Mountain living, solo style, has it's benefits and problems. I'll do a pros and cons type of approach and settle the issue by weighing the columns. My guess is... nevermind. I don't have a guess
First off on the Pro side, as my loving youngest brother mentioned in his reply to my last column, living by yourself, the entire house is your 'naked room'. For me that carries a lot of weight, as do I. I see no wholesome or organic benefit from walking around naked, nor do I do it to impress anybody, myself included. Sometimes I just don't feel like putting clothes on. Sometimes I am unsure what clothes I want to wear. I have cleaned the house naked, folded laundry naked, and even I tried working out naked, but there were some safety issues, so I donned shorts. In the fall and winter months the temperature drops down to the low 50's and even into the 40's inside the house when I return from work. My centrally located gas fireplace takes a while to heat the great room back up to a comfortable level, around 59. That just means that if you drop by on a weekday evening you most likely won't see me naked, although I may still be folding laundry, or vacuuming, or working out.
On the Con side, I don't have many neighbors dropping by to chat or borrow a cup of sugar, or share a beer. This may be added to the Pro side of, walking around naked, but for now I'll keep it Con. Most all mountain folk keep to themselves, unless they have a problem with you burning scrap wood or pine needles on a "No Burn" day, or they think you parked you shed (or motor home) too close to their property line. They then walk, run, drive or email down to the homeowners association and lodge a complaint. You will be hearing about it for months. But seriously, most full time folks up here are reminiscent of the old west. They keep to themselves, fight their own battles and provide their own provisions. That's not to say they won't help out if a neighbor is in need. If you come limping in to catch up to the group you've been mt. bike riding with and you have half a manzanita branch hanging out of your armpit, they will graciously drive you :45 minutes to the next county to get stitched up. They will not remind you of how they helped, and hung out for two hours while all the nurses and doctors on staff that evening came to ooh and ahh about the size if it (The puncture wound that is), but they will brag on how you were trying to keep up with the younger, "big dogs" and managed to impale yourself on a manzanita stump. "Oooh, that was awesome". Or if you mention to a neighbor on your evening walk, you have young nephews coming up for the weekend and you want to make a fort, they will gladly drop what they are doing and bring all their scrap wood over for you to use, (and burn for them when you burn needles the next time).
On the Pro side again, I have plenty of time to catch up on all the reading, craft projects, knitting, and writing projects I have been planning on and haven't done for the past 3-5 years. My fingers are blistered from looming, but I have 3 nice new matching hats and a fine pair of leg warmers. I have puncture wounds on the ends of my fingers but I have finally mastered sewing ornament size moccasins, and dream catchers. My basement smells like a dump, but I have plenty of fur, paws and feathers from roadkill carcass' for my next leather and beading project. I have loaded my shelves to overflowing with new, good, old and bad books waiting to be returned to the thrift shop. I am so loaded with useless facts and trivia I scare myself.
On the Con side I find myself talking and arguing with myself because, because, because, There is no one else here. "That meal was great, I should have those leftovers again tonight. When did I make that soup? I think it was last week or the week before. It's in Tupperware, it should still be good, power was only out for 2 days last week. OOOH I'm sick, I wonder if I have the flu or maybe it was the soup." "What should I wear today? I don't think it's that cold outside. The weather station has a shadow, so it must be warm. I won't wear anything for a while and see how I feel later."
Another issue that is both Pro and Con is there is no one here to tell you what to do. There is no one to tell you it's past 9:00 on your day off and you need to get up and get the needles raked, or the driveway shoveled. But then there is no one here to force you to go out the door and shovel the driveway because you have to go to work tomorrow and you don't want to have to do it at 4:00 in the morning. There is no one here to make you go out and buy a case of Coors Light and a pack of tampons, but then there is no one here to tell you "let's go down to the well tonight and drink till we get our fill". Do tampons come in packs or bunches or boxes?
I guess my Pro and Con list weighs out pretty evenly. I do miss having someone here to talk about my day with, but then I have IM and Facebook to catch up with my friends on. I wonder why they don't answer me every five minute when I text them or change my status, like they used to? I don't like my wife sitting glued to the TV every evening, but I do miss having her here to try to impress and dress for. I sure miss the social life and friends I had at the local gym, but there is no beating the beautiful, serene, calming and wild wilderness just outside my window and all around me when I work out up here, naked and alone.
