State of the 'Wagon 2025

I wanted to wait until the normal rigumroll of making vows and resolutions for the new year had subsided before unwrapping my mental 2024 and jumping in to 2025.

Last year, I learned a few things.  On one side, I learned to let some things go.  There are things that we simply cannot change.  No matter how hard we try, the universe just won't let us have the W.  That's okay.  That's part of life.  Learn to let things to.  Learn to realize when you're the only one carrying the baggage, and put them down.

I also learned to hold the line.  It's important to have your boundaries, to protect your head from everyone, including your family and friends.  Sometimes they're the worst! But that's what makes them family.  It's okay to draw a firm line on things you don't feel comfortable with.  It's okay to stand up for yourself.

Going into this next year, I'm hoping to temper some kindness and understanding into both of those lessons.  I am trying not to judge people from where I see them, but to understand them from where they are.  It's not going to be easy, but those are my goals.  Simple enough, yet incredibly difficult, as is my tradition.

V, the newest van, is running like a top, though!  I just had the oil changed, and I'm hoping to get the tires rotated soon.  She is a joy to drive, and the 305 gets way better mileage than the old 350.  I love everything about it.

More to come!  Live the dream!

My Tree

I have a laptop now.  After many, many years, I have my first new computer.  It's a small HP laptop, and I just made sure it could match the performance of the desktop I got, oh, fifteen years ago?  Anyway, now I can do fun things again, like post pictures with these updates.

I had to run to the big city the other day to take my puppers up to get stiches.  He hi-fived my living room window on Saturday.  Pretty obnoxious wound, but everyone involved was a consummate professional.

Oh my way home, my daughter encouraged me to stop and get a picture of my favorite tree in the world.  It's a beacon of resiliency, a single tree on a high-mountain, wind-swept plain, standing proud, apart from the other trees, defiant.

Process After Stagnation

There are so many gears turning. Where to start: mentally, things are good. I'm creating ways to keep me sharp, keep me challenged. Spiritually, things are incredible. I'm not exactly sure what I'm believing in these days, but I do believe that's good enough to keep me relatively kind. Emotionally, I'm a kid. I like to think I'm evolved and enlightened, but let's be real, I hold on to stupid shit for too long, and it's difficult. Physically, my knees are better than they were 6 months ago after UPS tried to destroy me. I'm off nicotine patches and not smoking cigarettes. I haven't smoked weed in over a week. And, I woke up this morning angry, not in a bad way, but in a motivated way. It's time. It's time to accomplish all the dreams.

FINALLY!!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, her name is V.

A New Hope

I don't know if this is the fourth episode, but I'm at a new property with the worker from Atmos Energy who is cooking up the gas. This house is gonna take some significant work, but I'm in it to win it. Imma do me. Watch me do me. And you just do you, lil homie.

Anticipating Homecoming

This is almost 22 years ago as I post this. 

https://youtu.be/6g_m1e_Uqpk?si=JiRC1aB8Ofz8RDPL

I loved the inconvenience that life up there forces you to have. I loved the time it gave me with my thoughts and my friends, and I miss having to take ferries to the airport.

Everything is Wet in Ketchikan

https://youtu.be/B90O42-EYhY?si=bCP8ueMPCDLCDeQX

The month of October is usually the worst month in Southeast Alaska from my experience. That's the month we got FEET of rain and it all came in sideways. It wasn't fun to go out, but it was always incredibly fun to stay in. I did enjoy the weight of the air in my lungs, though. The musty comfort all around was palpable, like a blanket of air.