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OBTOBER 2016 YEAR
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NOTES
The file I use for tracking spending and making charts is not as useful now that I’ve quit. I’m going to make a new version that will be more current for me, and more notably here, have some new charts that are more relevant not after quitting. Right now, my general goals are:
- Continue to refine strength training regimen. I feel like I have it pretty close but need to re-research some core strength stuff and figure out an overhead press replacement that I like.
- Reduce my food spending. I was at $400 this month. That’s all from the grocery store; I didn’t eat out once. One of the main changes will probably be to add lentils and maybe rice back into my diet.
- Update hobby income strategy. I have some ideas for new forms of hobby income and want to research them more. I could also put some time into my old one – shirt designs.
Dividends are rolling in. Some of the stocks I own increased their dividends this month. I get a $65 per year raise. YAY!
I don’t feel I have much to say here that will be interesting. This month I covered a lot of ground – through Oregon and California, which occupied quite a bit of time. And otherwise, I’ve been more focused on hobbies (photography, fitness and bicycling) than on introspection. I’ve slowed down now that I got down to where it’s warmer (Warm enough to swim in the ocean now without it hurting!).
My spending was both quite low and really high this month. My more normal spending was around $750. That’s a good sign since it includes enough gas to drive much more than I expect to most months. The abnormal part is that I’ve ordered a bunch of brand new camera gear. I’ve been taking a lot of pictures since I started traveling. My camera is 8 or so years old. I figured I might as well upgrade early on in my travels rather than waiting. Then once I was deciding what to get, I got sucked into the latest and greatest on the camera body. I also got a bunch of other handy things. I may still buy another lens and a few more things, but not a ton. I’ll probably sell my old camera soon and also a couple of my current lenses that won’t work well on the new camera. What’s the damage? 2-5 months’ worth of spending.
PICTURES
Over the last 5 weeks, I moved from Portland Oregon down most of the U.S. Pacific Coast. I went south through the middle of Oregon (the National Forests, Bend, Crater Lake). Then I went over to the coast once I got into California and drove down the coast. I’m currently in Santa Barbara. I’ll probably leave Santa Barbara within a couple weeks. I’m not exactly sure where I’ll go. I’ll probably go down into Los Angeles. I might go explore the National Forests and whatever else they are to the north and east of LA. I’ll likely head down to San Diego. After that, I may go to Arizona for a vandweller gathering. After that, it’s pretty wide open. The main options are:
- Going up through Arizona, hanging around Southern Utah, and maybe then going east into Colorado.
- Just Staying in Arizona. There’s plenty to do/explore there. Could go up into Utah in the fall.
- Go back up through California, this time on the central/eastern side. Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Sequoia, Yosemite.
- ?? Whatever else.
Anyways, pictures:
I went to Crater Lake. It’s so big that even with a super wide lens I couldn’t photograph the whole thing.
In Oregon, just outside Crater Lake National Park:
Driving, same location
Beach in Carmel-By-The-Sea. It’s a nice little town with a bunch of rich/spendy people. I spent a week there. Every day I’d come down to this beach and get a prime spot in the parking lot. I’d stay there until it was dark and then go park in the town.
The beach in Carmel is really long, and there were many people out. There was no one in the water except for these two kids: the only people with the kind of excitement about life that it takes to brave the cold Pacific. And they were in the water a long time. They were about knee deep, but they were small enough and the waves big enough that they were knocked over by some. They always stayed near each other. When they saw a big wave approaching they'd hold hands so they could feel the wave crashing into them but not fall down with it.
Sometimes you see kids just acting like kids, and appearing that they’re looking at the world and life and the future with wondrous anticipation – that they’re open and learning and excited. In this case, I saw them looking out towards the sun and the entire pacific ocean, and going out into life and letting life tumble into them and enjoying all of the ups and downs. I don’t think I see nearly enough adults act that way. In fact, I see very few. I suppose part of it is that with adults, you’re less likely to see the way they do it. It might be happening in their head while they’re sitting on a lazy-boy. Most people that look at me wouldn’t see any - just a dude walking around or riding a bike or whatever. Still, I have a good idea of what goes through the head of most adults and I know that what is currently the childish kind of eagerness for life fades early and entirely for way too many people.
Anyways, It was a great 10-15 minutes watching these kids play in the water. Later, I wished I’d asked a lady that looked like their mom if she was, and got her email address so I could send her the pictures.
The beach in Carmel.
This was at Point Lobos Nature Reserve, which is just a couple miles south of Carmel.
This is McWay Falls in Big Sur. You’ve probably seen many pictures of this little cove. There is a pretty good story about it. The two main people in the story are women. I forget the details though. One of them was a sort of poor/normal person. I think she lived right around here first. The Second was an orphan but she also inherited a bunch of money. The second Lady also came and lived here. I think she is the one that built a house overlooking this cove. When they first made the house, there wasn't a beach here. It was just cliffs or hill all the way down to the water. The waterfall dropped into the ocean. Then there was a landslide a bit to the north. A bunch of that landslide ended up in the cove and made the beach.
I guess you can barely see the waterfall in the little 800 pixel forum sized version.
Big Sur. Unfortunately there was huge fire in the National Forest that stretches along about 70 miles of the coast where there are no towns. That entire district was closed, so I drove the full stretch in one day.
This was on Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, which is in Cambria.
This was Cowell Ranch Beach, a reeeeaaaally nice beach a bit south of Half Moon Bay (which is ~30 miles south of San Francisco)
On a beach in Santa Barbara
I forget which town this was