Fifty-fifty

[Jay Ey]

Halfway through my challenge, I've been missing in action for a while, but I'm back to blog. A few monkey wrenches were thrown into my machinery (including a nasty cold; a crazy, lessening work project situation and preparation for the holidays) and I bogged down. I'm taking steps now to get back to the creation of my evolving reality.

What I gave
* I asked a couple women out for drinks. So far I've met with one, whom I really liked (we spent three hours together) and yet it turns out that she is in a "complicated" (her words) relationship where she & her boyfriend of a few years bought a place together & are now breaking up. I'm not holding my breath on this one, but at least I had a nice evening with her. I'm looking forward to meeting the other woman and trying not to have too-low expectations, based on my recent history with women! One of the big parts of my challenge is to find a soul mate, and I'm putting attention towards this. I also signed-up for a free online dating service--I used to be on match.com and eharmony; I feel ready to dip my toes in the water again, esp. since this one seems as good and is free.
* I went to lunch with a couple people who have had their own consulting businesses for long time periods. Each of them was very positive and helpful in answering my questions & their willingness to be future resources. Networking is always difficult for me; and yet these two experiences were very easy. I plan to use this momentum to continue to meet others.
* My work is nearly at a standstill, but I may have saved part of the project because of a conference call in which the client liked my work. I put in some extra time this week on one aspect that hopefully will prime the pump for my client to give me some incremental work. While working with this client is nebulous at best, I'm making an effort to try to make at least something happen.
* I hadn't been exercising enough, but I'm starting to get a routine down again and while I struggle (before and during it!) to believe it will make me feel better, it almost always does. Once again, I need to use my momentum to continue on this path.
* I finally sorted-out a long-term health insurance plan after way too much time spent on research, etc. Time to use this as a springboard to sort-out some other finances (e.g., lowering spending on other things I haven't reviewed in a while).

What I got
* I'm not religious at all, but I will still say that I'm "blessed" to have a wonderful family with which I celebrated Christmas. We had a great time eating and playing games together, and we didn't let it bring us down that two of us are hurting in the employment arena. Instead of buying some gifts, I made homemade caramel corn and caramels for my family, which were very-well received.
* My microwave oven died this week--of course while I was popping popcorn for above gifts. I quickly learned the old-fashioned art of popping popcorn on the stove with a pan. But I was fortunate that the one that I decided to buy a) was on sale for about $100 off, b) was only on sale for 2 days; so I had to make a decision & pull the trigger, and c) has a convection oven which I've always wanted to have since I live alone & feel it's a waste to heat up my oven for to cook for 1. Furthermore, I have a very handy friend who can help me install it.

What else?
* I watched an interesting documentary film today (partly while I exercised) called "Surfwise," about a doctor to drops out of medicine to surf and gets married and he & his wife raise 9 children in a 24-foot (i.e., < 3 meter) camper, substituting surfing for real education. While their lifestyle is off the deep end (pun intended), I'm struggling with my own thoughts of dropping out, what that would mean to me now, and how it relates to my past (I had a period long ago where I traveled a lot and wasn't career-oriented).
* I've been considering traveling for a while or living in another country for a few months to get a feeling of what that's like. I have a ton of airline miles from past work travel; if I go to developing countries, I could live inexpensively. I'm also looking into potential jobs I could do over the internet and/or by phone, which would let me make industrial-world wages while living with developing country expenses. I've been reluctant to look into this more; but now is the time to start.

[Jay Ey]

Wow, Shelagh. I had never hear of the Camino walk, but you are the second person to introduce it to me within 24 hours?!? I hadn't looked into yet; but now you've made it easy for me. !Gracias!

And thanks so much for your good wishes. It's been a rough time for me lately, and you really make a difference.

[shelagh]

Happy New Year John!
I predict love and fulfillment for you in 2009! Really:)

Have you ever heard of or thought about the Camino walk across Northern Spain? Speaking of travel and experiences and meeting people it just occurred to me it might be something you would enjoy. The full thing takes about 32 days. People from all over the wold do it. Some for religious reasons, some for the adventure, some to meet people from around the world and some to escape from their lives for a bit and recharge. It has been a dream of mine for years. Maybe in 2009 I might get around to doing it. I just have to decide and then plan for it and DO IT. Here is a link for some more info. http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/Articles.html
This is day 5 pictures from a very comprehensive site.http://www.santiago-compostela.net/frances/en_cf05.html even Flickr has great photos from folk who have done it, http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=%22camino+de+santiago%22+frances&ss=2&s=int
Ok I'll stop now, just on a roll there:)

2009 will be a banner year for you, I can feel it. Continue on the path and you will arrive where you want to be:)
Cheers, Shelagh xo

[Hope]

Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed reading your blog.