my enviable life

I feel guilty about posting this.  I know life is going to throw me a curve ball, as it always does.  I know pain and suffering are inevitable.  But, right now, at this moment, life is really good.   And I have to give credit to the (diet induced?) malaise I suffered the past 3 years.  All those books on positive psychology, meditation, motivation, I even hired a good friend of mine as a career coach--which was awesome by the way--all those things actually paid off.  I think if I wouldn't have developed my malaise, I might not have got unhappy with my job and started trying to figure out a solution.  The solution was simple in the end (but I needed the journey to get there):  going half-time at work, and potatoes.  haha.  Going half-time solved my work and lifestyle issues.  And potatoes solved my malaise.  haha.  Now again, I feel guilty because I know many people would love such a luxury to be able to work half-time.  Sorry about this.  Ironically, this is a benefit of having an insecure job.  I am responsible for funding my salary through federal grants I obtain, and a typical grant has a lifetime of 1-3 years.  My funding horizon was typically that long throughout my career.  As a result, I avoided debts, and I budgeted for a half-time salary.  I always expected to have to go to half-time eventually or change jobs, and it never happened, so I finally got impatient and just did it.  ha.  That was a big step because my career is somewhat demanding and turns people into workaholics whether they want it or not; half-time is not exactly part of the culture.  But I'm old now and I figure i can afford to be eccentric.

So now that I'm half-time, what am I doing?  Well, Wednesday morning is kayaking with Ed:

Today the lily pads were in bloom which I've never seen before:

Friday is "Camrock Friday."  Housemate and I go to Camrock park and first take a walk, and then I take a mountain bike ride. Here I am decked out.  I might look goofy with the elbow and kneepads, but I've broken both a kneecap and an elbow in the last 6 years (not mountain biking), and I never want that to happen again.

Other days include swimming (great training for kayaking), road biking (great training for mountain biking), running, hiking, biking to work (great training for mountain biking), oh, and mountain biking.

Then there is my church.  I'm an active member and I enjoy the community but also the excellent opportunities for community service.

I started playing my flute again.  I'm hoping to read more.  I only started working part-time about a month ago so I'm still learning how to do it.  and I actually work 5 hours a day to make sure I get my 4 in (I'm so dedicated!).  and of course, there is food prep for a healthy diet.  But that is much lower now and will free up more time for living my life.