Day 9

June 5^th, 2011. Had the day off today…needed some rest but it was super boring. I wanted to relax because I'm so sore, wish I woulda felt up to going on a hike. I slept for 11 hours last night, so I should be good and rested for work tomorrow. I met one of Lee's friends today, Laura, I think she is the lady he's going to get his flowers from for the flowerbeds I dug up. I forgot I brought my external hard drive, so I was able to watch The Town today on this computer…but I watched it sitting on a tiny little wood chair that looked like it was made for a 2^nd grader. I BBQ'd up some chicken for dinner, left the bones outside for the foxes, they come around every night but I never see em (Only once). Every time I leave something out its gone in the AM. I'm becoming easily amused though, I do get pretty bored, but I never woulda thought I'd go walk around the barn just to watch the swallows fly around. I did that twice today. I want to find a book to read though. When there is absolutely nothing to do your mind finds things to do for you. I'm learning the birds and horses patterns. I see what they do all day, how often they go for food/water, how they warm up when its windy, or cool down when its hot and sunny. The horses like to stand behind the little barn in the shade when its hot (For about an hour then go straight for water), and they run around aimlessly when its cold. Everything out here just kinda takes a natural course because theirs really no type of entertainment. The wildlife seems to be doing the best with pretty much nothing to do, but I could see how people could end up being more animal like living out here. This is gonna be a good experience, but probably isn't something I could do for life. I appreciate it all, but I'm too much of a "city boy" as they call me out here. I still cut my hair weekly and keep my beard trimmed. That’s more of a comfort thing, but certain habits take more than a scenery change to alter. Just knowing I'll be back in Cali in a couple months causes me to cut corners here and there. I'm guessing there will still be some sort of a culture shock when I get back though just because I feel like I'm miles away from another "city person". I've always felt I was good at foreseeing my future by looking at the path I'm currently on. Habits are made and broken all the time, but you need to remember that they change for a reason. The most challenging part of living out here is the physical work, which I feel lucky to be able to handle pretty well. I doubt any of these country folk out here could handle the city life as well as I handle their country life. I wonder if I'm getting the most out of it, I mean, if the challenge isn't as extreme as possible then the lessons learned aren't as extreme. I should try WWOOFing in another country some time, I think that would be really hard. Life is all about learning, and we learn our best in hard times, so if we can put ourselves in harsh situations delicately then we can learn some pretty neat stuff safely. Some people mix up hard with bad, and easy with good…they may go hand in hand at times, but its not safe to assume they belong together. What I'm doing is a perfect example of an easy lesson learned by hard work. I have no choice but to learn fast and pick up on things quick. It can be dangerous out here if you aren't paying attention, so as long as I'm listening to what I hear the knowledge will come with ease. Thinking like that really makes you want to take advantage of your strengths. Doing the bare minimum sort of stops time, its important that everyone realizes that when you're not progressing your digressing…you can't tread water in life. I think the real challenge comes when you try to find your niche…but even if your not doing what you dreamed you'd once do doesn't mean your treading water. Progression takes time, and before progression comes preparation. The most important thing is to stay positive and open, because you never know when something great might hit you. The more open your mind is the bigger your net is for catching inspiration. Ok I could go on forever with this philosophical crap lol…its fun to write…but Good Night!!!