June Gloom

With June came the gloom. The weather is cool and misty, humid yes, but quite bearable. Like clockwork, we're socked in beneath gray clouds, and will be for most, if not all of June. The is the nature of my town.

Most days, you can't even tell the difference between the ocean and the skies. The color is the same: Gray. That's why we call it June Gloom.

Now that I'm working less (summer session), I really must force myself to get out and hit the trails. One foot in front of the other is my medicine. Even during June Gloom (because I really just want to rest now), I was able to force some trails. I was able to do it because I knew that the payoff is big. That payoff is a tranquity and it is peace, and there are other rewards as well like figuring out things, getting exercise, etc. Bar far, the main payoff is tranquility and peace. 

June 2nd, an afternoon in Laguna Wilderness: (Fortunately, I can't estimate distance worth beans anymore -- I set out for a 5 mile hike and ended up with 8.62 and glad for it!)

And then a couple days later . . . the stomach “flu” ripped through our house. That was a brutal. Now that it’s over, I do what I often do when things jolt me. I use it as a reset button. It’s time to get some structure now that I’m barely working, because in a few weeks, I’ll be off work for a month and a half. I have much to do, and if I’m not feeling well physically and mentally, I’m not going to get them done. I’ve got to force myself to get my act together. It doesn’t matter that I don’t feel like doing something in particular. I know full well that I don’t have to force myself very long. Small progress motivates me, so I can force myself for just a bit, just long enough to see progress in whatever it is I want to accomplish. By that time, I’ll see a bit of progress, and wala!

All I needed was that reset button (the “flu”). For the past week or so, I’ve been planning my meals. I’ve been cleaning house (literally and figuratively). With the right foods and rest (which is recent due to the reset button), I’ve been accomplishing some small goals. One of those small goals was forcing my butt back to the gym. Cardio at the gym had always been a great release for me. And it really irked me that I was paying for a membership that I wasn’t using. It's time to get focused. I really need these next couple of months to be productive. It's going to take a full pronged attack to achieve the desired focus -- diet, rest, strength, endurance. Here we go.

Take that June Gloom.