Driggs: Getting Settled (11/20-23)

After arriving in Driggs, I had a few days to settle in and get situated with my new life here.  Granted, I might only be here for 2 months (never say never, right?) but I had a lot of things to do in that period of time so I wanted to get started on the right foot.  Hit the ground running, as they say.

My parent's home in Driggs, Idaho

Getting in Shape

One of my goals while in Idaho is to continue my work on getting in better shape, started in the fall while I was in Hong Kong with an improved quality of nutrition.  Now that I'm eating better (for the most part) I've started a program of walking/jogging every morning.  It is a bit cold outside (between -5 and 5 degrees Celcius) but once I get going it feels good to be moving around and sweating a bit. 

the starting point of my morning constitutional

I'm also going to start participating in a local judo class that meets twice a week.  I dropped by their dojo and talked with the instructor.  It seems like a nice place and even though it isn't wushu, all martial arts have a common denominator so it will be nice to be involved in that.  I'm also still working on getting in some taiji practice with a guy I know of here in Driggs, but we'll see what happens with that.

Oh, and I signed up at the local gym.  For a town with a population of less than 1,500, they have some pretty good facilities here.

Broulins Grocery Store -- very very well stocked

Optomizing Operations

Also on my list of things to do is get my things/media/stuff better organized and optomized.  This is all part of my overall desire to simplify my life to help me better focus on those things that are priorities/most important. 

There are so many things in the world that serve as distractions, and lots of them are very enjoyable.  But I decided that it is better to try and focus my attention on those that are the most important to me, rather than spread myself too thin.  Of course, I still allow myself to enjoy a few distractions here and there, like TV or the occasional video game, but for the most part I'm enjoying this simplification and reduction of "life clutter" that tends to get a bit overwhelming from time to time.

beautiful snow-capped hills and mountains surrounding Teton Valley

So, as part of that, I spent a lot of time back in Hong Kong selling off or getting rid of things that didn't support my efforts, and optomizing the way I work/play to have them be more effective.

For example, I've reduced my large number of external drives that I used to have around, each for a different type of media, and got rid of a lot of media I never used reducing the drive count to just 2.  One as a back-up and one as a working drive.

So, yeah .. media, finances, procedures ... things like that are on my list.  And I'm enjoying the process because I can see tangible results from my efforts.

steve the cat is on the prowl

Personal Projects

And part of the desire to optomize is so that I can work on a few personal projects that I've been putting off due to a lack of available time.  Here in Idaho I have many more hours in the day to get things done, so I can pursue a few interests that I have been neglecting.

One of them, as I mentioned above, is to get in more exercise and focus on my physical health.  Also, I am working on improving my photography skills (the natural beauty of the Teton Valley is a great place to do that), spend more time learning about the cullinary arts (I really like cooking, but don't really know much about the fundamentals) and get back to my artistic side, especially drawing and illustration. 

some local shrubbery

To be honest, the main reason I got in to web design was from a strong passion for illustration, drawing and design.  I was never that interested in the programming and technical side of things (a little, but not a lot).  But over the years, due to my particular skill-set, I tended to end up doing more technical or editorial type of work.  I feel like I've been neglecting my inner-designer for the past few years. 

Working on the artist profile designs helped though.  I used to draw all the time, but now I want to really get back in to it, and use this alivenotdead blog platform as a way to highlight that side of who I am.  This is an artist-centered website, after all.  I should at least focus on showcasing the artistic side of myself.  Technically I'm a professional artist, of sorts.  I'd like to explore that a bit more.

Quality Time

I've also been able to spend some quality time with my mom and step-dad, Reid, which was one of the main reasons for moving out here.  I don't actually have any friends in Driggs, so my social calendar is pretty open.  But that affords me two things I like:

First, it is giving me the opportunity to be alone with my thoughts and focus a bit more on what I'm doing.  Sort of a recharging of my social batteries, I guess.  Besides, I kind of like having time to myself. 

And second, I'm able to hang out with some of my family that I haven't seen more than a dozen times in the last several years.  It is always good to reconnect with family after a long absense.  Hopefuly I can do the same with my sister and my dad / step-mom.

crystal clear skies and super clean air is doing my lungs some good

Plus, I'm sure that as I spend more time here, and participate in things like the Judo classes, I will start making other friends.  Driggs is a small town, but from what I can see the folks here are pretty friendly.

Anyway, starting today (Monday) I'm hard at work on my project for the Chamber of Commerce, so I better get to it.  Wish me luck, because this project is a big one.  I'll post up links when it is done in January.

Oh, and Sunday morning I woke up to see this outside my window.  I guess I will have a white Christmas after all!  ^__^

my first snowfall in the u.s. in a long long time.

Click here to view pictures of my time in Driggs, Idaho.