There is more activity on the Trail Journals site now. Some folks have already started hiking the Appalachian Trail this year, others are making final plans. You would think I would be excited reading the journals like I was last year. Especially since I am going to hike the approach trail to the beginning of the AT in a couple of weekends and may get to meet some of these same people. But tonight reading the journals depressed me. I feel so out of shape and generally out of that flow. So, I got up from my chair and packed my gym bag with clothes so I can go to the gym and work out again tomorrow after work. I then got out my backpack and emptied it of the things I had packed in it during the move and started laying out what I'll need for this coming weekend in Atlanta. I will take the backpack I think rather than a suitcase, and I'll definitely take my sleeping bag and sleeping pad so I can crash on the floor if necessary.
A few of the folks who's journals I read regularly aren't posting much lately. I know these things wax and wane. On one hand it is good to have routines jostled a bit to keep out of a rut, but it makes my internet cruising feel out of whack when my usual sites have nothing new to say.
Now, a bit of philosophy from my world... Henry David Thoreau distilled down the basic needs of man to the need to stay warm. Food, clothing and shelter exist primarily to keep us warm, keep the vital heat within us. George Carlin chimed in with the fact that a house is just a place to keep your shit. I decided after cleaning house the past two weekends that the vast majority of house cleaning is just taking out the trash from the processes of keeping warm and storing my shit. From doing dishes to emptying the wastebaskets of the packaging food arrived in, to doing laundry and sweeping, it is all just taking out the trash or waste products of staying warm and storing my shit. So, I obviously need to find more efficient ways to stay warm and store my shit so that I have more time and money to do fun stuff. Looked at this way, spending time figuring out how to reduce the packaging that food and other necessities come in will reduce the time needed to deal with the trash. Figuring out what really are necessities and not buying stuff that I don't need will (hopefully) reduce the size house I need to store all this shit and the time spent cleaning up after it. This is all still thoughts in progress so I haven't come up with much of an action plan. It is what made me decide to go with buying the water filters so I would stop buying individual bottled water, though. A tiny step here, and tiny step there.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
More Catching Up
This morning I went and had new tires put on the truck. It was actually dangerous with the tires I did have. I had put it off long enough, especially since I'm heading to Atlanta next weekend for the con, and north GA the next weekend to hike. After that I filled the gas tank, and then went grocery shopping. I probably should have gone to Aldi's for it to be cheaper, but the super WalMart was next door and, well, I was hungry and I was tired of being hungry. So, I went in and bought an entire cart of groceries. This is what happens when I feel deprived for too long. I just decided that I'd live with the total, whatever it came to, and figured I'd see $100 leave on a cart of groceries. Amazingly, I had bought low on the food chain for the most part, and the total was around $60. Came home and ate some things and then took a nap. I have now started a roast in the crockpot along with onions, potatoes and carrots. I just ate a half package of flavored tuna and crackers. I think that is what I'll take hiking, a couple of packets of the flavored tuna and some pita bread. I have the ingredients for making humus set out, but I may wait till tomorrow to make that now, and I got my favorite type of pita bread to eat with it. I am finally not hungry now. It will be a couple of hours till the roast is done, and by then I'll be ready for another meal.
Earlier in the week I broke down and went to Sam's and got 6 Brita filters so I can filter my water rather than buy bottled water. This generates a tiny fraction of the trash, besides being eventually cheaper. Those 6 filters will last me a year. I have my 2 platypus water bottles to take with me to have water. So that, along with the CF bulbs I've been putting in the lights are two giant steps towards getting back to a smaller footprint in my living. I'm feeling better about it all.
I had a job interview yesterday. I don't feel very optimistic about it, but it did light a fire under me to start reading up on the modern technologies so I can get a better job. For once, reading about this stuff, I don't feel overwhelmed. Either I'm learning stuff just hanging with the geeks, or my mind is coming back from wherever the hell it took off to a few years ago. That is why I'm going to the con next weekend. I actually want to listen to the talks about computer security and such. I'm staying on a couch, and the con is donation only, so my major expense will be gas to get down there. I'll pitch in money for the room and the con as I should, but it won't cost me over $200 like phreaknic did, hopefully.
