disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Where are you and where are you going?
disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Review September 2021

Post by disk_poet »

Review September 2021

It feels good to have September behind me since it marked the 3rd quarter and almost 1 year of ERE. My first journal entry was for October 2020.

Things on the ERE front have definitely slowed for me. I can feel momentum of posting here going down even though I am still committed. Also what ERE means to me changed quite a bit over the last year. I started with ERE because I liked the combination of FIRE and the overall sustainability/environmental philosophy. I think the carrot was definitely the financial aspect though and that has become less important over time. I re-discovered my environmental streak for which I am really thankful. It wrapped my tiny/nature living goals with my overall life trajectory and ambitions.

Having the prospective loss of income at the end of last year got me to overcompensate on the work front this year and it really has been an eye opener. It was interesting how much it didn’t really matter. The month with less work was one of the nicest one in hindsight. The rest of the year turned out to be much more busy than last year and I feel like I’ve worked and still am working too much. It’s affecting my mood and quality of life. Having more money and reaching my savings goals was nice but also didn’t leave me as satisfied as I thought it would. I’m glad I started tracking things like electricity, water and space. It really provided a counterbalance to all the financial planning and reaching those goals make me feel much better than reaching the savings goal.

I spend some time reflecting on that this month and decided to be less focused on the FIRE part of ERE. I’ve realized that my planning/tracking/etc. takes a lot of brainspace. I want financials to be more of a third order effect. I will still track them but not try to worry about it so much. I think I’ve spent a lot of time on building spreadsheet models. Mainly to calm myself down and feel more secure. They were more used as therapeutic spreadsheets than really making a difference or providing new insights. I think what provides insights for me are the longer term trends and goals and not updates on the order of weeks. It’s really more fear and anxiety driven behaviour than anything else. I also kind of want to see what happens when it let go a bit. To support this, I’ve used the month to come up with a simpler tracking system and automated some savings/investments that I did manually before. Since I have to write bills to my clients each month anyway I landed on trying to do 1 financial check in per month and otherwise not caring. It’s unlikely that I will buy a Tesla by accident and wipe out my savings in between two check-ins. So this will still give me plenty of time to course correct. I will also try to tie up some loose ends on the finance front this year so I don’t have to think about it in 2022: I want to set up a tax advantaged retirement plan. It will basically make up to roughly 20K each year of investments tax deductable. I don’t plan to put that much in since having a chronic disease with long term health effects puts things in perspective but using it for some part of my savings seems smart.

I hope these actions will free up my brainspace to focus on other things. Mainly figuring out what I want to do with my life. How to grow spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. How to live more sustainable and in line with my inner values and bearings. How be less fearful and more present.

I suspect it will take me some time to shift the focus but it feels good having made the realization that this is the direction I want to go in.

So this will be the focus until the end of 2022.

In terms of a monthly review: I feel like this post is already quite long. My girlfriend moved to france and it took us some time to get everything sorted and come up with new routines but it is actually going quite well. I will visit her in November for 2 weeks and she is here roughly every second weekend. I am quite happy with how things are going. I also started planning some adventures for next year. Running and biking is still proving to be difficult and work is intense. I think it will stay intense for the rest of the year so I will try to make the best of it. I hope my re-focusing will help a bit.

Goals

Completed
  • Obtain cooler box (ERE Skills)
  • Savings rate of 50% (Financials)
Progress
  • I want to counter the movement stress with some nice experiences (Enjoyment)
  • October will mark both the end of Q3 and also 1 year of ERE. I want to have some concrete goals for Q4 and also finish up V1 of my tracking sheet. I think the goal is to have two "workshops" to come up with concrete things. (ERE Skills)
Facepalm
  • Go on more bike rides (at least 1 a week) (Enjoyment,Health)
Financials
  • Savings rate: 58%
  • Spending went up because of move and stuff
Reduction
  • I kept the 50% reduction in stuff / electricity / water
  • Got rid of some more stuff to make space for my girlfriends stuff
Health
  • Running: 90 KM
  • Cycling: 40 KM
ERE Skills
  • Nothing really
Enjoyment
  • Went to the movies
  • Planned vacation
Goals for October 2021
  • Don’t check finances more than once a week for 5-10 minutes (mainly to see if anything bogus hapened) (Financials)
  • Sort out retirement plan, so it’s done (Financials)
  • Sort out taxes, so it’s done (Financials)
  • Switch from fridge to cooler box (ERE Skills)
  • Have all parts for Solar System and plan (ERE Skills)
  • Get rid off stuff in hallway (Reduction)
  • Reach running & biking goals (Health)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Review October / November 2021

