Tomorrow is my final carryover vacation day from 2007. I’m lucky that I was able to take all of those days this month. It means, essentially, that I’ll have something like 20 vacation days this year (I haven’t really checked, but it will be close.)

After a solid night of rock-climbing just a couple of hours ago, my hands are a bit sore, especially my fingertips. I tried some climbs that were new to me and more difficult than previous ones I’ve done; despite my dogged determination to finish them, I didn’t manage to complete them. I’m OK with it in general and I’m not discouraged… but it bugs me because I have some pretty high expectations of myself - unrealistic, as I know and as others have pointed out to me on several occasions. We are our own worst enemies and critics, so that’s no surprise. But my friend did say that I did well from a technical standpoint… I was doing “real” climbing moves and not just throwing myself up on the wall and seeing what worked.

Thus, I’ve decided that a (completely secular) day of rest is in order. So here’s how I’ve chosen to spend this day off: I will get up at my regular morning hour (or 30 minutes later), get ready and head over to my preferred local bookstore. I will sit there, in a soft comfy chair, for about two hours - just reading. Maybe a book of my own, maybe a new one that I’ll buy or even a new one that I WON’T buy. I did that for the first time a few months ago (wasted time in a bookstore without buying anything and read an entire book without any intention of purchasing it) and it felt strangely dangerous and rebellious after having spent so many nights for so many years reshelving books at the bookstore. Books that customers just read and deserted with no intention of bringing them home. I will put the books back on the shelves. I’m a friend to the books.

After this loitering (well, I might buy a tea, so I’ll be a customer after all), I will drive some miles and meet my friend Theresa for lunch. I hear we’ll be going to Fuddrucker’s - a popular burger place I’ve used to break many a vegetarian (sorry, vegetarian friends.) They have veggie burgers, too, but when I crave a burger, I’m craving some medium-rare red meat. I do love my vegetables, too. Come to think of it, I ate an exclusively vegetarian diet this past weekend.

I understand that Fuddrucker’s is not a familiar establishment in many states (and countries, for that matter) - but it’s established enough to be a butt of jokes in the (excellent and underrated) movie Idiocracy. To quote Wikipedia, “the film has achieved something of a cult following with its anti-corporate message and savage satire of the way in which the mass media caters to the basest of human instincts.” It’s brilliant in that way.

Once I am fed, it’s time for another rare experience: going to the movies solo. There are several I want to see and I might catch more than one, depending on my mood. There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men are top contenders. I’d also like to check out The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and if I’m feeling like scaring the crap out of myself, perhaps The Orphanage. Though I hear that No Country for Old Men might have the same crap-evacuating effect.

Sounds pretty good, no?