12 step program

by Jon Sullivan - 2022-07-02 - Stories

<<<<< previous blog         next blog >>>>>

In my mind's eye I have a photo I need to take. Getting it will require some massive logistics.

The photo is of some Oregon trout cooking over a fire next to a high mountain lake with butter, shallots and fresh herbs. That as the foreground, then the lake and mountains as the background. That would be a cool photo. I must take it.

But if I list all the things that need to happen first, just to get that one photo, it's a dauntingly long list.

I need to actually be there and catch the fish and have the lake/mountains be photogenic. So I need to find a lake that fits the composition. A quick search reveals slim prospects. So just finding it will be hard.

And to catch the fish I need a ton of stuff I don't have. Pole, gear and reel. Waders and floatie. License. Knife, kreel, packable kitchen. Maybe camping gear. Bug spray? Something to keep butter and shallots fresh on a hot hike?

But to even use the fishing gear I need to get to the lake. Which will be a long hard hike. Which I'm too out of shape for right now. Sure, strenuous 3 mile walkies in the morning are easy. But 3 miles of bad trails and 1k elevation gain? Maybe with waders and a kitchen??? I need to get in shape. Or no photo.

Getting all that gear and then not trying it at all until I'm miles from civilization would be dumb. So I need some easy fishing test runs. So research that as well.

I haven't fished for over 30 years. I've grown used to the city and having fish in nicely wrapped and cleaned portions. So... stupid as it sounds for someone raised to fish... I need to relearn fishing.

And I need to actually get set up and organized for it. Even once I'm there the Oregon move will involve lots of unpacking and settling in. Not to mention waiting for lakes to thaw. So getting ready to actually do it will require more planning and timing. The weather has to be right. I'll need to be ready to head out at any time.

The move itself hasn't had much planning yet. Need to figure out how to even get me and all my shit up there. Get a mover? Rent a truck? How much am I even bringing?

As well as just getting rid of all the junk and packing what's left. I have a lot to get rid of. I'm getting rid of way more than I'm keeping. So do that, or no photo.

There is a photo I'll take a year from now. I can see it in my mind. And for the next twelve months my time will be stretched thin trying to do all the things required just to be there and click the shutter. All my plans and work will be leading me, step by step, to that singular spot at just the right time.

Sometimes being Jon is such a pain in the ass.

<<<<< previous blog         next blog >>>>>
News
Eugene weather
39.43 degrees F, Clear (clear sky)
Min: 37.87 ,Max: 41.25 ,Humidity: 90, Wind: 0.81
Eugene, OR - Best Restaurants
Eugene, OR - Things to do
Eugene, OR - Fish reports
Oregon road conditions
Recent Posts
- Lord of Light
    As the USA descends into chaos, as non-millionaires sink to poverty, I need to reevaluate how I'm living my life.
- The happiness problem
    For a couple years being happy 24/7 was great. As 2025 unfolds, happiness seems misplaced.
- Virtue vs
    A good test of your faith is to see how it holds up to a world filled with suffering and evil and injustice.
- Eat the rich
    Elon Musk is accused of cheating on video games. Luckily I am an expert in these sorts of things. Here's my take.
- 2025 - The year of recipes
    Obviously I need to post more recipes. Let's make it count for something. Taking requests.
- 2024 best photos
    I didn't get as many photos this year. More inner journey than camera adventure. But it was a year.
- Grey
    I don't remember the last two winters being this grey and cloudy, rainy, wet. This winter has felt proverb level wet.
Food I Cooked
Old School Blogroll
kottke.org
Home of fine hypertext products.
MetaFilter
A community weblog.
A Chicken Is Not Pillage
You forgot his exclamation point! It defines him. He put it there for a reason, to show how in! your! face! he is.
jessamyn.com
abada abada - twenty years of jessamyn
Matt Haughey
A Whole Lotta Nothing
dooce
Heater, Mother Of Lance
Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
Some Bits
Nelson's weblog
Everlasting Blort
proud member of the reality-based community
Whatever
This machine mocks fascists
Scripting News
It's even worse than it appears.
Flutterby
Short attention spans in a world full of flowers
mimi smartypants
Seriously, though: what's with the penguins?
Montreal City Weblog
Stupid Evil Bastard
What the fuck is wrong with you people?
Idle Words
brevity is for the weak
Making Light
Say what you mean. Bear witness. Iterate.
wilwheaton.net
50,000 Monkeys at 50,000 Typewriters Can't Be Wrong
Justin Hall
Growing & breaking down since 1994
Mike the Mad Biologist
Helping idiots who desperately need my assistance by calling them fucking morons since 2004
jwz
MSSV
AKMA’s Random Thoughts
Ruminations about hermeneutics, theology, theory, politics, ecclesiastical life… and exercise.
things magazine
An occasional weblog about objects, collections and discoveries
Miscellaneous Heathen
Hold to the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past.
kimberussell.com
where it's always Virgo Season
Cockeyed
Recent Trips
Getting it ready for you.