One Day and Several Carpe Diems Later

I complained when I was in search of work so I will bite my tongue and say that now I am off for the holidays. The significant other is miles away enjoying the tastes and sights of Italy. In other words I have plenty of free time. Staycation or not, I decided to make the most of it. The following is a rundown of my first tease of freedom.

11:00 Wake up for the first time in months after 6am.

Time filled with slowly milling about before getting out the door.

2:00 Running out the door. About to buy a replacement metropass off a craigslist post. (Lost two in the past two weeks, both out of my pocket.)

3:00 Metropass secured. Back in the tube with a mission in mind.

3:30 Distracted. Buying red leather gloves.

3:55 Mission back on - gifting strangers. Head over to dollar store and scour the isles for goods I would actually want for myself.

4:30 One slinky, two dreamcatchers, scrapbook gems, snowflake candles and some sweets later I began packing the mini gift bags. Insert cards as well.

The cards catered to the gifts and read something like this:

Dear Stranger,

Here is a gift and a poem I really like:

"We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams,Wandering by lone sea-breakers,And sitting by desolate streams;— World-losers and world-forsakers, On whom the pale moon gleams: Yet we are the movers and shakers Of the world for ever, it seems." -Arthur O'Shaughnessy

Love,

Your Fellow Human

4:45 Friend and I proceed to hand out gifts. First encounter unsuccessful; we are lectured on aiding and abetting Christmas - whatever that means.

4:47 People are being gifted. Smiles all around.

5:15 The guy on the street who paints for a living is given a mini canvas with a mini easel. He's a little surprised. Mostly amused. Task accomplished.

6:00 It is freezing. Can't feel fingers. One more gift to go. Dreamcatcher goes to lonely girl.

Food intermission with other friend. Spoil self with four cheese risotto at Vivoli.

10:00 Proceed to yet another friend's festive birthday party. Fire crackling, mulled wine and dated sweaters. Indulge in wistful chat of travel.

12:30 Depart after making plans to host a "dress up day" - an excuse to put those one time purchases to good use. Nod to the blue silk pants.

12:45 Arrive on King. Enter club. Meet the girls and dance the night away.

3:45 Arrive back home. Surprisingly not tired. Very satisfied.

Tomorrow will hopefully include more blogging, reading and doing what ever strikes me as worth doing. I plan to squeeze as much life out of these two weeks as I can.