Busy Week

It's a whirlwind

So this is the start of students coming back and the beginning of the month, which is a wild time for a college accountant. I also have to get my daughter enrolled in high school, and both she and my adult son have loads of appointments over the next week. Getting my reports and early month entries done while juggling a flood of transactions, along with the students I help with their activities, will be challenging. I'll also have my election board duty of reviewing the voting machines for an audit before the runoff. The election board is expecting me to deliver quite a few more people for poll work as well.

My son and I will then have to head out to Lawton for haircuts. I'll also have to run back to OKC after taking my daughter to her appointments there, for some work with the Episcopal church I am a member of. We will be wrapping up a series of cohort sessions on communications and social or web presence. I am glad the meetings will be over, but we still need to apply what we learned for the church. That will be an adventure for sure, and I am trying to stay positive about it.

Goals Despite The Madness

One of my big goals is thinking about livestreaming election night. I would like to start doing this as a way to engage with local area Democrats. I need to figure out how to fill the airtime and what to talk about. I am still on the fence about it because I normally like just eating and watching "I'm Really Important". I'll think on it some more tonight.

My "Cuz" and I had a talk, and we might open up a shop for vintage tech, games, and other retro finds. He has some free time and would like to work. This week I will present him with some figures and explain how the business will work from my viewpoint, then he can riff on it so we can see if our expectations align. There are some spaces with very low rent in a few unique areas. It would be great to sell interesting nerdy, geeky, or just intriguing items. Getting to talk about repairing and restoring old tech and consoles would also be a lot of fun.

Regarding rural revival and political engagement, I am coming to the view that even our Lord and Savior could not impress his hometown. Something that drives me is a love for small town America, but the politics are such an odd duck. I have a few years left before I move. Something inside me wants to gain experience working in areas like where I currently live. When we move, it might not be so rural, so I would like to spend my remaining time involved here. That could mean faith, advocacy, or gathering with a political group that works for me.

There are a few books I need to finish, along with some courses I need to complete.

I need to focus on learning and getting better at running and DMing TTRPGs, especially D&D 5th edition. The local gaming store admits they need to nail down the experience as well. I really think my energy might be best spent with new players, and then maybe I can join in and play some sessions in the new groups that form.

There is one more thing. I got a Google Fitbit Air with my FSA account. It is week two of keeping up with everything. It is maybe week three for the cycling I was doing before. So far I am sticking with it. I am trying to get my daily steps in, hitting the exercise bike, and taking my road bike out on the weekends to ride on the rural highways.

The last thing is to review a few of my online personas and separate social projects. I would like to get them going on a healthy schedule. It is my habit to push everything back until a deadline, which I really loathe.

Rural Highway Pedal Power

I started on Saturday by hitting the rural highway near me, pedaling the best I can. With the heart monitor on and now the Fitbit, I am able to monitor my heart rate in BPM. That is how I am trying to see where my energy levels are without overtaxing myself, and I am starting to gauge my limits. It would be great if I could just pedal to town, but I am having some issues. On that first Saturday down the road, my heart rate just maxed out, and even stopping and cooling off barely helped. That first Saturday had me chugging all my water, and getting back was a real challenge. The second Saturday, which was this past weekend, went a lot better but I ended up overdoing it. I added a new water bottle slot and brought soda and water. I made it down the road 15 or 16 miles without taxing myself too much. Then I decided to turn back and work on going home since I thought the ride was not very strenuous. I drank my water and soda quickly, and then around mile 19 or 20 my heart rate started hitting the max. I would pull over, cool down, and rest a bit, yet when I got back on the bike I would instantly be back in the high heart rate range. After I ran out of beverages, my time on the road was over and I had to call for a ride.

I am really hoping to see some improvement soon. I would love to commute to work on pedal power, or transfer this effort over to my ebike so I can use it without depleting the battery. That would give me coasting power on the way home, along with the strength to pedal back if needed.

Wrapping It Up

My other hope is to get back to learning and helping the college groups more. There is also the gaming guild I am trying to start up, as well as supporting our friendly local gaming stores. Over the last two weeks, my heart has just not been that into it. Down the road want to work with NixOS. NixOS has been on my list and interest giving it a small go once but wasn't up for it. With Franch chosing it as an option that has me interested in learning it more. Wish me luck on all this.