Spirit
More and more I make time to be on the Sutton Trails. It has been a big part of my way of working through my father's death.
Going to Colorado and doing some very pleasant hiking did not ruin me for a place like Sutton. Instead, it showed me there are people willing to drive for a bit to go some place beautiful, and do that again and again as a way of life. The experience gave me permission to go often, which I plan on doing until it gets too cold.
Also, I found the podcast On Being. It's great to listen to while doing the routine parts of work. I recommend it over the news of (or even the tips of) the rich and power-addicted.
A really great one is the discussion with the yogi Seane Corn. But there are so many great ones to choose from, and I have never listened to an out-and-out bad one.
Body
After my father's death I got out of the good habits I had been building up. The first one I wanted to get back going was working out every day. I had a colleague who goes to the Y every day right after school and rewards herself with a cola.
Though I do have a long-term wish to quit caffeine, I really seem to like soda, so I am using it as my positive reinforcement.
In spite of my earlier thoughts I don't do yoga instead of running: I do tai chi. In fairness, though, I did not know just how much time I would end up working yoga poses (and other stretches) into my life by making it a daily routine.
I'm working on my downward dog. And I got to take care of my lower back. Really just check out the beginners page at Yoga Journal.
On my resistance training days I continue to experiment with working out at parks, leaning more towards using parks with benches so I can do a horizontal row with it.
I corrected my push up form, but that has me seemingly laughably far away from my 100 push-up in a set goal. I have a plan for that when I switch out workout protocols: I think the next thing I will do is work on modified push ups and follow a similar pattern to what I did with greasing the groove for squats.
Mind
I've done work on turning 3-digit numbers into words in the major memory system. With these words down, I will be able to encode any number, hacking my short-term memory so I can hold the number and do arithmetic on it. Yeah, I'm a nerd. (Didn't you notice the title of the blog?)
Financial
I made another $5,000 payment on the house. One step closer to paying off the house.
After that money is freed up, I'll give myself a budget to buy tools. I believe that in the long run I will can turn a net profit off my tool investments, but I know they will add more joy to my life than any other "entertainment" expense. I will start with gathering the tools and books for . . .
Intermediate Woodworking
When I start this goal, I imagine that first I'll want to do some warm up projects -- like building birdhouses (I actually want to put them out and use them to attract birds).
Then I have this vision of using wood working skills to make an ideal workshop. Kinda meta, yeah? I love the Adam Savage death to drawers idea.
After that, I just want to be a reliable maker. Someone who can make custom bookshelves or other standing projects. When I can do that from scratch (my own designs) I will call this item finished.