All in all, I'm feeling pretty good tonight.
Earlier in the week I broke down and went to Sam's and got 6 Brita filters so I can filter my water rather than buy bottled water. This generates a tiny fraction of the trash, besides being eventually cheaper. Those 6 filters will last me a year. I have my 2 platypus water bottles to take with me to have water. So that, along with the CF bulbs I've been putting in the lights are two giant steps towards getting back to a smaller footprint in my living. I'm feeling better about it all.
I had a job interview yesterday. I don't feel very optimistic about it, but it did light a fire under me to start reading up on the modern technologies so I can get a better job. For once, reading about this stuff, I don't feel overwhelmed. Either I'm learning stuff just hanging with the geeks, or my mind is coming back from wherever the hell it took off to a few years ago. That is why I'm going to the con next weekend. I actually want to listen to the talks about computer security and such. I'm staying on a couch, and the con is donation only, so my major expense will be gas to get down there. I'll pitch in money for the room and the con as I should, but it won't cost me over $200 like phreaknic did, hopefully.
All in all, I'm feeling pretty good tonight.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Not Much Happening
I haven't posted in awhile. That's cause not a lot is going on. I am treading water, but that is a good thing right now. I made a lot of progress last weekend in cleaning this place up and making it more liveable. I am working on eating more, paying bills on time and generally getting back to getting my foundation activities back in order. It's difficult to make progress when I'm constantly having to backtrack and take care of overdue details and tripping over things that should have been finished already.
I have a job interview on Friday. I have called out from work that day. I have been out on the internet reading up on the technologies that I'm rusty in. I don't know that I will do very well, but I'll give it my best shot. It is lighting a fire under my butt to get back into reading geek stuff again. It is also lighting that fire to take care of taking care of myself so that I look my best at the interview. All good things, over and above whether I get the job or not.
I have a job interview on Friday. I have called out from work that day. I have been out on the internet reading up on the technologies that I'm rusty in. I don't know that I will do very well, but I'll give it my best shot. It is lighting a fire under my butt to get back into reading geek stuff again. It is also lighting that fire to take care of taking care of myself so that I look my best at the interview. All good things, over and above whether I get the job or not.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
On The Up Swing
I hit a low point this past week. Since I started working out I have had no energy to work on the house or much of anything. All I do is sleep. I didn't work out for over a week, and the change in energy I had was amazing. I could get out of bed early every morning and was actually back in a good mood. I worked out Tuesday evening, just a very light workout. It put me in a grumpy, tired achy mood again. On top of that, the house was a total mess. I canceled my planned dinner here because there was no way I could do it.
I managed to get my energy back around Thursday sometime. I was taking my supplements and trying to eat more again. But, I just didn't know how to fit in getting into shape with everything else I want to do. I decided that I had to do something to feel like I am turning my life into what I want it to be. Friday after work I ended up dropping about $150 between Lowe's and WalMart. Yes, I shopped at the Evil Empire. Something had to give. I knew I could get the things I needed at those locations. I got 2 ceiling fixtures to fix ones that are broken here. I got a nice larger toaster oven. I came home and made my muffins that I had missed since the move. I got some cans of chunky type soups to have for dinner when I get home from work. I also got several of the newer, smaller CF light bulbs since my older ones don't fit the fixtures in this house. I got other odds and ends that I've tried to do without but that will make things easier around here.
Today I fixed one ceiling fixture and put one of the new CF bulbs in it. I put the new CF bulbs in the fan light in the great room that is the one I have on the most. Those bulbs not only use 1/4 the electricity (2 100W incandescent bulbs vs. 3 14W bulbs) but are brighter, too. I made the muffins, enjoying having a large enough oven again. I took my supplements. I also spent the day cleaning. I swept the floor and straightened and generally gave this place a face lift.
