Vacation

I have begun to wonder if one can read too much. I've had an unprecedented amount of time off over the holidays, and I'm closing in on four Philip K. Dick novels, various non-fiction books, the last couple New Yorkers, the last Atlantic Monthly and, because I am a sworn geek, the last five Detective Comics, which I have resumed now that they have dropped that stupid Batwoman/The Question arc. Please note the incredibly cool T-shirt Amy gave me for Christmas.

In the process, I've grown a beard, look like a slob, have gone to yoga three or four times a week, done tai chi, watched some television, including rewatching the three BBC "Sherlock" episodes and the first four--soon to be six after today--episodes of Breaking Bad. I've eaten great lashings of restaurant food, including some good Indian last night and some very over-hyped Mexican the night before. We went to Christkindlmarket and then saw A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre on Christmas Eve. And we've seen "Black Swan" and "The King's Speech" and "True Grit." I have played XBOX and watched "Layer Cake," one of my favorite crime films.

I've slept too much, nearly thought myself into a coma, never quite shaken a cold, and--to my point about reading too much--found that the lines between fiction and real life can indeed blur around the edges a bit in the wee hours when in the midst of good, paranoid science fiction. I guess if one is willingly surrendering to a fictional dream with enough regularity and intensity, it only makes sense that the book or movie could either follow you into your own dreams or at least take a while to break out of when resuming mundane duties around the house, like taking out the dogs or doing dishes.

I suppose it has been good to completely attenuate for a while, and I have done some good, including hanging out more with Amy, house searching and keeping my appointments to teach ESL. And the yoga will pay dividends for a long time to come. But my point is that I'm ready for this vacation to be over so I can go back to work.