Vacation!

photo credit: annadahlstroem via photopin cc

There’s something about going on vacation that casts a magical spell on us.  We imagine ourselves on a beach, or in a hammock, or in a fishing boat, or in any of a hundred other places that aren’t our current reality.

How come nobody talks about the crazy chicken dance before and after vacation? 

Could it be that this is because it’s just so traumatic that we suffer a collective brain fart and forget about it?  Maybe it’s denial.  I’d like to think it’s an evolutionary defense mechanism designed so that we actually come back from vacation, and so that we don’t kill anyone prior to leaving on one.

So here are five special tips to survive the pre- and post-vacation period that we are all subjected to during vacation season.

1.  Don’t tell anyone you’re going on vacation until the day before you leave.  “Oh, I can’t give you that next week, because I’ll be in Aruba.”  This will avoid the pre-vacation overloading of projects that you could do just fine when you get back.

2.  On the other hand, you could pack everything and bring it in to the office a week early, just to make sure that your coworkers remember that you’re going on vacation.

3.  Build a fort with your suitcases in front of your inbox.  If folks can’t find it, they can’t give you work, now can they?

4.  If you are a homemaker who doesn’t work outside the home, and you end up getting extra carpool duties or some other chore to “make up for when you’ll be out,” just keep a tally.  You can even put it on your fridge so your neighbors can see it when they visit.  When they ask what it is, you can say it’s for your “job share” calendar and look very serene when they give you a somewhat panicked look.

5.  Remember that no matter how much preparation you do, no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.  So relax.  It’s just vacation, and you’ll be back soon enough to be able to pick up all the balls that you normally juggle.

6.  Consider leaving some of the balls where they fell.  If you don’t juggle them, they can’t hit you in the head when you drop one.

Six?  That list of five has six items?  I’m going on vacation, sorry.  Pre-vacation brain.  I can’t count.  Why don’t we talk about it when I get back?

Sealed by Fire

Vanya is a sorcerer’s apprentice who finally achieves his goal, initiation as a sorcerer – only to find that he, himself, is the intended sacrifice in their ritual. When the ritual goes wrong, his master flees and he is left with the creature that his master summons.

Stranded on this side of the portal, Nash is a powerful being with only one desire – find the sorcerer who stranded him and wreak his revenge. Vanya agrees to help, and in the process, he and Nash find more than they ever bargained for: love, friendship, and belonging.

Can they protect themselves against the sorcerer’s growing power, or will he destroy all that they hold dear?

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A. Catherine Noon & Rachel Wilder

For author and textile artist A. Catherine Noon, it's all about the yarn, both metaphorical and literal—spinning a yarn, knitting with yarn, weaving, sewing, painting, sharing stories and good times over a cup of coffee with dark chocolate. She teaches creative writing, creative expression and textile arts.

Author and image consultant Rachel Wilder is passionate about the masks and costumes people wear. She loves exploring that with her characters. Living in Las Vegas gives her an ample backdrop to pursue her curiosity.

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