Dez's Bootcamp Experience (BRK)

POST 61 (DAY 67, Friday, 2020.10.16)
[Evening Entry]

THE WORK: AM&PM.. It's The First Wofati Greenhouse, man~!.. Installed the first (lower) purlin.. the middle post needs a shim, but the two outer notches fit very nicely.. in retrospect, I think the purlin log may have had a bow/crown that was not accounted for during the measurement-taking.. I held the rope this time, (footage may appear in official video) and it was pretty exciting watching it fit together.. So exciting, in fact, that I was even more pumped to start work on the next purlin~!.. man, I really geek out about this stuff, don't I?.. There's just something magical about it.. I hope you get a chance to try this kind of stuff if/when you visit.. yes, you.. =D
    Josiah and I put the tarps up for the coming rain.. we're thinking of a way to set up the tarp/canopy so, we can work in the rain also.. that sounds suuuuuper fun to me.. also a little crazy.. but mostly just fun.. hearing the raindrops touch down right above my head as I help to create The First Wofati Greenhouse, man~!.. Just give me a jacket and a chisel, and maybe a tortilla to snack on--I'm a happy/slightly-loco camper~!..
    Tomorrow may rain.. that means, I may not be chopping wood.. hopefully the early AM window will be dry.. in which case, I'd love to go..
    Took a cold shower today.. it was surprisingly warm due to the pre-rain weather front.. (Yesterday's shower was so icy cold, I thought my face would freeze off.. still fun though..).. Why do I do this to myself?.. not exactly sure.. maybe to build up my tolerance and immunity..
WELLNESS ASSESSMENT: Pushups in the morning seem to be helping my core strength.. I sleep better and more aware of my breathing.. Next up might be a sit-ups regimen.. the challenge is 90 days at a time.. today is day 16.. The small red circle on my left anterior axillary area has not grown, but looks partially scabby/dry--will keep monitoring, but no major concern at this time.. Hands and feet are not as sore (still a little sore).. BMs are good since I significantly reduced bean intake.. I guess my gut no longer agrees with beans anymore.. Sad, because I love beans.. alas, sometimes it must be a one-way love.. Emotionally/Spiritually, I feel centered, happy, stable, clear.. the things that have helped are Music, Singing, Dancing, a Hot Shower, a Shave, doing Laundry, and wearing a "weekend shirt".. These are all things I have not done in the first 60 days or so of being at WL.. Though I chose to forego these things, I did not see that was taking a toll on me.. thinking back, these are all things that I had built-in to my regimen back in The City precisely because I had experienced something similar before.. another hurray for routines and regimens to feed the soul.. Bon weekend~!

enjoy the pics~! =D

The question of beans and guts comes up here ... That's something I'd love to find the answer to.
Maybe there's someone here on Permies who knows more on it. In Dutch information I only found a little clue once: the fact that beans cause gasses in your guts (to say it nicely) does not mean they harm you. It might even mean they are good for you and it's the good bacteria causing the gasses ... But still that is not really clear.

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:The question of beans and guts comes up here ... That's something I'd love to find the answer to.
Maybe there's someone here on Permies who knows more on it. In Dutch information I only found a little clue once: the fact that beans cause gasses in your guts (to say it nicely) does not mean they harm you. It might even mean they are good for you and it's the good bacteria causing the gasses ... But still that is not really clear.

I like your bacteria info.. if I love beans, I say they aren’t harmful! =D Apparently related to the sheer fiber content of beans.. the interwebs is suggesting small amounts at a time, to start..