Post by disk_poet »

Review October / November 2021

The good news is that I was right with work being intense for the rest of the year. The bad news is that I was right.

Things have continued to be intense around here but I managed to make some progress to improve things. I quit my job at the university since it was such a small time commitment but still work and more importantly a cause for stress and making myself feel guilty for not focusing enough on it. I’ll have to do some wrap up stuff this weekend but then I will be done with it. I hope it will make a difference.Another project will be done in January so then things should improve a little.

I’ve continued to sort out stuff in the apartment. While it’s a slow process I can still see the progress. I am getting to a point where I could fit all my belongings (except kitchen & bathroom) into 1 room without it overflowing. I know that might not sound like much around here but for me it’s a big milestone. The next step is do actually do it and see how it feels. For that I will need to build some storage.

In terms of finances I finally sorted out my taxes and pension plans. It’s almost all set-up for next year being on autopilot. It seems like things will be quite volatile so hopefully I can just stay calm and focus on other stuff. I think it will be difficult to break the habit.

Being with my girlfriend in france was nice. We spent some time in Paris but I had a lot of work going on so it didn’t feel that great. Apart from work it was really nice though. We then spent some proper days in southern france which was great for hiking and relaxing. I didn’t expect it to be that great. Here are some impressions for anyone interested: https://imgur.com/a/6vtRCo7 (I’m still figuring out on how to take photos for the forum but I want to share a bit more stuff over the next year).

So while I made some progress on ERE related things almost all habits and routines (running, cycling, reading, etc.) fell by the wayside the last two months because of stress. While I know that the last quarter of the year is more intense I am still not happy about it.

My goals for december are: Get through it and have a good time post christmas to maybe do some projects and recoup some energy.

Goals

Completed
  • Sort out retirement plan, so it’s done (Financials)
  • Sort out taxes, so it’s done (Financials)
  • Get rid off stuff in hallway (Reduction)
Progress
  • Don’t check finances more than once a week for 5-10 minutes (mainly to see if anything bogus hapened) (Financials) - Worked in October but I was a bit too hands-on in November
Facepalm
  • Switch from fridge to cooler box (ERE Skills)
  • Have all parts for Solar System and plan (ERE Skills)
  • Reach running & biking goals (Health)
Financials
  • Savings rate: 38%
  • Spending went up a little because of vacation
Reduction
  • Cleaned out some stuff
  • Kept withing energy / water goals
Health
  • Running: 30 KM
  • Cycling: 20 KM
ERE Skills
  • Nothing really
Enjoyment
  • Hiking
Goals for December 2021
  • Survive at work (Health)
  • Sort out kitchenware (Reduction)
  • Hvae finances on autopilot for 2022 (Financials)
  • Finish a project between christmas and new years (ERE Skills)

shaz
Posts: 420
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:05 pm
Location: Colorado, US

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by shaz »

I appreciate you sharing your reduction goals and progress. Reduction is something I have been working on for 3 years now. Sometimes my progress gets stalled out and it helps to see what someone else is doing.

It is a little embarrassing to admit I had/have so much stuff that reducing has gone on for years. I reduce vigorously for a while, then it seems like I have gotten rid of everything that is not necessary. A couple of months later, I look around and realize there is SO MUCH more that can go. Reducing takes a lot of time and effort because I have to find someone who wants each item. One nice side effect is it has almost completely eliminated any urges to acquire new things because I am aware of how much effort it will take to get rid of them.

