Tag: Ideas

Want 2 Extra Weeks Every Year?

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If you are like the average American*, you are spending over two weeks every year with your television! Just think how many more adventures you could have in two weeks!

How much television do you watch every day? Just one show? Assuming you watch a single hour-long show each day, that adds up to 365 hours each year: 15.2 days! You’re spending over two weeks staring at the TV! I know it doesn’t seem like much when you only watch a small amount at a time, but a small amount every day adds up quickly.

What if you watch more on weekends? If you watch an extra two hours on the weekend (one show each day), that is 104 more hours, bringing the yearly total up to 469 hours. That’s nearly three weeks! 19.5 days.

Many people complain that they don’t have enough vacation time, but those same people are often spending even more time just sitting in front of the TV. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great shows out there; some are fun to watch and some can be educational. I’ve even got a couple that I like to watch. However, I would rather really live my own life than watch someone else live theirs (whether it’s made up or not).

What to Do With This New-Found Time:

“But it’s only an hour a day, what can I do with an hour a day?” First of all, that’s just an excuse. Second, you can do a great deal in less than an hour a day. Here are some suggestions:

  • Spend more time with your family
  • Spend more time with your friends
  • Learn a New Skill
  • Pick Up an Old Skill
  • Baby Step toward your next adventure
  • Try out a new recipe each night
  • Spend more time on a current hobby

Because my time is not taken up by TV watching, I can pursue many of my other interests. I have a camping list prepared for a variety of different situations, and can be ready to go in an hour. This preparation allows me to be ready to go for spur of the moment trips. I am continually tinkering with my gear, modifying and improving it. I am working through a drawing course and will be able to complete it in a couple of weeks because I have the time available to spend on it. This website is often produced when others are watching TV.

When my wife and I moved into our last apartment, we left our TV in storage. Because it wasn’t there to tempt us, we were able to spend more time with each other. We weren’t just sitting beside each other watching TV, but made our relationship even stronger by talking to each other and sharing experiences/activities. Your time doesn’t have to be spent on hobbies, it can be used to build relationships.

But I really like my shows!

I’ve got some shows that I love to watch, too. Unfortunately, I’m horrible about catching them when they’re on; I’ll get caught up in what I’m doing and lose track of time. Furthermore, I dislike commercials and hate having to wait until next week to see what happens. In order to get around all of these troubles, I wait until the season comes out on DVD and watch it then. Often I can borrow it from the library or from friends. I can watch when it’s convenient for me (ideal for when I’m sick and stuck in bed) and don’t have to worry about commercials. I can have friends over and make it into a group activity.

You have to be in control of your time. By watching a 12-episode season on DVD, you can save 4 hours just by cutting out commercials. Since there are no other shows on the DVD, you don’t have to worry about flipping through channels to see what else is on.

Change the Habit

I know that it’s habit to sit down after work and watch some TV to relax. Like any habit, it can be hard to break. You will have to replace it with another activity, and you might need support from others. Take control of your time, choose your activities and be amazed at how many more adventures you can be a part of!

* Actually, the average American watches over 4 hours of Television per day. That’s 60 days, almost 9 weeks!

Victoria Square – Photo

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I mentioned in Thursday’s post that my wife and I headed out after lunch (and the rain stopped) to explore more of Belfast on foot. One of the places we visited was Victoria Square. Victoria Square is a roofed outdoor mall, if that makes any sense. Traveling down the road (foot traffic only) you walk underneath a roof and you’re inside the mall, though you are still outside! The individual shops are separately enclosed, and since it was rather cool outside, we gladly stepped in some of them to warm up occasionally. The square is dominated by a glass dome that includes an observation platform which one can see most of the city.

Here is a picture from one of the third floor pathways, showing one of the mall entrances. You can see that “inside” and “outside” are merged quite successfully.
Victoria Square

We stopped at a small shop called the Cookie Box and got some hot drinks (hot chocolate for me and tea for my wife) and some delicious cookies! We carried them into the mall and sat on a bench to enjoy them. While there we saw the characters shown in the Scavenger Hunt under the Traditional Dress heading. We also headed up to the observation platform to see the city from above. Beautiful! (Unfortunately none of those photos really turned out.)

