Notice the new website theme? That was a recent change. Spring cleaning, sort of. Since the new WordPress full-website editing aesthetic is in full force, my old Karma theme I thought about going back to is unavailable. Took me a couple of hours to find a theme that doesn’t put the Featured Image in an awkward position on the full post page.

Still, I’ll have to find time to modify the theme to my liking.

So, what have I done since my last post last February? A bit actually, mostly just living and not panicking most of the time.

I hiked in the desert finally. A Meetup group I frequent had one set for the Railroad Trail near Hoover Dam, starting from the Hoover Dam Lodge to the government checkpoint before entering the protected national park. Three different tunnels, two stories from my estimation, when steam trains pass through to carry supplies and workers to Hoover Dam. Now it’s a footpath with great views of Lake Mead.

Last March, I traveled back to Orange County to see Mom. She just finished volunteering at the Iditarod gift shop but had to stay past her birthday before coming home. It was both family time and running some errands, like seeing a doctor for my physical and blood work. Just recently, the boss from the Iditarod gig (the same one where Mom was in Skagway for the Alaska tourist season last year) offered her a job to work on one of three Princess cruise ships selling homemade artwork and jewelry sailing the southern Alaska cruise routes.

Plus after the doctor’s appointment, I finally donated blood for the first time in nearly a year. I still don’t trust Nevada’s state of health care, let alone the Red Cross stations. Still used to familiar places I trust.

I started going to the gym, literally every weekday after clocking out from my remote day job. I’m not there to gain muscle, not by a long shot. Mostly walking for 45 minutes on the treadmill, do a one-lap cool-off on the indoor walking/running track, and soaking my legs in the hot tub. It ain’t worth walking outside when the summer temps are slowly rising. I’m not touching the weight machines or free weights at all. Strength is not my goal. It’s to slowly remove this weight I’ve been holding on to since I was eight years old. And progress is showing. I made a personal goal to be healthy enough to go on a backpacking trip next year in Colorado.

Plus the people lifting at the gym intimidate me.

And before all that I switched back to iPhone. I’m now fully integrated with the iOS ecosystem for the better. Plus got an Apple Watch just for the fitness tracking stuff.

So yeah, that’s pretty much all that’s happened recently.

As I said, I’m doing more to stay mentally in the present while being aware of the bad habits and patterns still corroding my life. Still not much writing-wise. I think with everything happening, with the day job, the gym visits, the upcoming vacation prep for my day job, and what little personal time I have between the gym and bedtime, I think my fiction writing average is down to 10 words per day.

Not enough to get something worthwhile to publish. Seriously, my brain and mental space is so backed up with everything and pulverized to oatmeal, writing Mana Pool stories is the last thing to think about.

So, here’s the thing. Starting June 1, I’ll be on a cruise ship heading to Hawaii and back for two weeks. This will be the longest vacation in my life (three weeks counting Memorial Day weekend), the first cruise I’ve been on in over a decade, and the first trip to Hawaii since my teens. And no internet, social media, or YouTube binging. My phone and laptop will be on airplane mode the entire time. I’m quite nervous about it; my brain is thinking of so many life-threatening scenarios that visiting the gym regularly helps silence them. Stupid consistent FOMO.

Anyway, the desert weather is getting hotter.

Talk to you later.