What I've Been Up To

I've had a handful of inquiries in the last few months asking what I've been up to. In my last post, I wrote about guarding my intentions. And so it may come as no surprise that I've been somewhat aloof in responding to the inquiries.

Here's what I've been up to (read as "here's what I'm willing to share at this point in time"):

• I've been housesitting.
• I've been working on a teaching gig.
• I've been volunteering.
• I've been working a fun job.
• I've been vetting some opportunities that I've decided not to pursue.
• I've been absorbing inspiration.
• I've been scheming up my next bicycle adventure.

In the forthcoming posts, I'll share more about each of the above.

Guarding My Intentions

I guard my intentions. My ideas. My plans. I shield them from everything that has the potential to harm them.

You may have already made this observation about me. You may have noticed that when you ask what I've been up to, I am vague or dismissive.

I've lost one so-called friend because of my guarded intentions. This "friend" viewed my vagueness and dismissiveness as a lack of trust. It's not a matter of trust for me. It's a matter of appreciating that undeveloped ideas and plans are terribly beloved and frail.

I keep my intentions to myself until I have a high degree of confidence that they are robust enough to flourish on their own.

Legacies of Bicycling Divas

Once upon a time there was a woman named Annie Londonderry. Her real name was Annie Kopchovsky, but that's not important.

Annie Londonderry was a bitchin' bicycling diva. This is Annie, alongside her trusty steed:

Annie Londonderry, a bicycling diva.

Our bicycling diva, Annie, set out to prove that a woman could ride around the world on a bicycle. (Thomas Stevens was the first man to cycle around the world. He spent two years accomplishing the deed on a penny farthing, completing his journey in 1886.)

The year was 1894. Annie left her husband and three children to girdle the world around.

Alastair's Lessons

Alastair Humphreys rocks my world.

For one, he has a gnarly name.

For two, he is an adventurer from England who spent four years cycling around the world. (Oh, and he also ran 150 miles across the Sahara desert, walked and pack-rafted across Iceland, and rowed across the Atlantic Ocean.) <Insert salivation here.>

But cycling around the world is Alastair's baby, as it was his first adventure. Alastair wrote a book about his journey, called "Ten Lessons from the Road."

Alastair learned a helluva lot of lessons during his four-year journey. So why does he only include ten lessons in his book? Because life is short. Because each day we inch closer and closer to our deathbeds. Because we can't spend too much time theorizing. We just gotta do it and get on with our dreams!

Out of Office

You may have noticed the "Out of Office Notice" I posted on Facebook last week:

I had posted many Out of Offices for my career life. Admittedly, last week was the first time I ever posted an Out of Office for my personal life.