tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post1177341464333194398..comments2023-12-28T21:22:10.935-07:00Comments on Jill Outside: Shifting focusJill Homerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02983065990450931943noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-68900067082918773312009-03-19T17:07:00.000-06:002009-03-19T17:07:00.000-06:00Just spent last weekend in the Utah desert (Moab)....Just spent last weekend in the Utah desert (Moab). Wish I could have spent much more time there. Nothing clears your head like the redrock desert of southern Utah. We went there all depressed over the loss of our dog, whom we think was nabbed by a mountain lion the weekend prior, but left with a much better perspective on it. We still miss him, and look for him outside our house every day (hard habit to break), but we were able to move past that initial intense hurt. Could just be time, I guess, but I find that time in the desert always helps me get over whatever it is that was eating me when I went in.<BR/><BR/>Enjoy your time there.Fonkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04504462046067745769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-11485118396594164392009-03-18T19:34:00.000-06:002009-03-18T19:34:00.000-06:00Fatty ... I may be just a tad too late for RAWROD....Fatty ... I may be just a tad too late for RAWROD. Geoff has a race in San Fransisco in early May, and that's the first stop. I'm bummed. It would be super fun.<BR/><BR/>Jen ... frigid wilderness or no, frostbite and death by hypothermia is still way less scary than Skull Hole. But I'll consider it. Despite my ongoing irrational fear, I really want to go with you guys down the Grand Canyon and such a leap would require baby steps. Shudder.Jill Homerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02983065990450931943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-27427406659862595172009-03-18T19:11:00.000-06:002009-03-18T19:11:00.000-06:00can't wait to see you this spring!!! now that you...can't wait to see you this spring!!! now that you've braved the frigid alaskan wilderness, any chance you'd give westwater another shot? may 16th - and you don't even have to ride with geoff ;-)<BR/>xxoo jenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-40474736686982331562009-03-18T02:15:00.000-06:002009-03-18T02:15:00.000-06:00Mike in WI said... Jill, You have nice writing st...Mike in WI said...<BR/> <BR/> Jill,<BR/><BR/> You have nice writing style, I have enjoyed the Blog very much - Thanks for that.<BR/><BR/> People always tell me I have an uncanny ability to sense when others are contemplating major life decisions...I sense you are in this process but already know in your heart-Soul what needs to be done, but the mind and inner human kindness are holding the final decision at distance...no need to rush but don't leave Geoff hanging in the balance longer than necessary.<BR/><BR/> People also tell me to mind my own business LOL.<BR/><BR/>Mike In WIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-27804169535678264592009-03-17T22:33:00.000-06:002009-03-17T22:33:00.000-06:00Wow, imagaine a summer in a place where you can ac...Wow, imagaine a summer in a place where you can actually wear short pants? What a concept! Can I come along too?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-3557369575875476772009-03-17T11:50:00.000-06:002009-03-17T11:50:00.000-06:00Jill, thanks for your post. It really is an exampl...Jill, thanks for your post. It really is an example of how even the 'bad' things that happen to use can be an opportunity for better things to come.Ferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773351533346761585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-58120765291293544072009-03-17T11:48:00.000-06:002009-03-17T11:48:00.000-06:00Our greatest resource is our life energy. You are...Our greatest resource is our life energy. You are wise to try not to squander it, Jill, whether spent at work or anywhere else. Work is also a necessity and always there will be this struggle...until, hopefully, we become too old to work every day. Any way you can get it all to work for you is always great. Sounds like you've got a good approach. And not an "all or nothing" situation, which helps a lot. Good luck on your desert sojourn. It sounds wonderful. Although I always wonder for myself, is it the place that helps me progress? Or would the progress (or regression) occur regardless of where I chose to be?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-78206993334243334872009-03-16T20:32:00.000-06:002009-03-16T20:32:00.000-06:00Thanks for sharing. I wonder if part of the reaso...Thanks for sharing. I wonder if part of the reason for the lack of depression is the acquisition of experience-wrought wisdom. You're livin' it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-83912744878672796202009-03-16T20:18:00.000-06:002009-03-16T20:18:00.000-06:00great comment on time versus money...I wonder if m...great comment on time versus money...I wonder if money can buy you more time...time is the ultimate resource because once it's gone, no amount of money will buy it back...enjoy your health, your youth,and get rich by living...it seems like that is a recurring theme I get by reading your posts and that's what keeps me stopping back as I want to keep reminding myself of that message...Joe Danaherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16825712391466467325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-33779649149982759942009-03-16T20:01:00.000-06:002009-03-16T20:01:00.000-06:00Dramatic change (especially unwanted change) has a...Dramatic change (especially unwanted change) has always been good in my life...so now I try to embrace it. <BR/><BR/>Love the photos.Kathleen @ ForgingAheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03898474543669255082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-18010681204755395082009-03-16T19:04:00.000-06:002009-03-16T19:04:00.000-06:00Wonderful post. I grew up in Southern Utah and use...Wonderful post. I grew up in Southern Utah and used to go to Red Cliffs in February and March to get some early spring sun. <BR/><BR/>When my family comes to visit in Juneau they remind me how lush and wet it is here by what they notice: all five senses are involved just as they are on the other end of the spectrum in the desert. Vive the extremes.