POST 62 (DAY 68, Saturday, 2020.10.17)
[Morning Entry]
"To experience the realness of pain and the joy, deeply and lovingly.. this is life.."
    I've recently been writing mostly about the joys of being here at WL..This past week, has certainly been a highlight of feeling like i'm at my happiest place one earth.. Thought omission of the painful parts was deliberate, I do feel special kind of peace in honoring the low-lights as well as the highlights, fully embraced.. There's no sweet without the bitter.. Life is both yin and yang.. ebb and flow.. but all in love.. all in love.. Simply scrapping the parts that taste bitter is my logical prerogative.. and yet, it feels unbalanced.. So, then what?.. I suppose I must learn to accept it as it, find whatever real sublime beauty within its initial distastefulness.. This embracing and accepting of the unpreferred has been a struggle for as long as I can remember.. Boundaries are very important and necessary--this topic different from what I mean to explore at this time..
    Example time.. When I was living in The City, a few years back (cir. 2016), I was living next to the main foyer of my friend's house.. My friend Joe, and his two daughters would walk by right outside my bedroom door each morning, waking me up mid-sleep.. At first, I was bitter about it.. Resenting their unmodulated vocal volumes as they held a conversation while shodding and robing up for the outside.. How could I say what I wanted to say? I held my tongue for as long as I could.. and the more I focused on it, the more it drove me nuts.. I was not at peace with this situation.. Long story short, I grew to love hearing Joe's deep adult voice interact with two tiny young voices, each morning, about the most nothing-est things..
"Libby, your left shoe is on your right foot, sweetie.. do you want to wear it like that?"
"No, that's how I wanted it.." Spoken in an overly confident tone..
"Okay~.. i guess you'll be walking backwards all day.."
"Wait~!, I forgot my backpack upstairs~!", exclaims Autumn, floppily racing up the stairwell to the second floor, with the particularly boundless enthusiasm of a 6th-grader could..
"Okay, come meet us in the car when you've got it..", Says Joe, calmly, warmly..
How beautiful are these simple communications between adult father and his young children?..
    With the newly shifted focus on the love between family members, instead of my own selfish preference for a quiet morning, I was now able to enjoy a previously annoying situation.. It took weeks and possibly months for me to grow to appreciate these morning moments, often wavering in and out of the annoyed state.. But the more awareness I put on my focus, the easier it got to practice the gratitude.. There'd even be many days where I found myself looking forward to being awoken by tiny mouse-voices saying oddly random things that children tend to say..
"Hey, I gonna be a monster, today~!! Grrr~!!" Growls Libby.. or
"Dad, I feel.. so sad.. that.. that.. we couldn't.. keep.. Penny..", sobbing in between each word, cried Autumn.. (Penny was a boston terrier puppy dog that was adopted for one night)
Part of me wanted to get out there and give them all a hug and a smile each morning.. but usually, I stayed in bed, grinning.. Sometimes, they'd say through my door "Bye, Shane the Sheep~!" as they left.. Cute.. Just pure cute.. Joe let me stay in that guest suite for 4 years, during our 2-week verbal agreement.. And then another year+ at their new house.. As a guest, I felt so invited to their space.. Family dinners at home or out, movie nights, outings with friends, childrens' birthday parties--they always invited me.. Somehow I had become a part of their family..
    Who were these angels that would make me feel so welcome and included? Danielle would come home after work and chat and laugh with me for 3-4 days out of the week, while preparing dinner for Joe's arrival home.. I learned about an unspoken generosity that I had never seen or experienced.. Even as I write this, I get emotional, because I really needed a friend like that at that time..
I had the privilege and honor of understanding how their family communicated with each other, and spent quality time together.. An understatement would be to say that it left a lasting impression..

    We still keep in touch.. Joe and Danielle (husband and wife) cooked me a send-off dinner before I left Seattle for Montana..
I spent one final night on the floor of their newly remodeled bonus room in their new house, because that's where I wanted to be on my last night in The City.. With my family.. among the warmest, kindest humans I've ever known.. I've never really had a "bestie" per say, but these human beings are on some kind of best-est list for me..

    The quote in the beginning is paraphrased, but the idea came to me from an episode of Star Trek Discovery, which I've been watching in Paul-Theatre.. This story is one example from my life where beauty, honor, and learning, were the byproducts of embracing the pain.. There are plenty of others, and also examples where I'm still struggling to shift my focus to love.. Being in community with the folks here at WL, I feel like the small fish in the pond.. Jen and Josiah, in particular, seem to grasp the concept of embracing people as they are.. Through watching them, I learn how to have a bigger heart.. and that's a good thing.. I also seem to have way less technical knowledge of permaculture compared to my present company.. What then do I have to contribute?.. I'm not sure yet.. But I believe two things: 1) I can learn, as long as I am willing, and 2) if acceptance must be my focus, then comparison (aka, the bitter old curmudgeon) has little priority..

Happy Saturday, enjoy the pics~!

Dez Choi wrote:

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:The question of beans and guts comes up here ... That's something I'd love to find the answer to.
Maybe there's someone here on Permies who knows more on it. In Dutch information I only found a little clue once: the fact that beans cause gasses in your guts (to say it nicely) does not mean they harm you. It might even mean they are good for you and it's the good bacteria causing the gasses ... But still that is not really clear.

I like your bacteria info.. if I love beans, I say they aren’t harmful! =D Apparently related to the sheer fiber content of beans.. the interwebs is suggesting small amounts at a time, to start..

The pancreas enzymes and or beneficial microbes need to break them down before the yeast starts to work on them.