What is your motivation for reducing? Mine is to have the freedom to live in a smaller space, to put unused items to good use for someone else, and also to live in a space that is not cluttered.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@shaz: Thanks for the reply :) I think we are in a similar place. I've probably started reducing also around 3 years ago with the main goal of reducing clutter and simplifying. When things converged on ERE and I've been thinking more about how I want to live my life I also included the environmental and space-requirement angle. It's crazy though how much effort it takes and I am fully with you that it's a real barrier to get new stuff. I also aim to live a smaller life. Step 1 will just be decluttering. I am not a hoarder but I am still (even after a year of pursuing ERE) kind of in the the typical consumerist situation where I just have a lot of things. I've made a lot of progress though and it is accelerating. I am measuring my progress in terms of cubic meters of storage and that has reduced by about 55% since I started tracking (August 2020). I had about 19 (!!) storage items in my flat.. like bookcases, wardrobes, chests, shelves, kitchen storage, etc. I am now down to 9. It still feels like a lot. My next big step will be to move everything (except bathroom and kitchen stuff) into one off the two rooms of my apartment and see how I like being in that space. I think it will be interesting to constantly be aware of most of the stuff I own. I suspect that will trigger some consolidation. I suspect it will be lifelong journey but my hope is that after that next milestone I am in a good spot to seriously consider downsizing to a smaller dwelling.

I am also (despite trying to be rational) a very sentimental person. So it just takes me a lot of effort of sorting through my emotions regarding some items. Getting rid of some IKEA bookshelf is easy but the stuff I am dealing now has a story and memories attached to it. That makes it hard sometimes. Do you struggle with that at all? My girlfriend is very matter of fact with these things. How far along your journey are you?

chenda
Posts: 3289
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:17 pm
Location: Nether Wallop

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by chenda »

I got rid of some sentimental items a few years ago and deeply regret it, so I have learnt they provide me with value. So don't feel bad about keeping them. I compromise by keeping them very organised and well cared for.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@chenda: Thanks for the input :). That's a good point and it's definitely a fine line. My current stance is to try to make them visible and see if they improve my life instead of having them stored away in some box. For some that won't work but at least that's the direction I want to go in. Esp my childhood is a difficult area because there's some stuff I feel like I haven't dealt with so it's a complex mixture ;).

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review December 2021 / January 2022

I haven’t been good in updating my journal recently but hopefully things are getting better. As I mentioned in my last post: December was a pretty crazy month work wise and post-christmas wasn’t really relaxing. There was some family drama and stuff to take care off which made the time between christmas and new years quite busy.

The good part is: I am free of my university job and I am almost done wrapping up another project that has been filling up my weekends. So there is at least some light at the end of the tunnel.

ERE-wise I have made mixed progress. My finances are not as organised and optimised as they were last year. I have given up on strict budgeting and am spending more money if it helps me towards things that I want to do. It’s a little bit of a savings rate detox to see how that changes things. I think I’ve been a little too focused on optimising the financial side of ERE but have not really explored how I want to spend my time.

I am still very much in the process of sorting out my flat but I am still making progress. It’s frustrating because there is always a pile of stuff that I want to get rid of in the hallway but I think that means that I am actually making progress. I think at this point I could realistically put all my belongings (including a sofa-bed) into one room without it being too crazy or messy. Except kitchen stuff though.

More good news is that I got offered the plot of land next to my small cabin. It was basically a junkyard but I found some people to take it all away. It felt a little bit like an ERE fail to not do it myself and salvage things, but since construction is limited to January - March and I was working on the weekend it felt like the right choice. Now it’s an empty plot of dirt with a dead tree on it. I am allowed to put a new structure on it as long as it doesn’t exceed the size of the previous structure which was about 9m by 3m (27sqm). Since I have the other cabin which has about 18sqm that puts the total space at around 40 sqm which is a little less than my current flat. So that could be an interesting choice mid to long term. For now the idea is to put some raised beds there, fix-up the soil and do some learning. Seems like a good step in the right direction.

