progress report july 2009
A bit late hitting the blog this month but it has been written and just needed to be typed up. That’s how I do things – by long hand on paper first.
Last month I was writing my report from Southall library on a very hot June afternoon. Today it’s into August already and I’m sitting by the canal on a quiet Saturday afternoon. I’ve just had a double caramel Magnum ice lolly and behind me on the bench I’m sitting on are huge ripe blackberries. I must pop back here with a tupperware container.
I was talking about the walks I had been taking along this canal last month and how they had given me the opportunity to step back from the world and reflect upon my life. I’m sad to say that I didn’t have many of these walks during July. But what has been happening?
Things have been ticking over much in the same way as they have before but there has been more of a sense of trusting myself and not worrying too much about what the future holds. This does cause me to panic every now and then; living without any great plan. But a plan merely shields one from reality and creates a distance from it. I think we’d all rather be grazing in the field than training to be racehorses. What is the prize anyway? I think that grazing in the field is the greater prize but it has taken me a long time to realise that. Do I wish that I had realised it sooner? Of course I do. But I’m also just glad that I have.
But that last paragraph has just contradicted the whole reason for writing this report. It’s a report about how I’m progressing with my goals. But goals and plans are not the same. A plan is more like an itinerary: a proposed sequence of events. A goal merely describes an end point or an outcome with no description of the journey or the route to be followed. I’m glad I cleared that up. Now that I’m all relaxed I can continue with my report.
Riding a minimum of a 100 miles a week
Rarely a week goes by where I don’t cycle a hundred miles. I do remember one where I had cycled 99 point something. And it doesn’t feel like a big deal at all. I’m surprised that I haven’t got wetter especially with all the rainfall this summer.
Meditation
Every morning now after the pages I sit for 10 minutes or so. It’s hard to imagine that it was such a great effort and struggle to find a time and place. Some things just take care of themselves if you let them.
My own yoga practice
I have slacked off a little with this one but I suppose that I manage twice a week on my own. It’s easy once the mat is out. No pressure to follow any program, just lay out the mat and do whatever comes.
Keeping in touch with friends
I have been hanging out and socialising a bit more but just at a level that suits me. I think I have a good balance of spending time on my own and time with friends. I think that balance is different for each and every one of us and we each need to find what that is. It does change of course.
The wheel log
I can’t believe the amount of orders and enquiries I’ve been getting this summer. One would think that the demand would die down but not so. Not so at all. I’m more or less up to date with the log. It’s better to do it soon after the build just to capture those little details.
De-cluttering my life
That stuff just keeps creeping in. It’s as though it appears when you’re sleeping. And with these wheels all over the place it does look very cluttered indeed. But apart from clearing my computer desktop I must say that I haven’t actively tried to declutter this past month. It’s still something that I’d like to do but does need some focus and attention.
Relaxing & goalless activities
As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t been down here so much. I have been watching some movies and playing some xbox but I always tend to think that this doesn’t count.
Over the last couple of weeks I have discovered an online multiplayer game called Evony. It’s a bit like Civilisation but it’s not something that would have attracted me in the past. I have avoided these sorts of games before, thinking that I might get drawn in too much and that is exactly what is starting to happen. I initially imagined playing for a day and then quitting but two weeks later my cities are coming along very nicely and I want to keep going. If I die of starvation due to being too addicted to eat, like those Japanese kids then you’ll know why.
IT Training
First it was Rails but I lost interest with that. Then came MySQL and soon enough that came to an end too. Now it’s learning C again. But a few days of downloading and installing tools I seem to have quit. I’m not as worried as I was before because I have plenty to do at the moment. Two new web design contracts and loads of wheels. But as I’ve said before, why bother learning something that I’m not going to enjoy doing as a job. I do need money but it’s not all about money. So who knows what will come next. But for now things are going to continue exactly as they are.
Other stuff
My teatime press ups had to stop due to some sharp pains in my left shoulder but I’m still playing the guitar a bit. I’ve been learning to play cover songs: tunes that I hum when I’m pottering about. This feels more like a goalless activity rather than trying to write my own stuff. Just for fun with no purpose but to play and enjoy. We’re back to grazing in the field again.