A Book On Random Stuff

How To Make Your VACATION Interesting

Many of us take vacation days in blocks of a week. After all, if you're going to travel somewhere, you're probably going to lose at least one day on either end of the trip, so you're going to want some quality time to decompress from the normal grind.

Other people like to take vacation days as little bites or morsels to be used or savored, one day at a time. Sometimes you can make a day trip, go shopping or run some errands in a single day, but is that really a vacation day? Sounds to me that it's more like a "catch up" day, where you try to do the things that you need to do but you can't fit in to your normal schedule.

So let's suppose, miracle of miracles, that you have a full day to yourself without chores or expectations. How can you use this time wisely and make the most of this little slice of freedom?

Here are some suggestions:

*Have a nap: take advantage of this down time to recharge your batteries.

*Learn something new.

*Plan: develop new personal goals, etc.

*Read something that you wouldn't normally read. For fiction, try a genre that you don't normally read. For non-fiction, read a subject that normally wouldn't catch your interest. How knows, you just might learn something new.

*Listen to new music.

*Write an essay (things that bother you make good topics).

*Write the first draft of a short story. The subject could be something strange that happened on your day off...

*Write letters to friends and/or family.

*Make a picture: it could be a drawing, a doodle or a scrapbook page. Express an idea that's been on your mind for awhile.

*Try to learn a new technique on your favorite musical instrument.

*Practice writing with your opposite hand - this feels very uncomfortable if you've never tried it before, but that discomfort is a sign that your brain is making new connections.

*Fix something: a squeaky hinge, a leaking faucet, whatever - especially if it's something that's been bothering you.

*Develop a savings/cost cutting plan to help you buy something that you've been wanting for awhile.

*Cook something new - give yourself permission to make a dessert if you want to!

*Go for a long walk someplace you've never been before. Make sure you take pictures!

*Check out some visual art, preferably off-line.

*Connect with someone new - I hear the Internet is great for doing that, but you just might have even better luck in (gasp) the real world.

*Reconnect with someone you've known for years but you haven't seen in a long time.

*Do nothing for an hour, but record the ideas and thoughts that occur to you during this hour as they happen. Read your notes over afterward. Did you discover anything new? Were you surprised by anything.

*Meditate, with or without sounds.

*Sort something into a meaningful new order. Books, trading cards, utensils, DVDs... whatever works for you.

*Do a puzzle, preferably a jigsaw puzzle.

*Learn to juggle (well, give it a good try, at least).

*Clean something (especially something that's important to you).

*Practice balancing something on your head... or at even your nose.

*Write a joke. It doesn't have to be a good one. You just have to try. Mind you, you are trying to make a funny joke, so give it a good try, won't you?

*Copy a favorite piece of writing word for word.

*Rewrite a piece of writing, trying to say it in your own words.

*Take something apart and see how it works. Mind you, it's best if it's expendable, especially if you aren't good at putting things back together.

*Watch Mr. Plinkett's movie critiques of Avatar and the Star Wars prequels

(Warning: language NSFW, may be found offensive by some). They're surprisingly clever and educational.

*Memorize a poem or song lyrics.

*Watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy (or substitute the trilogy of your choice).

*Synchronize all of the timepieces in your house. You might be surprised at how many you have.

*Learn and describe what aubergine means.

*Write the script for a superb radio commercial, subject is your choice.

*Tape an entire deck of cards together into one long strand, then fold them up so they look like a normal deck of cards. Save it for the next card game you play - that'll surprise them.

*Count the number of guitars being played in Stairway to Heaven (for masochists only).