Happy 5th Re-Birthday to Me!

Happy 5th Re-Birthday to Me!

Gee willikers! Has it been five years already? As Gretchen Rubin said, "The days are long, but the years are short." 

The Marriage of Cycle Touring & REI

What do you get when you marry a girl's passion for cycle touring with her love for everything REI?

Me -- a girl who loves cycle touring and REI.
(Photo: REI)

Need a hint? Do you recognize the girl on the right in the screenshot below?

Backpacking, Hunkering Down, & Bookreading

I've always wanted to backpack somewhere beautiful to hunker down and read a book.

Backpacking to somewhere beautiful and hunkering down...

...to read a book.

That's what I've wanted to do, and so that's what I did.

A Fun Job: Not An Oxymoron

I have been enjoying semi-retirement for 14 months now. What exactly, you ask, is "semi-retirement"?

The "retirement" part means that I left my job, and I no longer need to work. (I am using the word "work" to refer to a paid job.)

The "semi" part means that while I don't need to work, I may decide to work. If I do work, it will be by choice and not out of necessity. It will be on my own terms.

My days of having to work are over. This means no more unrelenting stress. No more endless adrenaline rushes. No more days of back-to-back meetings when I can't get any real work done. No more days of a backlog of emails in my inbox, every one needing a response yesterday.

Quoth the raven: "Nevermore."

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.