Reading again

After the complete stall in reading that was May and June, putting a very large dent in my 100 book plan for the year, I've finally regained momentum. Over the past 4 days I've finished off 3 novels, and started into a 4th :) It's nice to have the ability to concentrate for more than 15 minutes at a time again!

Told me so

I seem to have bounced back ok from the cold that hit me almost immediately after I wrote that last post... Coincidence sure does make it hard to stave off superstition! On the plus side, since I had to rest the last few days anyway, at least the weather was ordinary and I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything :)

Today I let my team and my key clients know of my plans to take 2012 off, so the wheels are really starting to accelerate towards my "Year of Adventure"! (Disclaimer: Adventure not guaranteed.)

10

Almost didn't write this, then realised it was just my superstition about writing positive stuff getting in the way of shelling out more good news health-wise.

Today was my 10th walk in a row, as well as being my longest walk for the year (4.4km in 45 minutes). The best part was that the walk felt easier as I went on, something which is definitely not the case when my fatigue is a factor. With awful weather scheduled to kick off from Monday, there's every chance I will be cutting back on the walks, but I'm hopeful that the routine I've returned to will give me the impetus to partake of some indoorsy exercise as a replacement (that exercise bike won't ride Itself!).

I have lunch plans with 2 friends already scheduled for next week, my tenants finally move out tomorrow, and I'm generally just enjoying feeling normal again :)

Complete

Seven straight days with walking (roughly 16km total) and the last couple of days have actually felt good. Nice to walk for half an hour and feel like I have more in me :) I had a timorous target of returning to what used to be my usual 6km walks by the end of the year, but there seems every chance I'll manage it far sooner. Now if only I can restore my optimal sleep patterns, i.e. get more than a few 2 hour snippets a night, the sky's the limit!

Almost

So begins what I hope will be a successful return to exercise. Unsure whether it's been triggered by my impatience, or that my body had finally had sufficient bedrest :)

After some light weights on Wed, I've had 3 straight lunchtime walks, with today's effort a 30 minute stroll. While that gave me a slight stitch and aggravated my various tendonitises (to be expected after such a sedentary dual-month), I didn't get hit by immediate fatigue-y symptoms. Will have to wait a few more days to really see whether I've pushed too hard...

Time passing

Well, the last 6 weeks have been filled up with an average of 17 hours a day bedrest, and an inability to do any exercise. The remaining hours are taken up with my brief work week, and a couple of family meals.

Luckily for me, the spectre of depression remains unrealised. Plus the severity of my fatigue means that despite eating more than usual and rarely moving, my weight remains steady, so I won't have that burden to deal with when I can ease back to a normal walking routine.

Annoyingly, I'm struggling to read books, with the brain fog crushing my concentration (I pretty much use all my mental energy on work), so it's been a diet of podcasts and rewatched DVDs.

Thus my excuse for no updates is portrayed, and I may once more return to my repose :)

Urgh

Well I've felt crappy all week, including having my second sick day of the year on Monday, but my usual Thursday dinner with family, plus today's lunch with Em and my first phone conversation of the year with B somehow make everything seem all right :)

Tomorrow I make another tentative attempt to return to exercise, after some less than positive short walks the past couple of weeks. This time it's some easygoing strength work and stretches, since apparently I'm now allergic to fresh air... Or the cold... Or whatever... ;)

Fiery sunset

Civic in autumn

Had a thoroughly enjoyable time hanging out with Liv this afternoon, taking photos along this wandering path:

For more pics, just check out my Flickr.

Don Quixote

While I'm glad I've read this, classic as it is, it was a bit of an endurance test.

The first half in particular was very repetitive, with overlong sentences, although definitely luxuriant prose. Perhaps because my own writing consists largely of technical stuff these days, where short simple sentences are the aim, I see wordiness as a weakness?

The second half was largely written to attack another writer who had stolen the characters to write a nominal sequel, making for an interesting (although not too deeply hidden) subtext. The close felt quite rushed after so much preceding material, but I was relieved to be at the end anyway.

Books

Some overdue book "reviews" from recent readings:

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and of Huckleberry Finn
Enjoyed reading both of these again. The first, written in the third person was funnier and easier to read, but the latter, written as first person, gave a deeper and more interesting view of the time in which it was written, and the growth of a young boy, making his own choices even when they conflict with societal norms.

An indirect follow up to this was reading The Fabulous Riverboat, part of the Riverworld series, where a reincarnated Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) is the main protagonist.

Bram Stoker's Dracula
Dracula had more humour in it than I expected, and the format of only using journal entries and letters was successful in keeping the story moving apace, as well as bringing multiple viewpoints to bear on the mystery (although obviously it's hard to see the outcome as a surprise given the flood of vampire lore in popular culture!).

