I am going to try and squeeze something of this month's recap because the last few days of August will have to deserve a separate post. At least I hope so...
Many good things were moving along but one: this job of mine. I know, I am on the schedule for only 3 days a week...but I barely get 3 (4 max) clients total in those days! I do enjoy the people in this chiropractor office, but what in the world is wrong with their massage attendance? And no, going off to look for a strictly massage place as a new work place is not an easy solution. Biggest no-no is that they all require weeknights and weekend, none of which I am offering at this time of my life. And another one is that I am really not looking forward setting back into "massage therapists only" environment. I sort of like that this is a doctor's office, brings me back to where I started (and where, I'd like to think, I belong). No such thing as Myo Massage Austin here, or at least I haven't heard of one, where it's all professional and therapeutic, even if massage only...Not only this lack of clients is making me edgy with too much free time on my hands and yet no way to utilize it wisely (I am on schedule after all and have to be available IF someone does call for an appointment), but the paycheck barely covers coffee dates. Sigh. They keep saying it'll change once patients get a sniff of the fact the office has a massage therapist after a break, and once the summer is over. I guess I'll give it another month or two.
I don't mean to sound negative, though it might seem like it. My blog, my thoughts. The house remodeling is going rather slow as well. The team we hired IS the best, no doubt. But, turns out they have 3 other jobs/houses/projects on their hands, and so they keep juggling those 4 total. Not only that, they only work 4 days a week. What would have been dandy, if those 4 days were at our home. We end up seeing the workers on may be 2.5 days a week - if we're lucky. They do amazing job, but it's not moving ahead much. What means we live in a mess, with boxes of new items for bathroom and kitchen stuck up around, dirt, dust, inconveniences, and strangers walking around. It does get tiring. There is some progress done, though, thankfully. The tile is up in the bathroom. The back stairs with landing and roof over are up and utilized. The kitchen cabinets are delivered and the kitchen is demo'ed. And, of course, all kinds of little jobs that go along with bigger picture.
We had to move kitchen supplies into basement area, and the fridge is in the living room, so running up and down to prep food is exercise in its own right. But, I was ready with my home-made meals frozen in containers, and once those are eaten, there is a crockpot and a rice-cooker ahead.
We continue to maximize our presence in the mountain town with trips to the actual mountains. I keep up with (now alternating) mid-week hill training in either Incline or High Road, and make the rest of the runs on the roads around where we live. One Wednesday I even made a proper Pike's Peak marathon route, all 26.4 miles up and down Barr trail - and came back with some 10 lbs of amazing Boletus (Bolete) mushrooms! That was a foraging tour I enjoyed!
On the weekends we definitely make it out for a longer outing to the trails, exploring areas and enjoying breathtaking views.
There was a Cameron Cone hike up on a deer "local knowledge" steep rocky sandy trail, when 10 miles round trip took us nearly 6 hours. It was not much fun going up, going down it was even less so, yet the views were spectacular. We've heard about it from Tony Krupicka's blog, back in a day he lived around here, Larry got interested. It was worthy and satisfying, but definitely "one and done". We ran out of water and gels rather quickly, so forgetful of all that mountain running entails.
One Friday Larry took a day off, and we decided to make a mountain road drive, winding past beautiful vistas, all the way to a 14-er, Mt. Evans. Kind of cheating in terms of checking off another 14-er off the list, but still fun. The way home was via a different mountain pass road, and that one was probably the prettiest road either one of us have been on. We'll definitely be back to check out local hikes scattered right off the road itself, not to mention we crossed the Fire Station on Colorado Trail, where I finished day one of my through-hike, thankful for the water spigot. Brought memories and tears to me. I miss being on the trail, pushing hard and being all alone and self-reliant.
One Saturday we wondered off Barr trail just past mile 3 into the backside of Pikes Peak, and what a treasure single track trails there are! Total paradise. And absolutely nobody around! That was definitely a highlight of our outings into the local mountains so far, and a longest mileage we've done in one running push - 18 miles. Again, slightly under-prepared, but better.
