James O'Brien

You know how some days you come home from work and the first thing you think of is a gin and tonic? Well, for me today it was one of the vodka lime, soda drinks you buy in a can, which I picked up on the way home. All the flavour of a soft drink, but with the added bonus of alcohol. Not that it was a stressful day or a difficult day. Quite the opposite, I had a really enjoyable day at work, had the opportunity to be very creative, and achieved a fair deal. But as I wandered home today, I really felt like a little drinkie.

Perhaps that’s why I’ve just woken up from an hour or so nap on the couch. A quick UDL on the balcony and I was fast asleep, missing the cooler change that came through. And not just a five minute power-sleep, it was a good hour long nap with deep intense dreams. In fact, I think it was the intensity of one of those dreams that woke me.

Sleep was on my mind a little today because I received one of those middle-of-the-night phone calls you know can never be good. I’ve only ever received a couple of them which were work-related, and today was one of them. Such are the dilemmas of working in an industry which operates 24×7. Having dealt with the issue, I found my sleep last night totally messed up.

Strange, since I’ve always been able to sleep well. A ten minute power nap? Not a problem. Famously, I remember coming back from the my first trip to Europe and sleeping for twenty-six hours straight. My poor concerned mother finally came in and woke me, fearing I might have slept forever. I swear if I lived in Japan, I could be one of those people who regularly sleeps standing up on the train.

Sleep has never been a problem, but perhaps my sleep this afternoon was a little more than just the result of a can … two actually … of UDL. I’m a bit tired generally at the moment and could do with a holiday. As we are going through an extended period of change at work right now, however, I feel a little obligated.

It’s not as if I went away my workplace would fall to pieces. I’m not the crazy control-freak who thinks the workplace revolves around me. I recognise other people could do my job, I think it’s just the impression it would give more than anything. And I’ve just realised I’ve broken one of the rules I have about this blog – not to talk about work.

But this is about me, not my work. I’ve got the travel bug at the moment. It all started with a trip to the Tax Agent who informed me of a reasonably healthy tax return which I’ve decided to allocate purely to overseas travel. I want to go to New York, Paris and Stockholm.

I don’t know how long for though. Although some days I think to myself, I’d like to do a short, sharp exciting trip. Other days I find myself contemplating one of those six month sojourns staying in backpacker hostels. I’ve even contemplated booking in to Central Backpackers in Sydney to see if, as a soon-to-be forty two year old, I could cope with one of those multi-room hostels.

So without reading too much into it, I think this afternoon’s nap is my body’s way of telling me it’s time to rest up for a bit. I’ve done the sums and I could actually take combined recreation and long-service leave of about eight months at full-pay. Wouldn’t that be a pleasure? Or maybe I just need a weekend away? Or maybe it’s a mid-life crisis?