Off to Another Conference

I haven't left yet and already I'm sad about having to return.  To much work and home stress---I can feel it in my neck and shoulders.  I need to have a bit more control over my time and have less negative input from others.  These trips really are vacations, and I need this one.

Podcasts

My commute (about an hour each way) has always been time lost from my life.  Music has been a constructive use of the time.  For a while now I have been listening to podcasts and now am addicted.

The earliest "podcast" that I listened to was Prairie Home Companion;  I set a timer on my stereo to tape it for playing at a later date.  Radio has been hit or miss in terms of catching my favorite shows.

I could listen to some shows from the internet and binged periodically.

Now that my smart phone can download and play podcasts I've extended my range considerably, including movie reviews, politics, and humor.  My commute is much less onerous.

Family Visit Recovery

It's always been a physical ordeal to visit our family in NY and PA.  It is a long drive, although the kids do not scream nearly as much as they used to.

At my in-laws' house they have a mattress that is rock-hard and at my mother's house the mattress gives no back support.  My back is screaming in agony after a month.

I dread the visits less not so much because I am doing physically (I'm not). I think that I just don't care anymore.  That kind of scares me.