How ya been, Oppo?

Kinja'd!!! "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
01/02/2019 at 11:10 • Filed to: None

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How ya been? Starting around December 21, I took a break from nearly all media and internet, other than the necessary emails, weather forecasts, and occasional TV watching. I wanted to focus on my family as much as possible over the holiday break, and while it was nice to do that, I’m exhausted. But maybe mentally refreshed?

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Here are some highlights from the past 12-ish days:

Took the kids skating, once on the lake, once at a rink; they’re finally actually skating less than they are falling

Also went skiing with the kids, our default winter activity

Visited in-laws in a new house they’re building nearer to the mountains, it’s beautiful!

Put the roof box on the Volvo (above) and forgot to close the sunroof , it snowed about 3" of wet snow and then rained overnight. Oops.

Ate and drank too much, now repenting

Accomplished almost nothing on my to-do list

Went out to dinner one night with just my wife, and we were home by 8:00 (see next bullet point)

Went to bed every night completely and utterly exhausted from being with the kids all day, every day. Man, I love them, but they are exhausting.

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I have to say it was nice to be away from the world of social media and the current US news cycle for a bit. I like to be informed, but I am so disheartened by.... well let’s just be honest, our President. I find it hard not to fall down the rabbit hole of ‘what horrible / irrational / completely false / racist / ignorant / childish thing did he do today?’ And that’s not healthy. I just need to have faith that the wheels of democracy and justice are grinding ever forward. I listen to a great podcast called The Daily, and I read the news here and there. It’s just too easy to keep digging!

I’m not one to make grand New Year’s Resolutions but I will say I feel energized to step back a little from the news and put more focus on the things that really matter to me, personally, in my day-to-day life. I feel stretched very thin this time of year and if nothing else I feel empowered to take a fresh look at my priorities so I don’t lose my mind.

Before I go too deep here, I’ll just leave it at that.

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DISCUSSION (7)


Kinja'd!!! Tripper > functionoverfashion
01/02/2019 at 11:29

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Man I can’t wait until my little one is old enough to hit the slopes! I haven’t stayed away from Oppo, but have refrained from posting the last week or until I get my car (hopefully today/this week).

Regarding the news...I despise it. I wont hear it or watch it. If something big happens I generally find out about it on Oppo or overhear co workers talking about it.

My parents always have it on. We were over for dinner a few times over the holidays, and I finally said “can we turn off the fear mongering, at least during dinner.”


Kinja'd!!! functionoverfashion > Tripper
01/02/2019 at 11:36

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Oooh yes I am excited for you to get that car too!

On the news... yeah. The Daily is a great podcast by the NY Times and runs about 20-30 min/ day. That’s all I can fit in on my short commute (the part without kids in the car). I don’t listen to every episode, but it’s good at going in-depth to the most important stuff that’s happening. It’s a far cry from watching 20-30 minutes of cable news (which I won’t do).

Re: skiing with the kids - it’s one of those things that is totally exhausting but well worth the trouble. Our kids are carrying *nearly* all their stuff now, and can get ready by themselves, mostly. We keep it fun and don’t make them go when the weather is truly awful. So far, so good.


Kinja'd!!! BeaterGT > functionoverfashion
01/02/2019 at 11:36

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Driving into work this morning and g ot a small dose of road rage from a JeepBro to start off the new year. So, pretty pretty pretty good.


Kinja'd!!! functionoverfashion > BeaterGT
01/02/2019 at 11:39

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lol. Yesterday on the way back from skiing I noticed the road looked slick, and there were a lot of brake lights ahead of me. This was in a long line of cars in a single-lane section of highway. I gave the car in front of me A LOT of room, and much to my surprise, the car behind me did the same. I could see these conditions turning into a 50-car pileup and I was going to avoid that if possible. Cheers to the guy behind me, not all drivers are tailgating, road-ragey-douchesticks.

Happy New Year!


Kinja'd!!! BeaterGT > functionoverfashion
01/02/2019 at 11:44

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That is surprising! Thankfully, a Jeep is one of the easiest vehicles to get around and I was able to continue on my way with only slightly higher blood pressure.


Kinja'd!!! TheRealBicycleBuck > functionoverfashion
01/02/2019 at 13:17

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You may be ready for this:

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There’s also an audio book version available from Audible. You might even be able to get it through your local library.


Kinja'd!!! functionoverfashion > TheRealBicycleBuck
01/02/2019 at 13:27

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That does look interesting...