I have nothing better to do than stand around and watch the skin peel from my sunburns.  That and play Texas Hold ‘Em on my iPod.  Speaking of which, still no iPhone yet.  Attempt #2 failed in Virginia (really long lines at the Apple Store), and I have given up getting one any time soon.  Better to just wait until the lines die down.

Today (my day off from work), I spend $350 getting the starter in my car fixed.  I’ve been taking my car to the same shop ever since I got it, and these guys seem on the level.  Although, last time I was there they gave me a list of suggested fixes for my car, none of which I took care of since then and none of which showed up on the list of suggestions this time around.  So, I don’t need them anymore?  Good thing from today about my car is that my mom is thinking of giving me her car (a 2001 Toyota Solara with 110k miles on it, aka… still better than my Ford with 70k on it) and getting a new one for her self.  That would be awesome….

The second half of my day was spend right here in my desk chair messing with my computer.  I have been setting up Windows XP via boot camp on my new iMac.  Basicly, my iMac is the best Windows machine I’ve ever had.  But alas, the fun is over and work looms on the horizon.  Till next time…

I thought, as I finally decided to go to sleep at 1am, that I would regret waiting that long because it would be hard to get up and get moving at 8:30.  I even set two alarms, as to avoid the wrath of my golf starved father.  Little did I know I would be watching the sun rise at six in the morning.

So now I find myself typing away at my computer by the morning light, attempting to wear my brain out and send it back to sleep.  Although, maybe I should stay awake, and avoid the “bad” dream I was having before I woke up.  And by “bad” I mean that I was having a dream in which I went to buy my new iPhone on Friday only to find that I was too late and they were sold out.  Oh the humanity…

It’s already Thursday.  Not fair.  I wish my vacation could last forever and that I didn’t have to go back to work on Monday.  Why is it that time goes so slow when you’re at work, and then I go on vacation and it’s at hyperspeed?  Yeah, yeah… time flies when you’re having fun, I know.

Two positives will arise from the end of my vacation (well, three actually).  Firstly, I will stop spending money (I hope) on clothes from outlet malls.  I’ve bought way too much – so much, in fact, that I will most likely have to stow some of it away in my golf bag (which I am checking on the plane to bring my clubs home for the first time in a long time).  Though my Dad provided me with what he calls “walking around money”, I have bought two pairs of jeans, four pairs of shorts, five shirts, and a pair of shoes.  Dad also just bought me a pair of golf shoes, my first pair ever.  “Anything to support golf in youth”, he says.

Second positive: I will start making money again, by going back to work.  Though some of my vacation days were paid vacation (the benefits of working for FedEx), I will definitely welcome the earning of funds.  I’ve spent a lot this summer, and have more things I need to spend money on, plus I’m moving out in less than a month.  I await the student loan check I will receive in about 40 days… that will be nice.

Third positive: girlfriend.  After having broken up for roughly two months, we reunited about two weeks ago.  This week apart was to be the ultimate test of how we really feel about each other.  I could spend a week away and clear my head and figure out what exactly was goin on.  Truth is, I’ve missed her like crazy, and she me.  We’ve talked, texted, chatted, emailed, Facebook walled, every form of modern communication possible these days (sadly).

So while I’m dreading a return to the nine to five eight to three life that I live aside from vacation, I know returning home will be a good thing also.  As for the iPhone, those jerks better not sell out, cause it’s tax free in Delaware!  I’m not going to camp out, but I will probably get up around 7am to go get one when doors open at 8.  If not, I’ll get one in AZ when I get home.

Okay, dilemma.  It’s 6:45.  Stay up or go back to sleep?  I have an alarm set for 8:30, so I’m looking at less than two more hours.  I think I shall climb back into bed, but good luck getting to sleep.  I should get as much rest as possible.  Busy day.  Golf, then jet skiing, then beach.  At least I could sleep at the beach if I wanted to.  Or maybe I’ll stay up until my Dad wakes up and then we could leave early… hmm…

Either way, I’m done here.

The sun coming up over the Atlantic.

High pitched squealing woke everyone up around 5:30, but most of us ignored it as it shut off a few moments later.  Dad wasn’t so easily comforted.  He walked around, made sure everyone was “okay”, and then the things went off again, and repeated their on and off screaming for several minutes.  The volume of the detectors is not what makes them annoying to hear, it’s the fact that each one in the house does not sing the same pitch, and the resulting dissonance causes the ear drums to pulsate in strange ways, creating a “whirring” sound in the ear.  I would have put in ear plugs, but soon enough, we were told to get up and get outside.

Apparently the smoke detectors also can detect carbon monoxide, so Dad called the fire department to have them come check it out.  As we stood outside, in a light drizzle of rain, two fire trucks, and ambulance, and two other fire vehicles came swooping into our little cul-de-sac (side note: cul-de-sac is French for “bottom of the bag” because a cul-de-sac looks like a bag… learn something new everyday…).  Thankfully saving us from any further embarassment, their sirens were off, but the lights were on.

Anyway, long story short – false alarm.  The firemen went through the house with some high-tech gadgetry and discerned that there was no danger, just faulty circuits.  So we went back to sleep.

We all didn’t get going on the rest of our day until around noon when we headed to the beach.  From 12-2 it was partly cloudy, partly sunny.  We threw the frisbee around, both by land and by sea,

then read some books and magazines for a while.  After downing some soda and gorging on snacks, we left the beach as wind and rain set in on the beach.  We got back to the house a little after two.  Jeff and I played some more Guitar Hero (he on medium bass, I on expert guitar), then he and Hannah left after dinner.

It was another chill day – that is except for the fire alarm adventure.  Dad wound up tearing out the circuit to the alarms from the circuit breaker, which was probably illegal.  Hope no real fires occur.  Now that Jeff and Hannah are gone, Jordan is switching to their room so now I have my own to room do with what I please.

Dad and I are planning to go golfing tomorrow, weather permitting.  Until then, stay classy, and watch out for carbon monoxide poisoning.

It has been about four years since I started blogging.  I began my undergraduate level education with my first blog, entitled “Random Thoughts” which quickly became “Such Is Life” then eventually “chcameron”, which is the name I use for pretty much everything I do online.  I thought it apropos, as I begin my graduate studies in journalism, to create a new blog for a fresh start.

So here we are, as I type away at my first new blog entry on my new site at approximately 3am eastern time.  Normally I reside in Arizona, and in the fall I begin my graduate work at Arizona State, but as for now I’m spending the week soakin’ up rays on the beaches of Lewes, Delaware.  I flew into Baltimore yesterday and spent the night at my brother’s house in Virginia before driving the 3 hours to the Delaware coast.

I am certain the free time that comes with vacation will allow for me to write more later, but as for now I should really turn off my laptop and get to sleep.  Who knows what my family has planned for tomorrow.

The quaint beach-side neighborhood I am vacationing in.