Five Year Plan

I love Yogi Tea. Besides it being one of the better boxed teas, it has those fun little thought provoking sayings on the paper tags attached to the tea bags. Each one is like opening a fortune cookie. But this is even better than a fortune cookie since the tea is actaully yummy (fortune cookies are kind of stale and gross...). So, today's morning Yogi Tea saying of the day is: The only tool you need is kindness. I don't know how true that is if you're trying to build a house. But a nice moto to live by none-the-less.

I just got out of the Operations supervisors meeting. I sit in with my boss, Larry (who, by the way, is from Couer d'Alene) and listen to what's been happening in the Operations departments for the last week. All the fun, juicy information that the general public doesn't hear right away gets discussed... like how people loose fingers... or how power poles fall down, or who gets to fly home early or to the Pole and what-not. I know it doesn't necessarily sound super exciting, but you need to bear in mind that I am in Antarctica... and we don't have a whole lot of news to entertain us. Oooo! I just got the scoop from the cubicle land network! There was a skirmish at the Pole involving two boys fighting over a girl... not me, mind you. One was med-evaced to NZ and the other... who knows. Ahhhh, what a soap opera.

So, yesterday was Boxing Day. What is Boxing Day? (Aha! I just looked it up in wikipedia... You should take a gander if you don't know.) I just needed something to say to people who I had been emailing 'Merry Christmas!'... It's kind of a let down to have a holiday over. At least we have New Years day coming up soon. Yay! Another two day weekend! Unfortunately, we don't actually get New Year's day off. I suspect that there will be many a tired worker about town on the 1st day of 2008. Be careful to look both ways before crossing the road, or you may get mowed down by a delta or a dozer...

One thing that I like to do every five years... (I started this six years ago) is to write a five year plan, what I want to accomplish, where I want to be, etc, etc. Last year my five year plan came to an end and I had been planning on writing a new five year plan to figure out what direction I wanted my life to go in. Well... I got distracted. I still haven't written it, and now that a year of my life is past without a plan, I'm wondering where all my efforts in life are heading. My last five year plan included finishing my undergrad degree, having a pick-up, Airstream, and chainsaw. Check, check, check, check (borrowed from pops). Although having things (such as vehicles and what-not) isn't necessarily a goal, it's what having these things will afford me. This year of not being within a plan, I've tried to stay focused and move towards a goal... though I haven't stayed on any particular schedule.

Now that I'm thinking about it, here's what my next five year plan might include: continuing to convert my Airstream into an espresso stand and start up business somewhere, find a body of water to live on/near, learn how to weld, become proficient at throwing pots on a wheel (purchace a wheel and kiln), and return to practicing yoga... and maybe getting a boat... like a sea kayak and or a sail boat... or a raft... or all three. I'd also like to get my Vinny Van (Vicent the Turtle Bus) up and running again. He makes a cozy home for life on the road, especially now that I've up and gutted my Airstream.