So Mrs jigg and I have decided to go to Spain for about 8 nights, flying into Barcelona and then hopping on a train to Madrid.

I wanted to go to Asia, but the travel time is a bit much for a little more than a week’s worth of travel.

In any event, anyone been to these two cities who would have recommendations on what area to stay in and what to see, do, and eat? Thanks!

Mrs jigg and I haven’t been away this year and we plan on taking the week of Thanksgiving off. Last year for our honeymoon, we went to London, Paris, and Rome for 2 weeks.

I have some idea where our next trip will be, but it hasn’t been decided yet and I’m looking for suggestions.

If you could go away for a whole week, where would you go and why? This is assuming that cost isn’t really a factor and the trip must be outside of the continental US 48.

Maybe a place you’ve been to before and you had a great experience. Just keep in mind that this is mid-late November and weather could be a factor.

During breakfast yesterday, Mrs jigg brought up that she heard the wife of one of the founders of Google came up with the technology to scan your DNA and tell you if you have any or if you are in high risk of one of those hereditary diseases. She asked me if I would do that if it gets approved by the FDA.

My first thought was Gataca. For those of you who have never seen the movie (SEE IT!), it’s set in a world where the government has everyone’s DNA on file and you are tracked and ID’d through instant blood tests with a prick of the finger at every turnstile.

If any one entity had all this huge database of DNA, I would imagine it may be used for gene research and eventually, gene altering, where they can take away all the bad genes before a child is born (like in Gataca). Maybe it would be great where we can take away the celiac disease or even the high risks of diabetes before our children are born, but would it be a better world? What else can this lead to?

My next thought was that if the government passed a law and absorbed this company, they would now have access to everyone’s DNA and while I would never go so far to say that government is evil, I believe that the government does what’s best in it’s interest and that may not necessarily in line with what’s best in our interest.

The last thought I had was that what if this machine is eventually upgraded to predict the length of your natural lifespan and is only off by 2 years? Would you want to know?

I’m not so sure I want to know. Would I really do things differently knowing that the machine said in 5 years, give or take 2 (3-7 years) or if it said 50 years? I’m not so sure. I feel like I’m already making the choices that are best for me and my family. If my lifespan was shorter, I don’t think I would necessarily make too big of a change. I wouldn’t stop working. I might even feel the need to work even more to make more money so that Mrs jigg would be taken care of once I pass.

I guess that question would be the litmus test of your life right now–if you only had only 3-7 years left in your life, would you want to know and if you do, how would things change for you in terms of goals and lifestyles? If you make great changes, why aren’t you doing those things now?

I’ve lost so much weight that my wedding band is now really loose. My ring is made of tungsten carbide, so it’s not sizable. My only choices are to do nothing and risk losing it and then buying a new one that’s the right size, or just buy a new one right now.

Is there a specific sentimental value associated with that exact ring? What if I got one that’s identical in design, but smaller? Would it have less sentimental value? Would you be unhappy if your spouse was in my situation and got a new band?

Relaxing vacations is an oxymoron to me. I love going to cities and getting lost. Sure, I’d do some research regarding the must-sees, but I just want to see everything, good or bad. Usually I would return home exhausted, wishing I had a few more days off to rest. But we all know that never happens–if you have 7 days off, you’re going to use up all 7 to see and do as much as possible.

Two weekends ago, I went to Provincetown MA with Mrs jigg and two of my friends. Mrs jigg had a bachelorette party to go to and had no way of getting there. I wasn’t invited, so I agreed to drive her there and just do my own thing. All the hotels were expensive there so I decided to camp.

I convinced two of my friends that it’s going to be fun and relaxing. Since P-town is at the tip of Cape Cod, the drive was really long. It rained a bit, but our tent kept us dry. We explored the town, swam in an empty beach and drove around the Cape. We even spent at least two hours a day (three-day weekend) to read and just lounge around. Overall, despite the long drive, it was very relaxing.

When I got back Sunday evening, I realized how rested I was. It was an unusual feeling as I’m always exhausted but this time, I felt great. Work has been stressful and this was exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries.

I never thought that I would enjoy vacations where I don’t really do much. Maybe I’m just getting older but even though I didn’t “have a blast” on this trip, I enjoyed it a great deal.

Before this trip, I was really against going away to resorts because I didn’t like the idea of lounging around. I don’t particularly like beaches either because I hate sand. This trip however changed my opinion. Vacations should be adventurous, but they can also be relaxing. I hate sand, but swimming in the ocean is a wonderful feeling, especially when the water is clear and warm.

And for other future roadtrip, I think I might explore the camping option. It was a great idea for this trip and can be a great idea for future trips.

What’s your idea of a vacation?