Let me say right away that I do not think it is healthy or advisable to schedule so many work events, so many weekend events when one also keeps M-F office hours, that having a personal life / social time starts to feel like going on a “side quest.”
I am already planning for August 2023 to be different, because I am so profoundly burned out it is hard for me to put it into words.
It also seems silly that ideas like Kiddo Photo Booth, or Funnel Cake Stand, or Tomato Festival could cause me stress because … they’re pretty whimsical ideas. I do love my job and often it is fun!
^ Yeah, that’s my work life during summer, a.k.a. the outdoor events season, street fair season, 100+ degree season.
I out-Leo-ed myself yet again. At work I promoted a youth program I believe in. Outside of work I met up with friends and loved ones, visited favorite spots in NJ, planned adventures, hit the road. My final big outdoor event ended Sunday and I am ON that Virgo train now, settling down, working in a devoted but quiet (and INDOOR) way, getting more alone time and down time and me time. Here are a few snapshots of an August that really did the MOST:
Philly in my backyard, and FEDERAL DONUTS:
I took this as an omen that got me through Fair Week:
And then to celebrate the end of Fair, a cute date at Fiorella:
Another date to Rogue One back in theatres:
Princeton, NJ:
Red Bank, NJ:
The single Saturday I have had off in one month! I mostly stayed home!!
Watch a pumpkin grow (to become cake):
And give me mystical messages?
Philadelphia Museum of Art:
I knew this is where I wanted to spend my Labor Day when I read about this special exhibit:
This exhibit curated ink-block prints from all over the world, not just Holland and the U.S, that captured the male form looking … jacked A.F. Always to sell something! Sometimes it was to draw political and historical lines back to ancient Greek or Roman civilizations, sometimes as an expression of patriotism, and in the most recent example, to recruit Americans to join and support the W.P.A.
One cartoon was so muscular, it earned nicknames about potato-muscles and I. Huh.
My obsession, no really!, is the Ponatluna Punch (cold brew + cherry cordial) from La Colombe:
I didn’t drink them all, though.
Taking a long walk through Philly helped me reset my brain.
Laura Eppinger 