Earlier in the year, I found myself thinking fairly often about what it would take for my girlfriend and I to downsize our "stuff" enough that we could comfortably live in a tiny house on wheels. I feel like I would love the freedom to buy property and move the house with us rather than having to try to sell a house and buy another if we should choose to relocate in the future.
We currently live in a 1,000+ square foot apartment with two bedrooms, a large living room, a walk-in storage closet, a small "den", a bathroom with a full size tub and a kitchen with two small closets. One of the bedrooms functions as a craft room and the den is used as a home office but both end up also being used for storage. I'm not going to lie, we have a lot of stuff. Some of this stuff hasn't even been unpacked from the move before last when it went into storage for two years.
So while we do have enough indoor space (and central A/C, which is nice in the summer) we also have horribly loud downstairs neighbors (the second set of them in two years) and we pay too much in rent, especially for the location and the lack of amenities. I have lived within two miles of where I grew up for all but 4 years of my life (2 college years a few hours North and 2 years an hour West) and I'm feeling more and more like it's time for a change of scenery and weather.
If we did decide to try out a tiny house on wheels, we'd need to weed out a lot of our stuff and try to figure out what it is we need to have then take that into consideration when planning of the layout of the space. In our current apartment, most of our time is spent in the living room, so I think that would be the primary space we'd need to plan around. We'd give some extra consideration to the kitchen layout to try to fit a full size oven and sink. I'd also attempt to make the living space flexible enough to occasionally do things other than just sitting around watching TV. Hopefully, having less indoor space (and maybe moving to an area with more mild winters) will help push us outdoors more, though. I miss being outdoors.
I'm thinking that we'd end up getting an additional storage shed for the larger outdoor items that we'd need/want (outdoor tools/bikes, etc.) that are currently in storage with family members but we have a lot of other stuff that would have to be eliminated in order to comfortably fit in a much smaller space. I know, for me at least, that many of the things I have accumulated over the years (mostly CD's, magazines, books, computer parts/equipment, snowboard, skateboard, guitars) could be weeded out a little more aggressively than I've done in the past, but I'm worried that there are things that we'll miss when they're gone. I'm sure a lot of that is just sentimentality (random things from my childhood, souvenirs), but there are things like my girlfriend's sewing machine and books and my desk and CD collection that take up space but we wouldn't really want to part with. Those are probably the biggest things that would be tricky to work into a tiny house floor plan. Then there are some other things that I'm conflicted about. I've always wanted to learn to play guitar and I have two guitars and an amplifier. However, I haven't touched them in the past 5 years except to move apartments twice. Will I make time and the effort to learn someday and wish I kept them? Honestly, probably not, but will I regret getting rid of them and end up buying them again?
I'm really not sure where to start, though, aside from just taking passes through the stuff and selling/donating/recycling/discarding the things that I know I can do without. Then we're left with the more tricky/sentimental things. I don't want to end up moving a bunch of stuff and putting it in storage, so how do you work through getting rid of that kind of stuff?
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Friday, January 2, 2015
Rebirth
The idea of a new year being a chance for resolutions or a new start hasn't been something that I've found myself believing in. However, this past year, I've been feeling more and more like it's time to start doing things a little differently.
I don't want to say that I've been "in a rut" but it definitely feels like it's time to shake things up and see how they settle out.
One of the things I've been thinking about for awhile is a rebirth of this blog. When I registered the domain name and started posting, I had some ideas as to what I wanted it to end up being about but, as with most of the things I start on the internet, I always seem to end up holding back because I know that people in my "real life" (family, friends, employers and such) have seen or may possibly end up finding things I've put up. I still struggle with the issue of keeping my private ideas private and separate from my professional life and I'm sure that I'll always have that struggle. So, I'll take this opportunity to issue a disclaimer that anything here is solely my own opinion. However, there have been things that I've been thinking and would love to put them somewhere. Why not here?
So, as a new start to this blog, here is a list of topics I was planning on working on in my personal life, as well as writing about on my recently retired "motivation" blog:
I don't want to say that I've been "in a rut" but it definitely feels like it's time to shake things up and see how they settle out.