We made our second ascend of Mt. Rosa, it's a 6.5 miles one way with 4,000 k ft of climb. Apparently, it was a 30 min PR comparing to out go 2 months ago. For me that 13 miler was topping of a 62 mile week, last hooray of 2-week training block, so I was extremely satisfied, especially with kicking last mile at low 9's and even finishing at 8:20 pace. I don't do that even on roads anymore! Larry ties ribbons for me on the way out, as he went ahead at his own clip, and it felt like a little personal race. :)
I went to a Garden of the Gods trails once, just for a short hike, and caught up a baby deer nursing on her mama - this was so touching, it is worthy sharing a photo of.
We had a fun time at the neighborhood potluck, though we only knew a couple of families there (or at least at the time we stayed out on the street). It's a neat concept they are doing, and next big thing here at Patty Jewett is Porch Fest in September, with bands playing and the whole downtown coming over to enjoy.
I signed up for a couple online exercise challenges - just to make sure I make it downstairs to my fitness room, and it's working. I make it happen daily, whether following what is offered on youtube, or making my own weight lifting day out of it. I am also taking those Core Power yoga classes twice a week, so that's been good so far.
And I've started throwing a couple of backpack training rounds...for something that has been brewing in my head. Definitely NOT a diligent training regiment for the endeavor I have a plan to do. I haven't done a leg workout (gym, weights, etc.) since beginning of May, and surely didn't do my "normal" 2 months of stair climbing with a backpack. But I am more acclimated to altitude, and got some longer outing into the mountains with good vertical...Can I pull it off? What is it?
I knitted a number of small items I mailed as gifts to either my girlfriends or Larry's aunts (he's got 4), and only one bigger project - from the yarn I won in a raffle in June here at one of the local yarn stores. It was rather hot to knit wool in an old house with no AC.
I am still reading a lot. And I am back to writing in my journal...although that might not be a sign of a good thing. I need an outlet where I can put my most private thoughts, sad thoughts, angry thoughts, and those I am not interested to share with outsiders. Because dark side of life is not for grabs...
This past week we drove to Austin for work. Technically speaking, it is Larry who sort of is required to show his face every couple of months at Dell (and Dell pays for his stay and food). I am tagging along, and of course packing my days with Myo clients, may they be blessed. I missed a real working environment! While neither Austin, nor even our own former home of 8 years, didn't case us even a flick of a heart flatter, as soon as I walked into Myo - I teared up. No wonder, I spent here 7 days a week, in realm of 55 hrs each week total, with 38 hrs hand on, and the rest time between, before and after! My room 9 was ready, my towels hot, and everybody, from front desk, to managers, to regular clients, were thrilled to see me - and I was so excited by the order of 100! It felt right, going through 8 hrs massages a day - not to mention a pay was well earned and welcome. Larry and I both talked and set up our come-back trip for the end of October. And indeed, I already have half of my scheduled hours filled up. I heart my people.
On the way to and from Austin, we stopped in Lubbock to visit Larry's son Harrison, who moved into Texas Tech dorm and is all ready to start his computer science program. All grown up....
We had a dinner with our good friends Karyn and Scott, I also had 2 early morning before-work coffee dates, with Janice and Marta. It was so sweet to see them. Marta, my bestie, knows me so well - she traveled to Japan, and brought me yarn! The fact that she was on vacation, in another country, and thought of me, and went to trouble to find a yarn shop and pick something...priceless.
If there's anything good about staying in hotels, it's using the fitness room, since I don't have a gym membership. However, eating out is horrible - always have been for me, dislike it passionately. I can understand it once a month, for a special occasion, but that was a struggle...for my wallet, waist line, and intestines. I am glad to be back to home cooking.
We came back Saturday right at lunch, and our workers team was finishing up electric job on the house reno. While might be not very noticeable, it is a giant step forward, without which nothing more can be done - and so next week it'll start getting exciting! But the rest of Saturday was taken by cleaning up the dust. Of course.:)
During our long drive I knit my left-over stash into 2 pairs of socks and a shawl. That was fun, and cleaned up my basket with tiny balls of random yarn.
On this note, I am going to end this thing, and I will see you on the on the other side of the mountains! I am about to head off into the wild, I only pray it has no wild life!
