Final February Hike

Here we are, nearing the end of one month and the beginning of the next. I finished my last hike of the month today, full pack on and me moving for three hours. I was aiming for four, but my excuse is the upper and lower body workouts the previous two days... So sore! I'm thinking it might help if I start wearing my pack at home between hikes, too. 

I almost skipped the hike altogether, but I'm glad I went. There's something reviving to body and soul in just getting out and into nature... Even just a taste of something wild ignites some spark in me. This is one of those things that IS life for me. :)

We've had some astonishingly warm weather here for Minnesota winter...I mean, highs in the 60s for almost a full week. That's craziness. Usually the February warm spell is 35-40 for highs...

The high temps even melted the packed snow on the park paths under the trees. Walking was a breeze. Those yak traks I brought along "just in case" weren't needed today.

I "discovered" this well by a creek in the park. Just...There. Completely random.

I followed a ravine down to the river...

...and then climbed up for a bit of a view. 

I liked the look of the sky cut up by this fallen tree.

The waterfall is always a favorite site:

I'm looking forward to those 7 hour pack hikes in March. That will definitely be a new challenge... And in a new location...! 

My shoulders are sore just thinking about it.

And still, that wild spark says, "let's do this."

🤓😎🤣

Episode 29: Something Different

Recently, my schedule and a shift swap with a co-worker left me with a full 7 days away from work.

 

What better feeling is there than forgetting that I even have a job?

 

Time was spent hiking, writing, cooking, doing projects around the house...

 

I started to realize something... That in spite of the stresses and difficulties of this job, the PTO, the occasional stretches of days off, and the lack of "homework" may be worth it.

So I thought of some things I can change to make work a more sane experience:

 

1. Figure out the employee wi-fi and play my own playlist rather than the one local radio station that plays the same 40 songs over and over and over. Rocking out to tunes this week has already made a calm place at the center of a few storms.
 

2. Find ways to express individuality so that our uniform doesn't swallow me whole (like headbands and earrings). I'm amazed how much this has helped already.
 

3. Choose to be friendly to all co-workers and put all those past hurts in the past.
 

4. Remember that another person's anger or insecurity or rage is a problem they themselves need to deal with (just like I need to deal with mine). Their actions and words are not my problem. I will not make them my problem. This person and this person's issues are not my life. My life is in laughing with a co-worker, Netflix with Hubby, hiking through wild scenery, etc...
 

5. Always have a good breakfast before work. Being hungry makes me cranky...
 

6. Look at the menu ahead and get permission to pick up special ingredients or in the summer bring my own produce sometimes. Because it makes me feel good about what I'm doing... Aiming for excellence.
 

7. Most of all, forgive. Pray continually, give thanks, and choose joy (1 Thes. 5:16-18). This is so hard sometimes. It's a habit of mind I want to develop, to replace the habits of angst.

I make goals all the time. Some of them I laugh at a week later. I'm hoping I can make some of these stick, because I've decided to stop planning my escape and explore the possibilities of another option:  taking action to live fully right where I am.

 

Speaking of life, I've been breaking in my backpacking gear at home today, "hiking" around the house. Good times!

 

Making Traks

That backpacking trip I mentioned before takes place in June, so I'm already gearing up and preparing. I started this last Saturday with my pack about 1/3 full. I walked the local park paths for about 3 hours, feeling toasty in layer on layer of clothes as I picked my way over ice and packed snow. The next time I made sure to wear my yak traks for better traction. Either way, yak traks or no, there were a few spots where the path was so steep and icy, I opted to sit and slide down the path, rather than risking a trip and fall.

What I learned on my first hike:

-after only a few hours, I'm already getting hungry (made sure to bring trail mix the next time!)
-my hip flexors were the most sore after, closely followed by my shoulder muscles
-the snow has barely melted in the park because of all the shade, so the conditions on the roads and lawns are no indication of trail conditions

My second hike lasted 4 hours, and it was so cold when I started (about 4 F) that after only an hour, the straw on my water bottle had frozen solid and the water in the bottle had flakes of ice forming in it..!

I'm excited for the next hike! Aiming for 4 hour hikes in February, 7 in March, 10 in April, and 13 in May... Then gear tests in early June. So far so good.

Here's to the adventure, and this journey leading up to it!

Ep. 28: I Am Resident

In recent work news, we've somehow survived The Casserole Apocalypse of 2017, in which All-Star and a vengeful coworker together turned a slightly-dry pasta-based casserole into the End of Days...

Overshare has been seated at an all-male table this month, because apparently his creepy antics have been extended not only to staff but to his fellow residents...

Sir Talksalot has made unrest his prime goal at every breakfast...from heckling the sausage links to screaming about waiting 40 seconds for me to rush to his aide in a "Vitamin Emergency"...

I tried unwisely to "fix" a client complaint by explaining how I don't read minds and must be told there's a problem...I shouldn't have to overhear it...and that circular conversation left me so frustrated I practically threw Sweet and Low packets at Sugarfree when she requested them. Clearly my unchecked work-related emotions are beginning to interfere with my job performance...

To top it off, I had the GREAT PLEASURE of serving former resident Mr. Placemats at our free community breakfast last Friday. "Honey," he called me in that slurred, drunk-sounding voice of his, eyes glazed over like a hungry seagull stalking a piece of wonderbread. Ick and double ick.

Then my "dream menu" got about 25% finished before I stopped operating in denial and faced the fact that it's never gonna happen...because no matter what we do our residents will never be content...

I hear them ranting about the election and politics...and then confessing that they didn't bother voting. So why do you get to complain, I wonder?

I hear them complaining about cold oatmeal. If you leave it sit while you yak, and then pour cream all over it, it's bound to get cold. If you want it reheated, tell me. But if you make no move to change things, you should not get to complain!!

And that's when I realize...that I'm just like our residents in this respect. I Am Resident. Here I am, complaining about having to serve these people, but making no effort to change the situation.

The dream menu will never happen.
And even if it did, people would still find something to rant about.

So maybe the solution is that I need to not work there anymore. Or I need to work there less...

"If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what  you've always got."

Time to break the cycle?

Time to formulate an escape...

--

People are people, no matter their age. Some will be kind, curious, rude, condescending, bitter, or funny, and so on. I’m an “old people chef,” and this is my journal.