One of the things I've been thinking about for awhile is a rebirth of this blog. When I registered the domain name and started posting, I had some ideas as to what I wanted it to end up being about but, as with most of the things I start on the internet, I always seem to end up holding back because I know that people in my "real life" (family, friends, employers and such) have seen or may possibly end up finding things I've put up. I still struggle with the issue of keeping my private ideas private and separate from my professional life and I'm sure that I'll always have that struggle. So, I'll take this opportunity to issue a disclaimer that anything here is solely my own opinion. However, there have been things that I've been thinking and would love to put them somewhere. Why not here?
So, as a new start to this blog, here is a list of topics I was planning on working on in my personal life, as well as writing about on my recently retired "motivation" blog:
- eating more healthy / in-season / local food
- cooking at home more
- eating less prepared / fast food
- incorporating more enjoyable physical activity into my life
- finding ways to reduce stress
- worrying less
- meeting new people
- spending more time with family and friends
- keeping in touch with non-local friends
- simplifying and decluttering
- learning new things
- attempting to work on more creative / artistic things
- sharing thoughts and ideas
- starting new hobbies and revisiting old ones
- reading more books
- spending less time in front of TV
- spending less time aimlessly browsing on the internet
Death of another motivation blog
A few years ago I started up another blog which was intended to help motivate myself to exercise, eat better and get in better shape. I intended to put stuff out on the internet for everyone to see to make it feel more permanent in an attempt to hold myself accountable for my choices and decisions. However, I was faced with the struggle of wanting to keep my private information and thoughts, well... private.
In the end, I doubt anyone looked at the blog. It was too targeted to my personal workout progress, which was minimal in scope and frequency and posts were few and far between and lacking in content. I stopped being interested in walking the fine line between private and public. I stopped exercising again out of boredom and excuse making and ended up deleting the blog and selectively rolling a few of the posts into my main blog, the one you're reading right now.
Flash forward to the summer of 2014. I had another wave of motivation and started up another version of my old workout blog. It was (again) going to be a place for me to share my struggles and triumphs mostly about eating, exercise and possibly other things related to my challenges with motivation. In what's now feeling like a pattern, I allowed my lack of motivation for personal projects get in the way of doing anything with the blog and decided to pull the plug on that one, also. Today, I moved a few posts from July of 2014 to this site and deleted it.
These are the posts that will now live here:
In the end, I doubt anyone looked at the blog. It was too targeted to my personal workout progress, which was minimal in scope and frequency and posts were few and far between and lacking in content. I stopped being interested in walking the fine line between private and public. I stopped exercising again out of boredom and excuse making and ended up deleting the blog and selectively rolling a few of the posts into my main blog, the one you're reading right now.
Flash forward to the summer of 2014. I had another wave of motivation and started up another version of my old workout blog. It was (again) going to be a place for me to share my struggles and triumphs mostly about eating, exercise and possibly other things related to my challenges with motivation. In what's now feeling like a pattern, I allowed my lack of motivation for personal projects get in the way of doing anything with the blog and decided to pull the plug on that one, also. Today, I moved a few posts from July of 2014 to this site and deleted it.
These are the posts that will now live here:
Monday, July 7, 2014
Cleaning up the past.
For the past few years I've been working pretty intently on paying off the debt (student loans, credit cards) that I've accumulated over the past 15 (-ish) years.
The student loans are all paid off. The credit card debt is mostly paid off. After this month I should have about $3,000 left to pay, which I'll whittle down over the next few months.
Once all of that is done, I'll have just my auto loan for my truck and the next focus is to get money in the bank for a down payment on a house. I have a little bit in there, but not enough to be a worthwhile down payment.
It feels kind of crazy, though, to spend so long paying everything down/off and then take out another even bigger loan... so I've been debating the pros and cons of home ownership versus renting again. It would be good to have the freedom to do what I want to the place that I'm living and be paying into something that I'll have equity in. It'll be nice to find a place with a garage and a yard to hang out in. On the negative side, though, I'll have to worry about the big things that can (and do) fail in houses and have the money saved up to repair and replace things as needed. I'll be a grown-up worrying about taxes and things like that.
In an effort to help offset the costs of home ownership I've been trying to talk myself into looking at multi-family properties that I could rent out part of in order to pay the mortgage, but I just can't get excited about the responsibility of being a landlord on top of being a new home owner while still working a full time job, also.
