[post-post observation...it's unusual that it inserted some formatting differences given they don't show up in my Libre Office document. Eh...I think anyone reading this will cope. Maybe I'll figure out a better way to cut and paste next time.]
So I’m focusing on a bit of a new approach here. We’ll see how long it lasts. I’ve got some of my writing going on locally rather than on the web, but rather than keep two separate, sometimes overlapping, narratives, I’m going to tag some of the writing in my personal space for the blog. Not all of it, but I’ll see if I can evolve what I care to post. I find when writing locally I spend less time on photos...none...so my writing gets a little more involved than simply describing, “I was going this in that photo.” Not sure it it will derail talking about some of the things I’ve done lately that are photo heavy, let going to see Leslie’s record launch at the Parkway Theater and having my birthday dinner at the Creekside Supper Club next door (which was so much like the Monti Club that sat atop the hill in my home town when I was younger and that I last went to for a dinner for Matthew where someone made a joke about his hair and Flock of Seagulls, so you can draw some timeline assumptions).
Leslie’s gig was great. We were front row which might have been a bit close given Mitch’s trumpet was pointed straight at me and he didn’t wear out his lips like he did at the Dakota. Her album is getting a wider release, so the release party wasn’t an official release as there was minimal run of CDs and no vinyl, until everything goes wider earlier next year. I did pre-order a copy for Sank and Alex, however. A Christmas present they can look forward to next time I see them.
Been pedaling indoors on the Zwift. Moved in a little earlier than usual. It’s generally not the cold, it’s the lack of light after work. I was surprised how much my power had atrophied doing lackadaisical pedaling over the summer. Minnesota doesn’t lend itself well to pushing power levels on mountains like the Zwift does. I think I was at about 244 FTP and could reasonably hold 220 watts at the beginning of the season in spring. End of season I’d guess I was 225 and could hold 205 watts. Getting it back up there, although it’s slow. I picked up the Brompton (those little travel bikes) frame in the game so I can do some racing. Fortunately, it’s recommending the lowest cat, so I won’t keel over panting on the floor like I did after two of the races last year. I finished off the 165000 feet of climb challenge as well, just a few days after my birthday, so almost exactly a year. That scores me the “Tron” Zwift bike which is this shiny, neon lights on the wheels and frame, piece of kit. Zwift introduced leveling up frames this year and to level up that frame I have to level up three other frames. Got 1.5 down, although I’ve been doing harder high-end frames. The Brompton is a simple frame to upgrade and then I can start climbing around looking flash like the big boys.
Started learning guitar. We’ll see if I stick with it. Put in about 3 hours with a guy on Youtube, but I didn’t like how slow he was getting past the theory. And I like theory. Obviously, if I put up with 3 hours and barely touching a string. Switched to justinguitar (.com). I’m on the second module working on chords. I’ve done some chords in the past when I had lessons for a month, but I gave that up when I sent my kid to lessons instead. Limited budget back then and all. Not sure what I want to get out of it. Honestly...maybe writing a little bit of my own music. Leslie played a minimally chorded guitar with one of her songs and I was amazed how fast she’d picked up guitar as I knew she hadn’t been taking lessons long. Then I remembered she already knew the uke. And she mentioned she was taking lessons from Zachary Scott Johnson. We met him during a gig we went to that Sarah Morris was at for Art-a-whirl this summer at the Wolf House (Bella Luna studios) that was him, her, Matt French, and Jillian Rae. The video for it is actually recorded by me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtC91-V3Ris&list=RDWtC91-V3Ris&start_radio=1. You probably can’t go wrong getting lessons from a guy who has like 4700 days in a row of songs on Youtube.
I’m not going to talk about work or the reorg. Not yet at least. Everyone is off in Colorado this week except me. It’s nicely quiet. And I’m not going to talk about politics. But I’m thinking about them. *^(&$#*.
Finally, I switched phone apps today. That doesn’t sound important, but as part of the stress from the reorg I just mentioned, I watched a LOT of violent television while cycling (Spartacus, The Witcher) and played a LOT of Yahtzee on my phone. It’s an addictive little app with multiple Yahtzee-style games all rolled up, including Yahtzee bowling. Anyway, today I killed it and, in its place, installed Hank Green’s (yes, the Youtube Hank Green who’s got wonderful things to say most days and runs a great store that raises millions for charity, with his brother) Focus Friend. It’s an app where you have a little guy – I named mine Numpty – that knits as long as uninterrupted. It’s literally the opposite of Yahtzee which begs for your attention and checking for matches and throwing new challenges at you to eat up your time. Instead, Numpty knits and encourages me NOT to use my phone. I found myself picking it up by habit once or twice, and then setting it right back down so Numpty could knit more socks I could trade for some nice room upgrades later. But I don’t have to DO anything to get Numpty to make more socks, other than tell my little bean-based focus friend how long I want to ignore my phone. Even without a sub, that’s a mentally solid improvement to my phone use. I even found myself leaving my phone in my pocket on my walk. There are a few things I can’t avoid – some checking for work, my guitar tuner, a little bit of social with friends – but I can definitely sandbox that time. I really, truly hope that sticks. I’m looking forward to seeing if it keeps me off a phone when I’m out and about and bored. I’d much rather read a book.
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