Mom is coming over tomorrow and bringing the friend she has found that goes shopping and does errands with her. She is a bit younger than Mom, but they seem to get along well. The house is almost clean enough to let them in. Mom needs one of my VCR's (yea! something out of the house that I'm not using!) and I'm going to borrow her queen-sized blow up bed. I just don't have the initiative right now to set up the water bed. My blowup mattress is just the mattress and would be so low on the floor that the dog would be trying to sleep with me. It's enough problem sharing with the cat. Mom's blowup mattress is one of the nice ones where the pump plugs into the wall and it is the height of a regular bed. Hopefully I will start sleeping better on it.
I'm feeling better. I even cooked a crock pot of split pea soup to use up some old herbs and spices. I cleaned out some more kitchen cabinets and put away the two storage cubes of spices that had been sitting out on my counters. You get the idea. I'm cleaning off flat spots that were cluttered and starting to actually make this a home.
I will maybe now stop feeling so defeated when I am here. Who knows, I may even start working on the office again. That is if the better food and taking my supplements will stop the loss of energy for days after working out. The jury is still out on that.
I managed to get my energy back around Thursday sometime. I was taking my supplements and trying to eat more again. But, I just didn't know how to fit in getting into shape with everything else I want to do. I decided that I had to do something to feel like I am turning my life into what I want it to be. Friday after work I ended up dropping about $150 between Lowe's and WalMart. Yes, I shopped at the Evil Empire. Something had to give. I knew I could get the things I needed at those locations. I got 2 ceiling fixtures to fix ones that are broken here. I got a nice larger toaster oven. I came home and made my muffins that I had missed since the move. I got some cans of chunky type soups to have for dinner when I get home from work. I also got several of the newer, smaller CF light bulbs since my older ones don't fit the fixtures in this house. I got other odds and ends that I've tried to do without but that will make things easier around here.
Today I fixed one ceiling fixture and put one of the new CF bulbs in it. I put the new CF bulbs in the fan light in the great room that is the one I have on the most. Those bulbs not only use 1/4 the electricity (2 100W incandescent bulbs vs. 3 14W bulbs) but are brighter, too. I made the muffins, enjoying having a large enough oven again. I took my supplements. I also spent the day cleaning. I swept the floor and straightened and generally gave this place a face lift.
Mom is coming over tomorrow and bringing the friend she has found that goes shopping and does errands with her. She is a bit younger than Mom, but they seem to get along well. The house is almost clean enough to let them in. Mom needs one of my VCR's (yea! something out of the house that I'm not using!) and I'm going to borrow her queen-sized blow up bed. I just don't have the initiative right now to set up the water bed. My blowup mattress is just the mattress and would be so low on the floor that the dog would be trying to sleep with me. It's enough problem sharing with the cat. Mom's blowup mattress is one of the nice ones where the pump plugs into the wall and it is the height of a regular bed. Hopefully I will start sleeping better on it.
I'm feeling better. I even cooked a crock pot of split pea soup to use up some old herbs and spices. I cleaned out some more kitchen cabinets and put away the two storage cubes of spices that had been sitting out on my counters. You get the idea. I'm cleaning off flat spots that were cluttered and starting to actually make this a home.
I will maybe now stop feeling so defeated when I am here. Who knows, I may even start working on the office again. That is if the better food and taking my supplements will stop the loss of energy for days after working out. The jury is still out on that.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
The Journey
There are blogs that just reading them makes me feel like a better person for having done so. Lloyd Kahn's journal at http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.com/ is one of those. He is a 70-something guy who is still active, still creating (he's a writer), still enjoying life. I was feeling pretty down this evening. Just seems like I've slid backwards so far I won't catch up to where I thought I'd be by now in my life. Finances, the stress of living in a house that is basically an encampment, a dog that I discovered in the past 24 hours has been using the bedroom carpets (the rest of the house is laminate flooring) to pee on, a lot, and in general just feeling like '10 years have come and gone... you missed the starting gun'. His journal puts life more into the perspective of being a journey and that the idea is to enjoy the ride, wherever that ride happens to be at the moment.
