plans

Turned 50 the other day.

It was a bit anti-climactic. Not that I have any tradition of big birthday celebrations, but this year I said this would be the year I finally went parasailing off the local mountain, or on an African safari or somesuch grand thing. The situation in Kenya is perhaps not propitious, and the continuing audit-anxiety at the lab nixed a southern adventure. But handing the planning over to my honey certainly meant that parasailing should be in the works.

He, after all, is not a maniac of procrastination, and does not hate phoning people up.

No, he is a master of efficiency and of making his sweetie happy.

But then there was the weather. Can't fight the weather.

I guess a lot of people get uptight about turning a decade. They see this big milestone in the road, and fret about getting old, and regret things behind them, especially things not done. It's a major event.

Nah.

Just another day.

I like having birthdays; it's a good excuse for a bit of frivolous shopping (ice cream maker!) and an extra-good restaurant (which we will have to reserve for next week, reservations really are required), and to not do the washing-up. Usually I take the week of my birthday off, falling as it does conveniently when it's already summer but not yet the Everybody & their dog on vacation Summer. That didn't work out this year.

Instead I have next week off and the one after. Because the accreditation audit was not, after all, scheduled for the period they said it would be, but for the end of August, everybody's vacation plans were thrown into chaos. I had to cancel a free trip I'd won, but my employer does have the right to make me stay for the big event. Instead, I got two weeks in July, too late to reserve anything. That's ok. I don't need to go anywhere. We'll just hang around here, shopping the sales and grilling sausages in the yard and playing bridge. 

And going parasailing. The weather can't be bad all the time.

Kenya? I'll get there someday. Not this fall (Turkey, then Peru) or winter (USA) or next summer (having guests), but after that...