Many good things were moving along but one: this job of mine. I know, I am on the schedule for only 3 days a week...but I barely get 3 (4 max) clients total in those days! I do enjoy the people in this chiropractor office, but what in the world is wrong with their massage attendance? And no, going off to look for a strictly massage place as a new work place is not an easy solution. Biggest no-no is that they all require weeknights and weekend, none of which I am offering at this time of my life. And another one is that I am really not looking forward setting back into "massage therapists only" environment. I sort of like that this is a doctor's office, brings me back to where I started (and where, I'd like to think, I belong). No such thing as Myo Massage Austin here, or at least I haven't heard of one, where it's all professional and therapeutic, even if massage only...Not only this lack of clients is making me edgy with too much free time on my hands and yet no way to utilize it wisely (I am on schedule after all and have to be available IF someone does call for an appointment), but the paycheck barely covers coffee dates. Sigh. They keep saying it'll change once patients get a sniff of the fact the office has a massage therapist after a break, and once the summer is over. I guess I'll give it another month or two.
I don't mean to sound negative, though it might seem like it. My blog, my thoughts. The house remodeling is going rather slow as well. The team we hired IS the best, no doubt. But, turns out they have 3 other jobs/houses/projects on their hands, and so they keep juggling those 4 total. Not only that, they only work 4 days a week. What would have been dandy, if those 4 days were at our home. We end up seeing the workers on may be 2.5 days a week - if we're lucky. They do amazing job, but it's not moving ahead much. What means we live in a mess, with boxes of new items for bathroom and kitchen stuck up around, dirt, dust, inconveniences, and strangers walking around. It does get tiring. There is some progress done, though, thankfully. The tile is up in the bathroom. The back stairs with landing and roof over are up and utilized. The kitchen cabinets are delivered and the kitchen is demo'ed. And, of course, all kinds of little jobs that go along with bigger picture.
There was a Cameron Cone hike up on a deer "local knowledge" steep rocky sandy trail, when 10 miles round trip took us nearly 6 hours. It was not much fun going up, going down it was even less so, yet the views were spectacular. We've heard about it from Tony Krupicka's blog, back in a day he lived around here, Larry got interested. It was worthy and satisfying, but definitely "one and done". We ran out of water and gels rather quickly, so forgetful of all that mountain running entails.
And I've started throwing a couple of backpack training rounds...for something that has been brewing in my head. Definitely NOT a diligent training regiment for the endeavor I have a plan to do. I haven't done a leg workout (gym, weights, etc.) since beginning of May, and surely didn't do my "normal" 2 months of stair climbing with a backpack. But I am more acclimated to altitude, and got some longer outing into the mountains with good vertical...Can I pull it off? What is it?
I am still reading a lot. And I am back to writing in my journal...although that might not be a sign of a good thing. I need an outlet where I can put my most private thoughts, sad thoughts, angry thoughts, and those I am not interested to share with outsiders. Because dark side of life is not for grabs...
This past week we drove to Austin for work. Technically speaking, it is Larry who sort of is required to show his face every couple of months at Dell (and Dell pays for his stay and food). I am tagging along, and of course packing my days with Myo clients, may they be blessed. I missed a real working environment! While neither Austin, nor even our own former home of 8 years, didn't case us even a flick of a heart flatter, as soon as I walked into Myo - I teared up. No wonder, I spent here 7 days a week, in realm of 55 hrs each week total, with 38 hrs hand on, and the rest time between, before and after! My room 9 was ready, my towels hot, and everybody, from front desk, to managers, to regular clients, were thrilled to see me - and I was so excited by the order of 100! It felt right, going through 8 hrs massages a day - not to mention a pay was well earned and welcome. Larry and I both talked and set up our come-back trip for the end of October. And indeed, I already have half of my scheduled hours filled up. I heart my people.
We had a dinner with our good friends Karyn and Scott, I also had 2 early morning before-work coffee dates, with Janice and Marta. It was so sweet to see them. Marta, my bestie, knows me so well - she traveled to Japan, and brought me yarn! The fact that she was on vacation, in another country, and thought of me, and went to trouble to find a yarn shop and pick something...priceless.
1 comment:
Hope it's a joyful adventure! Happy Trails!
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