Again, I need to stop making excuses and get on with living this life I have. And I am grateful that there are folks like Lloyd, Stumpknocker, Bush Whacker, and others out there showing how it's done and writing journals so the rest of us can be inspired.
Again, I need to stop making excuses and get on with living this life I have. And I am grateful that there are folks like Lloyd, Stumpknocker, Bush Whacker, and others out there showing how it's done and writing journals so the rest of us can be inspired.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Ongoing
I am measuring to decide where to set up the waterbed. I thought about putting it in the office when I get it finished, but my heart is set on actually moving into the office with my desk and computer equipment. That is part of the vision. So, I'm measuring in the great room. It is packed with furniture in here. The twin bed just fits. However, I am having trouble sleeping on it. My waterbed is king sized. I will have to move some of the furniture... well... somewhere. I have pretty much decided to do this though. I need to start sleeping better. This weekend I will start the process of setting it up.
I went to Home Depot and priced kitchen ranges and front loading washer/dryers. The combo comes in around $2K. I really don't want to turn loose of that much money right now. The range is $400, plus tax, delivery, etc. I should go to the Sears scratch and dent store and price things before I make a decision. I decided against buying the washer and dryer now, mostly cause I wouldn't be able to move them out to remodel the laundry room, which I will have to finish at some point. Seems like everything has to wait on 6 other things.
Nancy got back from her trip and we had a good hour or so long talk. It is fun to hear what's happening on her life, and share tidbits of mine. Good friends are treasures, and I have been blessed to have more than my share of exceptional folks in my life. They keep me stretching to be a better person.
Time to get back on the bandwagon of getting into shape. I'm back to getting up early and feeling better. So, tonight I'll go to the gym. If I'm sent back up north again like I was yesterday I'll go to the smaller gym up north. I prefer the one down in town, but they both have the machines I tend to use. I may put on the list of projects to make myself a pop can alcohol stove. Darn it, I could have gotten some of the supplies I need while at Home Depot last night... oh, well. The most costly part, actually the only part that costs money, is some flue tape to tape the halves together and some vermiculite to put inside to hold the alcohol. I have the empty pop cans.
And so another day starts. I still have more projects than energy. I think I'm making some progress...
I went to Home Depot and priced kitchen ranges and front loading washer/dryers. The combo comes in around $2K. I really don't want to turn loose of that much money right now. The range is $400, plus tax, delivery, etc. I should go to the Sears scratch and dent store and price things before I make a decision. I decided against buying the washer and dryer now, mostly cause I wouldn't be able to move them out to remodel the laundry room, which I will have to finish at some point. Seems like everything has to wait on 6 other things.
Nancy got back from her trip and we had a good hour or so long talk. It is fun to hear what's happening on her life, and share tidbits of mine. Good friends are treasures, and I have been blessed to have more than my share of exceptional folks in my life. They keep me stretching to be a better person.
Time to get back on the bandwagon of getting into shape. I'm back to getting up early and feeling better. So, tonight I'll go to the gym. If I'm sent back up north again like I was yesterday I'll go to the smaller gym up north. I prefer the one down in town, but they both have the machines I tend to use. I may put on the list of projects to make myself a pop can alcohol stove. Darn it, I could have gotten some of the supplies I need while at Home Depot last night... oh, well. The most costly part, actually the only part that costs money, is some flue tape to tape the halves together and some vermiculite to put inside to hold the alcohol. I have the empty pop cans.
And so another day starts. I still have more projects than energy. I think I'm making some progress...
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Odds and Ends Again
This has been an uncoordinated week so far. I have just felt out of sync. But, today I got up at 6 am for the first time in many weeks. I had intended to keep getting up early as if I had to be at a 8 am job. But... I must be feeling better cause I am wide awake. This is good. I didn't go to the gym last evening because my back has been hurting again. I've decided that it is this twin bed I'm sleeping on. I need my waterbed back! However, there is little point in setting it up in a room that is a wreck and in need of remodeling. Then again, it will be months till I get to that room... pondering... maybe I should just bite the bullet and set it up.