I also got into a bike event which I didn’t expect to get into (it’s a lottery) but against all my assumptions I got a spot. It’s a ± 1400km ride in 125 hours from London to Edinburgh and back. I haven’t signed up yet since I have not done any significant riding or running towards the end of last year. It feels pretty much out of my league at this point and I am also worried because of my health but I think I might still give it a shot. It only happens every 4 years and failing will be a good experience for next time ;). Also I don’t want my fear about my health be in control so much. I have till mid february to decide so there’s still some time to come up with a plan.

Relationship-wise things are a little tense. My girlfriend isn’t really happy in France (with COVID things are still pretty much in lockdown) and that has been making the time here very precious to her which leads to me feeling a bit under pressure. Combined with the myriad of projects that I want to do and lot’s of work it hasn’t been easy for her or for me. I am a bit at a loss on how to proceed and don’t feel as connected. It often feels a bit tense. We are having regular chats again which is helpful and we had some good realizations this week but we are definitely more in a time where we need to work on the relationship. That’s part of it though.

That’s it for now. Maybe I’ll do a 2021 review in a separate post.

Goals

Completed
  • Survive at work (Health) - It took a lot out of me to be honest
  • Hvae finances on autopilot for 2022 (Financials) - It feels weird and I have the feeling I should do more but if I am honest they are on autopilot… in theory… also in pratice but I can’t admit that
Progress
  • Sort out kitchenware (Reduction) - Did a complete sort but I feel like there is more to be done
Facepalm
  • Finish a project between christmas and new years (ERE Skills) - Did not happen because of family stuff
Financials
  • Savings rate: 27%
  • Spending went up because of christmas and projects
Reduction
  • Kept withing energy / water goals but not as easily
  • Still cleaning out flat
Health
  • Running: 100 KM (January, none in Dec)
  • Cycling: 20 KM (January, none in Dec)
ERE Skills
  • I fixed a dead laptop and gave it to a friend
Enjoyment
  • Regular runs
  • Doing stuff for myself like getting the plot of land, fixing a laptop, etc. It was nice to spend time and money on things I like doing
Goals for February 2022

I’ll keep it modest:
  • Do regular cycling exercises and ride at least 200km (Health)
  • Finish up last work project so weekends are free again (ERE)
  • Do a review of 2021 and planning of 2022 (ERE)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review February 2022

Late post again. Things feel a bit unstable at the moment with the war in Ukraine breaking out in February. It took quite an emotional toll on me in the beginning especially while I was consuming news nonstop. I since dialed down the news consumption and now my emotional health has been a bit better even though I am still feeling stressed, sad, angry and anxious. I am not trying to make this into a politics post, just stating my emotions regarding the situation.

Things with my girlfriend are still a bit tense. I don’t really feel like going into details right now.

I did however sort out a few things regarding the new plot of land. Also the tree standing on my old grounds got cut down because it was a risk-factor. The workers left all the branches so we have been trimming them and sorting them. I think I will use some of them for raised beds and some to build some fences, benches, etc. It’s been fun and I am really excited about working on that plot of land. I also visited a local workshop where people want to set-up an open woodworking workshop. Things are still being discussed but it’s an interesting prospect. They might need help with IT and volounteers and in exchange I could use some nice machinery and have a workshop close by. It would also connect me to the local tiny house community since they have built a few so far. So there seems to be some movement in the direction of cultivating this small plot next to my cabin and maybe turning it into a place I could live at for some time. I am also continuing to sort out stuff. It’s such a slow process (probably over 2 years and still not done) and I am wondering if my approach is too incremental. I am really seeing a difference though. I’ve also not thrown out any items so far. In hindsight it seems like I am a bit too timid so maybe that realization will help me make faster decisions in the future. I’d be interested to learn how to be more decisive and less risk-averse.

