Now

We’re now in the “dead of winter” here in Nebraska. Kinda feels funny saying that when it was 50ºF (10ºC) yesterday. It’s been the typical roller coaster here with the weather, but it does seem warmer than usual. Plenty of time to get brutal, however.

I’m writing this during what’s become an annual winter break, which I try to do after the Christmas holiday when things quiet down. Lately, I’ve been trying to stay active outside, read more, and allowing myself to be more introspective. Maybe it’s something about winter, because things are so still.

Otherwise, here’s what I’m up to:

Reading

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Hoops Heist by Jon Finkel

Watching

• Seattle Seahawks football - currently the #1 seed in the NFC
• Seattle Kraken hockey
• Random other sports
• True South on the SEC Network

I’m still looking for more TV shows if you have suggestions.

Elsewhere

• Trying to stay in shape. I’ve been using walks as an excuse to take more photos.
• I’m not letting the cold keep me from being outside in nature.
• Trying to spend time with the good people in my life.

October was a rough month, so, I’m looking at the calendar reset as a bit of a mental reset. I’ve deleted social media off my phone, with the exception of Mastodon. Basically, I don’t want anything with an algorithm. I was sitting around the other night and could feel the pull from Instagram, begging me to check it. I didn’t even feel entertained by it, but instead would feel the disappointment with myself because I could have been doing something else more productive.

I’ve also fired up my bullet journals again. It’s crazy time at work (happy holidays!!!), so anything I can do to ground myself, force myself to remember to breathe, sort my thoughts, and have clarity moving forward I’m for. I’m also using my home bullet journal to track my habits again. For now, I’m tracking if I took a walk, if I cleaned my cat’s litter box (little fella deserves it), and if I meditated on a given day, as I’m trying to remember to do that.

Otherwise, here’s what I’m up to:

Reading

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Hoops Heist by Jon Finkel

Watching

• Washington Huskies & Seattle Seahawks football
• Random NBA games
• Seattle Kraken hockey

I still need to find some tv shows to focus on. I’m open to suggestions.

Elsewhere

• Thinking about bikes a lot. I really need to fix up the one I have. Also should probably train on the stationary bike I have available to me to be in shape by Spring.
• Thinking about soup season. It’s getting cold out.
• Hoping to spend a little time with the good people in my life.

I’m entering October sick. I really, really hate being sick.

I’m a little frustrated because I really planned on walking every day this month to get some sort of workout. Obviously, that’s on hold right now as every muscle I have aches. Once I’m better, I’ll get out there. My VO2 Max is borderline normal, and I want to get it over that line. That metric has come a long way.

Otherwise, here’s what I’m up to:

Reading

• Atomic Habits by James Clear

Watching

• Seattle Mariners baseball (in the playoffs for the second time in 24 years)
• Seattle Seahawks football
• Wrestling

I haven’t been able to focus on much else.

Elsewhere

• Trying to keep up on writing. I slacked some since August. Illness isn’t helping.
• Still trying to build a media diet.
• Looking forward to fall weather.
• Trying to enjoy my birthday month.

Here’s what I’m currently up to:

• Working to improve myself every day with my career.
• Working on myself personally by finding ways to improve my spirit, which has led me to some recent discoveries about myself.
• Pushing myself to write more. I write a weekly piece every Thursday. I’m also pushing myself to write about music more, which will include posts about:
  • The albums I listen to during the week
  • Stories about what shaped my musical tastes
  • A deep dive into artists’ discographies -Enjoying my quiet space with my orange cat Griffey.

Reading

• Hip-Hop is History by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

Watching

• The Bear - Season 2
• Ted Lasso - Season 3
• Seattle Mariners baseball
• Seattle Sounders/Reign footy
• Seattle Storm basketball