Life Lessens

When I first got to Michigan I started to freak out a bit about the geographical isolation. 

And how "little" there was to do. 

Now I'm done freaking out. 

It's actually really nice not being surrounded by anything except trees and a horde of wild turkeys.

And the rain is magical.

I've spent more than one grey, rainy day huddled on the couch in my PJ's  reading (or watching Teen Wolf) with a mug of coffee or tea and my dog curled up next to me.

Also, I have realized that living alone is actually something I really enjoy.

More than enjoy. 

LOVE.

Not because I dislike people.

But because, for the most part, I can have a vibrant and productive work and social life, be out and about, talk to people, travel etc. and know that when I go home it will be just me and quiet and my dog. 

(And of course having a bit of land to plant a garden and sit outside with Ezra while he insists on being his over-large lap-dog self and drooling all over me.)

And I'm still a twenty something who doesn't plan on settling down and having children anytime soon so living alone seems plausible and totally amazing. 

Seriously, home is my jam. 

And I've realized my solitude is deeply, deeply needed.

More than I can express really.

In other news:

Watermelon is delicious here.
*Correction: All the fresh produce here is insanely delicious.

Also, I've learned that any coffee can taste palatable with enough almond milk in it and if consumed at high speeds.

Also I have realized I love Tai Chi.

Also yoga doesn't feel like a slow and agonizing stretch of a mind-numbingly boring death anymore.

(Every time I do yoga though my dog is pretty sure I'm dying so he comes over and puts his big head under my arms and pushes me up and pats me with his feet until I assure him I'm alive.)

Needless to say he is not a fan of this "yoga." 

However, his "downward dog" is phenomenal.

 He's a natural.

(Ti Chi just seems to confuse him. But he is kind enough to pretend not to notice my hapless flailing about in my hopeless attempt at being gracefully Chi-full.)

(Often all I'm thinking about when I do Tai Chi is if I would be an Airbender or a Waterbender. I'm partial to Airbending. I can be flighty.)

I also have fallen back into the habit of reading insane amounts.

And I am SO happy about it.

I finally feel like I am remembering what it feels like to not be so distractable.

Consequently, I have managed to find a (two-story) Barnes and Noble. (Yeah. I know.)

And, consequently, I still managed to spend too much money there.

Fun Facts:

Also, while reading, I finally discovered how far a "league" is distance wise.

It's four miles.

So then I suddenly realized,

" Holy shit. That means Eomer and his warrior buddies and their noble steeds could have been somewhere around 1200 miles from Helms Deep when Gandalf went to find them. Which makes it even more impressive that they arrived there on the first light of the fifth day." 

#gandalfthebadass

I also have been listening to a mythology podcast and found out:
 Hercules was a real jerk,
Flying Buddha's can be goblins in disguise,
Hera has a weird sense of justice,
 Don't trust jealous Centaurs that offer you their blood-soaked cloaks,
Being a boulder can be cooler than being the sun (obviously),
And that King Arthur's brother Kay was not actually all that bad.
Also, apparently King Arthur was still beardless at, like, 22 and all the other guys wanted to dethrone him because of it.
 (Never mind that he, you know, pulled a magical Human-Hacker from a big stone. And then flirted with some scaley wench in a pond for another fancy Apple-Peeler.)

Also, did you know Pavlov actually removed the salivary glands from inside his dogs mouths and sewed them, instead, on the outside of their cheeks so gathering their saliva was easier? 

Yikes.

  I randomly sink into the notion of dropping off the face of the world, erasing all my social media and living with my dog in the woods and growing stuff and playing the cello and drawing plants and learning medicinal uses for said plants and raising animals.
However, the peace I find in connecting with other human beings in small and meaningful ways is too profound to give up entirely.
Balance, I guess.

All of this to say that one of my best friend gave me some tough love that I really needed and helped me snap out of a funk.

So I've been adventuring again.

And that adventure has looked like, drinking hot tea, hanging with my dog and family, going to Barnes and Noble, trying coffee shops, reading a ton, running, watching Teen Wolf and Mr. Robot, learning a bunch, loving Lord of the Rings and totally sucking at the whole drawing thing. 

And I've been realizing that whatever I do in the future I need to incorporate a lot more alone-time than I was a few months ago.  And to also stop apologizing for needing my alone time.

I thought there was less to do here.
Turns out there are just less distractions.
So now I'm going to try to learn how to be far less distractible even in places with copious amounts of stimuli all around.
Oh boy.


Tunes:
Doe Paoro: The Wind ( AWESOME Music video)
Vancouver Sleep Clinic: Lung
Memoirs of a Geisha: Sayer's Theme
Ólafur Arnalds - Þú Ert Jörðin