West of the Moon, East of the Sun

Just back from the weekend trip. He who wanders should, at the moment, be wandering somewhere between San Francisco and Sacramento; all in all, we basically drove 1000 miles to get him on a train (well, plus a few extras). I'd consider it a successful trip, overall, with some minor issues here and there.

I'll get the pictures done and a more detailed post when I'm not just home from spending 12 hours driving (the 380 miles home that should have taken 5 hours or so ended up taking 7; yay for CalTrans).

For now...

The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet.

With Confident Step

Semi-random notes. Got the camera. Yay! It's awesome. I've already taken some pictures with it, and they've turned out well. I do need to try a video, though. That's next. Well, I took a few videos on the same outing, but I haven't processed them yet. But I still want to try a video post.

Friend gets here Wednesday. Pretty much everything is in place, so no worries there. Going to be a long weekend, but should be a lot of fun.

Unrelated, and the reason I popped in: a friend posted on FB that her kitty (which has been on the long, slow decline) finally died this morning. Because I'm a total freak when it comes to many things, this made me think of Leaves of Grass, and Whitman's "So Long!" section at the end. I read it when I was probably 10; we found an old (turned out to be 2nd edition) printing of it at a library book sale and bought it for like 10 cents.

Specifically

I have press’d through in my own right,
I have sung the Body and the Soul — War and Peace have I sung,
And the songs of Life and of Birth — and shown that there are many births:
I have offer’d my style to everyone — I have journey’d with confident step;
While my pleasure is yet at the full, I whisper, So long!

and

Dear friend, whoever you are, take this kiss,
I give it especially to you — Do not forget me;
I feel like one who has done work for the day, to retire awhile;
I receive now again of my many translations — from my avataras ascending — while
    others
        doubtless await me;
An unknown sphere, more real than I dream’d, more direct, darts awakening rays about
        me — So long!
Remember my words — I may again return,
I love you — I depart from materials;
I am as one disembodied, triumphant, dead.

That's as close to a eulogy as I think I'd ever like.

(Yay for happy thoughs!)

Strolling through the park one day

Blah, May already. Part of why I haven't posted much is that I was intending, by this point, to be doing at least a few video posts with my new camera. New camera is still on back order (which, since I really really want to have it with me for a trip in two weeks, is starting to piss me off). I can't say life's been boring. Let's see... I went on a date with a cool guy who seems to be one of those narrowly brilliant people, which is actually kind of fun: his specialty is something I have more than a passing interest in, so I don't feel totally lost, and yet there's plenty of stuff I can teach him. So, there's a give and take. We'll see if it goes anywhere, but for now it's a "no pressure" situation. I flew to San Francisco for an afternoon to hang out with some friends. That was actually a lot of fun: we went to the California Academy of Sciences. I took my current camera and got some nifty pictures. Also got to hang out with some on-line friends I don't see often (if ever). So, a fun time. Other than that, nothing terribly dramatic. As I said, a trip up the coast with some weirdo for Memorial Day, and then (I can't believe I'm saying this) it's only 8 weeks from today that I fly off to Maui again. Oh, today is National Day of Reason (some other people think it's something silly), so celebrate by being rational and reasonable. Even if it is a Thursday.

Underpants Gnomes Not Required

Step 1: Have good credit and $yyy money to spend.

Step 2: Get credit card offer from Company A offering free miles for signing up after spending a certain amount less than $yyy.

Step 3: Apply for and be granted free miles card.

Step 4: Buy Stuff(tm) work $yyy you were planning on buying anyway via the card.

Step 5: Pay off card prior to billing cycle.

Step 6: Collect miles.

Step 7: Let card sit on shelf for 12 months, then cancel card.

Step 8: Get new credit card offer from Company B offering free miles...


... You know, even as I'm taking advantage of the system, I know it's skewed horribly: those who have continue to receive with little effort, and those who have not struggle to get a chance. This is a pretty simple example; some might argue that something like "airline miles" is a trivial form of privilege. But my execution of this plan over the next few weeks is going to net me about 50k miles - that's enough for a round-trip flight pretty much anywhere in the US essentially for free. That means that I won't have to spend money to fly, which I can use towards other things (including more of this kind of activity).

(For the record, I'm modifying Step 7 a little: I'm actually going to use the card instead of my debit that gets me miles on the same program, since for 18 months I'll get double miles via the card and I can have it auto-pay from my checking account, thus avoiding any balance fees. Which just means even more miles.)

My parents have been doing this kind of thing for years; it's always felt a little weird to me, so this is the first time I'm doing it. However, the convergence of a few things - the offer at the same time that I'm about to spend exactly the amount they want - makes it too convenient to pass up. Plus, I trust myself a lot more with credit now that I did even two years ago.

Now I just feel weird because I'm exploiting privilege.

Not all who wander are lost

... just a quick thing.

Walked 6 miles yesterday. The funny part is that two of it wasn't intended. There's a park about 1.5 miles from my apartment, and I wanted to walk down to it, through it a bit, and back, which would have been 4ish miles. However, one of the neighborhoods was pretty cool, and then I walked across the Colorado bridge (which is gorgeous) - and it was only when I was half-way across the bridge that I realized I couldn't easily get to the park I wanted to walk through, which was almost exactly 250 feet below me. So, that led to walking down some side streets to get back around and finally to the park, and then back home.

With a brief stop at IHOP to show down on a cheeseburger and drink three or four glasses of water. Did I mention it was 80-85 degrees and sunny?

