Almost Like Senioritis

I'm ready for a break. Thank goodness I have one coming. All I have to do is finish out this week, and then I have a two-week (16 days with weekends) vacation. I'm beginning to get antsy, just like all the kids (and teachers) who are anticipating the end of school this year. I'm also feeling worn out. It was hard to get out of bed this morning, much harder than normal. I haven't had much energy for anything extra lately and I'm ready to have some time off to recharge.

Of course, I might not be so tired if I didn't keep staying up late. I've been feeling this for a little while now, so last week I made sure to get to bed early every night. I never felt super rested, but never felt too tired, either. Then we had the staff bowling on Saturday night. An especially good time. The D&D group got to hang out outside of the game context plus I had a chance to catch up with friends from my old branch. It was so fun, in fact, that I didn't want it to end. I joined some of the group in heading back to Scott and Kelly's for a viewing of The Big Lebowski. The Coen brothers seem able to capture a time/place/subculture better than anyone and have such a way with language. This was not my first time with the film, but it was still fun. Normally I'd be able to do a late Saturday night and recover on Sunday, but for some reason I'm still tired. It was worth it, though.

Of course, I work until close on Monday nights and can never get to sleep very quickly afterward. I needed some time to unwind last night, so I pulled out the tape I used to record OLN's Giro d'Italia coverage on Sunday and finally watched it. I'd already read all the results at Cyclingnews, but it's still fun to watch it unfold. Ivan Basso pulled a Lance Armstrong, taking a decisive lead on the first big mountain stage Sunday. Robbie McEwen was the unbeatable sprinter in the flat stages all week, but that never opens up a time gap for the overall. Discovery Channel rider and defending champ Paolo Savoldelli had taken an early lead by winning the time trial prologue a week before, but wasn't able to keep up on Sunday's big climb. No one was, as Basso cracked all the favorites one by one to take the lead. There are two more weeks of riding and a lot more mountains ahead, but the race is Basso's to lose.