Alpha-galactosidase is a digestive enzyme that breaks down the carbohydrates in beans into simpler sugars to make them easier to digest. The most commonly known alpha-galactosidase supplement is known by the trade name Beano. It's been around since the early 1990s, long before digestive enzymes started trending.Feb 19, 2019

POST 63 (DAY 69, Sunday, 2020.10.18)
[Mid-day Entry]

RECAP [, POSSIBLY]: Back in October 2010, I packed up my life into one honda civic (2008 Si; such an awesome car), and drove due north 18 hours from Tustin, California, to arrive in Seattle to start a new chapter of life.. This past August 2020, I packed up my life into one honda civic (2013 Lx; such an awesome car too), and drove due east 7 hours from Seattle, WA, to arrive in a suburb of Missoula, Montana to start a new chapter of life.. each new chapter was like a trust-fall into the universe.. and somehow, I knew everything would be okay.. It turns out, that the universe not only caught my fall, but it had more than enough in store for my arrival(s)..
    Today, I am undoubtedly reminded of my 2010 transition in that i'm finding a refreshed joy in the fundamentals of being--singing, dancing, laughing, sharing, caring, creating, loving.. it was at that time I heard the universe speak to me "Go.. Do.. Be.."..
    This past Friday afternoon, I'm up on a ladder, enthusiastically chiseling a notch into the rafter-log of The First Wofati Greenhouse, man~!.. Suddenly, I blurt out, "I feel like the bulk of my life has been preparing me to be here at WL..".. and he replies "Me too.." I ask him to explain what he means and he mentions two things--1) a heightened awareness and sensation of emotions and empathy, and 2) a yearning/burning desire to create of a void to make space for something coming.. I can't help but to relate--and I had not even explained what i meant by what I said yet~!.. I certainly had to create a void by selling/eliminating most of my material possessions..
    What I'm realizing here at WL is that my desire to go the extra inch had to be cultivated.. I was much more of a "taker" than a giver.. asking myself, "what can I get..?" rather than "how can I give..?".. You see, I used to think that I was a pretty high-level helper.. until arriving at WL.. It takes a certain amount of self-discipline, gratitude and surrender to be a volunteer.. and a volunteer that goes the extra distance is apparently on a level that I have yet to reach~!--An encouraging and humbling confirmation that I'm not done growing or learning.. to become more than I was yesterday.. to simplify and streamline my life so that there is space (a void) to fill with excellence.. to choose, each day, to be a contributor with a joyful spirit, in all circumstances--this is just the beginning.. life has more adventure in store for me here.. I am willing and continuing to cultivate new levels and facets of willingness.. If WL is the arena, I am in the field of a championship game (a kind of superbowl so to speak), and the world is the spectator.. Do I show up?.. if so, how do I show up?.. do I practice the daily exercises of self-discipline, gratitude and surrender?.. do I adopt an abundance-mentality or succumb to a scarcity-mentality attitude?.. Each day will be different, and the storms may come, but my resolve is (again) love and acceptance.. "May the universe grant me humility.."--this is a bold ask, because the last time I asked for this, it hurt~!.. I was stretched outside my comfort zone, but hey, I'm still here today, and better for it.. =D Let's go~!! Ahhh~!!!

    Chopped some firewood after cleaning the FPH today.. Part of me actually didn't want to do it~!.. I know~!.. Unbelievable, right?.. It was cold, drizzling, and I had not yet eaten lunch.. Slightly fatigued and underwhelmed, I just put one foot in front of the other--I surrendered without investing much energy to the thoughts of not chopping the rest, thought I did have the option.. and after the first few logs, guess what?--it became fun.. also, Waldo had decided to ride along and help me--naturally he got the grubs from the split logs (video).. He sure was meowing a lot for those grubs, too.. I guess cat's like the taste of them.. so, Lion King had it right after all, huh? lol.
    After finishing my project for the day, I put away the tools, and went inside to cook up my lunch.. scalloped potato hash loaded with provolone (which Mike Haasl brought for us all the way from Wisconsin~! Thanks Mike~!!!), and scrambled eggs on a slice of toast, topped with my homemade spicy mayo.. it wasn't my best dish (still could use refinement), but filled my belly up nice for the evening.. I realized I enjoy Saturday/Sunday meals because I get to eat a late breakfast and early dinner--which is what I prefer when possible.. Reason being, I like to bed early around 8-9pm, and fast in the morning from 6am-10am.. When I finish the 2 years of Bootcamp, I shall design a workday around this type of schedule.. It makes me smile to imagine that day.. =D

enjoy the pics/vids~!

POST 64 (DAY 70, Monday, 2020.10.19)
[Morning Entry]

Today is day 1 of the BB20 event.. and it's also my mother's birthday--happy bday mom~!
I thought I heard something about the Bootcamp schedule being somewhat fluid, so I have no idea what the day will look like.. will keep ya posted..
for now..

[Evening update]
THE WORK: AM—unload Eric’s generous donation.. thanks Eric!!!.. tidy the shop a bit, and help Clayton with the overhead cubbies for a bit..
    PM—plant seeds and lay mulch on Fred’s plot.. fun!
    Come home to Ash chopping firewood, so naturally I volunteer to help!.. take another cold shower and head to FPH for Monday’s curry a la Clayton—deliciousness.. thanks Clayton!!!.. it’s winnin’!.. I wouldn’t mind finishing my days in this good a mood e’yday~.. =D

enjoy the pics~!