After the hiatus... more hiatus!

I've been dealing with some health issues lately, both myself and my dogs, and haven't posted for a while. Here goes - a post about why I haven't posted a bit...

My Health

Sad to say, but I'm not a terribly healthy specimen. As I told a co-worker, I don't get why I have health issues. For years and years I only drank the best whiskey and smoked the best cigars and ate the best pizza. In reality, my job as a software developer for the last 17 years results in me sitting at a desk for most of my 8 hour work days, and more when I work longer days.

On top of that, I have about a 1.5 hour commute round trip daily. And until I took up photography, my primary hobby for the last 10 years was writing and recording music, the bulk of which involved sitting in front of a computer at home. In other words, for the last 17 years most of my work week was sitting at a desk, and for probably 2/3s of that same time my hobby also involved sitting at a desk.

I did have a few years where I was fishing which entailed moving my body around, and a few years of wood working which at least kept my on my feet. But that has been a minor portion of my time.

That is why I was seeking a hobby that would once again get me outdoors. I quit fishing for various reasons, but missed being outside. I wanted a reason to go camping and get outdoors and decided to try photography. Hang-gliding just didn't seem like the ticket for me.

Over the past year I've truly enjoyed getting out and have found photography a great reason to do it. I like gadgets and technology (to a point) and photography has been a great way to marry the need to get out of the house with some technical goodies, not to mention something that requires skill and practice to be good at it.

Unfortunately, when I get sick, I don't have the drive to ignore it and go out and take pictures. I hate it! For almost 2 weeks now I've been sick and I believe it'll be another week or more before I'm ready to go camping. I don't want to miss the leaves turning colors up north near Sedona or Flagstaff so I'll likely try to push through it and make a trip. Otherwise I'll have to wait until next year. 

And that is what I like - that my priorities are now to get outdoors, to take a picture, and damn the inconvenience of being sick!