Part of me wants the stability and income of having someone else help offset my costs, but the rest of me doesn't want to deal with the potential hassles. So far the second part of me is winning.
The next problem is that if we do buy rather than rent, do we look in the area that we were planning to or do we go back to where we were? It's 45 minutes to an hour away from the more mainstream areas where we used to live and where the jobs, culture and other stuff we like is, but it's much less expensive and less populated (both good things for us). We can get a much nicer house on more property for less money, but it'll be harder to sell and it won't really appreciate in value much. We'll probably get our money back out when we're ready to sell. The biggest downside is putting 120 miles a day on my truck... or whatever I'd end up getting to replace it that gets better gas mileage if we do decide to buy something near where we are now.
While I'm working on figuring out that part of the puzzle, I've recently started the effort of decluttering again. I've started to list up some old bike parts and some computer cables and adapters on eBay. I have some golf clubs and other miscellaneous stuff on craigslist, also. So, hopefully, by the time I figure out where I'm going I'll have less stuff to move. ;)
The student loans are all paid off. The credit card debt is mostly paid off. After this month I should have about $3,000 left to pay, which I'll whittle down over the next few months.
Once all of that is done, I'll have just my auto loan for my truck and the next focus is to get money in the bank for a down payment on a house. I have a little bit in there, but not enough to be a worthwhile down payment.
It feels kind of crazy, though, to spend so long paying everything down/off and then take out another even bigger loan... so I've been debating the pros and cons of home ownership versus renting again. It would be good to have the freedom to do what I want to the place that I'm living and be paying into something that I'll have equity in. It'll be nice to find a place with a garage and a yard to hang out in. On the negative side, though, I'll have to worry about the big things that can (and do) fail in houses and have the money saved up to repair and replace things as needed. I'll be a grown-up worrying about taxes and things like that.
In an effort to help offset the costs of home ownership I've been trying to talk myself into looking at multi-family properties that I could rent out part of in order to pay the mortgage, but I just can't get excited about the responsibility of being a landlord on top of being a new home owner while still working a full time job, also.
Part of me wants the stability and income of having someone else help offset my costs, but the rest of me doesn't want to deal with the potential hassles. So far the second part of me is winning.
The next problem is that if we do buy rather than rent, do we look in the area that we were planning to or do we go back to where we were? It's 45 minutes to an hour away from the more mainstream areas where we used to live and where the jobs, culture and other stuff we like is, but it's much less expensive and less populated (both good things for us). We can get a much nicer house on more property for less money, but it'll be harder to sell and it won't really appreciate in value much. We'll probably get our money back out when we're ready to sell. The biggest downside is putting 120 miles a day on my truck... or whatever I'd end up getting to replace it that gets better gas mileage if we do decide to buy something near where we are now.
While I'm working on figuring out that part of the puzzle, I've recently started the effort of decluttering again. I've started to list up some old bike parts and some computer cables and adapters on eBay. I have some golf clubs and other miscellaneous stuff on craigslist, also. So, hopefully, by the time I figure out where I'm going I'll have less stuff to move. ;)
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Winds of change.
I've been finding myself asking different variations of a similarly themed question a lot more often lately: How did I end up where I am today and where do I actually want to end up?
I've been feeling like trying to decide what you want to do with the "rest of your life" as a teenager has it's drawbacks. I initially thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer because I had a strong interest in machines such as automobiles and bicycles. I used to love to draw and doodle and think of how things I drew would work in real life. I built model cars and then took them apart and made them "better" out of parts of other kits. I took parts off of all of the spare/outgrown bikes that we had kicking around in our family of four kids and made "better" bikes out of them. I felt like I would love to find a job creating new bicycle suspension designs or cars like the ones I was seeing in mountain bike and car magazines and Popular Science... but on a tour of one of the colleges I got into (I think it was Virgina Tech) I was told that a lot of their graduates work in a "toilet paper factory down the road" designing machinery, which was probably meant as a positive that engineers were everywhere. However, I came to the opposite conclusion that to end up as an automotive or bicycle mechanical engineer was a very slim chance. I also felt that even if I did come to a find a job in the automotive or bicycle industries that I'd really end up making other people's artistic renderings a reality instead of actually doing the designing.
