Reflections and Motivation

As many of you know, last weekend Nathan and I headed to Los Angeles with Flint in order to support Jorge and Senia during their time of loss. It felt really good to be able to do that. I had recently entered a lull at work due to a project manager being on vacation, so the timing could not have been more fortuitous, despite the tragic event. I noticed many things that were blessings during this time, and I hope that after sufficient time has passed, Jorge's family can look back on this time and see the good things I saw. First, it was very lucky that Jorge's father did not suffer. It was a blessing that so many of Jorge's family members live in close geographic proximity - something that my family and Nathan's family lack. These are just a few of the good things I noticed.

Traveling always seems to motivate me to change things in my own life. I guess it's just the change in scenery and the mental break from duties that awakens me to my life's flaws. When I got back from Los Angeles, I began searching for a non-fad fitness program that I could implement into my life. I found this. It's exactly in line with what I might want in a diet/fitness regime. I have managed to stay on schedule for the first two days of the workout program, which is double my historic staying power. I don't know if I'll find the motivation to stay with this long-term; stick-to-it-iveness is something I've always lacked. But I'm going to try. It requires no investment aside from time (and a pull up bar). I'm not doing the diet since I really try to avoid fads, and I haven't had time to research it. In the meantime, I'll just try to continue my regular plan, which is to cut down my portions, avoid dietary chemicals (trans fats and HFCS) and up my fiber intake.

In other news! A few weeks ago, I was helping a woman who answered a craigslist ad to shovel my river rocks into her truck. She found a sprouted walnut seed and handed it to me. I'm the sort of sucker who can't let living things die, so I planted it. This is what it looks like today:



I'm positively thrilled with its growth to this point. My intentions are to grow it up and then decide what to do with it. My google research on walnut trees has informed me that it will take seven years for this thing to give me walnuts, and it won't be really fruitful for thirty years. I'll keep it in my greenhouse for as long as the greenhouse can hold it, and then find an outdoor home for it. Walnuts can self-pollinate, but they do better if they have a pollination buddy. I figure that if this walnut found its way into my yard, there's another walnut tree in the area. It's my opinion that I don't have room for this tree in my own yard. That assessment may not stand. I'd love to have a tree in the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street. Also, if this hazelnut tree in my backyard does not start producing hazelnuts, it can be chopped down to make room for a tree that will produce. That means that my hazelnut tree has about seven years - give or take - to start making babies. After that, it's cut off from the Hersey family. However, if I can't put this tree on my own land, and none of my neighbors offers it asylum in exchange for giving me the nuts, anyone who wants it can speak up. You've got seven years too.