Clear headed

I was riding to work Friday morning and had a moment of clarity. It wasn't any grand awakening or anything like that, but It was sit up and take notice for me. The sun was shining, it was cold, but very nice. There are a lot of things that go through my head while riding. Lots of times, I get a certain song stuck in there and I play the game of singing it until I can't remember any more of the lyrics. Sometimes I am stuck on one song for days.

Anyway, a number of random things were dancing through my head and suddenly it was an e-mail message. It had confused me a little bit but, riding through the park, I realized exactly what it meant. There was absolutely no correlation with anything that I was currently experiencing, but obviously my mind was working on making sense of that message. It just took a little sorting out. Just another great reason to ride your bike.

I felt like crap this morning. I drove to work. I felt even worse for doing so. I can't remember the last time I voluntarily drove to work when there was no other factor involved. I'm pretty sure that riding would have been better for me. I still felt like crap all day. At least I would have cleared a few things up in my head.

Done and Done

Well, the shelving went great. As always when dealing with an old house, we ran into a number of small details that made the "simple" project a little less simple. We wired a light into our attic stairwell that serves as our linen closet and trying to cut holes in rock lathe and plaster ceilings is not my idea of fun. But, being finished with it, I don't know why we didn't do this years ago. The shelving is exactly what we needed to kick off our year of projects around the house. I think we need to add a few smaller things to the list as rewiring the entire basement is a lofty goal.

Looking at the calendar, the month of Feb. is filling up fast. Between bike rides, Super Bowl, birthday celebrations, broomball, and more bike stuff, I don't have a single weekend free. No complaints here. I'm hoping it makes the end of winter fly by. I'm really starting to look forward to losing the studded tyres. And more importantly, being able to ride without the half-hour of clothing prep.

Project Day

We have decided to try our hand at getting some long overdue projects done around the house. Last year, we made good progress on our guest bedroom by getting some trim refinished. Lessons are always learned in doing these projects that you have never done before. Mostly, we bit off more than we could finish in a timely fashion. So we have made a list (my wife loves lists) of projects that hopefully we can do in a weekend or what have you.

So this weekend is the linen closet shelving, maybe a little electrical in some outlets and lighting. Just enough to keep us busy, and be able to finish by tomorrow afternoon so we have that feeling of accomplishment. As Carrie says, "it feels so good to see that checked off the list".

The biggest issue we have is being distracted from our tasks. Carrie had breakfast this morning with a friend to arrange Super Bowl partying and some other stuff that needed to be done. I get distracted trying to learn something new about this stupid machine. The Pond Hockey Championships are this weekend. I'd like to see some of that. We recently started cross country skiing, wouldn't mind doing a little of that. And my broomball point shot needs some serious work. Hopefully we can figure out how to do a few of those other things along with crossing some off the list.

We'll see if that happens Sunday evening.

Brand New Year

Something about the new year that always gives me a sense of renewal. It's as if I can almost start over with so many things. I have never been good with the whole resolution thing, but I still find that urge to better myself, or change something about my life that has not been quite to my liking.

So, I have a small list of things to accomplish this year. Not a large list, too many times you hear the whole I'm going to lose 75 pounds or I'm going to get a new job, or some huge almost impossible goals. Set the bar low, therefore disappointment is minimized. No, it's about setting attainable goals. Just like with any project, if it is too large, you become lost and have a difficult time tackling it. Break it down into small, easier tasks, and suddenly, you're finished. Nothing could be simpler.

I started a winter project of fixing up my folding bike. I don't plan on using it much, but there have been a few times I think it would have come in handy. If I rip it completely apart and start from scratch, I know I will be bogged down about what exactly to do with it, and it will stay disassembled for way too long. So I am going to do it in small stages to see if that will make things go easier.

Not brand new, but brand new for the year.