Financially things are going ok. I’ve not really focused on savings and it shows. My savings rate has been basically zero to negative for this year but that is also a bit misleading. I am keeping the money in my freelance account and am planning to paying myself all the extra cash at the end of the quarter instead of monthly. I suspect that will make my savings rate for Q1 something around 20%. Still not great and nowhere near my official goal but I decided this year to not focus on savings and see where things take me. We will see if I regret this. My girlfriend is in full on savings mode and it feels a bit weird of seeing her doing so "well" while my savings rate is dropping. I think working through these feelings is what I want to do though. Emotionally focusing on financials so much doesn’t seem like the long term strategy I want to take. This years goal is to do more things and invest in myself. If that means spending money on land where I can try out growing stuff and building stuff so be it. I appreciate that this is not the ERE path though.

Health wise things are mixed. I’ve been better with training and running but still not where I’d like to be. I always seem to find some excuse and I can’t say they are not legitimate but it is still frustrating.

Goals

Completed
  • Finish up last work project so weekends are free again (ERE) - It’s nice that this is finally done
Progress
  • Do regular cycling exercises and ride at least 200km (Health) - Rode 50km… or so so not really there yet
  • Do a review of 2021 and planning of 2022 (ERE) - Didn’t do a full review but I started creating some goals for 2022
  • Facepalm
Financials
  • Savings rate: -55%
Reduction
  • Kept withing energy goal, went slightly above water goal
  • Still cleaning out flat
Health
  • Running: 50 KM
  • Cycling: 50 KM
ERE Skills
  • Repaired washing machine
Enjoyment
  • Working on shed extension
Goals for March 2022
  • Sort out the tree stuff (ERE)
  • Get back into a fitness routine (Health)
  • Get rid of 1 piece of furniture (Reduction)
  • Switch to cheaper internet (Financials)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review March 2022

March has been a bit more productive than the months before. I achieved most of my goals apart from the health ones. This seems to be the issue and I think there is some procrastination going on. Probably trying to avoid giving this my all. I think this is what I want to focus on next. Figuring this out. It’s a tricky issue because I think the emotional stress of a chronic illness is something I still seem to have problems with. But it’s counterproductive to not deal with these things. I’d like to dive into the psychology and emotions behind this and understand myself better. I think there are some "gems" there.

Apart from that I also did my planned quarterly financial update. The savings rate is 27% overall for Q1 which is kind of what I expected. Not at all in line with where I wanted to be ERE-wise (I found an old spreadsheet and the goal then was 60% for 2022 - whoops) but plans change and I feel ok with this. The upside is that I already reached my yearly goal for putting money away for my traditional retirement plan. That feels nice. Overall it feels quite good to do the quarterly updates. Taking the eyes off the ball definitely shows in my ability to save and be efficient but I feel like I made more progress in other areas of my life and that is worth the trade-off. My goal for the next quarter is to reduce recurring expenses. Even if it’s just a few euros a month. I want to consolidate my spending and consistently make a little progress. If I can come out of Q2 having less recurring expenses it will feel like a win.

I am also coming to the realization that the biggest difference I can make at the moment would be to move into a different flat. I have the data and it would save me about 150-300 EUR per month in rent (probably around 4%-ish savings rate per month). I also know how to find them. The problem is that I feel like it would take quite some focus to make this happen. Finding the flat. Applying. Rennovating. Moving. It feels like a lot of physical and social energy I’d need to spend. I am struggling with this because it would be a good move - literally. I suspect that the longer I wait the more difficult it will get to find cheap places but I won’t be able to reach my health and personal goals if I focus on this now. In addition I want to be able to travel more and that would mean subletting my flat and finding someone to catsit. My current flat works and actually is great location-wise but it’s bathroom and kitchen are in dire need of some repairs. I wouldn’t feel great having someone else live here without fixing it first. It feels like a dilemma and there just is no perfect solution. Too many moving parts… I guess I am looking for an excuse to punt this for another year.