<BR/><BR/>I look forward to reading about how things go during your furough. I sometimes think that sharing time between Juneau and Rockville would be just right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-21905928101237212122009-03-16T17:12:00.000-06:002009-03-16T17:12:00.000-06:00Damn, you're a good writer. Thanks for sharing.Damn, you're a good writer. Thanks for sharing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-88234983189256873262009-03-16T15:58:00.000-06:002009-03-16T15:58:00.000-06:00so you'll be in the area -- and your foot will be ...so you'll be in the area -- and your foot will be better -- for 2009 RAWROD, right?Fattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07530571463639584785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-42392168498844209182009-03-16T15:44:00.000-06:002009-03-16T15:44:00.000-06:00Trepid ... it's a fine line to draw. I work a rela...Trepid ... it's a fine line to draw. I work a relatively low-paying job and live in a high cost-of-living region, just like everyone else, really. Having extra money to essentially throw around is a result of the choices I've made in my life thus far:<BR/><BR/>- I have no children.<BR/>- I carry no debt and never have. (My parents and a rather gruelling bagel baking job got me through college.)<BR/>- I don't own a house - I'm a renter.<BR/>- I live in a two-bedroom apartment with my partner and one other random roommate. It's crowded.<BR/>- I drive a 13-year-old car that gets great gas mileage. I paid cash for it in 2000.<BR/>- I have no investments beyond a rather sad 401K, so the economic downturn has not hit me as hard as it might have others.<BR/>- I live rather sparsely without too many extra perks. No cable TV, fancy cell phone, nice furniture, etc. I don't have too many whims beyond bikes, outdoor camping gear and sushi, and spend almost nothing on anything else that fits into the category of "stuff."<BR/><BR/>It's all about lifestyle. I'm not rich and never will be - not even sure I'd want to be, although I imagine I'd use more money to buy more time. It seems hard, though, to have both money and time. I chose time. I've been building up to this period of time off employment for several years now. I thought I would have to quit my job, but I may not even need to do that, so I want to take every advantage of my options as I can while I am realatively healthy and debt-free.Jill Homerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02983065990450931943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-27664318761236611272009-03-16T15:30:00.000-06:002009-03-16T15:30:00.000-06:00Lovely post but in all honesty, not being nasty, I...Lovely post but in all honesty, not being nasty, I read this and I think to myself, "Where the hell do you get all this money to spend all this time here, there and in the desert and in the snow?" I know it's a british thing - everything's so expensive here, we're all tying ourselves in knots paying for our tiny houses. Perhaps one day even I will no longer be able to believe that once upon a time I took a massive amount of time off work to just BE somewhere doing something other than working.<BR/><BR/>I think I'm going to have to take a day and spend it just BEING. Not doing.<BR/><BR/>Sure as hell will make me less depressed.Trepid Explorerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06071442052388717266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-63611519877809312702009-03-16T14:42:00.000-06:002009-03-16T14:42:00.000-06:00very nice quote of Ed Abbey especially on the anni...very nice quote of Ed Abbey especially on the anniversary of his death.<BR/> Great photos!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-66617673851089811692009-03-16T12:11:00.000-06:002009-03-16T12:11:00.000-06:00Hurricane ... brings back so many memories. My p...Hurricane ... brings back so many memories. My paternal grandmother came from there, my dad moved back for last 10 years or so. Best to get out in the desert around there, and avoid a bunch of the local crazies ... esp. as you head in the direction of Colorado City. <BR/><BR/>Teasdale is good for going lots of directions. Lots of places to backpack and camp both in the surrounding mountains and in some of the southwestern desert/canyons. I'm a bit jealous.Itinerant Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14507102777492877721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-14691394378888566672009-03-16T10:25:00.000-06:002009-03-16T10:25:00.000-06:00The desert is a place where only the bare essentia...The desert is a place where only the bare essentials for life exist, a place where you exist as part of the landscape, and if you try to be anything bigger than that, it eats you up. It doesn’t forgive, but it blesses at the same time. A sparse land where little grows...which should allow room for your own growth. Sounds like the perfect place for you guys to spend a season. Distractions minimal, stars more than anyone can count and experiences filling your well. I miss the desert. Enjoy and be safe. Great post!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03429366735333745647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-70714252228836235392009-03-16T09:01:00.000-06:002009-03-16T09:01:00.000-06:00It's strange that life is like that. I lost my jo...It's strange that life is like that. I lost my job in December, and have found myself riding the urban trails of Denver in my road bike, and a lot less depressed than I expected, or should be. We are fortunate to be able to turn the circumstances of our lives into something advantageous, I guess. Good luck on your continued recovery. I find your stories and photos truly amazing and awe-inspiring.The Big Kevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06032294666582480868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-63477238435647848982009-03-16T08:52:00.000-06:002009-03-16T08:52:00.000-06:00Nice nail polish, Jill!!Nice nail polish, Jill!!Karen Travelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02540548158220943992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18615538.post-64851426065579071022009-03-16T06:48:00.000-06:002009-03-16T06:48:00.000-06:00Nice post.Nice post.Vagabondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07450561650043211726noreply@blogger.com