Don’t get me wrong, I really like my new job, and all of the potential I can see for my career advancement. My boss likes me (I think…hard to tell with women…), and I like her, and my colleagues are super-golden awesomesauce and great fun to boot.

But man, am I ever exhausted. I work my buns off pretty much every day. NGOs are well-known for doing more with less, and are notorious for wringing your best effort out of every moment you’re on the clock…and then some. To wit, I need a break. I need to get away from the city and the noise and pollution and concrete everywhere and the urgent press of people all around me going about their daily activities to earn a buck.

Mind you, I am one of those people, and I don’t begrudge that which makes me my living, but there are times when it becomes All. Just. Too. Much.

That’s why I booked an idyllic week away, camping with my hubby/best friend/sparring partner in Algonquin Park. No phones, no electronic devices (other than those geeky ones we couldn’t stay away from, like the crank/solar-powered AM/FM/Emergency radio and the LED lantern!), and no distractions. Bliss.

We’re getting a little on in years (man, it hurt to write that statement…), so even though I was a *little* tempted, I didn’t book us an interior site (meaning we’d have to hike or canoe/portage in to the location). I’m not insane, after all. “Car camping” is pretty much what our tired and out of shape bodies can handle atm.

Granted, this trip’s going to be pretty tame compared to some of the extreme camping conditions that Hubster has done in his Scouting youth. But, I’ve missed nature and the woods for some time now, and I want to be able to enjoy my last (dwindling) years of being able to sleep on an air mattress on the ground before my joints rebel permanently.

We have several options for enjoying ourselves, such as bike rental, many hiking trails of varying difficulty, a small museum onsite extolling the history of the park and the many virtues within, nightly “Wolf howl” tours (awesome!), potential astronomy opportunities – clear skies!, canoe or kayak rentals, talking or reading, or tending a fire, or playing catch, or making chow (and yes, of course I have made up an awesome menu and am looking forward to campfire cooking up a storm this time around!)…or just sitting on our duffs painting Warmachine/Hordes miniatures (yes, we’re still super-nerds). I look forward to experiencing all of this and more. And if we’re close enough to the lake for me to fall asleep to the sound of gently lapping waves and loons calling to one another amongst the rustling of the leaves on the trees, so much the better.

And hey, maybe we’ll encounter one of these:

…as long as it isn’t destroying the front end of our tiny car, I think it would be pretty damn awesome! I’ve never seen a moose outside of a zoo.

So wish me luck on my self-imposed exile from civilization, and give wings to my fervent hope that it “recharges my batteries” enough to redouble my efforts at work to be outstanding and awesome and worth keeping when my contract term rolls around next year.

Anyone want some pinecone earrings? ;o)