My Two Weeks Away From Davis Patch

I spent the bulk of the last 14 days offline, fixing up our apartment, running errands and hanging out with our new baby, Noah – who was the highlight of the time off, of course.

As I return to work, I can’t quite figure out if I’m feeling rested and rejuvenated, or if I’m now tired in some new kind of way. On one hand, I just had a two-week long staycation. On the other, I woke up in the middle of every night, which is not something I used to do pre-baby. 

While Noah has proven to be a very mellow guy, he still gets hungry at 3 a.m. Feeding tends to be my wife’s department because she has the necessary tools, I usually get the honor of changing diapers. 

Anyway, it was awesome to have some time off with the family, but now it's time to get back to work. As I get back in the swing, here are some things that stood out from my two weeks off: 

• Monticello’s Chicken and Waffles: I ate them, and they were delectable. You can see a photo of them in this story. Check it out, and then go eat at Monticello on a Wednesday night to see for yourself.
• National Politics: I tuned into the presidential election and other issues that aren’t particularly local. It was a very healthy thing for me to do, because I find myself only scanning national headlines when I'm zoomed in on Davis Patch. I watched both conventions and made a point to read full-length articles about both candidates. Now I’m reading Obama’s book, Audacity of Hope, which (regardless of who you support) does a fine job of explaining why it's worth not being a jerk to people who disagree with you and your politics. 
• I played a show at Sophia’s: I opened for a great band called AgesandAges last Saturday night. I hadn’t played a live show in more than a year, so I was a bit nervous, but it went really well and I had a lot of fun. Hopefully I’ll make a point to play more often in town from this point forward.
• Oh, Farmers Market: It’s really the best. I went down there both Saturdays for a Fat Face Sandwich and a jug of apple juice, as well as other veggies. I know there's nothing stopping me from doing this any Saturday, but something about the vacation mode made it even more calming. It was also a nice opportunity to chat up the school board candidates without the burden of a notepad. They’re all quite thoughtful. Good luck picking just two of them, voters. 
• Mad Men: I went on a rampage. Having never watched the show, I charged through all five seasons in less than a month. The bulk of that watching happened during this paternity leave, with my wife next to me and Noah cradled in one of our laps. That show is the best; I can't wait for next season. If you haven’t watched it, now is the time. The first four seasons can be streamed on Netflix.
• A Temporary Mustache: I hadn’t shaved since the day we took Bianca to the hospital, so I had a semi-thick beard by the end of the break. On the final day, I did what any fashionable person would do and I turned it into a mustache for 24 hours (photo above). Today, I’m back to being clean-shaven. Fresh and ready to take on the world.
• Junk 2 Genius: Davis Patch entered a team in this local timed-team art competition… and we won! The theme was “Down on the Farm,” so we built a giant cow, with a full farm inside. We presented it by singing a rendition of the Foo Fighters song, “For All the Cows,” which is a bonafied highlight in my musical career. Check out all of the entries at the Davis Art Center for the next week and a half. They’re awesome! Thanks to the Law Office of Roberta Savage for sponsoring Davis Patch's team! 
• Community Park: I live right across the street from this park, but I don’t use it nearly enough. Central Park gets most of the big attention in town, but I’m glad I’ve got Community Park in my backyard now that I’ve got a baby and a stroller and some beautiful fall evenings ahead of me.

That about wraps it up. I’m excited to be back, and I’m excited to have our baby home. After a busy summer filled with many vacations and then a hectic birth, I’m looking forward to a quiet fall in Davis with my wife and baby.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch: justin.cox@patch.com.

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