just five more minutes, ma.

like a teenager who can't seem to wake up for school, i had a tough time climbing out of the comfortable haze of my birthday celebration.  


not just one night, mind you, but the celebration lasted for about a week.  dinner dates, drinks with the boys, and a ridiculously fun outdoor cook-out the likes of which only a hipster without sweat glands could appreciate (but i tried really hard not to complain, despite the 108-degree real-feel temperature. no exagg.):

the week was a non-stop party, is what i'm trying to say.  

it was also my week off, in a sense, despite my technically having - um - many weeks off as of late.  but for the past week, i shunned my usual daily activities -- obsessively cleaning my house, walking to Whole Foods to buy fresh salad ingredients, going to the gym, and most of all, anxiously job hunting for 6 hours at a time -- in favor of walks in the sun, lying around reading a couple great books, and happy hour every day.  


then, after my actual birthday celebration, which was amazing and fun and made me feel like the luckiest boy in the world, i was physically unable to do anything for an entire day.  i was forced to take just one more day off.  finding myself in an unknown state between severe pain and temporary narcolepsy, i decided that it was best if i stayed in bed all day, with only short breaks for peeing and eating cupcakes (not simultaneously). i didn't want to see another glass of wine or bottle of vodka for a very long time week!


Monday morning i finally returned to my place at my desk and put in a long work day, and i did the same this morning, but i found myself thinking about how nice it is to escape for a little while.  

i think we often try to mentally escape, and not just for birthdays or other monumental events, but for whatever reason we can justify.  example: on Friday afternoons, don't you begin to phone it in after lunch? because it's almost the weekend, and the escape from work may as well begin a little early.

although it is so nice to escape occasionally, as part of my personal Happiness Project, i'm making an effort to enjoy daily life without needing to escape it.  even when life is filled with uncertainty, i want to take a moment to appreciate the walks in the sun and the occasional happy hour with the boys as if it were a mini vacation.  i'd like every day to feel as special -- if only for a few minutes -- as my birthday week felt.