Is anybody else ready for autumn? I mean seriously, though. I saw a few yellow leaves drift across my backyard yesterday, and it made me positively delighted. Without a doubt my favorite season, it always seems to take longer to get here than I expect or want, and then by the time I’ve settled in nicely, it’s time to start thinking Christmas and winter. What gives? Does anybody know of a city where it’s autumn for at least 40% of the year? Because I’ll move.
Am I still in the market for a car? Of course I am. A more decisive person would have had this taken care of weeks ago, but decisive I am not. The other afternoon, I was subjecting my poor father to yet another barrage of my car-shopping woes, when he abruptly stopped me and said “you know, if time is money, you could’ve bought a brand new Volvo by now.” Now for some reason, he’s absolutely set on my buying a brand new Volvo, despite its vast discrepancies with my budget and taste, but it made me think — car shopping has been like having a job I completely despise, and so far I haven’t seen the first paycheck. I should have taken a side job with a roofing company or telemarketing agency, or even sewage repair, all of which would have been drastically more entertaining than car salesmen, and I would have had enough money to buy a car at least as reliable as mine! Frustrating. This needs to end soon.
As far as productivity goes, I’ve spent the past week or two absorbed in learning the “Getting Things Done” process. I’m not usually a big proponent for systems and methodologies of productivity, since my experience has been that the effort required for prep work and maintenance (and sometimes the investment in specific and “totally necessary” products) has never come close to being justified by the results, which usually only target a portion of productivity / organization. But so far, I really like this, mostly because of the premise behind it — as long as we are relying on our minds to store bits of info / to-do lists and remind us of those things at the appropriate time, we will be stressed, unable to focus on the task at hand, and forgetting important things — basically, very inefficient. Storing everything in a reliable format and reviewing it reguarly keeps it off our brains, freeing us up to think about important things. I don’t love everything about it, but I’m a note-taker and list-maker anyway, so already I’ve found plenty of useful tricks and processes to help me stay on top of everything. If you’re into this type of thing and haven’t read this one yet, I’d recommend picking up a copy.
Our Grand Canyon backcountry permit arrived in the mail this past week — it’s official! The week before Christmas, we’ll be straight-driving the 1700 miles to the Grand Canyon, stopping for an afternoon field trip at the Petrified Forest and a good night’s sleep at a budget inn somewhere. The next day, we’ll load up our packs and make the seven-mile descent into the Canyon. We’ll camp for a night at the bottom and a second night halfway up to the top, before climbing out and driving home in time for Christmas. I’m glad to have the booking / paperwork portion of things finished, since now everything feels finalized, and I can focus on things like finding hiking boots and tents, and figuring out what people eat inside the Grand Canyon. …What do people eat inside the Grand Canyon, anyway?
I’ve been feeling an urge lately to get back into art. I go through phases with hobbies, I guess, but this is one area where I really miss having art classes to push me into things I wouldn’t normally try. I don’t get inspired with new ideas as much these days, and without that, it’s hard for me to justify taking the time to finish a painting or to go out on a photo-hunt. I’ve also been growing more and more interested in art history lately. Ultimately, this leads to wishing that one of our local colleges offered more of a selection of evening art classes. Since this isn’t the case, I think I’m going to take a “Bridge for Beginners” class instead. Never too soon to start working on the old-lady skills.
listening to: Iron and Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days (album)