It is Monday; the Monday after returning from vacation. Is there any worse Monday? Leaving behind the newfound love of adventuring in an unfamiliar place. Leaving behind the enjoyment of enjoying partnership for entire days. Leaving behind finding new, amazing restaurants, gnat filled hiking trails, stormy lakes for kayaking, gushing waterfalls after a storm. Leaving behind getting lost, a few wrong turns, and happy accidental discoveries.
And back to routine.
One good thing about routine is it will get me to put aside some of the vacation indulgence, and return to a consciousness about health, and fitness. Although I can confidently say a lot of that indulgence was countered through hiking steep inclines, and all of the other physical activity we took on, including walking miles exploring those charming little Central New York towns.
In the gaps, we made a movie. The previous weekend was the 48-Hour Film Project. Our movie titled, Stages was filmed in record fashion. Our first year leading our own team; we kept the production streamlined, the story easy to follow, and sensible, and our production schedule stayed very close to schedule for the entire day. Because I directed it, filmed it, and edited it, it was less of a challenge keeping the vision on point. The Premier Screening was this past weekend, and I have to say, I think it played well. Not as flashy as some films, but given our small team, and limited technical resources, it still came out clean, and cohesive, and seemed to have the emotional impact we were going for. Confirmed by a few different viewers, some even said it appeared on screen as one of the best looking, best filmed movies of the day.
I like those comments. They're validating, especially given who we were up against in this group.
Tuesday Thoughts
There was a re-org at work while I was on vacation, so my first two days back have been a little more hectic. Please bear with the delays in writing.
Of course, you don't really have to because you're not reading this as I write. You're reading it all once it is published. Or, just not reading it at all as would be the case for about 7.999999 billion of the people on Earth. However, in my mind, it is a living thing. Writing that takes shape from my mind as I process my thoughts, so to me, it feels like I'm delaying something.
The vacation was needed. We didn't take one last year, and our vacations seem to go more, and more toward the budgeted, and less extravagant, but it's all about the time we get to spend together. This year, a few days in the Finger Lakes region, a nice AirBNB, some hiking, some kayaking, a few storms, and watching the waterfalls transform from a dry trickle, to rushing water in a few days time. We explored some amazing restaurants. Our favorite was a place called Stonecat Cafe in Hector, NY. We drove there in a storm, while crews worked on clearing drainage for the run-off pouring from the surrounding cliff walls. The drinks were splendid. The food, all locally sourced, was magnificent, and the company was without equal. As the storm cleared Seneca Lake, the clouds provided an amazing sunset over the valley. I took some photos. My cellphone did a surprisingly solid job with it.
Friday we woke early to hike the gorge at Watkins Glen State Park. Dogs aren't allowed, so we had to leave our furgurl adventure dog at the AirBNB. Our checkout time was 10:00AM so we had a short time in which to explore.
I love trips like this. Exploring nature. Spending time together with fewer distractions. Being able to relax, and not pressured to do things. Earth, Water, Trees, the Sky, Storms, Lightning, that smell of morning freshness in a cool, damp air. I wish I had time to explore like that every month. At least every month.
Currently I'm performing a data recovery for a user that had a laptop failure. Moving his old data across the network at slow-as-dial-up speeds. 4.3GB is going to take 10 hours to transfer. If this multi-billion dollar company only had the money for faster WAN connections to their other locations....
The re-org however so far has been to my advantage. It has taken away two responsibilities, and lets me focus on just three others. You'd be surprised as to how much easier this job is with only 3/5 of the responsibilities I've had over the past eight months.
It allowed me to catch up on all of my neglected work in just two days. Amazing what can be accomplished when you don't heap so much on one person.
Anyway, here is a gallery of images from our vacation. I hope you enjoy them.
The Wild and Wacky Weigh-In Wednesday
Just what you've been waiting for. Screw all the pretty pictures. You want to be able to point, and laugh at something.
Regardless of the number, I've made it to the gym Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week. I feel like I've already shaken off the heavy feeling of indulgence from last week, and am feeling pretty good about myself.
The number is currently 214.0, which isn't too bad. It means I'm maintaining and staying consistent. Laugh if you will, I'm going to keep working on it.