You would think that I would have decided that a career in mechanical engineering wasn't what I really wanted... but I ended up committing to one of the mechanical engineering programs I was accepted into. I attempted to make it work for two years before offically deciding that I liked "computers" better. So, instead of staying at that university and switching to computer engineering or computer science I ended up going back home and getting an associate degree in computer information systems from a local community college, just as everyone was saying that the "tech bubble burst". At that point it seemed difficult/impossible to find a job that was "entry level" that didn't want 5+ years of hands-on experience especially in the area I lived in. So, I decided that at that point I was just going to find some sort of job and figure it out as I went. I felt that someday I'd finish my computer science degree and be a computer programmer. I interviewed around for jobs on the edge of what I wanted to do. I had been working summers at a family friend's fast food restaurant and then ended up working in a supermarket bakery department just before I graduated with my CIS degree. I spent a couple years working there followed by different positions in the same company's headquarters starting with a special project with the Bakery and IT departments. While working on that project I found out that the company had an in-house IT department that had quite a few functions and was encouraged to keep in touch with the people I worked with and apply for entry-level things that came up. So I continued to move around to different jobs in the bakery HQ, the corporate pricing department and eventually ended up in the IT department as a Programmer/Analyst, then a Software Developer.
So, I guess that answers the question of: How did I end up here? However, the question about where do I want to be is the harder question to answer.
How would have my life been different if continued with mechanical engineering? What opportunities would have presented themselves if I was willing to move away from my family, friends and hometown? What would be different today if I stayed in school and gotten a better degree? Would I be in this position right now if I didn't spend 10 years in a company doing different jobs while learning about the industry and systems in it?
What would happen if I decided I wanted to do something different right now? What if I was willing and able to move? What if I could afford to go back to school for something different? What if I'd rather start a business related to something I'm actually interested in? (I'm definitely losing interest in the overall mission of what I've been doing for the past 13 years...)
If I was to "start over" now, though, what would I do? The biggest question I have is that once I'm "there" would I be left wondering the same things on the other side of the fence?
I've been feeling like trying to decide what you want to do with the "rest of your life" as a teenager has it's drawbacks. I initially thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer because I had a strong interest in machines such as automobiles and bicycles. I used to love to draw and doodle and think of how things I drew would work in real life. I built model cars and then took them apart and made them "better" out of parts of other kits. I took parts off of all of the spare/outgrown bikes that we had kicking around in our family of four kids and made "better" bikes out of them. I felt like I would love to find a job creating new bicycle suspension designs or cars like the ones I was seeing in mountain bike and car magazines and Popular Science... but on a tour of one of the colleges I got into (I think it was Virgina Tech) I was told that a lot of their graduates work in a "toilet paper factory down the road" designing machinery, which was probably meant as a positive that engineers were everywhere. However, I came to the opposite conclusion that to end up as an automotive or bicycle mechanical engineer was a very slim chance. I also felt that even if I did come to a find a job in the automotive or bicycle industries that I'd really end up making other people's artistic renderings a reality instead of actually doing the designing.
You would think that I would have decided that a career in mechanical engineering wasn't what I really wanted... but I ended up committing to one of the mechanical engineering programs I was accepted into. I attempted to make it work for two years before offically deciding that I liked "computers" better. So, instead of staying at that university and switching to computer engineering or computer science I ended up going back home and getting an associate degree in computer information systems from a local community college, just as everyone was saying that the "tech bubble burst". At that point it seemed difficult/impossible to find a job that was "entry level" that didn't want 5+ years of hands-on experience especially in the area I lived in. So, I decided that at that point I was just going to find some sort of job and figure it out as I went. I felt that someday I'd finish my computer science degree and be a computer programmer. I interviewed around for jobs on the edge of what I wanted to do. I had been working summers at a family friend's fast food restaurant and then ended up working in a supermarket bakery department just before I graduated with my CIS degree. I spent a couple years working there followed by different positions in the same company's headquarters starting with a special project with the Bakery and IT departments. While working on that project I found out that the company had an in-house IT department that had quite a few functions and was encouraged to keep in touch with the people I worked with and apply for entry-level things that came up. So I continued to move around to different jobs in the bakery HQ, the corporate pricing department and eventually ended up in the IT department as a Programmer/Analyst, then a Software Developer.
So, I guess that answers the question of: How did I end up here? However, the question about where do I want to be is the harder question to answer.
