Still still-arounding

Peru is not as settled as I would have hoped; I'm looking at new treks as sending my deposit to United Mice has proved more difficult than I understood it to be. They get very good reviews and have been a consistent favorite with Peru trekkers, so I generally trust them. However, Moneygram refuses to send money to the name they gave me as the recipient for the deposit, so I am a little skeptical. I sent them an e-mail yesterday informing them of this and asking them what their explanation is and what else I could do. The only other option would be visiting a Western Union agent, since I am for some reason unable to send money online (and, besides, it's 3x more expensive online). But I would want to make sure the recipient is valid before sending any money.

I'm looking at llamapath, which is a little more expensive, but the reviews are excellent, rather than just very good, and they are much more communicative. There is no June 16 Salkantay to Machu Picchu, but they offered to start one if I committed. I like their willingness to work with me and their prompt communication. As a bonus, they use Paypal to receive funds, which I am already registered with and would be much easier for me.

Other projects, then, fall a bit to the wayside. I need to keep chugging at this travel planning until I'm truly satisfied.

I am going to make a concerted effort to get to bed on time. Since I plan on getting up early tomorrow, that gives me about half an hour.

I've also begun creating a ToDo list. I've been making huge strides at work to organize the immense amount of tasks that collect around me; both to keep track of them in long-term, that is, make sure they get done, and also to serve as a visual point of focus, so if I am interrupted (which I am, again and again, all day long) I have a centerpoint I can return to, to remind me of what I am working on and what I need to get done. It's working pretty well.

And the biggest surprise is, as I step up my productivity, emotions come out, rather than hiding. I was afraid that all this focus on productivity and efficiency would be a temptation to focus on lists and plans and projects rather than on people, on the heart of the program, but it's not. As I confront the tasks I set down in the heat of the moment, as the idea struck me, and make a commitment to follow through with them, I bring up all kinds of nice, raw resistance: attachment to certain activities or ways of doing things. The more I make an effort to really sculpt a work process for myself, the more I see all the hangups and evasions and complaints about getting the job done that come up inside me. And the more I see these things, the more fully I can experience the emotions that went into them; the more I live my decisions and ideas, rather than just keeping them on a figurative shelf forever. My office and my job are my home as much as anything else, and it behooves me and my job to make it as vibrant and energetic and supportive place as I can make it. Hence all the OCD focus on cleaning, organizing and tasking.

I will leave you with a photo. My first and my most successful farming project, which I have been engaged in for almost 3 years continually: Sprouting.



I even took some time to polish the composition. I'm proud of them. If you live near me, let me know if you want some sprouts, and I'll happily give you some or grow them for you. This is a mix of alfalfa, clover, radish and cabbage. They take about 5 days to be edible.

Good night, all.