My last blog post was on October 14th, and I take comfort in this date because of its proximity to the current date (November 2nd). I have been formulating lots of blog post ideas in my head throughout this period of online silence. I’ve just neglected to sit down and record these thoughts in a legible way.

Today, I’m just going to provide a quick update on the things that I’ve been doing to keep myself so busy over the past  three weeks. First and foremost, I’ve had in-person meetings with everyone involved in my volunteer positions with the Grand Valley Trails Association (Landowner Relations Director) and Federal Historic Committee (Policy Advisor). There have been brainstorming meetings, monthly meetings, and general back-and-forth communications for both positions.

My workplace has also been busy with side projects and I’ve been learning more about energy and energy-related services than I ever thought possible. These side projects have allowed me to network extensively in my community, and I’ve had several business lunches with colleagues in related fields who are working on fascinating projects.

On the personal side of things, I have had a lot of fun going to a martial arts gym (TKO Fighting Arts, which I have previously written about) several nights a week and receiving an intense, sweaty, fist-pumping workout. I try to take a few evenings here and there to get outside, but I had no idea how much time and commitment life involves when you’re working full time, volunteering, and socializing. It’s that ever-elusive ‘work-life balance’ that I’ve read about for years. Students and working professionals have very different conceptualizations of what this entails.

Below are a few of the random adventures I’ve been able to enjoy after work hours.

Even more personally, I’ve had a change in my relationship status over the course of the last two weeks. This has involved a lot of time spent thinking about what’s best for me, and how I want to see my future self evolve. This has been perhaps the most time-consuming and effort-intensive element of my life since my last blog post.

Moving into the next month and the approach of 2015, I want to commit to continue writing at least one blog post per week. I’ve considered doing more frequent blog posts on my phone, but I think that the value of my writing comes from sitting down and investing time and thought into more complex topics. I also attempted to write two blog posts each week in early October and found that this was an unreasonable commitment with my current schedule.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and I look forward to continuing my interaction with the online world through this blog!