Friday, December 4, 2009

So, yeah. I’m not dead or anything.

I’m just enjoying all that life has to offer right now.

 

The weather has snapped into winter mode, and with that change my body yearns to be outdoors as much as possible. Hiking on weekends, hiking after work, hiking all the time. And when I’m too sore to hike, I’m driving.

 

It’s also the holiday season, which means all sorts of nonsense going on all the time. My sister, brother-in-law, and their five kids came to AZ from Virginia for a few weeks, hanging out with them was a BLAST! We played at a park in Phoenix, I had them all over to my house for dinner one night, and we went to Jerome for lunch with my sister and her boyfriend as well. It was great to see the fam. (Some pics of the kids)

 

Photography has been hit and miss lately, I’m just lacking inspiration. Even while out hiking, the camera has been spending a lot of time in the case. I’m going down to Phoenix this Sunday to shoot with a friend I met at the Photowalk, and I’m hoping that this will kick-start my creativity again.

 

Reading wise – I finished Khalil Gibran’s Laughter and Tears, it was absolutely awesome. I read ‘The White Tiger’ which was supposed to be some awesome piece of literature (according to Oprah, so meh), and I wasn’t all that impressed. I read ‘Running from Safety’ by Richard Bach, which was just as great as I expected, having read ‘Illusions’ by him as well. Currently I’m about halfway into ‘Hotel Honolulu’, which honestly? Is just fun to read. No deep introspective questions arise while reading this one, it’s more like riding a roller coaster and wondering where the next bend will come. Good stuff.

 

Emotionally – I’m doing pretty well. I’ve found a small bit of stability in my current situation, and I’m feeding off of that for the time being. Trying to hang loose and just flow with whatever comes my way. Thankfully I have an amazing group of friends which always manage to help pick me up when I’m feelin’ down.

 

Physically – Feeling great. I’m still lifting at the gym twice a week (most weeks anyway) in addition to all the hiking. Most days, I feel like superman. A very sore and tired superman. Jogging has halted due to cold weather, to resume in spring when there is both warmth and daylight.

 

Christmas Beard – Still going. I didn’t get a picture for week eight, but week seven looked something like this:

I’m enjoying it more than last year. It’s growing in more evenly, and I’ve even gotten a few compliments on it.

8 comments:

Granny J said...

Good to hear from you, Tom. Missed your posts and your pictures.

TomboCheck said...

Thanks Granny. I'll try to keep up with it all a bit more. :) I do have to admit the break was nice though.

Catalyst said...

Hey, Tombo, great to have you back! The beard is lookin' good, too!

I may want to pick your brain for some computer buying advice one of these days. Maybe we can "do lunch". I'll e-mail you.

TomboCheck said...

Catalyst - Thanks. The beard is coming along, and with fewer bald spots than last year!

Definitely email me, would love to get together.

Melissa said...

The kids are so adorable.

I like hearing about the reading and emotional updates, even when I also get to hear them elsewhere. Keep moving forward, etc.

TomboCheck said...

Melissa - Thanks! It's hard sometimes to put the emotional stuff out there. Most times I do, I end up feeling like a whiny cry baby. But such is life I suppose.

Melissa said...

That's exactly how I feel. I re-read whatever I put out there and then I think "hello, melodramatic EMO. UGH." C'est la vie.

TomboCheck said...

Melissa - You and me = same page.