Living it up

I never knew that being unemployed could be so much fun.

I haven't held gainful employment since October. This is the longest vacation I have had since... 1995. Every other period of time between class terms has been filled with summer jobs, summer courses (because I just couldn't get enough of school, eh?), or it was just a 3 week pause between grueling course work where I spent a lot of time asleep. While the lack of income kind of stinks, think about the following:

• I have been to Europe, twice.
• I have traveled through beautiful portions of the continental US, primarily the South, Southwest, and Midwest.
• I have been reading and watching movies whenever I feel like it.
• I hang out with my friends and family whenever I feel like it, and am able to accomodate even the weirdest schedules because, hey, I don't have anywhere I really need to be!
• If I feel like taking a walk through Dallas at 11 AM, I can. Or at 11 PM. Or even at 2 AM! (Usually not, though.)
• I party like a rock star whenever the urge strikes.

Last night, for instance, I got to go to a Mavs game (thanks, Ray!), followed by a visit to the Tipp. And it was crazy fun, I tell you. A lot of new folks were there who danced, on stage and off. Crowd participation was through the roof! For the first time ever, I didn't do a single solo performance, but Amy and I rocked some Dixie Chicks, and then we added Autumn to the group to do some killer renditions of Madonna and Shania Twain hits. And make no mistake, there were plenty of other folks who did some great work on the stage. As usual, we were the best audience ever, and gave out plenty of love to everyone who plucked up the courage to sing. We made some new friends, and will be checking out some new locales. And on Wednesday, we're planning a trip to Mexico, arriba!

So yeah, unemployment? Not as bad as I ever thought it would be.