This morning, I put on a pair of pants I haven't worn in a month or so, and they're noticeably more loose than they used to be. The scale still hasn't shown much change, and I don't see any change around my waist, but I guess something's working as I'm headed in the right direction.

Anyway, back to work...

365:05:49:16

Leap day. So I'm leaping over most of February.

Got my tax return; $7600, though a big chunk of that goes to the SEP for last year (that's one of my retirement funds).

Booked my trip to Maui for my birthday.

Thinking about buying the D800.

Also seriously going to look into buying a bike.

Also also decided to start something that is probably a decent idea but we'll see where it goes: I'm going to put 1/3 of my take-home aside in an account with the intention of (hopefully?) saving up and traveling a lot when I'm 39. Like, the ideal plan would be to quit my job (or go on extended leave if they allow it), hit Maui for my 39th birthday, and then just travel around for a year, coming back to Maui for my 40th and then going home.

Yeah, I know. That's a "big deal." In fact, that probably passes "big deal" to "holy fucking shit are you kidding me??" kind of deal. I haven't told anyone; I don't know that I'll pull it off, or that I'll still want to by then, or any number of things. Four years is a long time.

But that's why I want to start now. Assuming I pull off the 1/3rd amount - and that's assuming a lot - that'll put me over $75,000 by the time I turn 39. I think that's enough to comfortably travel around the world for a year while still covering things that would normally be covered by my company (health care, for example). If I do any extra work on the side, that can contribute to the total as well.

Even if I don't go, I'll still hopefully end up with a chunk of money saved up. Which isn't a bad thing no matter what.

Anyway, on other topics, I'm noticing physiological changes from my workout routine: not as much as I'd like, but still noticeable. I'm giving myself until the end of March to notice a weight/mass change before I try something else: I've been doing this two weeks already, and while I see contour changes and certainly have noticed strength changes, there's actually no change on the scale or in body fat percentage. I also haven't seen any decrease in the one "trouble" spot I actively want to reduce (which is also where I seem to carry most of my fat). That's the reason for the deadline: if I'm not seeing any progress in the specific changes I want, I've still got a few months (all of April, May, and June) to try something different. I mean, I know how to lose weight, but I'm trying to convert it rather than just lose it: much harder, which is why I'm doing the test, but healthier in the long run.

We'll see how it goes, but I'm getting tired of protein supplements :)

Old Macdonald had a farm...

So, I joined a CSA. That's not a political group - well, not directly anyway. It stands for Community-Sourced Agriculture. The idea (if you're unfamiliar with it) is to get produce from local farms and growers, as well as (sometimes) other locally-produced foodstuffs. You generally pay a fee (usually $20-40 a week) and get a Box of Stuff.

This week's Box of Stuff has: apples (6, and they're really sweet), lemons (2), pears (7, bartlett type I think), arugula, collard greens, 3 "sticks" of lemongrass, a couple largish onions, a handfull of russet-type potatoes, a bunch of rosemary, what I think is a huge rutabaga, a couple of turnips, and an acorn squash.

I also got a dozen eggs and some uncured bacon added to it.

I have no idea what to do with most of this. Well, not really true - most of it is pretty typical. Things like the collard greens and arugula I'll probably put into a salad, and if nothing else potatoes make good hashed browns.

It's the turnips, rutabaga, and acorn squash I'll have to get creative with. But that's part of the point: I tend to be slightly unadventurous when it comes to day-to-day meals, so the idea was to end up with random things I probably would never have bought on my own to see what they're like. And I need to eat better in general, so the apples and pears are definitely great snack-type items (I had one this morning, with my breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast).

We'll see how this works out longer-term, but I think it's a fun way to change up the diet a little.

To-Do Lilst (Revisited)

* Pay off all debt (should be around February / March)
* Move closer to L.A. (April-ish)
* Visit at least one country to which I've never been - likely something in the Caribbean for my birthday
* Get back into my workout routine - I fell out of it with all the stress and traveling this last quarter


Well, #1 is a "go". I paid it all off, and basically just have "maintenance debt" now (a few hundred dollars that gets paid off as I go).

#2, done, if a little late.

#3, nope. The consulting job went way longer than it should have. So, still ned to work on that.

#4, since I was in the gym earlier today, I'd say it's done. It's off and on, but especially with the gym here in the building, I've been a lot more consistent. I've actually gone the last 6 days in a row.

We do what we must because we can...

Drive-by blogging, nothing really to say other than that I think "Still Alive" is probably the theme song for 2011.

Here's to seeing what 2012 brings.

In dread silence reposes

My parents cruise. A lot. At this point, they've been to every continent and, if I recall, every nation. They go to small villages, climb isolated mountains, and walk on beaches far from the trappings of modern technology.

All across the world, in small places, on top of hills or in the shadows of cliffs, there are grave stones, carefully tended, and usually some old man in a faded uniform who lives in a nearby shack or hut or old building.

And on a plaque nearby, some version of the phrase, "We remember... and we thank you."

Above these stones, waving gently in the breeze, you'll see the flags. British. Austrailian. And the ol' Stars and Stripes of the United States.

I'm often conflicted on the notion of supporting those in the military. I believe that killing is never a morally valid option, even when it's the best option available, and often people seem to sign up to participate for all the wrong reasons. We get into unnecessary wars for political reasons and sometimes do more wrong than we are trying to prevent.

But on Veteran's Day today, I'll offer this statement: to those who fight for the rights and freedoms of others, who defend the line that should never be crossed, and who bear the moral cost of decisions that are not right but may be the best ones that could be made... To you, whether military or civilian, where living or dead, I salute you.