The shed-project has been going well. A friend of mine donated a raised bed with dirt and the tree remains got picked up. Unfortunately they also took the branches I wanted to keep but I am ok with that. I can find new ones in the woods. I also got a tarp to fix the roof for now. The next step will actually be to plant something. Just writing this sentence I am realizing that there is no way I can do all these projects (flat, gardening, bike travel) while working and since bike travel and gardening are both things where I can not control the timetable as much (seasons are fixed, bike events are every 4 years) it’s clear that the flat will have to wait since I unfortunately don’t feel like I can just stop working.

Biking has been the sticking point. I am not making any progress here. I want to change it this month. With getting a new bike and the seaons changing there really is no excuse.

The woodworking workshop project seems to be stuck a little with internal politics. I am not sure I want to involve myself in that at the moment so I think I will have to look for an alternative.

Relationship-wise things are feeling a bit better. I think I’ll have to wait and see and try to do the work.

All in all I am quite happy with how March went. I hope I can build on that momentum for April.

Goals

Completed
  • Sort out the tree stuff (ERE)
  • Get rid of 1 piece of furniture (Reduction)
  • Switch to cheaper internet (Financials)
Progress
  • Get back into a fitness routine (Health)
Facepalm

Financials
  • Savings rate: 78%
  • Cheaper and faster internet plan
Reduction
  • Got rid of 1 piece of furniture
Health
  • Running: 22 KM
  • Cycling: 52 KM
ERE Skills
  • Nothing really
Enjoyment
  • Had a party at my new plot of land with friends
Goals for April 2022
  • Reduce monthly expenses by at least 5 EUR (Financials)
  • Do my taxes (Financials)
  • Give away or sell sorted out stuff from last month (Reduction)
  • Plant plants in the garden and build raised bed (ERE)
  • Ride 500km on my bike (Health)
  • Build myself a smaller desk (ERE, Reduction)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

I've fallen off the wagon posting here since I am still dealing with health issues (back and carpal tunnel) that make it not fun to spend a lot of time typing away. Since that is basically my job I am kind of typed out after finishing work.

ERE-wise things are going medium. Spending is still pretty high but I am on target in reducing energy and belongings. Just doing another sort through and I rented a professional scanner so I can digitise all the documents I need for tax purposes. That should reduce the amount of folders in my possession significantly.

I also watched a course on RV living on skillshare and it was quite helpful because it gave some actual tips on how to get started. While I am not necessarily plan on living in an RV I am thinking of putting a small container home next to my current shed. One of the tips was to tape of the area in the current home and get a feel for configurations and space. I've been already on that path but having some reinforcement helped me mentally commit to that strategy. It also suggested creating a list of worries that prevents one from making the jump. I think that should be my homework because I tend to be risk averse and I think at this point not giving it a try is the biggest risk for me.

I've also looked into digital mail services so I can receive my letter while being more "flexible" with locations. I will try to set a service up ASAP so I can start relaying mail to them and hopefully be confident in the service by next year and make sure I changed all the important addresses.

I also caught COVID in April which wasn't fun. I have been feeling spent physically and mentally after and I am worrying it's actually long-COVID and not "just" exhaustion.

Anyway... just a quick update for carthatic purposes.

mathiverse
Posts: 788
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2019 8:40 pm

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by mathiverse »

disk_poet wrote:
Mon Jul 11, 2022 7:31 am
Just doing another sort through and I rented a professional scanner...
If you have a smartphone, then you can get an ad-free scanner app for a $0 - $5. (I have TurboScan which I got near ten years ago and is still updated.) I think iPhones have the scanning capability natively nowadays, so you don't have to buy a separate app. Scanning with my smartphone has been sufficient for all of my needs for the last ten years. You may want to check it out as an easy cost saving, time efficient, and convenient way to be able to scan all the time.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@mathiverse: Thanks.. I am doing that for day to day scanning but I need to digitise a few thousand pages so I thought renting an automatic scanner will be easier. Will report back :)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Just doing a post here got me somewhat back in the spirit. So I'm giving up the usual format and will just try to write smaller updates:

Goals for this week:
- Finish sorting out books
- Sell old bed frame
- Do back and hand exercises

chenda
Posts: 3289
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:17 pm
Location: Nether Wallop

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by chenda »

disk_poet wrote:
Tue Jul 12, 2022 6:54 am
- Do back and hand exercises
Perhaps you could get your SO to give you a regular massage? I am a big believer in the benefits of massage, both to treat joint and muscular issues and also for the psychological benefits.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@chenda: That's a nice idea thanks so much! I think maybe a course could be a nice idea because we tried that and it wasn't great so far ;) Also I could book a professional massage so at least the health part could move forward.

