Vacation Retrospective - Part 1
I will be starting my new job next Monday, so I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at my time off. My transition period ended on May 3rd and I return to work on October 2nd, so I got five months off. Like most things in my life, I can think a few things I would have done differently, however I am pretty satisfied with my time off. I will start with things that I was either disappointed with or that I expect to turn out better. Later I will continue with pleasant surprises and then finish with fun activities that I was able to enjoy.
Probably the biggest disappointment is that I never got to take my road trip. For one reason or another, I just never got around to it. In hindsight, I probably should have reserved a time to take it and stuck with it. I ended up deciding that I wanted to take it in September rather than during the summer. This was a mistake, because I did not know if I would have September available for the trip. As it turned out, I was busy getting a job and I ended up with other commitments during September. While August is not the optimal time to take this trip, I was free during August and should have just taken it. This does not bother me too much; I still was able to do many fun things during my time off.
I had planned to take a series of organized 100km bike rides through the summer. Instead, I am planning to take the first organized bike ride this Sunday, the last day of my time off. I had been focusing on the Strawberry Fields ride at the end of May. Unfortunately, it rained heavily on that day and we decided not to go. The other rides during the summer seemed to fall on inconvenient days, so I passed on them. Twice, I rode on 100km bike rides on my own. I enjoyed those rides, but it is not the same. I would have enjoyed riding in other parts of the state. In hindsight, I do not think I would have changed anything. I certainly did not want to ride in the driving rain for Strawberry Fields. I am looking forward the Surf City Century on Sunday.
I expected to play a lot of bridge. That never seemed to get going. Towards the start of the year, I play 3 or 4 times, then other commitments got in the way. I started again about a month or so ago. Again I played 3 or 4 weeks in a row, but then quit playing. In the past, I have always had a regular partner. I would make commitments to play with the regular partner and then would work hard to honor those commitments. This time, I wanted to play with a variety of partners. This does not seem to work as well. It is too easy to make other plans. In hindsight, I don't think I would change this. After I settle into my new job, I may try again, or maybe not. I don't feel too strongly about playing bridge.
Finally, I expected to read more books. I probably read 15-20 books during my time off, mostly non-fiction mysteries. I spent time playing on the computer, writing blog posts and watching movies when I could have been reading a book. Not a bad thing, just not what I expected.
Next: Pleasant Surprises
Probably the biggest disappointment is that I never got to take my road trip. For one reason or another, I just never got around to it. In hindsight, I probably should have reserved a time to take it and stuck with it. I ended up deciding that I wanted to take it in September rather than during the summer. This was a mistake, because I did not know if I would have September available for the trip. As it turned out, I was busy getting a job and I ended up with other commitments during September. While August is not the optimal time to take this trip, I was free during August and should have just taken it. This does not bother me too much; I still was able to do many fun things during my time off.
I had planned to take a series of organized 100km bike rides through the summer. Instead, I am planning to take the first organized bike ride this Sunday, the last day of my time off. I had been focusing on the Strawberry Fields ride at the end of May. Unfortunately, it rained heavily on that day and we decided not to go. The other rides during the summer seemed to fall on inconvenient days, so I passed on them. Twice, I rode on 100km bike rides on my own. I enjoyed those rides, but it is not the same. I would have enjoyed riding in other parts of the state. In hindsight, I do not think I would have changed anything. I certainly did not want to ride in the driving rain for Strawberry Fields. I am looking forward the Surf City Century on Sunday.
I expected to play a lot of bridge. That never seemed to get going. Towards the start of the year, I play 3 or 4 times, then other commitments got in the way. I started again about a month or so ago. Again I played 3 or 4 weeks in a row, but then quit playing. In the past, I have always had a regular partner. I would make commitments to play with the regular partner and then would work hard to honor those commitments. This time, I wanted to play with a variety of partners. This does not seem to work as well. It is too easy to make other plans. In hindsight, I don't think I would change this. After I settle into my new job, I may try again, or maybe not. I don't feel too strongly about playing bridge.
Finally, I expected to read more books. I probably read 15-20 books during my time off, mostly non-fiction mysteries. I spent time playing on the computer, writing blog posts and watching movies when I could have been reading a book. Not a bad thing, just not what I expected.
Next: Pleasant Surprises
posted by Steve @ 11:57 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home