Stream of consciousness stuff from my brain-pod as we learn to navigate this new, topsy-turvy world.
Less time on social media has been so nice this week. I check maybe once per day the Facebooks for any notifications. I don’t scroll through the feed much … I find myself looking at two or three that the algorithm force-feeds me. Then I find one that’s infuriating or false or meant to stoke anger and I remember to close the tab. Bye Facebook-lecia.
I did a lot of reading this week. I’m reading “Eye of the World” by Robert Jordan. Not sure how I missed this one earlier in life. It’s an epic 15-volume series that’s being developed for TV right now and is a PBS “Great American Read” selection. Anywho, it’s quite good. It took me a chapter or two to get into it because the author is very descriptive and paints the world well … but it does start off slow. Now I’m on chapter 35 (of 53) and the library rental returns today. I put another hold on it, but I may have to wait a bit to finish it. **le sigh**
I also did a lot of video gaming. Specifically playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’m finally focusing on fixing up my house and the area around it. I have a decent amount of bells in the bank. I’ve got enough “stuff” cataloged that I can actually furnish the house (albeit more like a college kid collecting random freebies … but whatever, it’s furnished), and I’ve got a little bit of a vision of what I want my “garden” and grounds to look like.
I also also spent some good quality time with the family. The wife finished her school year, so we celebrated by reserving a table at a winery we like. The “kids”, the wife, the dogs, and I all went and spent a couple hours chatting and enjoying each others’ company. We brought food, bought wine, and enjoyed a perfectly lovely day in the foothills of Virginia. The wife and I have also started taking the dogs on long morning walks (to beat the oncoming heat and humidity). Those walks are always a nice way to chat and connect.
I also also also did a lot of writing/journaling this week. I usually journal first thing in the morning. Just a page or so to clear out my head and track my days. Lately I’ve been writing on two pages and even hit my first “three pager” this week. PARTY ON GARTH! I never pegged myself as a journal type person, but I sure do love my pens and notebooks. So this gives me an excuse to use them.
Speaking of notebook, I just realized today that I’m about 1/3 of the way through this brand new notebook that I started at the beginning of this month. That should give an indicator of how much I’ve been writing this month. There are about 170 pages in this Baron Fig Confidant and I just finished writing on page 54. At this rate, I’ll fill this notebook before the end of July. Yikes! If anybody wants to buy a notebook, I highly recommend the Baron Fig stuff. Use my referral link and we’ll both get $10 to spend! /shamelessplug
I’ve slowly been putting together a four-part blog about my daily productivity system (including my journal). Hopefully I’ll finish that this week. I’d like to share with y’all how I use my notebook (and accompanying digital tools). Look for that soon!
I used the smoker tube this weekend on the grill to smoke some salmon and some almonds. The almonds were an experiment. I tried a savory and a sweet version. They turned out really tasty, but sort of messy. I have a few tweaks to try for next time.
I’ve been trying to educate myself a little more on race issues. I want to do what I can to help as well as practice more anti-racist ideals. It’s difficult for me because I’ve always been a “you live your life, I’ll live mine … let’s just all be good to each other” type of person. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that just can’t seem to subscribe to that model of thinking. They tend to feel that by helping a group of people, they’ll somehow have something taken away. There is more than enough in this world for everybody. Therefore, it’s time to roll up the sleeves and fight for people who should absolutely have the same rights, freedoms, and privileges that a majority of us have in this country.
I was going to read “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo, but it was on backorder just about everywhere I looked (which is a good thing, proving a lot of people want to learn). Then I surprised myself by finding it on my bookshelf already! Apparently past me knew that future me wanted to be a better person. So now I know what I’ll be reading while I wait for “Eye of the World” to be available from the library again.
I suppose that’s it for now. Not sure why I didn’t get to doing this over the weekend like I have been. But oh well, it’s here now and you people can all go on with your lives safe in the knowledge that I’ve blogged about my week. Wash your hands. Wear your masks in public. Social distance. Stay safe out there. But most importantly, be a good human!
If only everyone felt this way…
Love you a lot.