In other news I reached my goal to sell the bed but the charity book store was unfortunately closed. So I will defer this goal to this week. I also got notice on Friday that the document scanner should be delivered this week. So that will be another goal and since I have it only for 1 week it's a nice deadline.

I had a good week at work and got some stuff done which felt good. It also felt like I was contributing in a positive way which was motivating. I also had a therapy session and will have another one this next week which feels good. I am feeling like I have more agency to change things which is good.

Relationship wise things are a bit tense. I think my mental state these last few months is partly to blame but also while I am ok with long distance I find the back and forth from not seeing one another to spending 24/7 together (we both work from home) taxing. I think I am missing alone time during our visits which is a funny realization because I think on average the time we spent together works well for me but the distribution is not great. I'd really like to get the shed into a space where I could work there because that could give me an escape to have some alone time and connect with nature during our visiting-time. It also fit's my ERE goals so it's a nice web-of-goals thing to do.

I also started a SketchUp course and started to design a container home. Took me 4 tries to get the outer shell done but it now seems to work ok. It's been already quite helpful to figure out how much space a bed etc. would take up.

So my goals for this week:

- Continue doing exercises
- Bring books to charity shop
- Scan documents
- Book a massage
- Make inroads into using up food supplies (I have lot's of half eaten packages of lentils of different kinds, spices, flours, etc. I'd like to use them up and consolidate)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

The week went quite well. I booked a massage and went to one. Well it turned out to be more physio-therapy but it was exactly what I needed. I could really feel how tense and hardened my back, leg and hips where. The person also commented on it. I think I will go back in 2 weeks and try to do some stretching/yoga this week.

I got my scanner and started scanning papers but it turned out that 1 week is not nearly enough time to do this. Because of taxes I have to keep some documents up to 10 years so unless everything is sorted perfectly I need to sort through 20 folders of papers and decide on a case by case level. I still made good progress. I got rid of 6 folders worth of paper (so around 25% and have another 5 which contain documents that are the oldest can be thrown out on a year by year basis. That means I have around 10 folders left to re-organize and then maybe scan again. I was hoping this would be faster but I guess progress was made.

I also managed to bring the books to the bookshops and sell 5 more on eBay. I have a few more to get rid of and also some boardgames and kitchenware. This will be a task for this week.

On the food supplies side I did make some progress but not as much as I hoped. I used up some flour to make 2 nice pizzas but there is still much more. I'll try to continue it this week.

I have a two week vacation coming up in 2 weeks and I think I'd like to do some woodworking and maybe sewing. Ideally I'd like to build a sofa-bed + table but I might just settle for the table. But in preparation for that I need to make some space so that will be my focus for the next two weeks. In addition to health and body exercises.

I also did some garden work on the weekend and need to visit my permaculture plot to harvest some food.

Also my girlfriends birthday is coming up so I want to come up with a small adventure we can go on by bike and bake a cake.

Goals for this week:
- Make inroads into food supplies
- Sell stuff on eBay
- Book massage for next week
- Take broken stuff to recycling
- Come up with adventure
- Harvest veggies
- Yoga/Fitness

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

This week went ok. I managed to make further inroads into the food supplies but it takes a while. Roughly 50% of the stuff on ebay sold so I will have to relist some of it. It's so much work to get rid of things its crazy. Really makes me want to consider the whole lifecycle more when I get something new.

The other goals went well too. I booked a massage, brought some old batteries to recycling and harvested some veggies. I did Yoga once so not super happy with that but it felt good. I really think if I want to stay mobile long term I will have to do Yoga or stretching exercises more regularly.