I am going to go to Home Depot and check out kitchen ranges. They are having a sale. Why spend money on a temporary solution when I might be able to buy a new stove for just a bit more? I will make a decision when I have the data in front of me. I didn't work on the office so far this week. Perhaps as I clear out the clutter and get a bit more settled in I will have the energy to work in there again. In the evenings I come home and get chilled and just crawl under the covers and stare at the computer till I decide to turn out the lights and fall asleep.
I got the truck back on the road. It's good to drive it again. It needs new tires and some other work. Oddball checked and informed me that I need to schedule a timing belt change a year and a half ago. The truck is a 96 Toyota with somewhere between 280-290K miles. Tires first, then timing belt. Back to if it's not one thing it's another.
Two more pieces of info due in the mail, and I can file my income tax. I'm hoping for some money back this year again. See above list of stove, tires, timing belt and add in hiking gear and it's obvious I have places to spend any money I might get back. Oh, and I got the news that my COBRA insurance has gone up from $239/month to over $300/month. sigh. Time to start pricing an individual medical policy. Maybe even join that Organization That Will Not Be Named in order to get a policy through them.
On a lighter note, SimpleLiving.net discussion boards again have given me a cool link. http://www.yogatoday.com/ has daily one hour yoga workouts. I downloaded part of one last night before my connection froze up. There are some advertisements (a la TV) which are a novelty to me since I don't watch TV. But, a free workout if it's any good would be a good thing. I will try downloading a couple of the workout videos while I'm down in town and have broadband.
Another cool site that I haven't explored much is: http://www.oculture.com/weblog/2006/10/free_university_1.html It is Open Culture and is a list of podcasts from Universities free for download. Notice the word download... which I can't do at home very well. Some of the folks on the forum download these to their IPod and listen to them while they work out. I would be content to be able to just download them to my computer...
I am going to go to Home Depot and check out kitchen ranges. They are having a sale. Why spend money on a temporary solution when I might be able to buy a new stove for just a bit more? I will make a decision when I have the data in front of me. I didn't work on the office so far this week. Perhaps as I clear out the clutter and get a bit more settled in I will have the energy to work in there again. In the evenings I come home and get chilled and just crawl under the covers and stare at the computer till I decide to turn out the lights and fall asleep.
I got the truck back on the road. It's good to drive it again. It needs new tires and some other work. Oddball checked and informed me that I need to schedule a timing belt change a year and a half ago. The truck is a 96 Toyota with somewhere between 280-290K miles. Tires first, then timing belt. Back to if it's not one thing it's another.
Two more pieces of info due in the mail, and I can file my income tax. I'm hoping for some money back this year again. See above list of stove, tires, timing belt and add in hiking gear and it's obvious I have places to spend any money I might get back. Oh, and I got the news that my COBRA insurance has gone up from $239/month to over $300/month. sigh. Time to start pricing an individual medical policy. Maybe even join that Organization That Will Not Be Named in order to get a policy through them.
On a lighter note, SimpleLiving.net discussion boards again have given me a cool link. http://www.yogatoday.com/ has daily one hour yoga workouts. I downloaded part of one last night before my connection froze up. There are some advertisements (a la TV) which are a novelty to me since I don't watch TV. But, a free workout if it's any good would be a good thing. I will try downloading a couple of the workout videos while I'm down in town and have broadband.
