"And that's Capricorn, is it?" "No, no, that's just him."
One of the nicest things in my life is having somebody call the one of shows and say they've gotten something from it. Today we got what may have been the best one ever. A man called to make a couple of requests for his kids - three of them all, under the age of ten - and he said not only did his whole family love the show, but the kids liked listening to the show better than actually watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. That is exactly what makes that show more exciting than any of the others I've done. It turns something passive and potentially poor in quality - the vast majority of today's Saturday morning cartoons - and turns it into an active, whole family can enjoy it activity. I love that! Another dad who'd called last week to request Muppet stuff for his girls also called with requests and they were all so happy to have heard their stuff on the air. I'm really going to push adopting a DJ as a great birthday present for your kids come WIDR Week.
Lovely surprises aside, this week's been a mess of ups and downs. My new gym routine is five days a week, though Kelly said I could do weights on Saturday too, so I'm going to start doing that next week, and I love it. There was a bit of a wall on Friday, like my legs just did not have it in them to move, which is very much not like me, but I think that was related solely to the stress I've been trying to deal with as of late. That displeased me, because I know it wasn't about my strength or conditioning, rather my hormones and how I'd slept the night before. Aside from that though, everything workout wise was wonderful.
I've been working on a Wikipedia article from scratch and I've learned so much about coding and Wiki formatting in the past few days. I'm immensely proud of what I've done so far, though it's a long way from being done. It's harder than I expected, not because of the code or the actual writing, but because I'm no longer used to sitting and working on the computer for so long. My butt is especially not pleased with me right now, but I'll take it for a nice long walk tomorrow morning and all will be forgiven.
The library cooking class ended up being a blast. Not only did I learn how to make some excellent gnocchi - chef even filled me in on how to do it with sweet potatoes - but I also got to play assistant during the demo. The pasta roller wouldn't clamp to the table and since I used to work at the library, was the youngest in the room by twenty years, and knew my way around professional kitchen folk enough to not be a hindrance, I felt it my duty to lend a hand. It was much needed and I got to play with the big kids, which I like.
What's really got me at the moment is internal stuff that just happens to be inexorably tied to other people. When I was over at Tom's last weekend I realized that the things I want may not actually be compatible with each other. Is simplicity of lifestyle anathema to complex mental interaction? Can I find the social group I want and need in a town the size and make of Kalamazoo or do I have to relocate to Ann Arbor, Chicago, Toronto, etc. and leave the life I've built? Is it possible to raise a family in a relatively rural area while still having easy access to the educational and cultural opportunities of a metropolis? Is it just foolish to be so flexible in the areas I am and yet have neither the fortitude nor desire to pack up naught but essentials and move somewhere new? What factors are in play that cause almost everyone I connect with on a deeper level to move and cut ties? I wish I had someone here I could talk to, about this stuff, about anything. It was worse when my computer was broken, because then I couldn't even talk about things here. I read about thirty books, listened to at least as many new-to-me CD's, created a soup without aid of recipe, and I didn't get to share any of it with anyone. Sam and I talk music quite a bit, but we see each other maybe two hours a week and in that time we have to put on an hour long radio talk show, so there's not a ton exchange wise. Is a bit of earnest back and forth with a peer now and then too much to aim for? Perspective is hard to come by, at least when it comes to me needing it rather than giving it. It's draining and it makes me tired into my bones.
Lovely surprises aside, this week's been a mess of ups and downs. My new gym routine is five days a week, though Kelly said I could do weights on Saturday too, so I'm going to start doing that next week, and I love it. There was a bit of a wall on Friday, like my legs just did not have it in them to move, which is very much not like me, but I think that was related solely to the stress I've been trying to deal with as of late. That displeased me, because I know it wasn't about my strength or conditioning, rather my hormones and how I'd slept the night before. Aside from that though, everything workout wise was wonderful.
I've been working on a Wikipedia article from scratch and I've learned so much about coding and Wiki formatting in the past few days. I'm immensely proud of what I've done so far, though it's a long way from being done. It's harder than I expected, not because of the code or the actual writing, but because I'm no longer used to sitting and working on the computer for so long. My butt is especially not pleased with me right now, but I'll take it for a nice long walk tomorrow morning and all will be forgiven.
The library cooking class ended up being a blast. Not only did I learn how to make some excellent gnocchi - chef even filled me in on how to do it with sweet potatoes - but I also got to play assistant during the demo. The pasta roller wouldn't clamp to the table and since I used to work at the library, was the youngest in the room by twenty years, and knew my way around professional kitchen folk enough to not be a hindrance, I felt it my duty to lend a hand. It was much needed and I got to play with the big kids, which I like.
What's really got me at the moment is internal stuff that just happens to be inexorably tied to other people. When I was over at Tom's last weekend I realized that the things I want may not actually be compatible with each other. Is simplicity of lifestyle anathema to complex mental interaction? Can I find the social group I want and need in a town the size and make of Kalamazoo or do I have to relocate to Ann Arbor, Chicago, Toronto, etc. and leave the life I've built? Is it possible to raise a family in a relatively rural area while still having easy access to the educational and cultural opportunities of a metropolis? Is it just foolish to be so flexible in the areas I am and yet have neither the fortitude nor desire to pack up naught but essentials and move somewhere new? What factors are in play that cause almost everyone I connect with on a deeper level to move and cut ties? I wish I had someone here I could talk to, about this stuff, about anything. It was worse when my computer was broken, because then I couldn't even talk about things here. I read about thirty books, listened to at least as many new-to-me CD's, created a soup without aid of recipe, and I didn't get to share any of it with anyone. Sam and I talk music quite a bit, but we see each other maybe two hours a week and in that time we have to put on an hour long radio talk show, so there's not a ton exchange wise. Is a bit of earnest back and forth with a peer now and then too much to aim for? Perspective is hard to come by, at least when it comes to me needing it rather than giving it. It's draining and it makes me tired into my bones.