Two Month Weekend: An Explanation

I’m toying with an idea. A terrible, dangerous idea. At the same time, I rather love it. The adventure would begin July 10.

Upon taking on my current job, I knew that there was an important aspect of the gig that I could not ignore: I would not be employed for July and August. As a 10 month contract employee acting as the Student Media Advisor at a Pacific Coast university, I’m stuck in an interesting position. I have a similar vacation to that of the college students I advise and I’m left with a decision: do I work or do I adventure? In a decision I will likely regret come late August, I have chosen adventure. I’m going to have myself a Two Month Weekend.

While my wanderlust is inescapable, this conclusion was not reached without rationale. With the desire to improve my own skills in order to better serve my students in the future, I am seeking my College Media Association Adviser Certification at the ACP (Associated Collegiate Press)/CMA (College Media Association) summer workshop in Minneapolis, Minn.

Never one to turn down the chance of a road trip, especially one that will take me to states I have not visited previously (Montana, South Dakota, and Minnesota), I couldn’t say ‘no.’ Once I realized that Chicago is within a day’s drive of Minneapolis, well, I need to go there, too. I’ve never been and several friends from undergrad whom I have not seen in seven years reside there.

Oh, I have a friend in Indianapolis. Maybe I should visit her.

I should visit home, in San Antonio, Texas, too.

Wow, I haven’t seen him in ages, either. Perhaps a stop in New Orleans isn’t out of the question.

I should drive up the West Coast to get home. Gotta stop in LA. Maybe San Francisco, too.

You can see how a plan like this gets out of hand quite quickly.

Luckily, because I went to SCAD for my undergraduate studies, the friends that I made there came from all over, and wouldn’t you know it, we spread back out across the country. This certainly makes reunions challenging, but, my goodness, if this doesn’t make overnight stays on cross country journeys incredibly enjoyable (and much more affordable).

I posted about my intentions yesterday on Facebook and you can probably tell what happened.

“I see that you skipped all of Georgia.”

“You could always bring your passport and stay with us near Montreal.”

“I probs can’t convince you to trek all the way out to nyc, huh?”

It made me want to just tour the whole country and beyond (I think a Canadian road trip needs to be planned for another time). I don’t think I’ll be so bold. I’ve driven to NYC in the past and don’t want to undertake that feat again.

The plan may change, though. Nothing beyond Minneapolis and Chicago is set in stone. Anything can happen.

What can you expect to see? I don’t want to promise anything, but I’ll just tell you what I’ll have:

• A desire to explore, meet new people, and have new experiences
• My Subaru Impreza, Pleiades, will be my faithful steed and companion
• My laptop along with video and audio recording equipment
• 6,155 miles (minimum) of madness to traverse

It’s a rather simple operation overall and I’m terribly excited to see what will happen. As more information comes about, I’ll update on here and via Twitter.

Your Two Month Weekender,
RF