Back!

Well, I'm back from my vacation. Have been for just over a week now but for some reason it takes me longer to unpack than it takes me to pack in the first place. That plus jet-lag and going immediately back to work has left me little time to get online and catch up on blogs, though I am slowly getting there.

My vacation was wonderful. I got to explore more fully two countries (Ireland and Scotland) that I only saw briefly the first time I went to Europe. And I got to check off two more states from my goal of seeing all 50.

I find it funny how you miss home so much when you're on vacation but the minute you come back you wish you could be on vacation again. At least it was that way for me this time. Although it could be because I came back to work and landed in the middle of a giant miscommunication that had me feeling like I never left.

On a related note, I noticed on vacation that I could nap without clenching my jaw or needing to wear my mouthguard (though I still wore it at night just to be safe). Upon coming back home and back to work I can't fall asleep for five minutes without waking up with intense jaw pain and related headaches. So that, combined with the fact that I never needed a mouthguard or clenched my teeth before 2007 (a year after I started at this job) leads me to believe it is entirely related to the stress of my job. Of course I had already guessed this, but it was nice to see it confirmed.

As predicted summer is going by way too fast. I won't be able to do the 5K like I wanted to because my boss will be out of town that weekend and so I am sure to be scheduled to work that Saturday. Also, after all the walking (and a little biking) I did on vacation I realized just how out of shape I really am and I don't fancy my chances of getting in shape for a 5K in less than a month. Maybe they'll have it again next year. :-(

Here is the map from my 50 State Project (the states I have been to are highlighted in red)