Wednesday, September 30, 2015

An Exercise in Resolve, Month 9

Started off the month well with a new route that includes walking up to the mailbox, down to the end of the cul de sac, and then past the house far enough to bring myself up to an even 2 miles even by the time I am done. In general I carry a light load consisting of my shoulder bag, containing a camera and other gear and weighing about 6.5 pounds, and a 1.6-pound walking stick (although I usually don't carry the stick up the mailbox so that my hands will be free for anything I pick up there). Managed to make relevant Twitter posts some days and have included those here, minus any hashtags they might have contained. 

September 1 (Tuesday): "Two-mile twilight walk w. a light load; another breezy evening here in Texas Hill Country. Saw a herd of c. 20 deer on the lot behind mine."
September 2 (Wednesday): "Late afternoon 2-mile walk between teleconferences; running on a little more than 3 hours sleep and kept a sluggish pace."
September 3 (Thursday): No walk; got lazy and disorganized and ran out of time while trying to get ready for my weekly show. 
September 4 (Friday): Walked 0.6 to 2 miles with a light load (know I walked but did not log and do not remember how far). 
September 5 (Saturday): Walked between 0.6 and 2 miles with a light load
September 6 (Sunday): Walked between 0.6 and 2 miles with a light load
September 7 (Monday): Walked between 0.6 and 2 miles with a light load. 
September 8 (Tuesday): Walked between 0.6 and 2 miles with a light load
September 9 (Wednesday):  Walked between 0.6 and 2 miles with a light load
September 10 (Thursday): Walked between 0.6 and 2 miles with a light load
September 11 (Friday): Walked 0.3 miles up to the mailbox; started raining halfway there and was a torrent by the time I got there. Diane drove up and rescued me before I had to walk back in it. 
September 12 (Saturday): Got in a 2-mile mid-afternoon walk. Bright and cloudless but probably only in the mid-80s. 
September 13 (Sunday): Mowed lawn for about 30 minutes instead of taking a walk. 
September 14 (Monday): "Two-mile sunset walk with a light load ... Relatively cool here in Texas Hill Country and was able to keep a decent pace!" 
September 15 (Tuesday): Walked 1.2 miles with a light load (on top of a visit to Costco, which always involves a bit of walking in itself). 
September 16 (Wednesday): "Walked two miles with a light load in between late afternoon rain showers! Cloudy but bright and about 90° here in Texas Hill Country." 
September 17 (Thursday): Walked 0.6 miles with a light load and then spent about 20 minutes mowing the lawn. 
September 18 (Friday): Late afternoon two-mile walk with a light load; in the 90s here in Texas Hill Country but briefly had a cool breeze and some cloud cover.
September 19 (Saturday): Walked between 0.6 and 2 miles with a light load
September 20 (Sunday): No walk; was feeling lazy and unorganized and just failed to get one in. 
September 21 (Monday): Walked between 0.6 and 2 miles with a light load
September 22 (Tuesday):  No walk; was out doing errands during the day. 
September 23 (Wednesday): Was on the road early in the day, and managed to get a little walking in as a result, and then got in a late afternoon 1.2-mile walk when I got back. 
September 24 (Thursday): Felt kind of off most of the day but stuck it out and got in a two-mile walk -- figured it would not be an auspicious start for the next year of my life to blow it off on my birthday! 
September 25 (Friday): Walked just 0.6 miles up to the mailbox; torrential rain hit when I was going to walk and by the time it was done I could not go further before nightfall and did not fell like walking in the dark. 
September 26 (Saturday): Walked two miles with a light load. Was warm and I had eaten sort of a sub-standard lunch and so I was pretty played out by the time I got back and glad to eat dinner right away.  
September 27 (Sunday): No walk! And no good excuse; was just working through on things and did not make good enough use of my time. 
September 28 (Monday): Walked 0.6 miles with a light load.  
September 29 (Tuesday): "Managed to get in 2.5 miles w. a light load ahead of hitting a 100-degree heat index here in Texas Hill Country! Longest walk this month." 
September 30 (Wednesday): Walked two miles with a light load (with a break in between going to the mailbox and finishing the rest of it). Pretty hot for September but glad to have finished the month on a strong note! 

Sunday, September 27, 2015

TravelBlogue: 'Two Days in Athens'

While working on an article for d-Infinity Online magazine ("Monsters Among Us"), I tracked down the pictures I had taken during the trip my wife Diane and I took to the Mediterranean in 2006. Our first stop ahead of boarding a cruise ship for 12 nights was Athens, where we spent a couple of days, September 26-27, exploring the historic heart of the city. Check out our "Two Days in Athens" on my TravelBlogue