:: A week off ::

I think that I've mentioned this before, but in the past – especially when I was in college – I would get sick at the end of nearly every semester or long period of stress/work, etc.

In school, I used to spend the first 3-4 days of my Christmas break, and usually the first couple days of the summer, lying in bed not because I was lazy (although I was) but because I felt awful and worn down. Basically, my body and my brain were exhausted.

I've had a few similar episodes since I graduated – usually after a rough week or two stretch at work, but by and large, it hasn't been that bad. I don't tend to get too stressed out these days, even if I do still have a recurring dream where I wake up (in my dream, not in real life) only to realize I have a semester's worth of projects/essays/final exams to do that day, and haven't prepared for any of them.

That dream stems from the time that really did happen to me –my final semester before graduation. But that's another story for another day. The point is, for the last few years, I've been pretty stress-free, never feeling too worn down.

But right now, I feel, not worn down or stressed per se, but just... off.

At work, for example, I haven't been able to focus as much as usual, and while I don't think my work has really suffered, I just haven't felt too good. The creativity/writing ability needed to do my job just isn't here right now, and I don't know where it's gone.

And the thing is, I'm not particularly stressed with regard to work, nor am I getting sick like I used to in college, nor am I overly tired or worn down physically, but I think the fact that work has been a little tougher than usual (including working a few weekends) plus the fact that all the house-selling/buying/packing/moving drama is over with, has really absolutely drained me.

I'm having a tough time putting it into words (which is obvious, if you've read this far), but I just feel like my brain needs a break. A serious, more-than-a-long-weekend break where I don't think about work at all.

Of course, we have Easter Weekend coming up (even if I only get three days off, not four), and then it's my birthday, and then I have a week off for Vegas, so that break is coming soon.

But really, it can't come soon enough.

And even though I know that going to Vegas with about 20 people – or whatever the number is at now – isn't exactly a recipe for relaxation, it at least will get my mind a chance to be addled with booze, instead of work-related thoughts.

God knows I need it.

:: Indulging the Id ::

id. noun: the part of the mind, residing in the unconscious, that is the source of instinctive impulses that seek satisfaction in accordance with the pleasure principle.

I don't like change. I don't know why exactly, but I don't. Never have. Part of it comes from my being a very organized person – I like to know where something is, when something is happening, what is about to happen. Essentially, I like – I need – my world to be in order. I'm borderline obsessive-compulsive, in this regard. It's not my finest quality, and it's annoying to be point of being quasi-debilitating, but I've learned to deal with it.

The other part of this fear, I figure, stems from my rationality. I am not an irrational, spur-of-the-moment person. Sometimes I wish I was, but I'm just not wired that way. It's been like that all my life, really. I went to school and did my homework because that's what you are supposed to do. And then when I was done that, I went directly to university – did no pass Go, did not collect $200, did not go to Europe, or join a garage band, or a travelling band of gypsies.

And four years later, I did the expected again – I got a job. Surprise, surprise.

The point is, I have almost always done the safe thing – or if not the "safe/smart" thing, then at the very least, the thing that will cause the least amount of upheaval in my life.

But this year is shaping up to be, well, pretty much the opposite because, as of this week, my house is for sale.

Why did I decide to do it? Well, there are plenty of rational reasons – I don't really like my high strata payments nor the strata council itself; Christene lives with me now so more space makes sense; I can make a tidy profit; my place is older and needs a new roof, etc etc etc.

I could go on – and in my head I usually do, considering I tend to need self-reassurance 50 times a day, to convince myself I'm doing the right thing. But here's thing – I might find problems with the strata no matter where I live; Christene insists she has no problem staying where we are; roofs get fixed eventually, and profit or not, a lot of that money gets sucked up in the process of buying a new place.

So... why am I moving? Well, that's what's odd:

I'm moving because I feel like it.

At its core, that's really all it is, I think. I just want something newer, bigger, better. And even though the rational-thinking part of my brain is telling me "That's not a good reason," the other half says that there is nothing wrong with wanting that, whether it's selfish or not.

I mean, sure there is something to be said for being content, and not adopting a grass-is-always-greener philosophy, but if you can make it work, and want it, why not? It's that same reasoning that led me to buy my truck last April. Sure, I didn't need a truck. My car was perfectly fine. But I wanted one, so I bought it – my id run amok after nearly 30 decades of being caged.

And though I've waffled back and forth (much to the chagrin of Christene.. just ask her), it was only this week that I've accepted that this reasoning is perfectly acceptable, perfectly sane.

So yep, time to sell the house.

Now enter that fear of change again – the moving stage.

This entire year – or at least until August – is going to fly in the face of how I like to run my life. You see, the plan is to sell my place first, get the money in hand, and then go about finding another place – about the most irrational thing we could do this side of selling the house outright for $6 and an old boot (Believe me, there were offers).

Partly, this is because many new housing developments require huge deposits/down payments, which of course, are hard to come by unless you've sold the first place first. It'll be OK – we won't be homeless or anything. We're just going to move into Christene's parents' basement, which is where Christene lived before.

And though I know it will be fine, it's completely out of character for me. There I'll be, in a new town (Cloverdale), living out of a suitcase and a couple drawers, all my stuff in storage and scattered around, trying not to go completely batshit crazy until we move again. And the going crazy part isn't a slight against anybody – Christene's parents are awesome – but more an indictment of how neurotic I truly am. I fully expect to get the shakes at some point.

On the plus side, perhaps this will be an opportunity for me to grow as a person – to overcome my crazy fears and realize that the world won't actually come crashing down around me if I haven't done laundry in 2 weeks, can't find any of my stuff, and find myself watching TV on an old couch in the basement, next to Little Mo the family cat.

Or it'll kill me. Guess we'll see.