[at-l] Taking care of business..
KGJ
jplynch at crosslink.net
Sat Jan 31 20:15:30 CST 2009
Sounds like its getting together! Nice list of doing stuff and accomplishments. Great! Nice writing too, easy to read. YOU should write for the Journal. You and Felix-man can tag team it! woohoo
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"We will restore science to its rightful place"
U.S. President Barack Obama; 1/20/2009
----- Original Message -----
From: Tenacious Tanasi
To: AT-L
Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 3:51 PM
Subject: [at-l] Taking care of business..
Sing with me now....
They get up every morning from their long clock's warning
Take the eight fifteen into the city
There's a whistle up above and people push and people shoving
and the girl's who try to look pretty..................
Well I've started my journey in getting ready for my thruhike. I have so many things to do, and I really didn't know where to start. So, I made a list. Here's some of my to do things.
1. Stop smoking: Today is day 5 on Chantix and no smokes. It is working amazingly well. I have 0 cravings, and have even gone out on break at the smoke pit just to test it. It wasn't a problem at all! :) And, while I will miss the camaraderie out at the pit, I've taken on a couple of walking buddies who walk the interior perimeter of the plant with me on breaks.
2. Start counseling: This is going rather well. I was a bit nervous with this as I thought maybe after everyone saying that I was crazy for so long that maybe I really was.
It turns out that my counselor thinks that I am a very intelligent, grounded, logical, and very sane person who has gone through some very traumatic situations...especially of late. She told me that I was one of the strongest women she's ever counseled to and feels confident that I may not need counseling for that long at all. It was refreshing to hear her tell me that she sees no signs whatsoever of me being bi-polar.
I so badly wanted to write my ex-mother and tell her this as she had sat on the stand in December and stated that I was bi-polar, crazy, needed help, and that my children were better off living with my exhusband and his wife. However, I think that it is justice for myself to know this and to let that woman live with what she stated. I feel that in the end she will meet her ultimate judge and jury for her actions in this life.
When I went to my first appointment, I took with me a list of things that I have gone through, was dealing with, goals for myself for counseling, and goals in my life. I also took with me some of the writing that I have been doing for some homework for her. lol It really blew her away. We have had very productive and interesting conversations, and I am looking forward to my future appointments.
3. Get a complete health screening: I wanted to set benchmarks for myself to see how I progress over the next year as well as to resolve any health issues before hitting the trail and while I still have health insurance. Thus far everything is coming back with good news. Blood pressure, iron, cholestoral, thyroid.... gah... I can't even remember everything they tested me for... but so far there are no issues whatsoever. Yes, my weight bothers me, but I am losing it hand over fist. Just since the first of December I am down 23 lbs. Stress will do that to ya.
4. I'm forcing myself to eat now and am going about losing weight in a healthier fashion. I make sure that I eat at least something for breakfast. I keep a mix of Gorp on my desk to snack on throughout the day. I'm taking salads and such for lunch, and I am keeping portions under control for dinners. I have cut out almost all soft drinks but do enjoy one every now and again. I also carry water with me whereever I go.
5. Start working out: As I stated earlier I am now walking during my two breaks at work daily. After I finish getting things in life settled a bit better, I will be walking around town every evening after dinner. I have a workout partner who is the 25 year old police officer/fire fighter that runs the DARE program for the local elementary school my girls attend. He has a friend that owns a gym in the next town over, so we go over after hours and work out with weights. He's really kewl and never lets me give up. He constantly pushes me and gets that one more lift out of me that I had no idea was there.
6. Network and build a support system for myself.
Personally: In the month of December, I lost my girls full-time, shut the door on my exfamily and thier continued abuses, and my "soul mate" sent a cold text telling me that he couldn't go on like this any longer as a way to break up with me. For too long I have depended upon the wrong people for support and neglected the ones that really have tried to be there for me. As a result, I have reconnected with some friends and reaffirmed long-standing friendships. The majority of these people do not live close to me, but I am keeping in touch via email and phone calls. Their support is overwhelming and helps me more than they will ever know.
Hiking: I'm getting in touch with all kinds of hikers and have many people interested in getting some hikes together. I have some things that need to be tended to over the next month but then will be laying out plans for hikes for the next year. I am so excited about this. :)
Companionship: I had joined match.com for companionship and was actually going to end my membership at the end of this month. However, I have ended up having a really great time with it. I've been on several dates now and have many offers out there waiting in line. I have been up front in letting them know it is for companionship only and am not interested in anything serious. It has been a relief to find that there are men out there that can go out with a woman for a good time and not expect sex. That's just too messy right now for me. I also do not want to get attached to anyone here because I do not know where I will end up after my hike. I do not want to live in this area ever again. It has been a great way to get out of the house on the Friday nights when I do not have the girls. So, Friday nights has become my date nights.
7. Out with the old and in with the new... gear: I'm assessing what I have and what I want to change out in regards to gear. My tent will change definitely when I have more funds. I like my Sawtooth sleeping bag. Silk liner... yeah gotta get one... maybe a lightweight overbag to help protect my bag. Keeping my Nasty's as footwear. Getting a JetBoil & going to freezer bag cooking. Thinking of using a gravity water filtration system. Keeping my Katahdin pack with a couple of slight modifications. Clothing will definitely change as I continue to lose weight. I absolutely have to get a new camera. Still need to figure out journalling as to whether I can figure out a way to do it myself from the trail...such as with an Asus eee pc s101. Or... I dunno. etc, etc, etc.
8. Finances: Gah, this is the most difficult one. Things are tough everywhere, and I really fear for my job. They have cut back hours at work for everyone. I no longer receive child support but will now have to pay it...and am still waiting for that hammer blow to land. I'm trying to dispose of as many expenses as possible, but it is proving extremely difficult with income cut. I have tried to work out a sale on the old house with the mortgage company with many, many interested buyers, but it looks to hit the foreclosure sale next month. Oh well. I'm trying to see about selling my van which would save $500 monthly between high interest payments and insurance...anyone interested? lol I'm looking for a fairly cheap car or truck that I can pay cash for and only have to keep minimal insurance on.
9. Tuckerizing belongings: I've already started this and daily throw things out. I am looking at what has enough value to justify paying storage for it for a few months. I still have a long way to go, but I seriously want to get it down to bare essentials. I'll be moving all of my stuff out of here to a base somewhere close to one of my friends so that they can check on my stuff every now and again while I hike. When I leave here I am not coming back to live. When I get off the trail it will be to an unknown future and place to live...and all of my stuff in storage.
10. Be happy. I find that I really am happy now.
11. Stop depending on others: You know the toughest part of everything was being dumped at such a critical time in my life (and then finding out that he had moved on some time ago to someone else...even moving them in) by someone I honestly did expect to grow old with. I truly loved that man with all of my heart...with everything that was in me. But, I have to thank him for that. By being so cruel and heartless to me, he gave me that swift hard kick in the ass to quit depending on him and go on my own. So, I have to thank him for killing me and reviving me. And, I honestly do mean that without any spite or vitriol. I honestly do thank him. I have opportunities that have opened up in my life without me being tied to him. These are positive things...and my life is turning into quite a positive journey.
Tenacious Tanasi
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