What Kind of Explorer are You?

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For two weeks we had been doing it all wrong. Finally, it occurred to us: we are not urban tourists.

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What kind of explorer are you? Are you excited by gardens or architecture; do you prefer the historic or the cutting edge parts of town? You already know what interests you, though you might have to decide to focus on those things. Try as you might, until you do, your adventures will not be as fulfilling as they could be.

We spent the first night of a trip following friends around looking for a pub to visit; we have no interest in pubs, though and did not enjoy ourselves – we do not imbibe and prefer more subdued music. Instead, we are coffee beans. We eagerly search out new shops, where we compare our favorite drinks and appreciate the decor over conversation. While there we satisfy our sweet tooth by sampling the offered desserts. This type of exploration is much more our style, motivating us and providing energy. As much as we enjoy our friends’ company, my wife and I much prefer striking out on our own.

What kind of explorer you are influences where you go. Do you want to see the natural areas or tour the city? Since we are visiting a new (to us) country we have been touring the cities and towns, “seeing the sights.” Other than a few monuments and historic buildings, all cities are the same to us. We don’t care about shopping or seeing what the stores have to offer. Once we’ve seen those highlights, we’re left with a city that we have no interest in. At an ancient castle, though, we won’t even have made it inside before most visitors are leaving. We will spend all day exploring the garden and grounds, seeing where all the trails go and watching the wildlife. If that is the only place that we visit, we will be more than thrilled.

This is something that my wife and I consider every year. At least once a year my wife and I go white water rafting. We have two different destinations available within a 5 hour drive. We can travel down to Tennessee, spend the whole weekend and raft on a level 3/4 river for about $150 each (gas, food, camping, rafting, everything), or we can head over to West Virginia for a 4/5 river that costs about $150 for the day trip (just rafting). It’s a no-brainer for us. We are rather frugal and like our money to go further. We prefer to spend the entire weekend; we get to go hiking in the mountains, we carry our climbing gear so we can do some climbing, there is a cave nearby that we can explore, and we get to go rafting! The river is not quite as wild, but it is still a great experience, and the other activities available more than make up for any difference in the rivers.

Don’t think that this is just something that you need to consider when visiting somewhere new; it applies to places near to home as well. When you visit the nearby lake, do you want to go fishing, swimming or rock skipping? All three require different circumstances, found at different spots along the shore. When visiting the park, are you going there for a quiet stroll in the shade, a brisk jog for exercise, or somewhere private for a picnic? These different goals might be best suited at completely different parks, separate locations within the park, or during varying times of day.

Now that we have consciously thought about our preferences, our trips have been much better suited for us. We might never do some of the things that our fellow students are doing, but we will visit other places they will never see. These differences in our respective trips will provide the extra personal meaning that we are searching for.

Lil Red Taxi – Photo

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Went up to Belfast last weekend. Saw some beautiful scenery, visited some amazing places and learned some fascinating history (I guess current history, as the Troubles are still on-going). All of those places, and my favorite picture is of this lil taxi that we took a tour in. I paused while walking back from shooting some photos and quickly grabbed this one. Good thing it turned out so well, as I only took one!
Red Car

As you can see, we had a bit of rain. The day started out nice and sunny, if cold, and towards the end of the tour it began to rain and then snow on us. Fortunately for us it didn’t last long; we ate lunch in the hostel and by then it had cleared up so we were able to continue exploring the city.

I would love to have entered this into the Photo Scavenger Hunt for transportation, but had already submitted the bicycle photo. That’s ok, though, as I still get to share it with you, here. 😀

St. Paddy’s Day

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“Every country has a St. Paddy’s Day, but here in Ireland we have St. Paddy’s Week!”

No school this week, we’re off for a “study break”. Which only makes sense, due to the fact that a week of celebrations would probably inhibit lecture attendance anyway. 😉

Other than the need for wearing green so that I didn’t get pinched at school, I never knew much about the holiday. Since I’m living in Ireland during the holiday this year, it seemed like a perfect time to find out.

Who was St. Patrick?