Time to go reheat that mac n' cheese, and put on some clothes, it's starting to get cold in here.
davee
Monday, December 5, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
New job, week one
First I would like to thank everyone that was there, for the fine CS send off Friday evening and the Saturday morning tailgate party after boot camp class. I will miss the group of friends and the social life I had the gym. I am sure I will find something like that up here eventually, but I already look forward to seeing all my friends down there in few weeks when I come visit.
My first week here has been fairly busy. I am still getting used to rising at 4:30 each morning as I need a full hour to make myself beautiful before heading out the door. Well at least I need 8 or 10 minutes to get dressed warmly and make myself presentable, the rest of the time I need to wake up, eat breakfast, make some lunch and drop the kids off at the pool. I cross my fingers when I start my fine new truck, and hope I remember to use the clutch when I drive off down the drive way. The morning commute takes me about :45 minutes as my fine new truck can't accelerate over 45 miles an hour up these winding, mountain roads. Those six little squirrels are running their 24 year old little legs off in there. (Yes my Fine New truck is an 87 Ford Ranger, that guzzles oil through its 6 tiny little cylinders.) But the price was right, thank you Dave H, and so far it has been extremely capable.
The long commute time allows me to spend the time viewing the so far spectacular sun rises coming up over the rest of the sierra mountains. It starts as a slim line of sunlight peaking over the far hills and slipping under the low hanging clouds. The sun appears to raise up the darkness as it shows the commuting world the beauty it has protected during the night. Peaking through the trees are the far snow covered hills of Mammoth and Yosemite and the valley of the Stanislaus. I look forward to summer when I can do this ride by bike and travel slower to enjoy it longer. The drive home each evening is headed directly into the multi colored sunset. The evening sky is painted a kaleidoscope of colors. After every turn of the road, the colors appear to shift and slide past each other, changing the hues and tones of the cloudscape to forecast the next days' weather.
Starting on Monday I will become part of the global warming solution and begin carpooling with my fellow Lodge Maintenance workers. The 35 mile commute time will be cut down by ten minutes or more, and I will ride in relative comfort in the F350 diesel (company owned) pickup truck. I will therefor only need the FN truck to get to the pick up location just a little ways up the road, and for the frequent ski days up the hill once the snow starts falling with more frequency. (Bet you don't see frequent used twice in the same sentence this frequently)
So far my work experience here has been repairing weather damages. Cracked sheetrock ceilings and damaged gutters topping the list. They are planning to house a larger "demo" ski area in the rental area, and I have been framing walls and new office space to accommodate that. Getting to know the behind the scenes space has taken me longer than I thought. There are more hidden switches, hidden closets, access hallways and stairways than I would ever have imagined. I have only been lost twice, but was able to convince the lonely young lady (I mean lovely young lady)working in the ticketing office to unlock the door and let me out both times. During the busy ski season time will be more repairative (and more janitorial) and less constructive.
My time at home, alone, is becoming the most difficult obstacle. Although the farther into the week I get the more tired I become and earlier I head to bed. After staying up until 10:00 on Monday to watch DWTS, I was in bed by 9:00 each evening, sometimes earlier since there was nothing to keep me awake on the boob tube. If you have a minute or two at any time during your own busy life, I would welcome a note or two on how my friends and family are coping. You can skip the countless stories of how many and the quality of the women that find Gary interesting, but other stories of you saving(traveling) the world, and how the kids are doing, and who else saw the amazing sunset would qualify as interesting. Oh but wait, that's what Facebook is for. OK so those you not on facebook, this part was for you.
Well enough about me, The temperature has heated up to 58 inside, and 40 outside, time to get on with the day. I have a busy day ahead making the place presentable for my lovely wife. Yes Nancy is coming up for the week! And Yaki. (I need to see if I can get that window opened). There are oodles of needles and fallen wood that need to be sooted, food to be cooked, glass to be squeegied, floors to be mopped, ( I was on a double letter roll), So I had best get busy.
