Imagination Vacation and the Dishwasher of Doom

Things are looking pretty dismal today. I'm at work, waiting for simulations to run, and trying to look busy in the meantime. Work isn't that bad, but I think I'm just a bit burnt out. I've been really busy since I took my qualifying exam at the end of April. Summers in graduate school are usually pretty relaxed, but I'm getting ready for a conference and that has been stressful. Plus, I'm traveling all over the place this summer (Florida, Germany, North Carolina) and every weekend seems packed with seeing family and friends. Plus, I'm training for a half marathon and that means running more than I'm used to doing.

All of that taken together means I'm just plain tired. Not sleepy tired. Not physically exhausted. Not mentally spent. Just sort of tired. I think I need a vacation. Unfortunately, I'm not getting one, at least not today, so I'll take a little mental vacation...

Ahh...my perfect day. Well, I'll pack up my things just before lunch because I won't be coming back this afternoon. It will be 65 and sunny outside, so I'll need pants and a long sleeves to eat outside. After lunch, I'll go home and pick up my knitting bag before I head out to a bookstore or coffee shop. I'll buy a delicious, steamy cafe au lait to sip while I knit. After an hour or two, I'll get bored, so I'll flip through a magazine. Then I'll head home, have a snack and go for a delightful run. Of course, now the temperature will be dropping to about 50, so I'll probably need running tights. After my run, I'll take a shower and put on comfy pants and a fun race t-shirt. For dinner, I think a big bowl of chili with sour cream and cornbread would suit me perfectly. After dinner, Husband will take me out for a sugar-free soft serve ice cream with Oreos on top and then we'll go home to watch a movie. We'll have the windows open when we go to bed, so we'll have to climb under two blankets because the night air is so crisp.

There now, doesn't that sound nice? Thanks for joining me on that little mental exercise. I think I'm feeling a little more refreshed already.

And now, today's "Why can't people just do things my way?"

WCPJDTMW -- Loading the Dishwasher
Of all my (many) pet peeves, this one is arguably the worst. I hate it when people load the dishwasher in a disorganized fashion. My husband comes from a family that throws things into the dishwasher every which way, with no thought for space-saving efficiency or ease of unloading. That works for them, okay, whatever...not for me. I like to see cups, glasses, plates, bowls, silverware, and all of those annoying plastic storage containers arranged according to size and shape. I put things into the dishwasher the same way every time. The same glasses go in the same row of the top rack EVERY TIME. Yet, we've been living in our house and using our dishwasher for three years and my husband still puts things in there in different spots. I should mention that my husband is very diligent about actually putting his dirty dishes into the dishwasher. It's just that he doesn't do it my way and that bothers me. I don't mention it anymore because I don't want to be a nitpick. I simply rearrange his cups and bowls and satisfy myself that all is well because the dishwasher is in order.