So long, vacation

So, my vacation has finally come to an end. I spent eight days back home in beautiful South Glens Falls, N.Y., a couple nights in Albany, and the final weekend back in Connecticut. Compared to my last vacation, where I covered E3 in Los Angeles and a couple nights in Las Vegas, this was about as low key as it could get. I realized after that last vacation that I need a couple days to unwind after travelling or I don’t feel rested by the time work begins again. This time I unwound (is this is a word?) to the nth degree.

Here’s what went down.

--- Spent a lot of time with friends and family. This was nice because I probably won’t have a day off to go home until snow melts and flowers blossom. It was the first time I saw my younger brother, Mark, since he left to study in Shanghai in August. Like me, he’s in love with the Asian country where he studied abroad. A big thanks to him for the two Yao Ming jerseys he got me for Christmas. They will be put to use, especially if my boss allows “casual Asian basketball player jersey Friday.”

---Saw Avatar.  Meh.

--- Wrote a review for Canabalt over at Thunderbolt Games. It was simplistic bliss, as the image below demonstrates.

 --- Watched an entire season of 24. I have an addictive personality, and when I start something I want it done. Such was the case with the two dozen episodes of season seven. It was the best season in years, although the bar is set fairly low with this show. I think only the odd-numbered seasons end up decent, so I’m not really looking forward to new episodes of season eight in a week.

--- Skied at Gore Mountain for a day. It was bone-chillingly cold and too crowded, but the conditions were excellent. I’ve never had the chance to ski on so much powder before. I’d make a reference to cocaine, but I can’t think of anything remotely funny.

--- Bought a bunch of camping gear for this summer. I miss the outdoors.

--- Watched the Giants shame and embarrasses themselves and their fans in two different games. My Sundays will be productive now. Also, much more boring.

--- Updated the blog a couple times. It’s something I’m going to do from now on or I’ll be mad at myself.

--- Drank Patron for the first time. That was one of several memorable nights I had with my friends.

--- Organized my apartment. Notice how I didn’t say “cleaned” my apartment. I did hang up this incredible painting my mom had framed for me as a Christmas gift. When I was working in Warsaw a couple years ago, I went to the National Museum and bought a bunch of painting for cheap. I had one framed already: “Partridges” by Josef Chelmonski, and it looks quite classy. Check it out.

The one my mom had framed for me was the Battle of Grunwald my Jan Matejko. It’s a super patriotic painting and could probably be the considered of Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze. This is what the epic painting looks like.

It’s significantly smaller than the 10 by 17 feet of the original, but it looks quite nice in my hallway. With my six Alfons Mucha copies, seven pencil sketches of Krakow and a Return of the Jedi poster with an Ewok on it, my apartment walls are looking quite classy.

Now here are some things I wish I did but never got around to.

--- Write a short biography and then have my mom translate so I can “officially” have my European Union citizenship. The world will be opened up to me once I finally get that. I’d report in strange Eastern European countries in a second.

--- Caught up with a few old friends I haven’t seen in a long time.

--- Finished my Adobe Premiere training DVD. I’m about 75 percent done and did a bunch over the vacation, but I just couldn’t finish it -  yet.

While perhaps not the most productive vacation, it was so relaxing that I almost look forward to going to work tomorrow. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow when that actually happens.