How would have my life been different if continued with mechanical engineering? What opportunities would have presented themselves if I was willing to move away from my family, friends and hometown? What would be different today if I stayed in school and gotten a better degree? Would I be in this position right now if I didn't spend 10 years in a company doing different jobs while learning about the industry and systems in it?
What would happen if I decided I wanted to do something different right now? What if I was willing and able to move? What if I could afford to go back to school for something different? What if I'd rather start a business related to something I'm actually interested in? (I'm definitely losing interest in the overall mission of what I've been doing for the past 13 years...)
If I was to "start over" now, though, what would I do? The biggest question I have is that once I'm "there" would I be left wondering the same things on the other side of the fence?
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Mountain Biking
In an attempt to get myself back in shape and exercising again, I picked up a new mountain bike late this spring. As I've written about here before sometimes I need a little kick to get myself interested and motivated in exercising and the last time I tried to get back into cycling I refurbished my mid-90's mountain bike into an orange cycle-path cruiser and, still, I just couldn't get back into it.
So this spring I decided it was time for a new mountain bike. First, though, I have to have a little nostalgic flashback: Bikes have changed a lot since I was really into them in the mid to late 90's! Back then 26" was the only wheel/tire size for mountain bikes but now there's 29" and 27.5" (650b) and 26" wheels have fallen out of favor except for downhill and all-mountain bikes. Not to mention that there used to be "mountain bikes" that people rode both up and down hills but now the "mountain bike" classification has been split up into more specialized categories. I've seen bikes classifed as recreational/sport, cross country [XC], freeride, all-mountain, enduro, gravity/downhill, dirt jump... and I'm sure there are others that I've missed. Also, in the olden days, there were a decent amount of quality steel frame bikes available. Now, if you can find them (not counting the hi-tensile department store "steel"), they're mostly custom built high-end (expensive) creations. I remember liking the ride of a good steel frame and thinking aluminum alloy frames (which were on the more high-end of the specrum) rode more harshly. Now alloy frames are the most common with quite a few carbon fiber frames available in the high-end and expensive range. A new (okay) entry level suspension fork could be had for less than $100... Now the (okay) entry-level forks are closer to $200-300 and they're heavier than the ones I remember. I also don't remember tires costing $50-100 each.
So, back to my story. I'd always wanted a full suspension mountain bike... and I happened to find one on eBay at a very reasonable price this spring at the same time I had my tax refund money burning a hole in my pocket. I could do something responsible like put the money in the bank or towards some debt... but I'm a good consumer and I'd rather have a new bike.
I wasn't sure whether to try out a 29'er or wait for 650b bikes to become more common in the local shops. (I haven't actually seen one in a shop or been able to ride one yet.) But I happened to come across a new (overstock) 2012 Marin East Peak 5.5 in matte black with white and green accents on eBay.
It is a 16.5" (small) frame with 26" wheels (which I'm comfortable with, especially with me being 5'8" tall and it being a 120mm travel full-suspension bike), an entry-level RockShox suspension fork and mostly decent entry-level Shimano Alivio 3x9 componentry.
[05/19/2026: Removed broken links to PricePoint, Bike Nashbar, Marin.]
So this spring I decided it was time for a new mountain bike. First, though, I have to have a little nostalgic flashback: Bikes have changed a lot since I was really into them in the mid to late 90's! Back then 26" was the only wheel/tire size for mountain bikes but now there's 29" and 27.5" (650b) and 26" wheels have fallen out of favor except for downhill and all-mountain bikes. Not to mention that there used to be "mountain bikes" that people rode both up and down hills but now the "mountain bike" classification has been split up into more specialized categories. I've seen bikes classifed as recreational/sport, cross country [XC], freeride, all-mountain, enduro, gravity/downhill, dirt jump... and I'm sure there are others that I've missed. Also, in the olden days, there were a decent amount of quality steel frame bikes available. Now, if you can find them (not counting the hi-tensile department store "steel"), they're mostly custom built high-end (expensive) creations. I remember liking the ride of a good steel frame and thinking aluminum alloy frames (which were on the more high-end of the specrum) rode more harshly. Now alloy frames are the most common with quite a few carbon fiber frames available in the high-end and expensive range. A new (okay) entry level suspension fork could be had for less than $100... Now the (okay) entry-level forks are closer to $200-300 and they're heavier than the ones I remember. I also don't remember tires costing $50-100 each.
