Sobering

After a couple of weeks of staying in warm and welcoming homes, it was quite sobering to come back to my cold and quiet abode here.  Without expecting much in the way of human companionship, it has made me more determined than ever to have a canine companion of my own one day.  It's also striking how different my lifestyle is compared to friends and family - I don't live a full and busy life, I don't base my life around family, work and/or hobbies.  I kind of base it around nothing.  It should make my life more stress-free, but instead I end up finding fault in the little things.  And I think it results in my life being a lot less fulfilling.  And that is kind of disappointing, and something I need to reconsider.  But I know I can't compare a day during the last few weeks against a typical day.  I'm not going to go out every day, I'm not going to eat out or have meals cooked for me every day, I am eventually going to have to do some work as part of my job, etc.  So I should just appreciate the fact that I had a very enjoyable last few weeks, but that was a vacation and now I'm not on vacation.  I clearly need more time off!  Another reason why I really want to take a sabbatical from work.