(Written Sunday, edited Monday, posted Tuesday. Not exactly up to the minute blogging, here…)
Wow, has this place become boring, eh?
Heck, you think this place is dull? You should see my life.
Rut, really, is not too strong a word.
Lately, it seems all I do is go to work study. Here and there I’ll squeeze in other minor activities. You know, like watching a bit of TV. Reading a magazine. Sleeping. Eating. Breathing. Like I said, minor stuff.
Apparently, I’m not the only one. The lovely Dingo hasn’t been around for a bit. Just A Girl has had vanished into the ether, until Monday. And so it goes.
I’m pretty sure they’re ‘doin okay, it’s just sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes I wonder when, exactly, that happened. When I was younger, I was convinced that “someday I’m gonna have a job and decent money and be able to do more, travel more, live more.” Then, somewhere along the line, I got the job and the income and all that… why is it that I traveled more when I was a broke 20-something, tooling around the state in my ’88 Corolla?
* * *
Whatever the case, at least I’m progressing on the studying. This book (the longest of the group I’m hoping to go through, topping out at around 950 pages) seems to be going a bit faster than the last one. Maybe I’ve just got my studying methodology down a little better this time around.
The hardest part, often, is that I seem more eager to push my way through this text than I did the last one. It gets to the point where I have to remind myself that I don’t have to feel guilty if I don’t make it through the chapter tonight, or take an evening off from studying because I’ve got a killer headache. Just so long as I keep at it.
Still, I miss the freedom of my evenings. Being able to watch T.V. (admittedly not a great loss, given the relative dearth of decent programming that appears headed to screens this fall) and, much more importantly, being able to read books. For now, I’ve had to stick to magazines, with their relatively short articles that I can pick up here and there, on breaks between chapters.
On the plus side, in the past few months I’ve managed to get through a whole stack of old photo magazines I’ve needed to get rid of for a while. So, yea for that. I guess.
* * *
Sunday, though, I decided my brain needed a break. Considering that I’d studied every day the week prior, and Saturday, that didn’t seem an unreasonable decision. Plus, I needed to get out of the way-too-damn-temperate basin, up into the hills north of L.A. and experience some actual heat. It’s been an unusually cool, cloudy summer in L.A. (see here), and the part of me that grew up with a blisteringly hot summer just can’t seem to slake the desire to experience one. The kind I grew up with in Sacramento. That lovely dry valley heat. Oh, yeah, baby.
So, I decided to go… hiking.
Admittedly, this was a decidedly dicey prospect, what with my continuing plantar fasciitis and all. So I picked a short (i.e. pansy-ass) three mile trail, with only 400′ of elevation gain, out at Wildwood Park.
Amazingly, it went pretty well. Especially as long as I remembered that backpacker advice as old as time: take short strides, keep your feet under you. For the most part, my foot held up okay. And, good God, did it feel good to be back out on the trail, for at least a few hours.
Then I picked up a sandwich, headed to another park, and spent the afternoon eating, pleasure reading, and generally relaxing under an old oak tree.
As I write this here on Sunday night (to be posted… uhhh…), I know I’ll be back to the stresses of work tomorrow. Back to the gym where I always feel like the most out of shape guy there. Back to sitting in front of the computer, studying another chapter in an obscenely huge book.
It’s a rut, to be sure. And even if that rut may, hopefully, at some point lead to greater things the view at the moment is often depressingly dull…
The GeekHiker 
WOW, I’m the first one!
GH, glad you got out there, there is nothing pansy about enjoying the outdoors, 3 mile hike is better than sitting on your a$$ doing nothing!
“why is it that I traveled more when I was a broke 20-something, tooling around the state in my ’88 Corolla?” ——
Funny, I have been thinking the same thing about myself for weeks now, I cant imagine having the time to get away like I used to. *sigh*
You’ll get out of that rut soon, don’t worry, all will be well.
By: ruth on September 22, 2010
at 6:08 pm
Ruts suck, no two ways about it.
But you’re not in a rut, exactly: you’re in a ‘mode’, i.e., the studystudystudy mode, with an eye to the end.
And this will end, remember?
Oh, and also remember that breaks are a part of studying, too—so give yourself more of ’em.