Another cool site that I haven't explored much is: http://www.oculture.com/weblog/2006/10/free_university_1.html It is Open Culture and is a list of podcasts from Universities free for download. Notice the word download... which I can't do at home very well. Some of the folks on the forum download these to their IPod and listen to them while they work out. I would be content to be able to just download them to my computer...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Adventure Log
I went over to nanowrimo.org to post my Big Fun Scary Things list for the year, and there are 67 pages of folks posting theirs already. So, I'm posting it here in my blog so that I don't lose track of it. Someone posted about the site 43things.com(?) where you can post your life list. I remembered when I saw it that I had done so at one time a few years ago. Don't remember my user name or password or whatever for the site now. So, here on my own blog is my list of things to accomplish, or rather a modest list to get me started:
1. repair the walls in the office and paint it turquoise
2. hike the approach trail to the AT
3. get up to 30 minutes on the elliptical machine at level 1
4. make a dentist appointment to take care of this broken tooth once and for all
5. live on what money I bring in for at least one month, not using savings or credit cards
That is a good start for now. I have other goals, and longer range ones. But, if I do these 5 things it will set the stage for the rest.
1. repair the walls in the office and paint it turquoise
2. hike the approach trail to the AT
3. get up to 30 minutes on the elliptical machine at level 1
4. make a dentist appointment to take care of this broken tooth once and for all
5. live on what money I bring in for at least one month, not using savings or credit cards
That is a good start for now. I have other goals, and longer range ones. But, if I do these 5 things it will set the stage for the rest.
Rainy Sunday
I did the hike yesterday morning, just like I'd planned. I got up, drank a bunch of coffee, got dressed and went hiking. I was home by noon. I did forget a few things in my desire to get going early. I forgot my hiking poles since I keep them in the truck so I won't, ummm, forget them. Unfortunately I driving the car right now... I could have used some gloves, and a stocking cap rather than the ball cap I wore that didn't cover my ears. It was a bit nippy when I started out. Some kleenex or a hankie would have been good. I thought of all this within 5 minutes of hitting the trail.
I got home around noon. I had a list of things to do the rest of the day, notably to change the tire on the truck so I can start driving it again. The jack in the truck was locked up when I tried to change the tire on Tuesday. I now own a nice, new 2T hydraulic jack. I waited for yesterday so that I could change the tire in the daylight and not while I'm on my way to work. Also, I discovered that I have a trunk full of stuff in the Stanza from moving day that I forgot was there. I was going to unload all of that. What happened instead was that I crawled into the bed to warm up since on the way home I got chilled. When I woke up 4 hours later I was still chilled and didn't feel all that well. I figured that the chilling was mostly about not enough food, so I fixed some dinner. It made me not feel well, but about an hour later I felt a lot better and was warm. Unfortunately it was dark. And, today it is raining. Hard. So, looks like I'll be driving the car again next week.
I have been making plans with Stumpknocker to go hiking on the approach trail to the AT sometime at the end of February. He has hiked the entire AT several times. I posted to his guest book after following his journal of his hike this year, and when he emailed me to thank me for signing we started an on-going (so far) exchange. Actually, I keep pestering him. The approach trail is 8 miles and goes from the lodge (I'll look up the name since there is no way I can spell any of these places correctly without it right in front of me) to the top of Springer Mt in GA where the AT begins if you hike from south to north. It seems rather daunting to me to have to hike 8 miles just to get to the trail. Then again, the AT is 2,189 miles long, so 8 shouldn't be a big deal. The idea of hiking with a 'real' hiker is a bit daunting, and one reason why I was diligent about getting on the trail yesterday to train. After collapsing from hiking less than 6 miles with I'm sure much less elevation change I'm feeling even less ready. However, I have a month to work on being in shape and eating enough to not collapse.
