Photo of Andy Arthur

Andy Arthur

With some warm weather this week, πŸ–οΈ and Memorial Day Weekend just around the corner, it seems like summer is just kicking off. Hard to think that next weekend will be June and weekends at the Potholers in nine-degree heat aren't that far off nor is summer vacation.

Tuesday after the long holiday weekend πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ

Like always, the holiday weekend came and went much too quickly. Of course maybe this isn’t the nicest holiday weekend ever with all the black flies, but it’s to be expected for this time of year. Saturday brings June, which looks busy but I’m looking forward to some hot weather and the Potholers come the second half of the month.

My panty is fairly bare after camping, πŸ₯š so eggs, peppers, onions with some garlic was breakfast this morning. I’ll have to stock up on groceries after the work picnic tonight. Showering 🚿 and shaving and it’s off to work.

Looks like it will be a fairly sunny but cool week, β˜€ though I don’t know how many days I’ll be able to ride in to work with needing to dress up for training and the end of session party this week. Maybe Friday for sure, if the weather remains good. Saturday, I’ll probably take the Nature Bus 🚍 up to Thacher Park, ride trail and maybe roads, relax with the hammock and read e-books and maybe ride home from the park. 🏞 Should be a nice weekend, I’m ready for a week off for camp.

Dressing up for work today, πŸ‘¨πŸ»β€πŸ’Όas there is the End of Session Party this evening and everybody else will be in a suit and tie from session, even though maybe I don’t have to do that. I’m not planning on wearing a tie but I’ll do everything else. Never hurts to be dressed up for work. Driving in today too because I have to drive over the party after work. πŸš™ But then I don’t plan to drive into work at all for the next few weeks – – I guess maybe a week from Friday if I decide to hammock camp at Cole Hill State Forest before going to the Gas Up 🚜 but that depends on the weather, and I might instead go with dad or drive out there myself and do the overnight at Cotton Hill.

I am working on developing a new photo uploaded for the blog πŸ“Έ, one that automatically scales the images before uploading on the client side using Javascript and HTML5, for faster uploads when I’m out camping and traveling, so I can get more pictures up on the blog quickly. I am not all that familiar with the latest Javascript technologies, but I did take a FreeCodeCamp course on them a while back, so I know a little and there is a lot of documentation on the internet. πŸ–₯ I’m thinking I might not just do automatic scaling, compression, and rotation of images using the browser, but also have them upload in the background while I fill out the title, description, and category of the image. There are libraries that I could use to help, but I think it’s simple enough to implement in vanilla Javascript code.

Monitoring the money πŸ’΅ situation now that the higher rent is paid, and it looks like I’m doing okay, even with the credit card πŸ’³ bill due in two weeks, with the bike repairs πŸ›  and travel I’ve been doing recently. β›½ The big thing was the tax bill a few months back and car insurance, and now that’s over. I’m tempted to buy a few hundred in extra bonds this week with extra money in my account, so to “pay back” the few weeks I didn’t invest in April to cover the gap. We’ll see.

Regardless, it was nice to be in the Green Mountains β›° over the weekend despite the black flies. I was just happy that no work projects came in that week, though I was prepared with my laptop. πŸ“ With those campsites on Prospect Mountain Road, I will be able to remote work there in the future, so especially come the autumn, that may be where I end up camping πŸ• some weekends.

Pig Rock

Visiting one of Spectulator's most famous landmarks.

Taken on Saturday June 6, 2020 at Spectulator.

Where do I really want to live? 🏑

The life I really enjoy is up in the wilderness. Not in a place with other people and houses nearby but instead in the wilderness – much like where I often camp on the dirt roads up in the state and national forests. Out of eye shot and ear shot of anyone else.

The thing is there really is few places like that anywhere within commuting distance to Albany. It seems like ever house and property I look at has neighbors just down the road. Zillow keeps suggesting more properties in the city and suburbs. I guess that’s where most people live. But it’s not for me.

I do want that cabin in the woods, in the mountains up a dirt road. And maybe that has to wait until I’m closer to retirement. I guess it could be a weekend residence but I really want a place closer to work where I can call my everyday home. A place made of natural materials where I can live more sustainably and independently on my own. Off grid, simple as possible.