Summer of Fun!

So, Noreen and I have decided that this is the summer of fun. It's actually pretty obvious why it would be the summer of fun, the next three years will be the three years of pain. Anyway, we want to get in as much fun activities and experiences as we can. Sure, it may be a bit irresponsible at times like going out on a Wednesday or eating out two days in a row. But, we figure there will be plenty of responsibility, discipline, staying in, and thriftiness in the years to come. One example of a summer of fun activity, we woke up one sunday, said "hey, we should go to the baseball game," and an hour later we had tickets and were on our way to Fenway. Why not? Unfortunately, we kind of have to take a two week hiatus as Noreen has a two week intensive for school which is pretty much committing her to 15 or more hours of work a day. No biggie though, in August we'll have two whole weeks together with nothing we have to do. So, if anyone out there wants to meet up, hang out, do something, we're game. Our exact policy is this, if something appealing comes across our plate before August 27th, we'll do it!

This casting off the shackles of adult responsibility is fun to do every now and then. This way all the built up pressure and stress gets relieved so my tank is empty for school. Also, the joy tank gets all full and happy to be depleted over the next however long. Hold on, I know I will find moments of joy in the next few years, but you know what I mean. I believe mental health pros call it self care. Kind of like R and R for troops before or after a battle, or that's how it used to be anyway(zing!).

Also in August, I've got a bit of a project. I'll be building my study room. We have a little room off the side of our hallway, it's really not big enough for a bedroom, but not small enough to just be a closet. We've basically used it for storage the past couple years. I've decided to help keep me focused, to keep Noreen sane, and to get me out of the way so she can live her life in the rest of the house, I'm going to make it my study. No great plans, some shelves, a big desk with lots of surface area, some cork and wipe boards, and study charts about. I'm going to go buy a good office chair, I figure I'll spend enough time in it that I might as well invest wisely. But, I'm going to build the desk. Now, I don't think Noreen's so psyched about this. My reasoning is sound, however. First, I need a lot of surface area to put books, handouts, notes, and my laptop on all at once. Also, I want to make it tall for two reasons; the room is small so I need to maximize the utilization of the space that does exist(vertical), and I want to be able to stand up sometimes so I can work out those stiff muscles and prevent drowsiness. Those two things alone are hard to come by in the commercial furniture world, unless I get it custom made or spend a bunch of money at a high end "designer" furniture store. So, I figure with some good wood that a store can pre-cut for me, and a little Yarwood ingenuity, I can make a pretty bitchin desk. This saves me money and I get exactly what I want. I haven't decided if I'm going to paint it or varnish it, I'm thinkin varnish but it definitely needs a coat of something. Also, I'm thinking of tricking it out a bit with things like cable holes in the right places, built-in shelves for the printer and other things, maybe even built in pen/pencil/highlighter holders. The sky is kind of the limit, I mean I have three weeks to work on this thing, and I have all the tools I'll need. So readers, any suggestions, tips for the desk, for the summer of fun? Let me know in the comments.