Such is life

I've half-written some posts here and on my other blog. That is to say, I've been wanting to contribute more to the online conversation I've been having with family and friends for the last 10 or 11 months. But honestly, I've very little to say, and what I want to say I'm having trouble saying.

This might be what's commonly referred to as "writer's block."

Work is keeping me occupied: not "busy" so much as "unavailable." We're trying to sell our house, and that has brought a huge list of new tasks, as well as some serious excitement. Additionally, I've reconnected with several friends (some of whom I taught in high school) over the last few weeks. So not only do I have less time, but it's divided into many more, smaller parts.

I've not even really been cooking over the last week or so, which is almost depressing.

One annoyance is the weather in Charlotte. It's been the worst drought anyone can remember, and it shows no signs of breaking. It's October, and the weather is still in the 80s (that's 30s to you Canadians). They're predicting a tough winter, but so far autumn is just a cooler summer. And the drought is wreaking havoc with everything around here.

So life's too full. Work will reach a fever pitch on November 3 and stay that way for the whole month. I'll be working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for the month except Thanksgiving weekend (the fourth weekend in November for all my Canadian friends).

But we all have our trials...

The Ber Months

Well, today is September 1, the official start of the Ber months. These four months: September, October, November, December are my favourite months of the year. In actuality, I enjoy January too, but it's not quite a Ber month.

In the end, I like the Ber months because my favourite seasons are winter and autumn (in that order). Here in North Carolina, that doesn't mean much: the weather is always relatively warm and balmy, even in winter. But it's a respite, however slight, from the blazing heat of the sun, which is almost a constant in the South. Sure, it would be better if the Ber months were also the Brrrrr months; but here in the South that's a bit much to ask.

This summer has been brutal. We've broken a couple records: the heat went up past 100F any number of times in the last 6 weeks, we're on water restriction, and the grass is all dead.

Let the Ber months begin!

Sweltering

According to my Oregon Scientific thermometer, it's 104F outside. That might be a little higher than the official 99F with 31% humidity; but I guess sensor placement makes a difference...

Last night was bagua night. After walking hundreds of steps, I was soaked in sweat: I could actually have wrung out my shirt!

I did find a couple interesting bagua clips. The first one is a fairly typical form:


But this is very interesting: the apparent lack of effort that results in visible power is characteristic of all the internal arts. This guy's apparently a 94-year-old bagua practitioner:



But work's been picking up, so I've not been blogging much. Sorry.

Better late than never...

Well, we woke up to snow in Charlotte!!!!!

If that don't beat all...

Charlotte Snow

The best is, Charlotte shuts down for snow. So time for coffee, hot chocolate, warm wintery food, and getting some work done via VPN.