The weather here is definitely starting to shift. Granted, we're still having plenty of rainy days, and the temperature has still taken a turn toward the colder end of the spectrum from time to time. But the sunlight is lasting longer each day, and the overall temperature seems to be gradually warming, even as the overall sunniness of the days seems to be increasing bit by bit.
I have taken a temporary "Leave of Absence" from roller derby: to work on my graduate studies, to spend time with my husband, and to work on my personal life. To that last effect, I have made several new friends, have started doing yoga with folks outside of my home, and have enjoyed hanging out with like-minded, outdoorsy people with whom I feel I am clicking quite well. It's very exciting, and bodes well for this coming summer that I will not feel quite so alone when Jack goes back to work. We got his start date: 18 April this year. Less than two months to go. It saddens me to think of it, but I am grateful for all the time we have together, and I am hoping that the summer will be positive and full of life and love regardless. Not to mention that I know it will make his homecoming that much more sweet once again.
The permanent job at Redwood NP flew at the end of January and I applied, but I haven't heard if I'm on the list yet, let alone any further information. I keep waiting with my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Especially now that I have made some new friends, I find myself that much more eager to have a permanent position here and settle down. I really do feel that we could make Crescent City our home if we had the means.
Checking in on my goals:
1. Be happy: new friends = giant increase in my happiness level. Among other things, I feel like my base level of happiness has increased, overall, and that's a very encouraging thought.
2. Waste less: I don't know that there's anything to report here. We have been trying to use up the canned goods that I jarred over the course of the summer instead of purchasing things from the store, so I suppose that's a type of waste avoided.
3. Create more: I've been knitting up a storm, as well as crocheting, and more recently: I started working on my book again. You know, that "one" that I've been trying to write for at least a couple years now. The Bodie section was holding me up, and I finally realized that I was struggling because I couldn't separate my story from my nature writing. So I went back, deleted the whole section, and started rewriting it, beginning with an admission that I was having a hard time with this part of the book. Since then, I've written several pages and made some great progress, I believe, in the book. There are so many drafts floating around - I will have to at some point go through and verify that I have everything I want in there, but for now I have chosen the draft on my computer and have reformatted it and started adding on from there. I figure that the painstaking work of comparing drafts would only set me back at this point: I need to write while I have the inspiration. Hopefully I will be able to make a good plug toward the finish. At this point, I have over 60 pages of writing and still the rest of my "West" section (Bodie, with additions of Arizona and other western travels possibly in the mix), and my "Desert" section (exclusively Big Bend). I'll be pleased if I can get up to 100 pages with my current formatting. Once I'm done, I'll read through side-by-side drafts and see if there's anything else I need to include (or reinclude) before reading through the single draft as a whole. It's kind of exciting to realize that I'm beyond the halfway point with this book, and there's so much potential that I might finish it if I keep plugging away at it this year. Possibly there's still time enough that I could finish the rough draft before I go back to work this summer! Wouldn't that be a hoot?
4. Make a record: still on hold. I have begun to think about where I might find studio time, but I'm starting to think that maybe it would be best to hold off until next off-season. (Although, if I get a permanent position there will be no such thing...) The thought being that maybe I should get a little bit of a following by playing around town and whatnot and then introduce my album and hopefully get better sales that way. Strategy. ;P
5. Be a good student: so far, so good! I do have my first exam due by the end of this week, but so far my first paper and my discussion posts have all garnered good grades!
6. Read more: definitely a lot of reading going on with school. But I have managed last week and this week to read a little more of 1491 (not a required course reading), so that's been good. I also started reading my Edward Abbey books (starting with "Desert Solitaire") for my final paper. Granted, they're technically for school. But... they are also a wily way that I have gotten my school reading and my personal interest reading to combine. :)
7. Embrace movement: some days are better than others. I definitely cut back on a lot of movement by taking a break from twice weekly roller derby practices. But I have gone skating on my own around the neighborhood, and I have been fairly regular with yoga (both at home and with friends). I even went for a couple hikes. Hopefully I will keep taking advantage of the sunny days when they happen and I won't let myself lose the momentum that I've been garnering. Actually, reminding myself that this is one of my 2016 goals through typing up this blog post has rekindled my desire to get out there and achieve! :)
Look at all those smiley faces... I am definitely making progress on goal number 1. :)
Until next time!
