Habits
A regular correspondent has asked for an update on the various new habits that I adopted as part of this #52in52 challenge. I realise that I’ve stopped reporting on them, but fear not - I haven’t stopped doing them. Well, that’s not strictly true, my piano playing has stopped for the last few weeks, which I’m a little annoyed with myself about. I must start that again soon. And I’ve definitely missed the odd week of French listening. But almost everything else I’ve kept at.
I’ve actually been doing some French every day using the Duolingo app, and most weeks I’ve found time to listen to an episode of the Duolingo podcast as well. I wouldn’t say I’m proficient though (or close to it), but I’m assuming I must be improving.
I’ve also been doing some chess study on a regular basis - most recently using the chess.com app, which has some good lessons and puzzles. I occasionally play against the computer as well. I’m not sure I am really improving overall though - some days I play well and understand a chess position. Other days I’m pretty hopeless. I’ve also followed the World Chess Championship, which is instructive - even if doesn’t actually involve the best player in the world.
I have been reading every day. I recently finished Douglas Brinkley's Silent Spring Revolution, about the political steps that were taken in the years following the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. It’s quite uplifting, although the cross party coalitions formed and consensus does paint the current political environment in a poor and dispiriting light. There are also parallels between now and the oil shocks of the early 1970s when the "EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] became a scapegoat for consumers ravaged by inflation and high prices at the pump."
When I got back from my recent trip to the UK I read Henry Dimbleby's Ravenous, which is a fascinating look at the way we feed ourselves (as a society) and use land generally. He was a speaker at the annual conference of the Agricultural Industries Confederation that I attended this year (in my role as consultant to them) and was very good. The book is UK-focussed but has lessons that I think are applicable anywhere. Basically, we need to get better at using our resources and learning from nature; and probably all of us need to eat less meat (aside from any ethical considerations, it’s just not an efficient way to feed ourselves).
Finally, I'm attempting Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in the original old English. That’s a challenge that I am tackling in very small steps.
Fitness-wise - I’ve been stretching every day. That seems increasingly necessary first thing in the morning. I’ve also kept up regular exercise, as well as my daily walks (despite scandalous suggestions to the contrary). That's become a little more challenging over the last few days with snow and -15C wind chills.
Most of the exercise routines I do are part of Bodi. Over the summer I’ve completed both 4 Weeks of the Prep and 6 Weeks of the Work - in both cases not for the first time. They’re really good at getting my stamina up, but I do find that I need to balance my workouts with more movement based exercises these days. For that, I’ve revisited some of Chalene’s Piyo classes, as well as Amoila Caesar's Chop Wood Carry Water. I recently started Elise Joan's Lava. I may not survive that.
Despite not keeping up with all of my existing habits, I’ve taken on a new one - writing something every day. Close followers of this blog may be skeptical of that, given how infrequently I’ve been posting here recently, but I have in fact managed to write at least a few words every day for the last month. A lot of the writing has been about the app that I’m developing for Diderot - I’m actually trying to document the process. I’ve also written a lot more actual Diderot entries as well, largely based on the old slides that my Dad has been uploading.
Here’s my most recent Diderot entry:
But at some point I need to return to some of the big ticket items (or Lorraine will lose all faith in this journey). I had hoped to have made my Vegas trip by now, which was going to tick off a few things, but hopefully I can get that done in the New Year (assuming the US doesn’t implode). In the meantime, now that winter has arrived in Canada, I have skiing and ice skating on the agenda. Two other things I might not survive.