So, back to my story. I'd always wanted a full suspension mountain bike... and I happened to find one on eBay at a very reasonable price this spring at the same time I had my tax refund money burning a hole in my pocket. I could do something responsible like put the money in the bank or towards some debt... but I'm a good consumer and I'd rather have a new bike.
I wasn't sure whether to try out a 29'er or wait for 650b bikes to become more common in the local shops. (I haven't actually seen one in a shop or been able to ride one yet.) But I happened to come across a new (overstock) 2012 Marin East Peak 5.5 in matte black with white and green accents on eBay.
 |
| Assembled 2012 Marin East Peak 5.5 (All original parts except pedals.) |
I then went to town on PricePoint, Bike Nashbar and eBay finding mostly Shimano XT components (hydraulic disc brakes, derailleurs, cassette, hubs [with Mavic rims]), XTR shifters, Ergon grips and a Fox Float 32 RL fork at really good prices. The only stuff really left to do is to continue to ride and get used to the bike and customize my fit (handlebars, stem, seatpost and saddle) and then shorten the brake lines once I get everything dialed in. I've been off-road a few times on it and it's been great so far both up hill and down. To get some miles in on the bike and get stuff dialed in, I've actually been doing some bike-path cruising on it and with the fork locked out and the rear shock pumped up, it's been okay for that, too!
Now I'm planning on putting a bunch of the take-off parts (brakes, derailleurs, shifters, cassette) plus some of my other accumulated bike stuff on eBay. (I've already sold the fork on craigslist which helped to fund one of the awesome Shimano XT brake lever/calipers.) I'll probably end up reinvesting any "profit" from those parts back into the bike and accessories. I still want a hydration pack and a repair stand. One thing that hasn't changed about cycling is there's always something new to buy. Maybe if I stick with it I'll build up a carbon 650b hardtail next...
 |
| With some of the upgrades... |
[05/19/2026: Removed broken links to PricePoint, Bike Nashbar, Marin.]
Thursday, October 11, 2012
On life changes.
Long time, no post. To catch up, the past couple years have brought some life changes. I'm a year and nine months or so into a career change to what I actually went to college for. I'm actually somewhat of a computer programmer now. (My official title is Programmer / Analyst.) I spend a lot of my time doing user support and ad-hoc SQL queries to create or update one-off reports. I have done some program feature enhancements and bug fixes but nothing too crazy yet. I still work for the same company that I've been at for the past 11 and a half years or so.
I traded in my grey 2007 Subaru Legacy for a blue 2012 Subaru Impreza because the Legacy was approaching 100,000 miles, had a newly diagnosed but somewhat common leaky head gasket and the new Impreza was touting approximately 7 MPG more than I was getting in the Legacy.
Most recently, I've moved about an hour west of where I spent most of my life to an area I could actually see myself staying for awhile.
All of these things have me feeling like I'm growing up... (I know, I know, I should be mostly grown up already at the age of 33) but I seem to find myself becoming more and more restless.
Now that I'm actually paid to be a programmer, I find myself growing less interested in computers and technology. Sure my interest had already faded some in the 10 years since I finished college while I was occupied with other less technology related employment, but it feels like it's continued at a more accelerated pace lately. I haven't built a computer in a long time. I don't know what the best video card is anymore and don't really want to play any games that would need a good video card. To an extent, I still know what's going on in the consumer technology market but can't help but grumble when people ask what I think about things like iPads and the "cloud". I use off the shelf PC laptops and don't bother upgrading the hardware. I recently purchased a new laptop but only because it wouldn't be much cheaper to put a new battery, decent hard drive and some more memory in the old one and even if I did it probably weighed close to 8 pounds and wasn't very portable, so I didn't even like dragging it out to the couch. All I ever do on a computer at home is listen to music and surf the internet anyway. I probably should have just picked up a tablet and put my music on the "cloud" somewhere... but I hate typing on touchscreens.
My Impreza still has the stock 16" wheels and hasn't had it's first detailing and I've had it since May. What's happening to me?