The patron saint of Ireland was born in the 5th century, a son of wealthy British. Some sources reference that his given name was Maewyn Succat (but I’ll stick with Patrick). Patrick was captured by Irish raiders at the age of 16. He was taken to Ireland where he remained in captivity for six years. During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)

According to Patrick’s writings, he escaped after God spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland. After returning to Britain, he writes about a second dream where an angel told him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Patrick became an ordained priest (after 15 years of study) and was sent to Ireland with a dual mission; to minister to the Christians who were already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. This dual mission contradicts the widely-held belief that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.

Symbols

[singlepic=30,320,240,,left]Most of the Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion and Patrick, familiar with the Irish language and culture, chose to incorporate familiar symbols into his teachings. He superimposed the sun (a powerful Irish symbol) over the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross in order to make it more familiar to the Irish.

 

Snakes?

A commonly held myth is that Patrick banished all of the snakes from Ireland. In truth, there never were any snakes on the island. The “banishing of the snakes” is a metaphor for the triumph of Christianity and the eradication of pagan worship from Ireland. The island was completely Christianized within 200 years of Patrick’s arrival.

Shamrocks

[singlepic=34,320,240,,right]What do “seamroy” (as the Celts called them) have to do with St. Patrick? Nothing so far as I can tell. The Celts saw them as a sacred plant, symbolizing the rebirth of spring. As the English began to seize Irish land and outlaw against the use of Irish language and the practice of Catholicism in the seventeenth century, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of pride in their heritage.

Corned Beef & Cabbage

[singlepic=31,320,240,,left]Where does this tradition come from? The United States, of all places! Cabbage has long been a traditional Irish food, with bacon (pork) being the common meat. Upon arrival in America, Irish immigrants found salted beef (often corn-sized grains of salt were rubbed into the meat to cure it, hence the name) to be a cheaper and more readily avialable option than the pork they were familiar with. While both cabbage and salted meat have historic relations with Ireland, St. Patrick’s day celebrations did not include any traditional foods until the early 1900’s. It was around this time that Irish Americans began to include corned beef and cabbage as a tradition.

Little Men

[singlepic=32,320,240,,left]Leprechauns also have nothing to do with St. Patrick. Celts believed in fairies, tiny men and women who could use their magical powers to serve good or evil. They were called “lobaircin,” meaning “small-bodied fellow.” In Celtic folktales, leprechauns were cranky souls, responsible for mending the shoes of the other fairies. Though only minor figures in Celtic folklore, leprechauns were known for their trickery, which they often used to protect their much-fabled treasure. It wasn’t until Disney’s film in 1959 called Darby O’Gill & the Little People that Americans were introduced to a very different sort of leprechaun. This cheerful, friendly leprechaun is a purely American invention, but has quickly evolved into an easily recognizable symbol of both St. Patrick’s Day and Ireland in general.

The Holiday

March 17th is believed to be the date of Patrick’s death and became his feast day. So far as I have found, Patrick was never officially canonised (sainted) by a Pope, but was declaired a Saint in Heaven (he is in the List of Saints) by a number of churches. He is still widely venerated in Ireland and elsewhere today.

Celebration!

You might be asking “How should I celebrate?” It’s taken many years for most of our St. Patrick’s Day traditions to be established. Now that you know more of their origins, you can better appreciate them, and partake in them! Make a traditional bacon and cabbage meal, watch the parade (complete with leprechauns and shamrocks) and enjoy a pint of your favorite beverage.

What Do You Do When You Burn the Porridge?

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What happens when things don’t go according to plan? How do you react when your grand adventure falls flat on its face?

My wife and I purchased some porridge at the store recently. Excitedly, we prepared it for breakfast a few days later. Since we have not yet mastered the metric system, we managed to make twice as much as we needed to. Since we have also not yet mastered the hodge-podge of cooking utensils our apartment came equipped with, we managed to burn that double portion. With a generous helping of sugar I ate mine and was not horrified with the results. My wife, however, has not had the *ahem* educational *ahem* experience of initially learning to cook over a campfire without the foresight to bring spare food. She was quite disappointed with the results.

In the end, everything worked out well. We tried again the next day with much better results. Now we look forward to our porridge, it’s a great way to start off a cold and over-cast day.