Nice chatting with you all. Remember, Arnold is only a two hour drive away(if you live in the bay area, and you have more than four cylinders and are not in a Prius in the snow). Call ahead to make sure someone will be here and come up for a visit or a ride or a hike, or a ski...
My first week here has been fairly busy. I am still getting used to rising at 4:30 each morning as I need a full hour to make myself beautiful before heading out the door. Well at least I need 8 or 10 minutes to get dressed warmly and make myself presentable, the rest of the time I need to wake up, eat breakfast, make some lunch and drop the kids off at the pool. I cross my fingers when I start my fine new truck, and hope I remember to use the clutch when I drive off down the drive way. The morning commute takes me about :45 minutes as my fine new truck can't accelerate over 45 miles an hour up these winding, mountain roads. Those six little squirrels are running their 24 year old little legs off in there. (Yes my Fine New truck is an 87 Ford Ranger, that guzzles oil through its 6 tiny little cylinders.) But the price was right, thank you Dave H, and so far it has been extremely capable.
The long commute time allows me to spend the time viewing the so far spectacular sun rises coming up over the rest of the sierra mountains. It starts as a slim line of sunlight peaking over the far hills and slipping under the low hanging clouds. The sun appears to raise up the darkness as it shows the commuting world the beauty it has protected during the night. Peaking through the trees are the far snow covered hills of Mammoth and Yosemite and the valley of the Stanislaus. I look forward to summer when I can do this ride by bike and travel slower to enjoy it longer. The drive home each evening is headed directly into the multi colored sunset. The evening sky is painted a kaleidoscope of colors. After every turn of the road, the colors appear to shift and slide past each other, changing the hues and tones of the cloudscape to forecast the next days' weather.
Starting on Monday I will become part of the global warming solution and begin carpooling with my fellow Lodge Maintenance workers. The 35 mile commute time will be cut down by ten minutes or more, and I will ride in relative comfort in the F350 diesel (company owned) pickup truck. I will therefor only need the FN truck to get to the pick up location just a little ways up the road, and for the frequent ski days up the hill once the snow starts falling with more frequency. (Bet you don't see frequent used twice in the same sentence this frequently)
So far my work experience here has been repairing weather damages. Cracked sheetrock ceilings and damaged gutters topping the list. They are planning to house a larger "demo" ski area in the rental area, and I have been framing walls and new office space to accommodate that. Getting to know the behind the scenes space has taken me longer than I thought. There are more hidden switches, hidden closets, access hallways and stairways than I would ever have imagined. I have only been lost twice, but was able to convince the lonely young lady (I mean lovely young lady)working in the ticketing office to unlock the door and let me out both times. During the busy ski season time will be more repairative (and more janitorial) and less constructive.
My time at home, alone, is becoming the most difficult obstacle. Although the farther into the week I get the more tired I become and earlier I head to bed. After staying up until 10:00 on Monday to watch DWTS, I was in bed by 9:00 each evening, sometimes earlier since there was nothing to keep me awake on the boob tube. If you have a minute or two at any time during your own busy life, I would welcome a note or two on how my friends and family are coping. You can skip the countless stories of how many and the quality of the women that find Gary interesting, but other stories of you saving(traveling) the world, and how the kids are doing, and who else saw the amazing sunset would qualify as interesting. Oh but wait, that's what Facebook is for. OK so those you not on facebook, this part was for you.
Well enough about me, The temperature has heated up to 58 inside, and 40 outside, time to get on with the day. I have a busy day ahead making the place presentable for my lovely wife. Yes Nancy is coming up for the week! And Yaki. (I need to see if I can get that window opened). There are oodles of needles and fallen wood that need to be sooted, food to be cooked, glass to be squeegied, floors to be mopped, ( I was on a double letter roll), So I had best get busy.
Nice chatting with you all. Remember, Arnold is only a two hour drive away(if you live in the bay area, and you have more than four cylinders and are not in a Prius in the snow). Call ahead to make sure someone will be here and come up for a visit or a ride or a hike, or a ski...
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