Also, now that I've moved out of the apartment I've been for the past 5+ years (to a place other than the area I spent the better part of the last 3 decades), I want to actually find a house and spend time doing projects around it. I want to have some space around me, a garden and maybe a garage.
I've recently put some books about gardening and sustainable living on my Amazon wish list and thought about what it would take to grow all the ingredients needed to brew beer. I've debated opening a brew pub. I've had moments where I had a fleeting thought about quitting my job and being a landscaper.
Recently I've actually even caught myself daydreaming about becoming a farmer while driving past various farms on my commute to work. I don't actually think I want to be a farmer... I think I just want to do something different than what I'm doing now. I've been sitting in various office chairs for almost 12 years now and it's getting boring and feels less rewarding than when I first worked my way into the office world.
I don't actually dislike what I'm doing now. The actual programming is fun. The problem solving and analysis is interesting and rewarding but I'm still just keeping the wheels turning. I rarely work on anything new or exciting and when I do get to work on new things they're almost always rushed. I spend a majority of my time solving problems that could have been avoided if a little more care was put into the planning and getting everyone in the same boat before setting sail... but I don't have a say in that part, so I just sit in my chair and figure out how to undo what I was asked to do... but the "undo" has to happen more quickly than the "do" and the "do" was expected in less time than it should have really taken to get done. So it's a never-ending cycle of chasing my tail.
The problem is, I don't know what I'd rather do.
I traded in my grey 2007 Subaru Legacy for a blue 2012 Subaru Impreza because the Legacy was approaching 100,000 miles, had a newly diagnosed but somewhat common leaky head gasket and the new Impreza was touting approximately 7 MPG more than I was getting in the Legacy.
Most recently, I've moved about an hour west of where I spent most of my life to an area I could actually see myself staying for awhile.
All of these things have me feeling like I'm growing up... (I know, I know, I should be mostly grown up already at the age of 33) but I seem to find myself becoming more and more restless.
Now that I'm actually paid to be a programmer, I find myself growing less interested in computers and technology. Sure my interest had already faded some in the 10 years since I finished college while I was occupied with other less technology related employment, but it feels like it's continued at a more accelerated pace lately. I haven't built a computer in a long time. I don't know what the best video card is anymore and don't really want to play any games that would need a good video card. To an extent, I still know what's going on in the consumer technology market but can't help but grumble when people ask what I think about things like iPads and the "cloud". I use off the shelf PC laptops and don't bother upgrading the hardware. I recently purchased a new laptop but only because it wouldn't be much cheaper to put a new battery, decent hard drive and some more memory in the old one and even if I did it probably weighed close to 8 pounds and wasn't very portable, so I didn't even like dragging it out to the couch. All I ever do on a computer at home is listen to music and surf the internet anyway. I probably should have just picked up a tablet and put my music on the "cloud" somewhere... but I hate typing on touchscreens.
My Impreza still has the stock 16" wheels and hasn't had it's first detailing and I've had it since May. What's happening to me?
Also, now that I've moved out of the apartment I've been for the past 5+ years (to a place other than the area I spent the better part of the last 3 decades), I want to actually find a house and spend time doing projects around it. I want to have some space around me, a garden and maybe a garage.
I've recently put some books about gardening and sustainable living on my Amazon wish list and thought about what it would take to grow all the ingredients needed to brew beer. I've debated opening a brew pub. I've had moments where I had a fleeting thought about quitting my job and being a landscaper.
Recently I've actually even caught myself daydreaming about becoming a farmer while driving past various farms on my commute to work. I don't actually think I want to be a farmer... I think I just want to do something different than what I'm doing now. I've been sitting in various office chairs for almost 12 years now and it's getting boring and feels less rewarding than when I first worked my way into the office world.
I don't actually dislike what I'm doing now. The actual programming is fun. The problem solving and analysis is interesting and rewarding but I'm still just keeping the wheels turning. I rarely work on anything new or exciting and when I do get to work on new things they're almost always rushed. I spend a majority of my time solving problems that could have been avoided if a little more care was put into the planning and getting everyone in the same boat before setting sail... but I don't have a say in that part, so I just sit in my chair and figure out how to undo what I was asked to do... but the "undo" has to happen more quickly than the "do" and the "do" was expected in less time than it should have really taken to get done. So it's a never-ending cycle of chasing my tail.
The problem is, I don't know what I'd rather do.
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