Today we’re at “home” at my boyfriend’s brother’s condo in Redmond Washington, which is a suburb across the lake from Seattle. The city was basically created by Microsoft, and it’s a clean and lively paradise full of trees and bike trails. The cost of living is high here, but the quality of living is also through the roof.
Since this is part of the My2017 competition, I filmed a LOT more of the mundane details than I normally do, from brushing teeth to editing. I actually filmed over 40 minutes throughout the day, but winnowed it down to meet the contest requirements.
Since I'm more a reader than watcher I also want to give a bigger-picture look at the different major components of my life in 2017:
My workouts are designed so that I can do them anywhere for free. This year, I’ve done them in hotel rooms and in the woods. Each morning I do a 20-30 minute bodyweight workout and 20-30 minutes of stretching/yoga. They’re all equipment-free, though I sometimes use shoes to cushion my knees on a hard floor.
I mostly use bodyweight workouts from Darebee. They are PDF images describing what circuit to do each day, usually with a fun theme. Today’s workout was Day 46 of the "post-apocalyptic fitness quest" called Age of Pandora. As you go through the story, you make choices that usually end up with you “fighting” something with squats and air punches.
To get started with yoga, I followed along with videos from Yoga with Adriene and Fightmaster Yoga on Youtube. Now, I flow through my own routines that target the areas I want to work on.
Each night before bed, I work on hip mobility with a number of techniques from GotROM (glute activation, self-massage with a lacrosse ball, static and dynamic stretches, and banded hip distraction - I can go into way more detail in future posts if anyone has an interest in this). I have hip impingement, which means that I can’t pull my knees toward my chest past 90 degrees. This means that not only do I suck at martial arts and yoga and pole dancing and always looks a little awkward, but I also have chronic knee and hip-joint pain. In this video, I’m using a giant rubber band to try to reposition the hip in its socket. I’ve been trying to repair my hips for years with very little progress, but I’m not giving up yet!
The other side of fitness is a lot less structured and include everything from kayaking to pick-up sports with friends. But mostly, there’s walking. I prefer to walk instead of taking motorized vehicles whenever possible - maybe one day I’ll take the leap to biking which is the most efficient form of transportation, but for now I like the view of the world scrolling by at a plodding 2-3 miles per hour.
This winter has already had more sunny days than any other I’ve seen while living in the Pacific Northwest. Today was the perfect example. At this time of year, the sun rises around 8am and sets around 4pm, so you have to make an effort to get outside while you can. When I had an office job, I often wouldn’t see it at all during the winters but now I can go outside whenever I want, and even take strangers’ dogs for walks to earn a little extra cash.
Unfortunately, today was a horrible example of that. I only ate half a bowl of tempeh rice and a bitter-tasting biscuit over 24 hours. (Don’t worry, I don’t have an eating disorder.)
I mostly eat simple, vegetarian, home-cooked meals. Nash and I take turns preparing them. Our staples are grains and legumes, including rice, chickpeas, flatbreads, and tofu (the paleo people must be screaming right now.) I also eat eggs (now the vegans are screaming too). In America, restaurants are quite expensive so we only eat out around once a week, but in lower-priced countries we dine out frequently, sharing a single dish.
Nevertheless, I'm trying to keep my skills up to date. I want to make money off of it again someday, but more importantly I want to understand and contribute to the technology that’s such a huge part of my life.
I am currently working on a startup with my boyfriend and a former coworker. We don’t have a solid direction for it yet, but right now we’ve got a few apps underway. (Sorry, no more details than that until we have something shareable.) I only put in 6-8 hours a day on it. I feel awfully guilty about it, like I’m letting my partners down.
I either work from “home” (wherever that is at the moment), usually from a kitchen table or couch. Or, to mix things up, I’ll head to the library (like today, my preference) or a cafe (my boyfriend’s preference - he like coffee).
But, yes, the year of 2017 has been the year of trying to figure out a way to explain why I don’t have a traditional job. Sometimes it gets to me, and I feel like I’m letting my parents down and ruining my future. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with working 9-5 for someone else, I just don’t want to do that right now. It’s thanks to one of those very desk jobs that I have the freedom to choose where/how/why I want to live. I also have to give a huge amount of credit to my family and Nash’s family for holding out a safety net if it all falls to pieces.
Even though I can feel in my bones that other people are what make life worth living, I keep most people at a distance. I don't know how to bring them in close and keep them close.
When traveling, I spend most of my time interacting with the locals that I stay with. I don’t go out of my way to meet other travelers. The constant goodbyes are hard, and I’m not good at staying in touch on social media.
In Redmond, I only meet up with friends and a couple times a week. Most days involve snuggling with and comforting Nash. We watch shows and play video games with Ralph and have frequent video chats with our families.
Today was actually more nerve-wracking than most, since Ralph was in Montana having surgery. It was a routine procedure, but I still had my heart in my throat. It was such a relief hearing his voice over the phone.
I’ve been trying to open up more in return. But I’m just as unreliable on Steemit as I am with my outer circle of friends. I drop out of existence and try to sheepishly insert myself back in. The demands of my real-life relationships often win out over typing away on my phone or computer. I thank you all for your patience as I try to figure out the right balance.
Number one, of course, is reading. I’ll read anything, especially if it’s available from my local library (I even get ebooks from them while on the other side of the world). I can’t fall asleep at night without reading at least a couple pages first, though sometimes it keeps me up late into the night.
It’s not just published books, it’s also articles on the internet (thank you Steemit!). Tell me animal facts, write about your day, muse about the economy - I’ll struggle to hold conversations about these topics in person, but I can read about them all day. Reading is the closest thing I can get to plugging myself directly into someone else’s brain.
I also love documenting and revisiting my memories, which is why I make these daily video journals with their accompanying scribbled entries. I enjoy photography and occasional fiction writing, but I don’t think I’m a very artistic person. For instance, I played piano for many years, but I only read sheet music instead of improvising. Maybe one day I'll get better at self-expression.
Most of the fun I have is in silly, spontaneous things. Jumping up and dancing. Going treasure hunting for geocaches. Singing in strange noises. Marveling at a leaf or the sky or a puddle. Putting tiny Santa hats on statues. :p I like new and shiny experiences. Maybe I’ll grow out of this someday. I hope not.
This is my "normal". I know it's not the most exciting thing to watch. Especially the coding. That's why those "hacker" montages in movies go way over the top, because in reality it's more boring than watching paint dry.
But I like my life. I think it's made up of a lot of little moments worth remembering - even tooth-brushing and bed-making. For the time being, I'll keep sharing my days and connecting with y'all about your lives. Onward to Day 83.
I want to give a huge thanks to 
- Katie, 
