Falling Behind

When you actually count the words that I have written this week, I have exceeded my daily writing quota. So it’s not as if I’m not writing, I’m just trying to make myself feel not guilty about not writing yesterday. I was just too damned tired. I hate to say it, but it is work that is getting me down. I just want the Long Weekend to get here already.

I booked something of a vacation for my wife. I wasn’t too sure about it when I did it, because it was an idea off the beaten path and I wasn’t sure how my wife would take to it.

For her birthday, back in March, I told her that we were going on a shopping trip to the States. The idea in mind was that I really wanted to buy her some nice things for her birthday, but I am never too sure what to buy. I thought it best to take her to the best shopping places in the states, take advantage of the dollar, so that she can shop her brains out while I look after our daughter. My wife will likely want to spend all of our money on our daughter, and I’m good with that. I just want my wife to be sure to spend some on herself. I really do. I want my wife to shop and I want for her to spend money. Otherwise it is just going to sit there. Because I sure don’t spend it.

I drive back to forth to work, that’s about twenty bucks a week.

I don’t read as much as I used to, so I’m buying maybe a book a month, and that is more often than not a paperback. Though, sometimes, if it is an author that catches my eye, I might spend the bucks on the hardcover. I took the hit not long ago for Stephen King’s ‘Duma Key’ and for Richard Bachman’s ‘Blaze’. I took another hit for Ken Follet’s ‘World Without End’. But that’s about it. I am struggling now to get through Orson Scott Card’s ‘Empire’ and not doing too well. I’ll finish it, I think, but it is not engaging. Oddly enough, the book I enjoyed the most lately was one that I borrowed off my Dad (and likely won’t give back unless he asks for it ; which means that I come out ahead because I didn’t pay for it) is Agatha Christie’s ‘Passenger to Frankfurt’. I was never an Christie fan and sadly it was because I never gave her a chance. This is the only book of hers I have ever read and I plan to read more. Anyway, I don’t spend much on books.

I have been guilty of a Red Bull or two through the week, just to keep the blood pumping. Those are three and a half bucks a shot. Mell disapproves of that almost as much as she does smoking, but I see no harm. Walmart sells six packs for seven bucks or something. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to snag one or two of those and stash them in the office fridge at work. Hmmmm. Note to self….

I drink beer only in the summer and I go through about six beers a week, maybe. All year round my wife and I take turns buying a bottle of wine on Saturday nights. So, that’s maybe twenty five, thirty bucks a week. We usually drink that with whatever I am cooking on Saturday nights.

Which brings me to food. We don’t go out for dinner that much anymore. Swiss Chalet, maybe, every couple of weeks. McDonald’s once a month or so (sadly but it is the truth ; and there have been months where it has been more than once, but those were generally bad months for us being busy and needing some really greasy, carb jacked, comfort food).

Mell cooks and I am starting to really like to cook. Mell is more practical when it comes to her meals, but they smell awesome when I come home from work and just want to collapse. When I cook, I have to go over the top and try something new everytime. Last weekend it was Shrimp Simmered in White Wine with Linguine Carbonara with Creme Brulee for dessert. The Bruleet didn’t come off that bad. It was a little too mooshy, but I will try again this weekend, maybe with some Bailey’s. Because we cook, we don’t spend so much on food.

We don’t party. We don’t go to clubs. We don’t go to movies. We do buy movies, but not very often. I do toy with the idea of not watching television at all and just buy the television series when they eventually come out on DVD, but my wife likes her television, so it stays.

Don’t spend much on technology. All of the laptops I have are gifts and so was my desktop. I bought the 320gB HDD for the desktop, but that was all of a hundred bucks or so, and that was it. I bought an inkjet photo printer for 50$ off of Ebay, and that was only because it was the cheapest printer I could find that would print on my index cards (more on the cue cards later, if you don’t mind). I am happy with plain old DVD and Blueray really holds no interest for me. We spent big bucks on thirty six inch Sony Wega when we first moved into the house and it still works just fine so there is no need for another one. My one rule was that we only ever had one television in the house. I don’t want one in the bedroom. Bedrooms are for two things, and one of them is sleeping and the other one is none of your business.

I want to get an iPod but I will wait to see if I can get a good on refurbed from the internet or maybe when we are in the states. I do spend money on music. That more than books, these days. As much as thirty bucks a month, some months. And I will stock up. So if I don’t buy anything for a few months, I’ll go nuts and spend a hundred or so. Haven’t got the whole iTunes thing yet. I like CD cases and record cases and reading the liner notes while I listen to the music. If I do get the iPod it will be more for downloading free audiobooks from the internet (LibriVox.com). Nothing recent. Just the classics. All for free.

Speaking of record cases, what I was also looking forward to buying was a record player, but my in-laws were doing house cleaning and they found two of them. My wife, beautiful and tolerant woman that she is, scooped them both up for me. So I have the pick of what I want, but I will likely keep both. My in-laws also had an old IBM Selectric typewriter, complete with extra ribbons. I was all over that.

So, when it comes to toys and gadgets, I really am low maintenance.

I don’t play hockey, soccer or baseball. I don’t ski, waterski or swim. I only ever play golf, and not that often and only at cheap courses. And that’s not because I’m cheap, it’s because I suck. I suck so very, very hard it hurts my cheeks to think about it. Bad, bad, bad. But I like a good walk and when I get me a pullcart for my golfbag, I get a workout.

I don’t watch sports on television and the professional sports event I last went to was a game between Toronto and Montreal and that was more for me to hang out and have a few drinks with my youngest brother than anything else. The game was incidental. I had a better time hanging out with him.

What I am getting at is that I really have alot and it only gets better from here. I know my wife loves to shop and even if she doesn’t buy anything, she really enjoys seeing what there is to buy and work out comparisons to find the best deals on everything and anything. I like making her happy and it doesn’t cost me anything at all so I am looking forward to being with her and our daughter for four wonderous days.

And if work calls me for anything, they will have a tough time. Because the cell phone and the laptop will be at home. I swear. But don’t check my napsack or my zippercase please. Those are…uh….private. But I will bring the Toshiba laptop. I want to be able to surf the net before going to bed.