Moving right along
Any of you that know me really well, should be able to name the singer of the song that title's this blog. I'll give you a hint, it continues "foot loose and fancy free. I'm ready for the big time...is it ready for me?"
This is actually a random notes composition.
I've spent 6 weeks sleeping in the same bed; that is the longest (by about 4 weeks) that I have been in one place since April 27, of this year.
...the rest is coming...
Labels: random thoughts
Public response questions
These are two passages from two books that I have read recellently, The Secret Life of Bees, and American Gods. I liked them both very much and thought their authors skilled and clever, but although both have met with phenomenal acclaim in their own circles, I felt as if there was something missing in each. I would recommend either for a light read though.
Why am I bothering you with these ideas? Because there was one passage in each that really got me thinking. The first, I was originally going to posit only to my mother, but became curious of what some of you lady readers might think. The second I am sure you won't fail to notice its context to my life. So I am inviting all you readers, please, reply. What are your opinions about these ideas?
"If this was a man’s world, a veil took the rough beard right off it. Everything appeared softer, nicer. When I walked behind August in my bee veil, I felt like a moon floating behind a night cloud."
"He sat down on a grassy bank and looked at the city that surrounded him and thought, one day he would have to go home. And one day he would have to make a home to go back to. He wondered whether home was a thing that happened to a place after a while, or if it was something that you found in the end, if you simply walked and waited and willed it long enough."
On Time Off
I started to compose this one a couple of weeks before I left Backroads, but I didn't finish. Now that I am more or less settled here in Florida, I will try to catch up on a few draft blogs. This will be the last "Day in the life of" for a while.
A day OFF in the life of a Backroads leader:
I get a full 8 hours of sleep. I usually haven't gone to bed to early the night before, so I wake to the soft morning light coming off the meadow outside my window. Sometimes I can hear the sheep from the next farmstead over. Sometimes I hear rain, which is fine usually for the day I have unplanned.
I'll make a smoothy with some of the old fruit that we have left over from the trip we've just finished. I'll usually bake an apple crisp or apple muffins, or squeeze orange juice with some of the fruit too. It helps to warm the house on chilly mornings.
Then, I'll read leisurely for awhile. Sometimes I do this before getting out of bed, and then go cook.
If I have worn myself out with these activities, I might take a nap; otherwise I'll spend a couple of hours at email, news, (now) facebook, wikipedia, and swatting flies. Czech farms always attract a lot of flies in the summer.
In the afternoon, I'll go for a couple hours bike ride with a beer at the end, or in the middle... or both depending on company.
If it is raining or just for some variety, I might mix in squash, a swim, a visit to a local historical town, a bit of language study, a movie and with any of these, of course, a couple of beers.
Then it will be Beer:30 back at our hospoda (the place we live; also the local watering hole for all 7 farmsteads in our village).
At which point, I'll cook dinner, skype, chat, and maybe do a bit more email, if all I get is answering machines. People have become very wary of answering phone numbers that they don't recognize.
Then, for the first day off, I will usually watch a movie or read and go to bed a bit early. This probably isn't the most exciting day, but I do like them.
Labels: average day
Culture Shock II
I was going to amend tha last entry, but I decided to go ahead with a new one. Again this might seem redundant, but that is what culture shock is for me mostly.
I have been here three weeks now; I got a new job; I started volunteering at a new center; I have found people to practice Spanish, Italian, and Russian with; I've met up with lots of old friends and made some new ones; I went to a Halloween party (first time in years) and I came up with my own costume that was a big hit (Uncle Sam; you can see photos on Facebook); I have been mountain biking, swimming, orienteering, biking, and fishing; I have been out a couple times to eat, always to fresh seafood places; I applied to several career positions; and I took the GRE. So I have been pretty busy.
I am still amazed with how large the roads are, and now convinced that it actually contributes to more accidents and less courteous and attentive drivers. I am still amazed with how religious America is, it creeps into all sorts of places that I would not expect; I am amazed with how addictive, suspenseful, and yet unfulfilling TV programming is; I am amazed at the power of Youtube - its reach and extent of content; I am amazed at how often we are forced to look and drool over beautiful people, and how much advertising there is out there on getting big or losing weight; I am amazed at how much advertising we subject ourselves to, in general; and I am amazed at how BIG stores are, how much staff they have, how GOOD they are at customer service, and how many hours they remain OPEN!
