Just wanted to give a quick update here. I am not yet sure how I will use this particular forum, but I think I will probably give some "real life" updates here that would likely supplement the story-telling I tend to do in my blog. I figure, if you've bought me a coffee, and if we had a coffee in real life, this might be stuff that would come up as we got to know each other a bit. We'll see how this works.
I have not posted on the Unfettered Footsteps blog in a while, though I will soon. I have been busy spreading myself a little thin:
I have been writing a book. I finished draft one, but am now sitting in the painful process of editing. Still, I got draft one done. I am not ready to disclose the nature of the book just yet - let's see how this progresses.... I think it will take a while to finish and for me to get the courage up to publish it.
The business venture I was working on fell through. I was under contract for a house back in Atlanta that I was going to refurbish and rent out. The title had some issues and probate court was backed up, so I held on and held on, but interest rates started to rise and there was no end in site, so I backed out. No worries - it was a good learning event. I am going to continue focusing on these types of businesses that can yield more passively acquired income. If I were smarter, I would have done this while I was still working corporate, but I was probably too zapped from those jobs to do much else. I may share more about this type of thing later as I do have a lot to say on personal finance, entrepreneurship, and all such related themes. Gotta pay the bills and fund adventures!
I spent a lot of time figuring out what to do about health insurance and finally signed up for a health share with Zion Health. We shall see how that goes. My wife is covered by her employer, but to add me to the plan was ridiculously expensive. I couldn't get a much better deal on the government marketplace, and I didn't like the high deductible insurance model. I like the idea of the health share - we shall see how it performs. It is definitely saving me a lot of money and makes healthcare while self-employed much more palatable. I didn't care about this stuff when I was 24, but at 44 I find myself more conscious of my mortality....
I finally finished up my video series on the Art Loeb and Foothills Trails that I hiked this past fall, and posted those up to YouTube.com/UnfetteredFootsteps. I have never been a fan of doing Vlogs - I understand why people like them, but I hate talking to the camera. I also don't find the things I say very interesting. I much prefer story telling. I started out by stripping away all talking from my videos, but have now slowly worked in some voiceover. I think it gives a nice effect and was pleased with the result, particularly the Foothills Trail. It was also a chance for me to play around with some themes that surfaced later as I thought about the hikes. It's a fun way for me to capture my memories.
I've started on another video about hiking in Linville Gorge (North Carolina). I drove right from the Foothills Trail to Linville Gorge and spent two days hiking a 40 mile loop there. I ended up with horrible shin splints, but the hike was awesome. I hope to have the first video out next week. I may write a bit about this hike in my blog as well.
I have been training and recovering from those shin splints, and I'm happy to report that the leg is healing nicely. I had to replace my running shoes as they were spent, but I'm now up to 6 mile runs and feeling good. I'd love to be back in the half marathon range, but I'm not pushing it.
Because of projects that fell through, and where I am with others, I have committed myself to another long thru-hike this summer. I will talk about that soon. I'm still trying to figure out exactly why I am drawn to this hike. I'm not sure I can answer the question for myself yet. Or maybe I can, but I just don't like the answer :-). Anyway, I'm excited about it, but have much to do prior to taking off for it.
I've been exploring Wilmington some more, sometimes alone and sometimes with my wife. I might do a "moving to Wilmington video," or more likely, "exploring Wilmington." It's very flat here! But, there are cool trails here and there. The coastal marshes are beautiful.
I definitely feel like I'm on a leap of faith right now. After many years of always having a steady paycheck, it is hard to get used to being out on my own, as well as pouring time into things like writing. It is wonderful and challenging, but I definitely have days where I panic a bit. It's a good exercise for me. Rome wasn't built in a day, and I can't unwind a lifetime of thinking one way overnight.
That's the update over virtual coffee. I hope this note finds all well and planning out some kind of goal or adventure!
--Hungry Cat