jazzberryram's day off

Three days off from work and a weekend later, and I'm bored as all hell, itching for Monday morning to come so I can once again return to my office. Pathetic, isn't it?

Not to say that it hasn't been nice having some time off from the hectic pace of the office, but since I hadn't really planned anything exciting, I quickly got bored of hanging out with myself - since all my friends were either at school or at work while I was on a proverbial 'hall pass.'

I did go down to campus and visit some friends at my alma mater, which proved to be an interesting walk back in time. Had lunch with an old friend who now works on campus, then popped by to visit my former faculty advisor, an associate dean, as well as her secretary. It seems they always thought that I would return to academia in some form or another, and kept encouraging me in that direction. I never knew. Back when I was still working for the University, I thought it a plausible option, carving out a career at the University - in communications or marketing, or something along those lines. However, since I forayed into the world beyond the ivory tower, I haven't really looked back - until now. Not that I'm going to change my mind and return my one-way airfare to Boston, but it's nice to know that I have other options that I can hide up my sleeve for safekeeping, and that I have some backers.

After meeting old friends, and missing others who were in meetings when I swung by their offices, I wandered around campus, marvelling at all the architectural changes that have been made since I was a caffiene-addicted student toting my backpack from class to class to dorm room to class and back. As I walked into the Main Library and walked into the stacks, I got this erie feeling that I didn't belong. I made a quick exit, and headed back to my car to drive away.

One of the other days (I don't remember anymore - they've jumbled into one collective 'day off work'), I went to the local movie theatre to watch the latest film by Paul Haggis, Crash. It was gritty and heart-breaking, and I found myself tearing up at certain points, or with my jaw hanging in disbelief at others. It's a fairly realistic look at racism and bigotry, but at times, suffers under the weight of the stereotypes it portrays, even as it attempts to shatter them.

In a bit of a spending mood, I also went to the music store and picked up a few CDs to add to the collection:
The Thrills, Let's Bottle Bohemia
Moby, Hotel
Elliott Smith, From a Basement on a Hill

I also polished of Augusten Burroughs' memoir, Dry. An amusing read, both funny and poignant, making me laugh outloud at times, with this book Burroughs has cemented his status alongside satirist David Sedaris, as one of my favourite writers. Next up, Michael Cunningham, Land's End.