I meant to do my work today…

…oh, who am I kidding, anyway? I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of working today, unless you count the work involved in taking Captain Adventure out for a day of, well, Adventures. There is a kite festival in the neighboring town of Mountain House today, as well as our local farmer's market and maybe if we're not all funned out after those two things we could trundle up to Pixie Woods in Stockton.

I'm just not really in the mood to stay home today, somehow.

I'm restless. Got that anywhere but here would be good feeling.

I want to go do something, something different.

The girls are all profoundly not interested in hanging out with their momma today. Danger Mouse is actually off with grandma, Eldest has a friend over, Boo Bug is getting ready for a birthday party…I am definitely freeze-dried chopped liver right now as far as they are concerned. "Hey, wanna go to the farmer's market with me?" was met with the kind of cool disdain you would get from a Fifth Avenue shopper if you asked her if she wanted to hit up the sales at Goodwill.

Yay, 50% Off All Red and Blue Tagged Items Day at Goodwill! Eeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Ahem.

ANYWAY. Yesterday I was busy with all kinds of things, none of them on the computer. That's right! I went a full twenty-four hours without flicking the 'on' switch on my laptop! And the world did not end!! Amazing!!!

I did laundry, cleaned things, and tackled the garage, which thanks to our bestial habit of dropping whatever we've knocked on the head with our clubs in the wilderness wherever it falls on our way in the door around here had gotten into what might be terms a right state.

If a right state means we couldn't open the fridge OR the freezer OR get to the cupboards OR the filing cabinets where all the mailing supplies are.

Hmm. Perhaps wrong state would be a more apt term to use here.

Today, there's more of the same kind of life-enhancing things I could/should be doing.

But I'm not in the mood.

Which is kind of a curious thing with me. When most people say they "aren't in the mood" for something, there's still room for negotiation. They can jolly themselves out of it. "I'm not in the mood for this today," they growl…and then they proceed to do whatever it is anyway, with or without additional kvetching about it.

I don't generally say "I'm not in the mood for this" when I'm merely disinclined to do it, or ambivalent about it, or am thinking of things like video games, reading or knitting when what lies before me is hosing out the garbage tote or formatting an Excel spreadsheet.

OH yeah. "I can't figure out how to make the lines appear on this, I want darker lines, not lighter lines like these but more manly lines [you laugh, but I swear to Dog, one of my clients actually wanted "manly" lines on his spreadsheet…sigh…sometimes, my life is just…kinda surreal, actually…]…and I'd like it to be blue, can you make it blue? Except this part. That needs to be green, with little yellow dots…NOnonononono, not that blue, a darker one…no, now, that's too dark…"

Ah yes. Fiddly Excel spreadsheet formatting jobs. My favorite!!

ANYWAY. I'll be disinclined or meh about it…but when I find myself saying that I am not in the mood to do something, I've moved way past the phase where I can be jollied into doing it. I'm like a cat being offered substandard tuna (excuse me? this is packed in oil, and I believe I ordered the spring water…?). I'll just sit there and stare at the offending task, all day if need be! I ain't gonna do it, no way, no how…! I ZAP you with my Laser-Guided Disdain! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!!

Fortunately for both myself and those who rely on me for stuff, it's pretty darned rare. My usual response to having to deal with things I'm not feeling much love for doing is to get them over with ASAP but also CONSCIENTIOUSLY so I don't have to deal with this @*^&@ again later.

Nothing will suck your will to live like rushing through something you'd really rather not do, only to have it boomerang back onto your desk twenty minutes later because you skipped a few steps or something.

But today…I am not in the mood for anything that even remotely smacks of housework. That's right, I mean meals, too. I'm pretty sure I'll be paying insane markups on some hot dogs or something while we're out today, because I am that kind of rebel, people!!

I don't want to cook, clean, shop or even think about even the most basic of human needs today.

And I can't pretend I don't know why I'm in such a semi-foul mood. It's been one of those unsettling kind of weeks around here. A week where good and bad news jumbled together – it was not unlike making an omelet with a bunch of stuff out of the fridge, and only when you're halfway through do you realize that something in there was a bit "off."

Except that you don't have the "just chuck it" option, so you have no choice but to keep nibbling, with no idea whether the next bite is going to be delicious, or just plain nasty.

Every time my phone rang this week, it was one or the other. And sometimes when it didn't ring, well, that was awesome or nasty, too.

I'm ready for something that isn't cooking, cleaning, working or trying to get work to do.

A little time in the Out, doing things that have no purpose really, things that surely don't need doing.

I'm going to go see if I can't get my Adventure Buddy into a pair of reasonably clean pants so we can go-go-go.

(Hey, speak of the devil…the boy just came skidding in here [pantless] [two words, people: potty training] [three more words: PRAY FOR US] [and our carpets, furniture, cat (don't ask) (let's just say she REALLY wishes this kitten of ours would figure out HIS litter box and leave it at that), washing machine…] yelling, "Mommy! I read-it book twice and noooooooow…I wannit go-go-go someplaces wif, uhhhhhh, someplaces…" Couldn't have said it better m'self, buddy…LET'S GO-GO-GO!!!!!)