God Emperor of Dune
The fourth in the Dune series, this was an easier read than the preceding Children of Dune, as it was more plot-driven, and somewhat less conceptual since it could build on the previous book's hard establishing work. It may also have been easier because of the volume of recent reading, certainly making me feel more confidence in my ability to concentrate for extended periods and get absorbed into the flow of a book. Looking forward to the next one!

So far

The first 5-and-a-bit days of my hols have been good. I haven't magically discovered energy again, but I have done a few drawings, am about to finish off my 4th book and even dared venture into the horror of clothes shopping. It took a visit to 7 different shops (waaaay beyond my usual solo shopping tolerance) to finally find a store with any 3/4 pants at all, and thankfully Best & Less saved the day for me, fulfilling all my clothing needs, and letting me forget about shops again until sometime in May when my food next runs out :)

What? You can't believe I haven't watched any DVDs? Well, I'm successfully sticking to my don't-buy-any-more-DVDs-since-I-already-have-several-shows-on-preorder-and-heaps-to-rewatch commitment to myself, meaning that I'm now re-enjoying Lost, Seinfeld and Mythbusters when I've got nothing left to give to more active pursuits. Kicking out all my current tenants, and my plan to take 2012 off work means practise at saving money is actually useful!

Keep reading!

Twenty-eight books added to my "to read" pile thanks to the Lifeline Book Fair, including the one book which was missing from my Dune hexology. Definitely need to keep my 100-book-year momentum going before my shelves again fill up, invalidating my heroic give away efforts of the past year or two!

Books books books

I've avoided making a hard commitment, as is my way, but progress towards a 100-book year is steadily being made. 24 books in so far, and thoroughly enjoying recapturing the reading bug. So far I haven't really targeted anything too challenging, but as of now I'm embarking on a Dickens of an adventure (worst pun ever? You be the judge).

So far in life I've only read 2 of Dickens' works, but my goal is to read the other 18 of his novels. I do want to taste several more of the literary classics, so perhaps it won't all be complete come 2012, but it appeals to the collector in me nonetheless.

First up (technically 3rd...) is Oliver Twist, which I've never even seen a movie or musical version of (Gasp! Cultural horror!). Obviously I'm aware of the "please sir, may I have some more?" line, which turns out to be "please sir, I want some more" in any case. Either I misremember the never seen scene, or the original seemed too impolite :)

Work of art

Occasionally I check to see how people are getting to my Flickr photos, and today I found that, if you look on Wikipedia under "work of art", you'll find a photo I took at the National Gallery. Of course it's not my work of art, but at least it means I can autofocus a good picture of some :)

Customer service

Had two very good customer service experiences this afternoon. Firstly, I'd been having trouble with my iPhone, so called up Apple Support. Not only did I get straight through, but they identified it as a hardware problem and gave me options on how to replace the phone, one of which was a good one for me, so I have a new phone winging its way over the next few days.

The second one was a courtesy call from my credit union confirming use of my credit card for a couple of charges outside my usual usage pattern. Nice to know my money's being watched over!

Now off to do my daily mindfulness, then settle down to watch the just-arrived-this-arvo Spin City S4. Everything's coming up Milhouse... I mean Bertie :)

Useful

Watching the Deep Astronomy vodcast last night reminded me of the SETI@Home project. Until recently, my computer power and internet connectivity have been entirely swallowed up just doing the things I want to do day to day. However, since I got my new machine I haven't come close to using all its CPU power, and I have internet quota to burn.

So this morning I installed the BOINC Manager, and established links with SETI@Home, as well as the World Community Grid and Einstein@Home. For the first time ever, I saw all 11 of my CPU cores at 100%, using my personal grunt for the greater good :) Now all I have to do is balance the preferences so I don't fry my computer or explode my power bill...

Up

Have still needed lots of bedrest today, but ventured out for lunch and a photo stroll at the National Botanic Gardens. A little bit of sunshine and fresh air just has to be good for me :)

Brighter day

Embarked on my first real exercise since Friday, a slow walk of the dogs at the edge of Lake Ginninderra. While it wrecked me, that was all the excuse I needed to go back to bed and finish off Tony Martin's Lolly Scramble, which I finally bought via Kindle the other day, after having it sitting on my book wishlist for years. Many laugh-out-loud moments throughout the book, and very glad I finally got around to reading it.

I now have Tony's other book, A Nest Of Occasionals, sitting on my iPad as my next reading target, along with Shaun Micallef's reprinted Smithereens. All part of keeping my smiley self going :)

Watts up

I continue to get most of my historical and/or art knowledge from TV fiction :)

Dark Skies, having finally been released on DVD, has given me a chance to see lots of American 60's intertwined with aliens and conspiracies aplenty. My pre-early-bedtime ep this evening showed the amazing Watts Towers.