When your adventure doesn’t work out as you planned, how do you react? Do you give up and remain in a sour mood, dampening your fellow adventurers’ spirits? Perhaps you just shrug it off and continue doggedly to the next stage of your plan. I suggest that you seek the silver lining; there is almost always a good point to any mishap. We did not realize that the directions for the hob (stove) were for two servings until we made it and realized that we had far more than we could eat. Since it was burned, we did not feel bad about throwing the “extra” out. If it has been made properly we would have tried to eat all of it, making ourselves miserable. The burn actually worked out in our favor.

I know it can be hard to find the silver lining, especially if you are cold, wet, lost, hungry or otherwise inconvenienced. Keep in mind that this is only one small part of the adventure, don’t let it overwhelm you. There is still more to do, time to do it in, and other adventures to have!

The Chocolate Follow-Up

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I made it a point to pick up some dark chocolate over the weekend. I decided on some Moser-Roth 70% Cocoa. Eating it as described in my last post, I can say that it does have a more complex flavor than milk chocolate. It tastes a bit bitter when I first put it in my mouth, but as it melts the bitterness seems to recede. I wish that I were better at describing tastes, so that I could give you a better understanding of what it is like.

By the time that the chocolate is all melted away, I don’t notice any bitterness. I think that the aftertaste may be even better than the actual chocolate.

I have always been a dessert fan. A meal just does not seem complete unless it includes a finishing sweet taste. After supper tonight, a small bite of dark chocolate seemed to be exactly the compliment that the pasta needed. The sweetness of the chocolate seemed to balance out the lingering saltiness.

A whole new world of tastes is now open to me! While perusing the grocery store I noticed the wide selection of dark chocolates and am eager to try them all. This is so exciting! Writing about it made me want more… so I’m off to grab another bite!

Have You had Your Chocolate Today?

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Have you tried a GOOD chocolate bar recently? I have found two options: a rich and creamy milk chocolate or a bitter chocolate with a high cacao concentration. These two options will appeal to different palates, so try them both to determine which you prefer.

Cacao is actually very good for you, so eating a dark chocolate is a pretty decent snack. It is the high amount of sugar found in milk chocolate that makes it unhealthy, so if you end up liking the milk chocolate you might want to be aware of this fact. You can still enjoy it on a regular basis, as I do, and by eating it “properly” you will automatically moderate your intake.

Whichever you end up prefering, here is how to eat it. Instead of just gobbling it down and not really tasting it, try breaking off a small chunk and letting it melt in your mouth. You are better able to taste and enjoy the flavor this way. If you are eating a bitter chocolate, you might want to start with smaller pieces and work your way to larger ones. Of course, your chocolate will also last longer; my previous chocolate bar (an extra large one from Valentine’s Day) lasted me over a week, even with two of us eating it.

I have heard some chocolate snobs say that a bitter chocolate’s flavor is “far more interesting than the simple flavor of milk chocolate.” I have not sampled a bitter chocolate recently, and so cannot comment on this. My only advice in exploring different chocolates is to avoid any kind of baking chocolate, as it is generally pretty unpalatable in its straight form.

Since you are eating smaller portions each time, you can actually eat chocolate more often! By eating only a small chunk after every meal, I can satisfy my sweet tooth while stretching my chocolate bar over the course of a week. Previously, that same bar would have last me no more than two sittings. However, I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much.

Three cheers for chocolate!

Enjoy What You are Shooting

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I know nothing about photography, but have always dreamed of taking great photos. After years of wishing, I was finally inspired by Lisa at Travelin’ Local to start improving my photography skills. She loves her photography and is passionate about finding adventures in her hometown.

Based on my lack of knowledge, I needed[singlepic=15,320,240,,right]to start at the beginning. No matter where you look, one of the most important parts of getting better is simple, practice. I had to get out there and start taking more photos. One piece of photography advice I read was “Enjoy what you are shooting.” Following this advice, I spent some time staring through the camera at the keys and keyholes in our apartment. My wife found this quite amusing. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I find the old-fashioned keys in our apartment fascinating. It is helpful that they are convenient and readily available (and inside… it’s cold at night!)

