Started Typing: 10:42 AM ET
Clicked Reply: 12:36 PM ET
Sneaking in at the tail end of the MMP! Woot! 
But without reading – or even skimming – most of the existing 287 posts in the thread, so apologies if I miss some needed boos or yays or hugs from the past week.
First things first: happy birthday, Taters! 
It was another continuously busy week at work, but I think I finally wrapped up all of the tasks I needed to do related to the new contract (which started a couple of weeks ago). I also selected a candidate to backfill the person I had to fire: he accepted the offer and is now working through the corporate background check, etc. I’m hoping I’ll get the green light to set his start date soon. He’s young and only has experience in the commercial world (vs contracting/federal), so managing him will be more work for me than if I’d selected someone with industry experience, but he seems to have a lot of potential – and his brother works for the company, as did their mom, so he kinda knows what he’s getting into in that regard. I’m looking forward to having him join the team.
I only went to camp once: the summer of 1984, while my family was living in England. I can’t remember if it was for one week or two. There were different programs at the same camp: I went for horseback riding, and my brother went for some motorbike thing (for kids; he was only 11). Honestly, I don’t remember much except that we had battered cod for nearly every meal. I’m sure my parents would have loved to send us to camp in the US, but they could only afford it while we were overseas (the dollar was strong).
The only adult summer camps I’m aware of are jazz programs; mostly for instrumentalists. If I learned about a really good one for singers I’d consider it, but generally there are too many other things I’d rather do with my money and paid time off in the summers.
…speaking of which, I’ve more-or-less finalized my plans for next month’s trip to NJ. 
I’ll drive up on a Thursday: the next night I’ll take my favorite cousin to see a show about an hour from her place, and from there we’ll go to the Jersey shore (90 min drive) for a couple of nights. I made an Airbnb reservation for the shore last month, but on Friday I made a reservation for the single night near my cousin’s. I thought about trying for the alpaca farm again, but decided that for just one night I could go simpler (= cheaper) and booked a room at an Econo Lodge. It’s near the hospice where my aunt is, so it’ll be easy to go visit her after I check in.
I also bought a ticket for a tour of a wolf preserve that Friday morning! I’m super excited: I’ve loved wolves for as long as I can remember – they’re my spirit animal, I got a wolf tattoo in '99, etc. – but I’ve never seen one in person. The preserve is just 30 min from where I’m spending the night and only about an hour from where my cousins live, but I never knew about it until a year or two ago when someone mentioned it in a thread about things to do in that part of NJ (I think @What_Exit either started or posted in that thread). I might allow myself to wear my wolf pendant. 
I’m hoping that this week’s level of busy-ness at work will return to (more or less) normal, but it helps to know that I’m taking Friday off. I’ve been wanting to go to Planet Word (a language museum) since it opened in 2020: my father used to be a professional linguist and is who I got my etymology nerd gene from, so I mentioned it to him back then, and suddenly last week he asked me about going some weekend. I suggested that I take a Friday off work instead (he’s retired). So, we’re finally going: we’ll meet for an early lunch at a place near from the musuem, and we have noon entry passes. It’s Memorial Day weekend, so DC might still be crowded even though it’s a Friday, but it should be better than a summer Saturday. Taking Friday off also gives me two consecutive short work weeks, which will be appreciated.
It’s nearly time for lunch and relocation to the living room. I actually started a book yesterday – gasp! – and I’m looking forward to reading while I eat, before I turn on the TV and enjoy some Brooklyn Nine-Nine (which I recently started binge re-watching). The comedy will be paused at 4:30pm, though: my undergradute alma mater has been sold and is shutting down, effective this weekend, and the closing ceremony is being streamed on YouTube. I thought about going in person (it’s near Philly), but decided the inconvenience would likely outweigh the nostalgia.
“Someone else here” was me. A few others agreed, so you started writing it that way. I should have included that what made me chuckle was your continuing response to my original “I keep pronouncing it in my head as X” comment!
I’m the same way…with my volunteer work, as well, which is why I’ll be quitting that in July: someone else could do less and I’m sure it would be just fine (I know my predecessor did a lot less), but I can’t do less without feeling like I’m not doing it “right.”
Woo hoo! The last couple times I’ve had to call Verizon the problems were outside, which was sorta frustrating but mostly a relief because it meant I wasn’t charged for the service calls. I’m old enough to remember adulting before home internet service became ubiquitous, but I freely admit that I’ve become quite attached to it!