Furlough, it's nice to see you again

Well hello Furlough. It's been a while since I've seen you.

Today begins my second week-long furlough. You know, those things that have become the cool thing for companies to do. It's like they pull you into a room, tell you you're getting an extra week of vacation. But we're not going to pay you.

In other words, a forced, unpaid vacation.

This will be Furlough No. 2 for me. I had one back in February. I traveled a bit during that furlough. Made a trip across the state to La Crosse to see a friend. Another trip down to Milwaukee to see an old college roommate.

This time around? I'm staying put in the City on the Water. Although I'll probably make the half-hour trip north to my parents' house and High Cliff State Park a couple of times.

Which means I should have plenty of time to accomplish the few goals I have for my week off.

During this furlough, I will:

• Ride my bike. Maybe tackle that 31-mile route I did last weekend for the Strong Kids Ride. And this time have my camera with me.


• Run. I've been neglecting my running shoes lately. And there ideas swirling around in my head.


• Swim. Might even do an open water swim in Lake Winnebago in preparation for the High Cliff Triathlon. Which is in two weeks. Two weeks people! That's quick.


• Catch up with Jack Bauer and see how he ended up saving the world this season. Jack's probably pretty ticked off at me since I stopped watching 24 after probably Hour No. 10 since I got so far behind. But the DVDs of season 7 went on sale the day after the season finale and I got a great deal. And for the past week, Jack's been sitting on my end table. Just waiting for me to pop in the first DVD.


• The not so fun task of cleaning my apartment. But it needs to be done.

So that's the list. Add in some reading. Some relaxing. And a possible trip to the zoo with The Rugrats. Should be a good week off. And it all kicks off tonight when I head to see Grease at the performing arts center with my parents.