And good luck. . . .
By: absurdbeats on September 22, 2010
at 6:55 pm
So all this studying – it IS going to put you in a place YOU WANT to be when it’s all done, right? I don’t know if you’re passionate about what you do, but it seems that if you climb the ladder in a job you don’t love, you may always feel stuck in a rut. I hope this isn’t the path you’re on. I hope you do really like your work on some level – and I hope that the strides you make enable you to do more of the outside stuff you enjoy. Particularly the hiking!! Hang in there, friend.
By: Mel Heth on September 23, 2010
at 11:42 am
Ugh. Isn’t it funny when everyone in blogland is in the same place at the same time? Ruttsville: population — everyone!
By: hebba on September 24, 2010
at 8:07 pm
Hey! I’ve hiked Wildwood a few times. Nice place. I’m glad you managed to get out and about.
You’ve been in ruts before and successfully extricated yourself. I have faith that you will get yourself out of this hole, fix the ol’ foot problem, and get out on the longer trails eventually.
By: Homer-Dog on September 26, 2010
at 4:16 pm
Yess! You got out there! I’m glad! Even if it’s not as hardcore as you would have liked, you need fresh air and sunshine, deario. Unless you’re really a vampire. Which I am pretty convinced you are not.
😀
By: missmccracken on September 27, 2010
at 3:48 am
I think Mel Heth nailed it. I wish you pass all the those tests nevertheless.
By: Gany on September 29, 2010
at 6:00 pm
I, too, miss Dingo so I’m glad I got to see her when I went to NYC in August…
I realize I should be all supportive and leave you with a hearwarming comment, but all I can think of is all the great TV you are missing out on. Please commence to watching the following:
Modern Family
Raising Hope
Big Bang Theory
By: JENNerilizations on September 30, 2010
at 7:48 am
I’ve been wanting to read more books as well, but finding that I just don’t have the time. I might start a book one night, get ~50 pages into it, but then not touch it for a couple of weeks. By then, I don’t remember a thing about what happened in the first 50 pages, and I’d have to start all over again.
Magazines may be the way to go.
By: seine on October 4, 2010
at 6:12 pm
this rut must be a virus since it seems to have hit the east coast too. i’ve got it, though i’m trying to fight it. let me know if you find the antidote.
By: blakspring on October 6, 2010
at 6:05 pm
At least your rut seems to give you something witty to write about. I laughed. Even though I feel your pain. Hang in there!
By: Lindsey on October 10, 2010
at 1:49 pm
Hey GH – we’re 2/3 of the way thru October and no posts?? This must mean life is fulfilling in a non-bloggy sense. *happy dance
g’luck with the cert exams – when are they? I ask from purely selfish motivation, after all where am I supposed to get my w coast outdoor fix when its -20 with 3 ft of snow? No really – g’luck. Then get back to the hiking pics. Please?
By: m4891 on October 22, 2010
at 2:27 am
Ruth – Well, there’s been very little sitting on my ass doing nothing lately, that’s for sure!
AbsurdBeats – I keep trying to keep my mind on the end. As for breaks, there are a few here and there. Can’t be too many, though; might forget what I’ve learned. 😉
MelHeth – Deep question that I’m going to choose to ignore. As no one has yet decided to pay me to travel and hike and write about it, I’ve got to be practical about making a living, you know?
Hebba – it does seem that way lately, doesn’t it?
Homer-Dog – Well, at least someone has faith! Although, frankly, I think you have more faith in the foot now than do I…
MissMcCracken – I do need the sunshine… though I’ve been rather enjoying the rain of late…
Gany – She may have, but sometimes life isn’t as simple as all that…
JENNeralizations – Jealous that you got to see Dingo! And, yes, I do watch Big Bang Theory (and no, I’m nothing like Sheldon).
Seine – My problem is, after three hours of dense technical stuff, my ‘po brain can’t handle anything more complex than a magazine article! 😉
BlakSpring – Well, you do have a little more going on than I do…
Lindsey – I’m glad someone feels my pain!
M4891 – Corrected tonight. As for “fulfilling”… I don’t know. But at least I think I’m moving forward a bit…
By: geekhiker on October 24, 2010
at 9:09 pm
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at 10:36 pm