I happened on some more self-sufficient sites. One says that the place to start is in the kitchen, learning to cook from scratch. It reminded me that I need to pull out my bread machine and make some bread. Mom used to get bread for me. Actually, I wanted to make my own bread, and was doing so, but Mom would bring me a couple of loaves of multi-grain bread whenever I saw her. I couldn't let that bread go to waste. Now her source has gone away so I can make my own again. I have 20 lbs or so of flour and all the other ingredients. It's a step. I was thinking I would unpack my loaf pans and make normal looking bread for my dinner in a few weeks. I then realized, yet again, I have no oven. Just like when I was going to make muffins, my loaf pans won't fit into my toaster oven any better than the muffin tin did. Who knew I would need an oven so often? I look at my empty kitchen with the horrible dark maroon walls, look at my office which is my current work in progress, and sigh. I may need to get a larger sized toaster oven. I had one once and they are ok if you don't have a real oven. I hate to buy yet another appliance, but it will be awhile before I either have the kitchen remodeled or have the money to buy a real stove. If it's not one thing, it's another (tipping my keyboard to Gilda Radner)
I got home around noon. I had a list of things to do the rest of the day, notably to change the tire on the truck so I can start driving it again. The jack in the truck was locked up when I tried to change the tire on Tuesday. I now own a nice, new 2T hydraulic jack. I waited for yesterday so that I could change the tire in the daylight and not while I'm on my way to work. Also, I discovered that I have a trunk full of stuff in the Stanza from moving day that I forgot was there. I was going to unload all of that. What happened instead was that I crawled into the bed to warm up since on the way home I got chilled. When I woke up 4 hours later I was still chilled and didn't feel all that well. I figured that the chilling was mostly about not enough food, so I fixed some dinner. It made me not feel well, but about an hour later I felt a lot better and was warm. Unfortunately it was dark. And, today it is raining. Hard. So, looks like I'll be driving the car again next week.
I have been making plans with Stumpknocker to go hiking on the approach trail to the AT sometime at the end of February. He has hiked the entire AT several times. I posted to his guest book after following his journal of his hike this year, and when he emailed me to thank me for signing we started an on-going (so far) exchange. Actually, I keep pestering him. The approach trail is 8 miles and goes from the lodge (I'll look up the name since there is no way I can spell any of these places correctly without it right in front of me) to the top of Springer Mt in GA where the AT begins if you hike from south to north. It seems rather daunting to me to have to hike 8 miles just to get to the trail. Then again, the AT is 2,189 miles long, so 8 shouldn't be a big deal. The idea of hiking with a 'real' hiker is a bit daunting, and one reason why I was diligent about getting on the trail yesterday to train. After collapsing from hiking less than 6 miles with I'm sure much less elevation change I'm feeling even less ready. However, I have a month to work on being in shape and eating enough to not collapse.
I happened on some more self-sufficient sites. One says that the place to start is in the kitchen, learning to cook from scratch. It reminded me that I need to pull out my bread machine and make some bread. Mom used to get bread for me. Actually, I wanted to make my own bread, and was doing so, but Mom would bring me a couple of loaves of multi-grain bread whenever I saw her. I couldn't let that bread go to waste. Now her source has gone away so I can make my own again. I have 20 lbs or so of flour and all the other ingredients. It's a step. I was thinking I would unpack my loaf pans and make normal looking bread for my dinner in a few weeks. I then realized, yet again, I have no oven. Just like when I was going to make muffins, my loaf pans won't fit into my toaster oven any better than the muffin tin did. Who knew I would need an oven so often? I look at my empty kitchen with the horrible dark maroon walls, look at my office which is my current work in progress, and sigh. I may need to get a larger sized toaster oven. I had one once and they are ok if you don't have a real oven. I hate to buy yet another appliance, but it will be awhile before I either have the kitchen remodeled or have the money to buy a real stove. If it's not one thing, it's another (tipping my keyboard to Gilda Radner)
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Rapid Reversals
This is my day of the month to be grumpy. And a bitch. I know many of the folks would ask what is different about today. The difference is that today I'd cut them into 3 pieces if they said it to my face. I don't want to face the day.
