I took a leave of absence for most of February, mostly so I could clean my room, work on some other things, and because I was afraid that I would lose all of my personal time if I didn't, due to having to stay home because of the Winter weather. I probably wouldn't have taken the leave if I hadn't had enough money saved up to pay the bills through mid-March. We got hit with some Winter weather during my first week off, so I did a fair amount of shoveling. I also got the room cleaning done during that first week. That room is the cleanest it's been in at least two or three years, but there is still a lot of stuff in it. But a lot of that stuff will be going with me when I move out.
We actually had decent weather during my second full week off. I did quite a bit of getting out, especially for stuff I normally wouldn't get to do because of my work schedule. I wish I had had more time for writing. I still had a tendency to want to spend ten to twelve hours in bed, which I still believe to be a side effect of Cymbalta.
For the most part, I was pretty chill during my time off. I already knew that my job's hours and living too far from civilization are significant sources of stress for me, it was just made even clearer while I was off. Some of us just aren't meant for the rural life or for spending half our waking hours at work. The latter is pretty much a necessary evil, especially if I want to eventually become independent, but at least I can do something about the former.
