July 10, 2025

So the Summer Sabbatical is now over for the moment - there's going to be 1-2 smaller ones coming up but nothing as long - and I'm back to trying to add some meaningful posts here.

As for what I did with my summer vacation, camping was a mixed bag. It didn't go exactly as I had hoped but getting to see my friends and hanging out in the woods without any pressing matters was still rejuvenating. Sweltering hot most of the time with bugs everywhere, I remembered both the joys and downsides to tenting after years of cabining but going through all that with my spouse instead of a bunch of angry Boy Scouts made it worth it. A good thunderstorm thrown in helped keep things from becoming to unbearable on the weather front. Clean-up was frustrating but c'est la vie...

Had to hit the ground running once I got back, since Week 2 was focused on watching over a preschooler. This was a kid of one of my spouses's nieces and nephews, so I had to learn quick how to become Uncle Alex and not just my usual grumpy-ass self. There were lots of questions, lots of babbling, lots of waffling between liking/not liking food, and lots of wanting goofy garbage for no reason other than just because.

The kid was cute and pretty well-behaved, so it was a pleasure being able to watch over them overall. Biggest lesson I got from the whole experience is apparently I'm good with children and can be a lot more patient than I thought. Honestly, though, I'm just happy to be an uncle who can do cool things for the kiddo, since my spouse and I were both so exhausted by the end of the trip that we're just sticking to the DINK life for ourselves.

Today's album is Get Away From Me by Nellie McKay (2004) and the featured image is from Pawel Czerwinski.  - A.B. 7/10/25