"What did you do this weekend?" a friend at work will ask. "Ah..." I'll think, with flashbacks to sleeping-in on Saturday, on Sunday, and no big projects accomplished. "Not much," I'll say, "Did some creative cooking." I'll ask in return, and inevitably, the answer is centered around child activities. Games, meets, matches, doctors, etc. Or travel. "We went to the beach and had a great time," or some such story. The more this goes on, I do realize I don't maximize my leisure opportunities and I need to improve in this area. 1. I don't plan personal things well. Vacations, time to read, time to write, time to enjoy. 2. Each weekend I lament I didn't exercise more the week before, then... I repeat the same cycle. 3. I like free, unplanned time. But I need to use it better when I have it. 4. Despite buying books and music, I rarely get deep appreciation from them. It's like I can't find enough time to tune out the rest of the world (i.e., the Internet, house chores, etc.) to focus on... a book, a magazine, or a CD (or it's virtual equivalent). 5. I hate budgeting time for socialization and that stagnates it. Not good. 6. I spend much too much time shopping for food. Consolidation of trips is what I need. 7. I hate making phone calls. Dentists, personal business, etc. Love the e-mail. 8. I need a reliable DVR system. I wasted half a day yesterday because I wanted to watch a show that comes on at 11:30 AM. I should have been able to record that, or the knuckleheads that run TV ought to let me buy/rent/watch it on demand. If I choose to watch 2 hours of TV Food Network, let me pick the shows I want. 9. I need to follow-through on goals I set - like trimming back our holly tree. 2 weekends. Not trimmed. I reflect upon this because I just wrote a long letter to an old friend to fight my insomnia. I wrote about half a dozen different things, like... 1. The summer vacation. (Read above). Hope flickered this weekend for a bit about that Bachfest in Leipzig. 2. Most people don't know where Leipzig is. 3. Details about the school program I'm in now. 4. Personal medical update. 5. Reflection on my parents. 6. Recent things at work. 7. A recent family birthday. 8. Cookery as a hobby. 9. Repairs on my iHome brand iPhone-charging clock radio. 10. Getting the house painted. 11. The brand of cooktop Eric Ripert has at home. 12. A call to teach me something new. I need to keep needling my friend to start a podcast with me... two hosts are so much more fun than one... I'd like it to be about music or food, but also incorporate our own quirky personalities.