Will Power

Will power. I have none.

I�ve organised a week off at the end of the month. I really need a week away from work and I have about 8 weeks of holidays owing, so there was no trouble getting some time off. While I only just set the actual dates, I have known since the middle of the year that I�d need to take a week some time in October or November, so I spent some time contemplating what to do with it.

I�ve already been overseas once this year, and there�s nowhere I really want to go that I can do in a week or a week and a half. I�ll need longer than that to do the next big trip I want - Italy. And I�m meant to be saving money to buy a house and that�s actually been going pretty well despite my summer wardrobe indulgence, so I decided a while back that I�d just spend the week at home. Sleep in, laze around, and really, make like a professional writer for a week. Actually put a dent in the book I�m writing. And enjoy what will hopefully be some nice summer weather. See a couple of movies. Get a pedicure. I�ve been looking forward to it.

During the week I was emailing my commiserations on the election of Schwarzenegger to Dada in LA and we got into a conversation about her new house and when I was next coming over. And because I have no will power I immediately investigated the price of a plane ticket to LA for my week off at the end of the month. Instantly it was �forget the week writing� and on to �a week in LA hanging out with Dada and Frank and buying shoes�.

I did set myself a upper limit on the price I�d pay for a ticket, and it was relatively low. The price I was quoted was several hundred dollars under that. In response to Dada�s �so, when are you coming to visit?� I responded �how�s two weeks?�. I was half hoping she�d say they were going to be away and half plotting the closest car rental place to their new house. On Thursday afternoon I was all set to hop on a plane in two weeks.

Thankfully the response came on Friday morning that Dada�s parents are visiting that week, and I really can�t shift my time off because after mid-November work is always crazy at least until Christmas. But I�ve pretty much booked to go in February. To coincide with the Barneys warehouse sale... Where I will have no will power. (The last time I was in LA in February we basically went straight from the airport to the Barney�s warehouse sale. Sad, sad, sad.)

After half a days disappointment that the trip didn�t work out, I�m now back to being pretty excited about my week as a writer. And I don�t think I�m going to have too many procratination problems. I hope not anyway.

Not much other news becuase work has been really busy even though I�ve hit the �holiday in sight� motivation brick wall.