Of course, we don’t have keys like this at home. I have seen them in a couple of the older homes I have visited, but only on interior doors, not on the front door. Since I don’t expect to live anywhere else that has them, I plan to enjoy them while I have the opportunity.

[singlepic=17,320,240,,left]I know I am not the only one who is interested in an everyday item in my house. I’m sure that you possess something that is different, something that either you or others find fascinating. Don’t let your familiarity blind you to how interesting something can be. You might need to change your perspective. An easy way to look at those items in a new way is through the lens of a camera. You don’t have a fancy camera? That’s ok, neither do I. Mine is a fairly cheap point-and-shoot, an older version of what you will see at any electronics department. It is neither fancy nor feature rich. I am using it as a starting point; it’s easy to use, has few options to confuse me, and will enable me to focus on taking pictures (things like composition and lighting).

Having trouble thinking of an item to re-look at? Here are some suggestions: [singlepic=16,320,240,,right]

  • something that you collect
  • a gift you received
  • a well-worn item
  • a heirloom
  • something different from everyone else’s (different color, shape, etc)

Now that you have your subject in mind, begin looking at it in a different way. My first key photos struck me as boring and plain (I must have taken 50 total, over half of which I deleted.) After some frustration it finally occurred to me that I was looking directly at them. While this worked in the picture above, highlighting the light coming in through the keyhole, it did not work with anything else. I finally realized that I should try a new angle, and ended up with the picture at the beginning of the post. I tried re-arranging the keys, holding them in my hand, combining them with the door, looking from every possible angle and more. (You wouldn’t believe how many tries it took me to get that key to stand on it’s edge… or how frustrated I was when I knocked it over before getting a satisfactory picture!)

Once you have done this a couple of times, you will be surprised to see how you will begin to look at everything differently. You will wonder how you can arrange the stuff on the coffee table for a good picture. “I wonder how that glass will look over here with the light hitting it just so.” Everything in your house is interesting, if only it is seen in the right way. It’s up to you to be looking!

[singlepic=14,320,240,,left]Another piece of photography wisdom I recently read was “Don’t think about what others may say about your image. If you like it, it’s worth publishing.” So while I know they could be better, I like these photos and hope you enjoy them too!

Adventure Is Not All About Travel!

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Often when I tell someone that I am going on a trip, they comment “what a great adventure!” And they are right. However, I think that people often have the mistaken idea that adventure = travel, which is not the case. Traveling might get you to the adventure, it might even be an adventure in and of itself, but adventure can be found wherever you are.

I think that the biggest reason for this mis-belief is because people don’t realize what I said in my first post, that “an adventure is something that is exciting or new to you.” They think ‘adventure’ and picture some grand excursion. In reality, an adventure can take place in your back yard, at your local park, or in your home town.

It all depends on your mindset. When you are looking for adventure, you can find it in the most surprising, dare I say everyday, places. If all it takes is doing something new or something exciting, you can do that in your nearest grocery store. I can wander over to the cheese section and find some very interesting looking specimens. I have never tried any of them, and know nothing about them. For a quick culinary adventure, I could pick out one that looks interesting and ask someone behind the counter what they recommend that I try it with. Pick up their recommendation and go home to sample. I might feel safer to do a quick search online for recommendations I searched for “Merlot and cheese combo” and came up with a list of cheeses to consider: Brie, Camembert, Cheddar, Gorgonzola, Gouda, Gruyere, Jarlsberg, and Parmesan… in about three minutes. If you’re already a cheese fan and have tried everything offered locally, check out the other aisles, I’m sure that you can find something new.

If you are short of inspiration, spend some time with a 5 year old. Any child will lead you on a constant stream of adventures, if you let them. You will explore with a prince or princess, discover exciting worlds and otherwise have an amazing time. All of these amazing adventures to be had in familiar, everyday settings. (Don’t have a 5 year old that you can borrow? I’m sure that if you ask your friends, family, and neighbors you will find someone who could use a babysitter, even if it is just for a few hours of peace during the day.)

As a blog about everyday adventure, I will be mentioning all different kinds of adventures that are available, not just the ones that involve travel. Don’t become discouraged because you don’t have the time or money to go somewhere for a week-long getaway, you can have adventures anytime, anywhere, as long as you are looking for them.