Aiming at the weekend

“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” - Marcus Aurelius

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I like that quote a lot as I do with many quotes from the great Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. It means we are what we think about most when boiled down I suppose and if that is indeed true then I'm THE WEEKEND.

Thursday is close enough to Friday for me to start thinking about the weekend I think, especially in a week like I've had so far - Don't get me started on it, please. It's 2140 Thursday night and it is bucketing down with rain right now which is nice to hear. I have some music playing, something soft and relaxed, and my thoughts are aimed at the weekend and what I might do with it considering the weather has been very wet and wintery. I've got a few inside ideas but I'm leaning in other directions.

Saturday

I'll be shooting at the range on Saturday. I'll be honest and say I'm not really into it but I feel obligated as there's a chap there, one I used to work with, that has just joined the range and he's asked me to be there to baby sit him. He didn't say baby sit though, that's what I'm calling it. This guy is a bit annoying to be honest so I'm hoping he doesn't think the fact he's at my range makes us mates; that title goes to a rare few in my life and he doesn't qualify.

It's a competition day at the range on Saturday so I'll be shooting IPSC for the better part of it; that's fun of course and despite bugalugs being there bothering me I'm sure it'll be a decent day. I know, I sound a bit grumpy with the fellow right? That's because I am.

I'm going to hook up with a police-officer mate prior to the range, have some breakfast and coffee, and try and convince him to erase some speeding fines I got a year ago. I'm wearing him down I think...Just a matter of time and poof no more speeding fines.

I'm making pizza on Saturday night; it's easy, tasty and if I make enough I'll have some for breakfast and lunch on Sunday. There's a Formula One Grand Prix from Silverstone, UK this weekend also so I'll watch that late Saturday night snuggled up with...Snacks y'all.

Sunday

This is where things get complicated as I've been asked to go somewhere and I don't really want to. It's not that I don't like the person who asked, it's more the location, one of the bar-venues in the city; full of people posing with their designer labels, celebrating their own magnificence and talking about money and all the things they have. Wankers. Right now I'm leaning for a not going decision although I'll reassess on Saturday I guess.

What really want to do is hike on Sunday, in the pine forest. It'll be moist up there due to the recent rains, cold too, but I'm ok with that, I'll be hiking so will warm up.

I want to do a long hike with all the trimmings. You know, backpack, trail mix, some lunch, [probably left over pizza] and a few litres of water. My plan would be to do some map-navigation practice by staying off the trails and tracks and going cross country. It basically means using map and compass to navigate from my truck, cross-country, to certain places like fire towers, a dam, quarry or some permanent landmark that appears on my topographic map.

I could probably do without the practice but I like to keep my skills sharp. And don't worry, you won't lose me folks, I'll have my Garmin GPS unit with me as a back up and my truck way-pointed so if I get lost I'll be able to get back to the vehicle. I'll still have all the relevant safety equipment of course. I'm a prepared man.

I'm really keen for the navigation-hike-day and less keen for the socialising-with-wankers day so that's probably what's going to happen. It will depend heavily on the weather though as that pine forest is very steep terrain and reasonably remote also so I won't take too many risks. I guess I'll get some pressure to go to the other thing too, but dealing with pressurised situations is a skill-set I possess. I'm not one to capitulate easy.

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So that's pretty much it hivers...Just some thoughts on what my weekend might encompass. Sunday night will be relaxed as I'll be watching the F1 race and polishing off any left over pizza...Or making more. It probably doesn't sound like a totally exciting weekend to most, but for a simple bloke like me sounds pretty good.

I know it's only Thursday,indeed the start of Thursday for most of you, but don't hold back...You're allowed to think about the weekend so tell me what you're up to.