I have two weeks off between leaving my old job and starting a new one. I could have spent this time doing many things, and the first that comes to mind is house projects. There are a few weatherization-related items that are time sensitive. I completed one of those projects, which involved some creative use of weather stripping. But there is still more. There is always more. That’s one of the most common replies I get when I mention having recently bought a house. It was also part of our home inspector’s boilerplate spiel: “There are 52 weekends in a year, and owning a house gives you 52 weekends worth of projects to do.”

I have heard this study quoted in a few places. A nurse who spent much time working in palliative care asked patients their biggest regrets at the end of their lives, and she found clear recurring themes. Two of the top five were “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard” and “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends”. I’ve been trying to be more conscious of keeping work and side projects at bay. It’s an uphill battle for me. Em is helpful in encouraging me to relax. She’s a pro at it. Kepler is sometimes helpful, except when she is hungry.

So my two main objectives for these two weeks became to relax after an intense job search and to catch up with friends and family I hadn’t seen in a while. Unfortunately, this is the busiest time for Em at work, so I am traveling solo.

My first journey was to the place where everyone goes for work opportunity and has to know someone in order to be able to rent an apartment the size of a large closet that costs not-sure-how-many thousand dollars per month these days. I went there though because I have some really great friends there. I stayed with Shawn and Natalie and their cat, Klaus. Also, I met up with our mutual friend, Gromano.

More to come.