I’m on my way home from an awesome week in Florida! I came down for the shuttle launch, which wound up being pushed back to the end of November. I’m a little bummed that I didn’t get to see Discovery storm the heavens on her final journey, but my time was not wasted in Florida! Going to the KSC and some of the other space-related places was well worth the trip. If you have any interest whatsoever in the history of manned space flight, take the time to get down there and check it out.

When I first set out on my road trip I had planned on keeping a journal of the day’s events, but after the first day I couldn’t really see posting “I drove 500 miles and I’m very tired.” for the day. So then, I figured I’d post a couple of times while I was in Florida. Ha! I was too busy playing tourist every day to be bothered.

So here I am, sitting in a hotel room outside of Atlanta with time on my hands. What better way to kill 15 minutes than post something on Mr. Neglected Blog. Consider this the special edition for you fucking stalkers out there. Run along after you’re done reading and report on where I am and what I’ve been up to. (P.S. I track all the hits, so I know you’re there.)

Since late last year I’ve wanted to see a shuttle launch before the fleet is retired. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it happen, but the idea lingered. A few months back I got a phone call from one of my cousins on my dad’s side of the family. She was calling with the sad news that my aunt had died. We’ll skip the part where I was possessed of a furious anger because she waited 18 months to call with the news and get to where this ties in with shuttle launches. In a nutshell, my aunt had left me some money in her will.

We’re not talking millions here, but it was enough for me to stash some in the bank for a wee person’s college tuition, buy a nice digital SLR, and get to planning this trip.

“You asshole,” I can hear you saying, “Why didn’t you put it all in the bank for the college tuition?”

First of all, fuck you.

Second, fuck you.

Thirdly, I have spent the majority of my adult life giving friends the following advice – “You’ve gotta be selfish every once in awhile and do things just for you.” Everyone usually agrees and eventually they go off and do something just for themselves. I have never done this. I have never practiced what I’ve been preaching all these years. And you know something? It makes for a very bitter, sad, miserable existence. So, I corrected that. I took a vacation. And I had fun! I had so much fun I almost didn’t leave to come home. Then I realized how happy that would make some people and I packed my shit to come home. Sorry, bitches. Wait, scratch that – I’m not sorry.

Finally, the biggest reason – I needed this. I needed to get away from everyone and everything and just unwind. Work has been a massive bitch lately and I’m pretty sure I was on the verge of flaming out, especially since I’ve almost quit at least five times in the last three months. There’s a little secret I haven’t told anyone. But my time away has helped tremendously. I’ve spent so much time NOT thinking about work that I think I’ve actually forgotten how to get there. I guess we’ll see if I can remember in time for my first day back.

When I really started hammering out the plans for this trip I cast out, looking for anyone who might want to come with. I didn’t get any bites, either because people didn’t want to go or couldn’t go. So I said the hell with it and planned it anyway. Now, I’m so happy I did this alone. I got to do everything my way and didn’t have to wait on anyone else. It was perfect. I thought I’d be bored driving alone, but it’s nice. On the road, it’s just me, the road, my tunes blaring through the speakers, and my thoughts.

I forgot to pack pants and managed to realize it before I got too far from home.  True story. I think being alone, without the distraction of conversation, is what made me think of my potentially pants-less state. Two and a half days going down was a lot of time to think and I’ve got another day and a half ahead of me on the return trip. All this time alone in the car has helped out a lot with the crap that I’ve had on my mind lately.

I’ve had a great time, looking forward to more road time, and starting to plot my next road trip. I’m taking away something from all of this – I need to be selfish like this once a year. I think instead of using my vacation time to get caught up with home repair/upkeep projects, I’m going to start using it for honest to God vacations. Because I’m way the fuck behind on my selfishness quota and need to balance all the shit in my life with the ability to do things just for me. So far, I think I’m off to a pretty good start.