So, since the world doesn't stop this one day a month for me, I started my morning routine. It includes checking my email. There I saw a letter from Chris at the Nanowrimo site. If you remember (or if you don't) it is the yearly challenge to write a novel in 30 days in November. I started it before life got completely out of control with the move. I made 5000 words, the least I've done in the 3 times I've tried it. At any rate, I figured he was branching out into fund raising year round. I sighed, but I didn't delete it. I started reading. Here is a partial copy of the letter:
"Think for a moment about those activities, classes, and endeavors that you've long daydreamed about, but have never quite got around to tackling. I'm talking about the roads less traveled---the tuba lessons, the family-history writing, the foreign language learning, the transformation of your living room into a multi-story race course for feral hamsters. These are the nonessential creative activities that get us in over our heads, bring new people into our lives, and help make life more magical.
As adults, we tend to steer clear of these pursuits because they t ake time and cost money. But putting off all our adventures for later comes with its own set of costs. Our souls become dry and brittle. Our energy levels sag. Our noses fall off.
Which is why I'm inviting you to pick a couple never-before-attempted endeavors that have long intrigued and daunted you, and then do them in 2007.
Publicly.
Yep. Once you have your list of new adventures post it in the Adventure Log, 2007 thread of the brand-new Trying Big, Fun, Scary Things Together 2007 forum on the NaNo site.
We'll cheer each other on, post updates on our various achievements and defeats, and generally revel in the joys of being inspired dilettantes. I'll also email a special certificate to anyone who accomplishes at least one of their Big, Fun, Scary Things by the onset of NaNoWriMo---October 1, 2007."
No fund raising anywhere in the post. Just an invitation to have fun. I smiled so hard I have tears in my eyes. This made my day. I am already in the beginnings of one of my Big Fun Scary Things, I plan to paint the office turquoise. This is out of character for me. I will put brightly colored prints on the walls. Again, very out of character. Or, maybe fabric and textiles. But, I will make it a bright room. This is why I'm excited to work on the office now and why I'm actually making progress on it. But, I needed to be reminded about this on this previously grumpy, gloomy morning.
The Nano site is: NaNoWriMo.org for those of you that wish to join in the fun.
So, since the world doesn't stop this one day a month for me, I started my morning routine. It includes checking my email. There I saw a letter from Chris at the Nanowrimo site. If you remember (or if you don't) it is the yearly challenge to write a novel in 30 days in November. I started it before life got completely out of control with the move. I made 5000 words, the least I've done in the 3 times I've tried it. At any rate, I figured he was branching out into fund raising year round. I sighed, but I didn't delete it. I started reading. Here is a partial copy of the letter:
"Think for a moment about those activities, classes, and endeavors that you've long daydreamed about, but have never quite got around to tackling. I'm talking about the roads less traveled---the tuba lessons, the family-history writing, the foreign language learning, the transformation of your living room into a multi-story race course for feral hamsters. These are the nonessential creative activities that get us in over our heads, bring new people into our lives, and help make life more magical.
As adults, we tend to steer clear of these pursuits because they t ake time and cost money. But putting off all our adventures for later comes with its own set of costs. Our souls become dry and brittle. Our energy levels sag. Our noses fall off.
Which is why I'm inviting you to pick a couple never-before-attempted endeavors that have long intrigued and daunted you, and then do them in 2007.
Publicly.
Yep. Once you have your list of new adventures post it in the Adventure Log, 2007 thread of the brand-new Trying Big, Fun, Scary Things Together 2007 forum on the NaNo site.
We'll cheer each other on, post updates on our various achievements and defeats, and generally revel in the joys of being inspired dilettantes. I'll also email a special certificate to anyone who accomplishes at least one of their Big, Fun, Scary Things by the onset of NaNoWriMo---October 1, 2007."
No fund raising anywhere in the post. Just an invitation to have fun. I smiled so hard I have tears in my eyes. This made my day. I am already in the beginnings of one of my Big Fun Scary Things, I plan to paint the office turquoise. This is out of character for me. I will put brightly colored prints on the walls. Again, very out of character. Or, maybe fabric and textiles. But, I will make it a bright room. This is why I'm excited to work on the office now and why I'm actually making progress on it. But, I needed to be reminded about this on this previously grumpy, gloomy morning.
The Nano site is: NaNoWriMo.org for those of you that wish to join in the fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)