spring break

I am in the midst of my first ever "spring break", and this is why I have not been able to write for a while. I am set to depart to Florida for an amazing trip, but have just recieved word from my associate, mr. zanax, that my flight has been delayed. Henceforth, (always wanted to use that word instead of "therefore") I now have ample time to RANT to you about vacations, spring breaks, and anything else that pops into my head.

One thing that puzzles me about vacations is the tendency some of us have to fill them with activities. I myself am guilty of this, as I plan on going to Universal Studios, and a Mets spring training game. Both of these endevours will require an early morning wake up. Now, doesn't this somewhat defeat the purpose of a "vacation"? A real vacation would be just lying in bed and watching nickelodeon for as many hours as you can before you have to get up and go to the bathroom. I remember being in Florida with my pals on previous vacations, and some of them yelling at me to wake up because its already 9 am!!! They would tell me that I have to get out early if I want to get a full day of the sun at the beach. This really never made any sense to me at all. Why would I want to lie in the hot sun and try to sleep out there, when I am already sleeping comfortably in an air-conditioned econo-lodge?? Again, its that tendency to always force ourselves to be doing something, because we cannot stand the idea of just sitting around and doing absolutely nothing.

But in my humble opinion, sometimes thats exactly what we need. We are in school, or working for a living, and the stress of those things can really get to us. Throw in the social stress that many of us are going through at this time, and you really just need to give your mind a break. Nothing can provide your mind with that break than...simply doing nothing. Of course, its better to go to a warm place and do nothing, then to do nothing in cold,dreary NY or Philly or wherever. We all know that our moods get much happier when that first day of spring hits, and we can wear short sleeves, unless you are a girl reading this who never wears short sleeves anyway. But imagine that you did. In any event, thats why I am going to Florida on this vacation. I just need to sit and do nothing in nice weather. Thats simply all I want from my vacation.

But as I have said earlier, things will always try and prevent that serenity of mind. Already, I am dealing with the delayed flight. How many delays will there actually be? How long will I be stuck in the airport, and how many bad purchases will I make while sitting there? Getting stuck in the airport can be one of the worst experiences possible. I was once stuck in Cleveland for 9 hours and simply went outta my mind. I started calling girls and just saying crazy things to them; at least it provided me with entertainment and gave me someone to talk to. So how can I have a peaceful vacation when I am already thinking about the horrible possibility of being stuck in the terminal forever.

And there is also the packing issue. I have no idea how to do this. I try to pack all my stuff, and then my Mom comes into my room and takes it all out, and re-packs it. Somehow it only takes up half the space when my Mom does it. It might have to do with this trick called "folding", but I do not wish to know of such concepts. So i pack twice as much as I need, b/c I'm always concerned about missing something, and I end up having more outfits then a seminary girl on pesach break. And I end up forgetting something anyway, like a toothbrush or a shaver or my driver's license or sneakers.

Ideally, I really crave a peaceful vacation, in which I can just temporarily ignore and escape from the educational and social pressures that are constantly present in my life. I am stressed now about the packing, and the airport, but I think I'll be Ok when I finally arrive in Florida. I hope to update you on the highlights of my vacation, and I will be documenting every day via video camera. take care, my dear readers, and I'll think of you when I'm getting woken up at 6 am to go to the beach.