.  They weren't too keen on the whole synchronized swimming in the same-sex pool, either.  I mean, c'mon! We were the only ones in that particular little plunge pool at the time and sure we were giggling like 10 year olds, but still... 

So, walkable city, with my own private pool for skinny dipping, preferably somewhere where my allergies aren't going to make me sick and out of commission for more than a few days.  Is that doable? Is there such a place?  I'm looking, believe me.   I think it frightens my wife about how seriously I've been looking.  My argument is that I'm also "learning about different real estate markets."  She doesn't have a problem with that one.  She doesn't really have a problem with me looking either.   I found a beautiful property in my Mom's home country of Panama.  It has 6 bedrooms, the pool, close to the beach, you can drive a golf cart into the local town.  I could do that.  I love Panama.  I haven't been since I was 16 and it was some of the happiest memories I have with my Mom. I would love to visit with her family and if I'm being honest, I think I would end up having to buy a place just to make it financially feasible to stay because otherwise, I'd be paying out the ass for a hotel and in order to catch up with the entire family I'd probably have to stay for at least... oh, maybe a year?  It's times like this I'm thankful for passive income.  Speaking of which, I'd love to make writing a viable source of income.  Any takers?  I can be funny if I need to be.  I can also be dry as toast that sat out for days on end if need be, too.  But, I digress. 

ADHD ladies and gentlemen, it's fun and stream of conciousness writing tends to bounce all over the place. 

So yeah, I've been sick for almost three weeks.  My big birthday plans of going to Disney's Hollywood Studios and attempting to steal the Falcon, maybe do a little bounty hunting and of course build a droid and lightsaber, got pushed back.  The day before my birthday I had to call all of the reservations we had and shift them.  So far, the only thing I haven't been able to push back was the building a droid thing.  I'm disappointed in that, but it's not a total deal breaker for the trip.  I have a pass and frankly, I can go build a droid whenever there is availability on the calendar should I choose.  

Excuse me for a moment.   Jess quickly opens another window in the background and checks to see if there is any availability for droid building the day that we're going to Disney in a couple of weeks... No luck.   I really need to build myself an AI bot that can try and get me reservations for that.... That would be a good use of AI, don't you think? Okay, maybe I don't want to waste the water.  We're in a drought after all. 

ANYWHO... Yeah, no building droids for us.  I'm going to keep checking but attempt to take a come what may approach, which after calling and changing reservations while balling my eyes out because my birthday was gonna suck because I was sick?  Yeah... I told myself on Monday that if we couldn't make it, that I would be okay with pushing stuff back.  And ultimately, I know it was a good idea to push stuff back because neither the wife nor myself really felt that great two days before and both of us have been completely exhausted, stuck in a snot filled limbo, since then.  

And this is why, everytime I get sick, I feel like moving somewhere where there are no plants.  I know that's kind of an impossible thing to do.  Dry and arid, with little plant life as to not spark horrific sinus infections, walkable, entertaining.   My ex would probably suggest the middle east.  I would say Vegas, and while it's walkable, it's not exactly where I want to be right now?  Not ruling it out in the future, but if I'm going to move from my 5 acres of (currently) snot filled/fueld paradise, then I better have more than what I've got now and I don't think I can afford to live on the strip 24/7.  They would probably frown on the skinny dipping thing, too. 

Ultimately, my birthday was nice.  I binge-watched tons of television and stared at the walls.  I got a ton of well-wishes and my friend Mickie sent me birthday donuts, brownie bites and some tea.   I, in return, sent her some very yummy honey from the Savannah Bee Company (shameless, unpaid plug - seriously, their orange blossom honey is my FAVORITE). I thought about my parents.  I wished that my Dad was here to celebrate.  He would have gone and picked up an ice cream cake from DQ, probably.  My Mom would have taken me shopping and then criticized whatever I chose, which would have put me in a combative mood when I was younger but the older I got I ultimately started saying "Hey, if you don't want me to choose what I want, then buy something yourself and then I'll return it later."  I ended up asking for experiences such as a trip to a really nice restaurant, or one time she got us a package at an indoor water park.  I think that was for Jack's birthday but I can't remember. 

I thought about Indiana quite a few times this week, missing my friends there.  I really need to write to my friend Mel.  I miss her.  I miss all my friends.  I have even made a few new ones in the area in the past 6 months that I would love to visit with.  I'd love to take a trip up, but I think I want to concentrate on work for a while.  Projects are completed, Jack got his official acceptance letter from the college that he wants to go to, and I want to just kind of enjoy life for a bit.  I just have this feeling like stuff is going to get really hard in the next couple of years and I want to enjoy myself and my time with my family before I really have to hustle and grind.   So yeah...  

I'm gonna be a bit feral for a while.