Jan. 22 Update
Friday, January 22, 2021: Working on Working.
What the heck does that mean?
Work
As I noted in my last Update, I accepted a new job. To keep the message short, most of my time this week has been occupied with getting ready for this job. Ergo, I’m working on working.
I miss being able to do things in-person…
Due to a slow connection speed, taking care of the piles of paperwork has been difficult. Most of it was taken care of later on in the evening or earlier in the morning. By mid-day all week (today has been oddly decent), it felt like I was trying to suck a golf ball through a garden hose.
Don’t get me wrong…I haven’t been sitting here the whole time cursing at the internet and waiting for things to load…
Office Space
Since I will be working from home for a bit, tackling my mess of an office has moved up on the priority list. I’ve even made some progress!
No pictures yet, though.
I got rid of a bunch of stuff that we had no use for, moved around a bunch of things (put them where they belonged), sorted a bunch of other things, and started into the books. So, so many books…
Why books? I like books. Reading is my thing.
I also gathered a lot of books with a half-baked idea of buying them cheap and selling them off for more. I did make a few sales on rare finds, but a lot of them have been sitting. That’s on me- I listed a lot, but with how things transpired the last year, I didn’t do a very good job of it. I still have a few rare finds looking for homes, but I also have a lot of not-so-rare finds that seem to be gathering dust and taking up space.
This isn’t including the books in the basement..
I planned on trading in a lot of the paperbacks for credit and bundling like-color/subject hardcovers for eBay lot sales (they use them in movies and staging houses). If anyone has any other ideas, let me know!
Hike Report
Still nothing to report, sadly. A bunch of quiet, late-night walks, but no real hikes.
Honestly, it’s been too damn cold and/or messy to take the boys out, and it seems like the only working on work-free time I had this week would have been over the weekend. I really didn’t want to leave the boys at home.
I haven’t let this slide too much, though. I’ve began planning out a hike list, as well as gathering things for a summer backpacking trip. I love studying maps almost as much as I love reading stories!
I’ve also started back onto some morning calisthenics (body squats, balance exercises, push ups, et cetera) to reform the parts that have grown slightly pudgy over the holidays.
I have not been to the gym in a few months, even though it has been open. Honestly, with the pandemic going on, the place sort of grosses me out. The last time I was in there (late at night), it was full of younger folks perspiring and slobbering all over the equipment and not cleaning up after themselves.
Sorry to sound like a cranky old man, but…where is the respect?! I don’t need to get sick right now. Unfortunately, the gym fees are not able to be paused or refunded, so it’s been a bit of a loss.
New Year Reading
Still reading this book! Walking with Spring by Earl Shaffer is a bit of a slower read than the others I’ve already read this year, but I also don’t want to rush through it. I’m enjoying every moment of it, thinking about doing the AT myself, and remembering Earl’s visit way back when.
At the pace I’m going with this book, I should be finishing it up sometime next week.
After this book, I’ll dive back into another Kurt Vonnegut book (already read Breakfast of Champions this year). If anyone has any other recommendations on what to read next, let me know!
Upcoming Week
Monday my working on work turns into working. I mean, sort of…it’s going to be a learning experience, and I have a few more things to prep, but my excitement still has not abated.
The informative session for the PA Wilds region we had this week has got me amped and ready to roll!
The other stuff, in no particular order (and stealing some from last week…):
- GET IN A HIKE.
- Deal with the books while trying to put the finishing touches on the office space.
- Watch some football.
- Get my work computer and start putting together my program.
- Get a new article up early next week. I have a few mostly done…just have to figure out which one I want to finish.
- Read, read, read. Write, write, write.