Happiness Is A Warm Gun

Yesterday was a stressful day for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that I left my house at 8:30 a.m. not to return until nearly midnight. Lack of sleep has left me running ragged today, and I find myself muttering under my breath in fits and starts about things I need to do, things I should have done, why people are so uncooperative, why they lack such basic common sense and just generally cursing for no other reason than the comfort it provides.

I need a vacation.

Earlier I shuffled sulkily into the ladies room and closed the door to my favorite stall, the one with the window. Sadly, it's the only view I get all day, unless I go outside, and it's also as close to a sanctuary as I'm going to find in the office. I muttered to myself that people have all kinds of worse problems, and I should be thankful I don't have any of those. I have a couple friends who work in the children's hospital, caring for kids with cancer on a daily basis. A bad day at work for them can mean someone actually dies. And here I am pettily complaining about my lack of sleep.

Still, we all need an attitude readjustment now and then. Fortunately, I leave for a trip to northern California three weeks from today. One of my dear friends is tying the knot, and I'm a bridesmaid. Although there will be errands to run and things to do and the kind of chaos that only occurs when you're traveling in a group, I expect the scenery alone will be a spiritual experience. I've never been this far north before, and California is one of my favorite places. My friends are getting married in the Redwood National Forest, and this will be the first time I've ever seen a redwood tree in person. I'm stoked! If only I could drive my Hummer all the way there, my a/c blasting and windows down, chain smoking and chucking fast food garbage out the window...