After leaving the Amazon (see my Peru Part 1 post here), I took a quick flight from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco. In this post, I’ll recap my week in the Cusco region, including the 4-day Inca Trail trek.
Life Update: New Job Title and Depression Status
Wow! It’s been a hectic semester for me. I have a ton of things I want to write about and have fallen behind on my blog. Oh well – life happens. The good news is that the things that have made the semester hectic are generally good things. I’m feeling really lucky with how wonderful my life is right now. I’m a bit overloaded with work (in exchange for a light spring semester), but other than that, there is absolutely nothing I can complain about. So with that, on to my life update.
My Week in My Discomfort Zone
Back in May, the week after I finished the spring semester of teaching, I saw my chance to do something fun and ran with it. The result: I spent a week doing activities in my discomfort zone.
My First Half-Marathon
Last June, under a bit of peer pressure and during a momentary lapse in sanity, I signed up for my first half-marathon, the Sedona Half-Marathon. Sedona is stunning, but it’s also at 4,500 ft elevation and very hilly – not exactly a bright choice of location for my first try. Last weekend, nearly 8 months later, it’s finally over. I made it!
Relearning how to fall asleep
I’m really bad at falling asleep. This has been the case ever since I could read. When I was 6 or 7 I’d go under my covers with a flashlight and read after my parents tucked me in. I thought my parents couldn’t see it but of course they could. They didn’t mind though since they knew I was reading.
Hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim
About a month ago I got to do something pretty awesome: I hiked the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim. Most people who do a Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike put in months (if not years) of planning and physical preparation. For one thing, the trek is about 24 miles in total, so it’s fairly physically demanding. On top of that, I went in August. This time of year, temperatures at the bottom of the Grand Canyon often exceed 100F (about 38C). So you have to be in pretty good shape.
I thought I didn’t have anything to say, so I wrote 1000 words
You may have noticed that I haven’t been writing much lately. I have plenty of material for What’s in that hole? but haven’t written any of it up or posted it. I’ve also been up to some interesting things this summer, but the only thing I wrote about was my trip to Belize, and that was two months ago. And, maybe most noticeably, I haven’t written anything on a truly personal level since… actually I don’t remember. (Edit: turns out it was this post five months ago.) But enough is enough. I promised to write not just when things are …
My very first Amazon sale
As I’ve mentioned in a couple of previous posts, part of my funemployment has been spent starting a small business. This business centers on adult novelty items (think things people buy for bachelorette parties or fun gag gifts) and the concept was the brainchild of my sister.
A different sort of anniversary: 2 years into beating depression
February 18, 2015 is the day that I checked into the hospital. I was partway through a fellowship in Washington, D.C. and when I went to work that day, the fellowship director (let’s call her AM) could tell something was wrong. It was a Wednesday, but it was the first day of work that week because Monday had been a holiday and Tuesday was a snow day. By that point, I hadn’t slept more than a few hours in 3 or 4 days and was in the midst of a full on breakdown.
Refocusing my priorities
Yesterday I made a decision that might have cost me millions of dollars. I don’t say that lightly; I was offered the opportunity to work with renowned scientists on something that has already received millions in grant funding and is already protected by a patent. Nothing in the business world is ever a sure thing, but this concept certainly has legs, to say the least.
My latest version of a life plan
Okay everyone, here we go. I have a plan. Well, kind of. It’s only for about 4 months and, as you’ll read below, it’s lacking in detail. But I don’t tend to plan that far ahead or in any detail (as you can tell from my impromptu Cozumel trip this week – more on that in a future post – and the fact that I quit my job with no backup option ready), so this is actually pretty good for me.
Life update – it’s been 3 months since I quit my job
It’s been about 3 months since I quit my job. In that time, I’ve essentially pushed a reset button for my life. I’m remembering all the little things that give me joy, accepting and embracing all of my many quirks, and letting go of external pressures and expectations. And I’m enjoying every bit of it.
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2