self-restoration – 2 forward, 1 back

huh – it’s not everyday you get a phone call from csis (and that’s all i’m saying about that one – it’s not nearly as interesting as it sounds, but all will be revealed in good time).

for the past two days i have had visitors keep me up a little past my bedtime each night, which although leaving me a tad tired, i am not complaining about. my friend megan brought her friend andy to see some of the sunshine coast this week, and it was great to have my first official “guests” since moving into my place and actually getting all the boxes out of the spare bedroom. they made me dinner last night, which marks the first time i have come home from work to a ready-dinner in, well, i don’t know – years. wow. how nice (mashed potatoes and gravy and fried tofu and salad…. mmmm).

i can’t really find the right metaphor to express how densely-packed my life is at the moment…. between work, union, socializing, trying to book holidays, and working on my own personal goals like learning how to play the guitar…. the days just keep slipping by and i feel like i’m not getting nearly the output i need on each aspect, or the downtime i need to stay healthy. i’m not feeling bad at the moment, mildly tired is all, but i also know that too much working+funning is a recipe for burnout and i have grown accustomed to a certain amount of hermit-time that does wonders for my self-restoration. this is the part i have to find again, the alone-time part (even if that means getting up 1/2 hour early to do qi gong, or abstaining from weekend parties to get that body-time i need).

this past weekend was fairly good, mostly just stuck close to home, went to visit a friend on gambier and got a bunch more house chores finished up – but now i’m back in the thick of things and going to victoria this weekend to see family, go to a party, and visit a friend in prison before going home. i’m not even sure i will make it home sunday and may start begging for a place to crash in the city sunday-night instead if only because next week is looking deadly in terms of schedule and it might just be easier to stay in the city sunday and monday as well. dammit, at this rate i’m never going home (and i have already agreed to work overtime tomorrow, monday and wednesday if need be).

but really, this is temporary and i know it, just a confluence of projects and grievance-cases and events coming together at the same crossroad. july will not be nearly so busy, august should be okay (though am travelling for a union convention), but september is already booked from end to end. as long as i get enough weekends on the coast, i’ll be just fine. quiet time, body-time, reflection space – yes, that’s a little of what i need. maybe then i can make some posts of substance again.