GF and I went on a nice long bike ride. Was a nice adventure and she really liked it. So that's good. I do feel a bit disconnected though but it's hard to know if it's because I am feeling down in the dumps a little or if something isn't going well.

Work wise the week was pretty full but I am glad I made some progress. The next week will be the last one before my vacation so I expect it to be a bit crazy.

Goals for this week:
- Finish up work stuff
- Do Yoga once
- Make a list of stuff required for woodworking project
- Try to sell the remaining things

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

So, it feels a bit weird writing this update because I haven't really been active on the forum for a while but I decided to get back into ERE this year (which is almost over ;) - so no more procrastinating) and I think this journal is due for an update.

I'm trying to do this in a somewhat compressed form. Mainly because my memory is so bad (that's one of the things why it's really nice to write these regularly) and I am feeling a bit lazy. Summer 2022 wasn't great for me. I was supposed to go on a bike adventure holiday but broke my hand due to an accident literally 15 minutes into the first test ride with my new bike. This basically meant lots of hospital visits, being stuck at home and losing a lot of income due to an almost 12 week forced break. The good news is that it's healed now, although it took a long time due to slow healing because of my chronic condition. After the hand was healed up, work was of course pretty much insane since I had a lot of unfinished stuff that needed finishing. It was a very stressful time and pretty much took up August until mid November.

By then a friend of mine told me she was moving away and asked me if I wanted to take over her lease. After a lot of humming and hawing I decided to go for it even though the place is bigger and more expensive then my current one (pretty much an anti ERE decision). The upside is that it comes with a porch and is in a new hood. After living at my other place for 10 years and feeling a bit disconnected from the local crowds (it's very much a HCOL area) I felt it was time for a change. Fortunately there was construction planned at my old flat so I was able to get out of the lease on short notice. This meant spending xmas and the new year renovating the new place and then January frantically moving.

Unfortunately right around the move my cat developed a liver condition and after several visits to the vet, lots of medication and a stay at the pet hospital I had to decide to let her go. This was pretty much one of the hardest decision I had to make and I still find myself crying because of it almost 12 months later. It also tinted the whole "new year, new flat, new life" plan in a pretty negative light. It took me several months to get back into a somewhat positive mindset but I am still struggling with being depressed. I was pretty much struck with guilt and grief. This was also around the time were several of my best friends moved back from Germany to North America, further south in Germany and to the Netherlands so the feeling of loss was/is all around.

Writing all of this down I can pretty confidently say that the time from August 2022 to August 2023 was pretty much shit. There were positives in there as well though: I had some really special moments with my friends before they left town. After almost 9 months of living in the new place I am really starting to like it. I got rid of a bunch of things thanks to moving. Dealing with so much change showed me that I can get through these phases. I made friends at a community garden 5 minutes away from my new place and spent some nice time harvesting and planting food. The people are really nice and there's a lot of ERE overlap going on. From food saving, dumpster diving, guerrilla gardening to workshops about mushrooms, eatable plants, solar energy etc. There seems to be a real community which wasn't the case in my old hood.

Relationship wise there were ups and downs. The long distance is still difficult and especially with all the hardship it wasn't always good. But on the other hand I also don't think I could have gotten through the tough time without my GF at my side.

The last few months have been better though. Even though I was sick with COVID and a follow up bronchitis for almost 6 weeks I feel more able to get through these times. Therapy helped and I will start going to a support group in January. Also I will visit my friends in North America.

ERE-wise things were somewhat in standstill although I did some tracking of work- vs freetime and also am starting to get a feeling of my budget in the new flat. I will get into more details in some future post.

chenda
Posts: 3289
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:17 pm
Location: Nether Wallop

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by chenda »

Sorry to hear about your cat : (

Maybe the new year will be a nice fresh start for you.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Thanks chenda, that is what I am hoping too.

My next goal is to come up with a coherent write-up for my 2024 goals. Right now it feels like things are rattling around in my head but have not fallen into place yet.

Post Reply