Realvacation Mama

It’s pretty much official that I am on vacation. I still have some of the responsibilities of maintaining a house, like I do at home but it’s hard to complain with the pretty relaxed schedule that I’ve fallen into. Here is a pretty typical day. I've attempted many times to upload with some pictures for additional visualization. (If I had normal internet access I would blog in real time, but you don’t want to get me started on that again)

A normal day begins at 8:30 when I wake from my slumber with realvacation toddler usually asking for his mother and/or grandmother. Straight away to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee and a glass of milk for my son where we then proceed to the balcony (it’s too hot to sit inside) to sit tableside for coffee, milk and maybe even a cookie or two. There is banter back and forth between us (my mom, son, and myself) and our next door neighbors that happen to be my aunt, uncle, cousin, her husband and their 2 kids about what food shopping needs to happen and then off for the 2nd cup of coffee. Our view from the balcony doesn’t suck. Straight ahead are several big mountains, and just to the right a block & ½ away is the beach, which we can see from the balcony, the view also brings about banter about the conditions at the beach.

Around 9:30 or so, off to the markets and bakery for fresh fruits, veggies, and bread for the day – about another ½ block from the house.

Between 10:30-11:00 we + a large beach bag full of stuff and umbrella leave for the beach. Toddler gets in some time in the water, but would much rather spend his time filling his buckets with water then bringing them up to where we sit and playing with several other children at the beach. He is the youngest so sometimes he becomes the water fetcher, but he doesn’t mind. I have yet to count but he probably goes down to the water at least 30-40 times.

1:00pm back home for a quick shower and lunch, from what we’ve purchased at the markets.

2-5ish We all nap. Realvacation toddler a little longer than others – I know I am going to hear it from my OMF’s, but yes I let my son sleep over 3 hours. After we wake up, there is usually another cup of coffee.

6:00pm We head back to the beach or go for a nice walk down into town where there is a park for son to play.

7:30pm Back home for yet another shower (if we go to the beach), a light dinner for son (usually left overs + fruit). Son plays a little while longer, my mother and I argue about what time he needs to go to bed and then 9:00 toddler in bed, sometimes even later. (You wouldn’t believe how late these children go to bed here!)

Between then and when it’s time for bed usually consists of reading the paper, a book- I am on my 4th – and just general chit chat about whatever.


So, you tell me……is that a vacation? I’ve done this almost every year of my life and since I can remember, usually about 3 weeks in, I don’t ever want to come home………

Withdrawl!

Like any addiction, when you decide to give something up either voluntarily or involuntarily, there is withdraw. I myself am going through withdraw of my own – involuntarily of course. My 4-6 hour a day internet fix has been taken away from me and I am left shaking, sleepless, with headaches and frankly with a lot of time on my hands. All except one of these symptoms you like to have while you are on vacation.

I should explain. Here in the land where democracy, philosophy, the Olympics and everything else I hold dear to me originated (Including realpolitick toddler), except maybe celebrity gossip. Things are not the same; water, electricity and even the internet are sometimes hard to come by, in my case I have water and electricity but a phone for internet access is very difficult to find. Realpolitik husband and I have been looking for alternatives to our non-internet access issue for the past 2 years without much to show for it. Realpolitik husband is under the impression that somewhere, somehow, someone would be broadcasting a wireless connection that we could just happen to jump on every once in a while. Not a chance. Then we thought for sure we had solved the problem by going to our local AT&T store and purchasing the newly advertised air cards. You know the ones with Bill Curtis in the middle of an island “finding” the internet. Don’t believe the hype people; the small print says that if you are out of the AT&T broadcasting area you are paying roaming charges, which can add up pretty fast. So while Bill Curtis has found the internet on his little island, poor Bill will use the money he was paid to do the ad to pay for his roaming charges. So, realpolitik husband and I were on our last option. The home/apartment we have here, which is about 45 min away from a big city, has several phone jacks placed around the house. Perfect, we will call the phone company get a phone line/number and we will be up and running. It maybe dialup but at least it’s something. FAT CHANCE. I go to the phone company (OTE) they take my info, and say they will be out in a few days to connect the line, give us a number and we are off to surf not only the waves a block from the house but also the internet. Dude calls me 3 times, to make sure where I live, what I want exactly, etc. He finally makes an appearance, goes into the basement of the building and proceeds to tell me that the electrician/developer had not finished the job of pulling the phone wires into the building, so while I have phone jacks in my house taunting me with the possibility of a dial tone, until the electrician finishes the job (which by the way this building is 4 years old) I cannot have a phone line installed. Ok, who does that?! So now on to find the electrician to do the job and start this process all over again.

I know this explanation is probably more than you all care to know, but remember what I said at the beginning, I’ve got a lot of time on my hands.

Hence the shaking, irritability, sleeplessness and headaches.
Things can only get better…….