Unedited snippets from this morning’s journal writing.
Author: Gary
New Year’s Day Meh: From the Journal
Brief entry based on my journal writing early morning on January 1.
Funny humans… always setting milestone days to achieve some sudden change like rebooting a life, pledging habit-shift intentions, and other follies of coming up short at present mindedness, living-in-the-moment-ism, and just enjoying the journey with a daily focus.
How we live lives in ways that by the end of the year our life chart looks like an ever-variable wave-like sea of bell curves… instead of a gently sloping upward trending line across the 365.
Yet, the brief adrenalin rush of getting a free reboot to try again by starting anew seems a much beloved addiction for each New Year’s Day.
Sigh. Pass the black-eyed peas, please.
When Tech Support Tells You Wrong
I am embarassed.
Apparently, my resetting of a bunch of previously published posts to private a week ago, then back to public yesterday, triggered a flood of new post emails to those who subscribe here or follow otherwise.
Apologies on steroids for this WordPress blunder. I have tongue-thrashed the help desk, although that won’t soothe your bruised inboxes from the deluge! Even unleashed the bad form police to chase after the perpetrators of this #firstworldproblems crime.
Anyway, just wanted to apologize for the mess. Technology! Can’t live without it, and it’s a harsh bedmate not really to be trusted all the time!
Some (Hiking) Lessons Are Hard to Learn
I’ve been hiking for decades, over countless trails and paths, more than I can remember. Over that time, I’ve picked up the handful of tips and tricks that keep one safe, hydrated, cool (or warm), etc. But there’s ONE area I seem to have a mental block on learning: the art of bug deflection.
Maybe it’s because only a smaller percentage of hikes over the years have needed bug goop. Or maybe it’s because when I apply that nasty stuff, I’m always in a hurry to get that part over with. Whatever the reason, this morning’s nice hike at Camp Seven Lake Campground in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (the YOOP), yet again, reminded me of my memory bane.
The thing is, the first thirty minutes of hiking after said bug goop application is a blissful experience: the bugs act as though you’re not really there.
The second thirty minutes, however, they do begin to circle and lightly swarm. They don’t alight nor bite, but they now sense your presence and the waiting game begins.
By the third thirty minutes, their patience pays off. That’s when either through evaporation or dilution via sweat, patches of your skin become… vulnerable. This is when the smarter buggies will find those small patches of unprotected skin and start their feast. This is also when smart hikers who CARRY more bug goop will STOP AND REAPPLY PROTECTION from the forest’s flying teeth.
Fortunately, for me today, the hike only lasted 90 minutes, so my solution for that last 30 minutes was to walk faster! Sort of worked.
So was THIS the time I finally learned my lesson and will start packing the juice on future, bug-season hiking? Hope so, but I’ve been in this predicament before and it didn’t stick.
We’ll see next time!
The Book Is Almost Here!
I did a marketing blitz on this in the usual places, and, d’oh, just realized I forgot to post on the blog about it! Anyway, here’s the social media image I shared, and if you want to sign up for the release announcement and get the free PDF preview, GO HERE.
I’ll share some further info here soon on the book.
garyvarner.com 