Usually I don’t get my vacation from writing until late July and early August. It was a special treat this year when Zack, my editor at The Forest Grove News-Times was nice enough to grant me some “vacation” in mid-May. Having three weeks off from writing is always nice. A sojourn to strictly verbal communication makes writing that much easier.
The time away gives me an opportunity to think about what I am saying. What I mean. How I mean it. The vacation isn’t all cherries and apple pie, though. The pitfalls are there. They tend to shine during my first week back. When I end up ending sentences with prepositions. Don’t judge me. Please.
Hopefully the next three weeks will be as nice as the three I just enjoyed. Looking back, it’s been an interesting three weeks. I’ve won an award, attempted to quit two jobs, and started packing up most of my belongings. I’ve learned a lot. For starters, I have a ton of stuff. Too much. I’ve ebay’d and craigslist’d my heart out for the past two weeks and I’m still knee-deep is stuff.
The award was a nice surprise. I wrote the best sports column in a non-daily newspaper with a circulation of under 8,000 in 2009. I know there were more deserving writers out there but once again, I got lucky.
In a little over a month I’ll begin at Syracuse University as a graduate student studying Broadcast Journalism. What I won’t divulge is how much this is all costing me. Let’s just say I could buy my Jeep six more times and still be a little short.
A quick shout out to the folks handing out financial aid in Washington D.C.: Can I get a little help here? I’m not saying I’m poor but even the bums in Portland stopped asking me for money. People on Unemployment make more than I do.
Well, I guess Youtube trolls and random Bloggers still think I’m rich.
On top of my lack of funds, I’m driving out to Syracuse. Yes, I am going to drive there. According to Google, it’s just 2,889 miles. At about 19mpg (what I average at 65mph on the highway) I’ll use about 152 gallons of gas. I’ll get there in just under two days. They predict 47 hours. On the bright side, I’ll use a gallon of gas every 18 minutes. Remind me to never calculate that out again.
Luckily, I get to take a short pit-stop in Green Bay to visit some family. And hopefully bribe them into giving me some money.
In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have take these last three weeks off from writing. I could have used the extra dinero.
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