Maybe all of the eventfulness of my life is getting to me and I think life should be even more of a headache... but I'm getting an unrestful kind of itch and contemplating all kinds of big changes... probably it's just because the weather in Chicago is finally really nice, and I'm couped up in an office during the day, but I've been thinking: (Warning: This post makes zero sense to anyone who lives outside of my head.)
• Would like to move to Wyoming, buy a forest green 1988 Ford Ranger pick-up truck, get a dog, and work in a small town, but live in a house/cabin a few miles outside of town on 40 acres of my own,
• Would like to have a hunting rifle and basement freezer to store the one elk I would hunt and kill per year (must learn about skinning elk, also how to shoot a gun, should I buy 4 sets of clothing or 50? Maybe I'll trade for those on the trail... sure wish the Wagon could carry more than 50 sets of clothing).
• Bonuses: Money stretches further in Wyoming, life is simpler (and I would be unhappy after three months), could work as a bookkeeper/accountant, etc.
• Requirements: 40 acres should have a stream for fishing and no city lights for star-watching, also needs a bike/walking path near the cabin (like that one place by Kalamazoo).
• Perhaps location would be eastern Washington so I could catch Salmon in the river. (I went to the store and tried to buy Salmon on Monday, but the 2 for $8 sale referred to the two cuts of Salmon in the package, not 2 packages for $8, so no Salmon. Salmon, yum.)
• Huge perk, wearing fleece most evenings. Huge disadvantage: Wyoming winters are totally harsh. Summers have lots of mosquitoes. Hate mosquitoes. Perhaps Arizona.
• Would like to sell downtown condo and move some place bigger, and across the street from a big park (perhaps Lincoln Park or Grant Park). Could rent for less than I pay to own.
• Would like to have a dog (Irish Terrier) that I would walk in the evenings.
• Would like to be able to take my dog to work.
• Would still like to be able to walk to work and everywhere else I need to go (Millenium Park?)
• Would like to be within three blocks of grocery store (Lincoln Park? or Smith Ave. in Bloomington, IN - incidentally I saw two months ago that the owner of the Chocolate Moose had to close because they couldn't find an owner.)
• Would like to live in Loveland, CO. (Drove through there as a Kid and thought how awesome that would be.) or someplace with a lake in the middle of town. Would have dog that would run into water to retrieve stick while playing fetch.
• Would like to live on a houseboat. (Read an article in NYTimes about that, also last year about some retirees who live on a river in France.) Would have Dog that can swim.
• Would like to live on outskirts of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in house by the Indian Ocean. This house is two stories with the entire upstairs a Master suite that has both eastward and westward facing balconies. Would work at nearby English language MK school. Would have dog.
• Would really like to go back to Rio.
Anyhow, the point of this is that most of my bizarre fantasy-escapist-dreams involve a dog of some sort, and I'm always jealous of the people with a dog in my building. Now, after the disastrous cat experiment of aught eight, I know much better than to try this where I live now, so maybe I'll move. I did some reading up on dogs and I'm not sure that an Irish terrier is necessarily the best fit for me... but that will be my placeholder over the next month as I 'experiment' with a 'dog'.
Experiment requirements:
• Walk "dog" in mornings to the nearest green spot and back. Minimum time requirement 20 mins.
• Walk "dog" after work for at least 10 blocks ~ 30 mins.
• Walk "dog" for a few minutes in evening before bed.
• Figure out how much dog food will cost per paycheck. Set $ aside. Figure out where I could buy dog-food and how I would get it home. Add cost of taxi if necessary.
• Figure out how much other stuff costs per paycheck. Set $ aside.
Experiment length: 6 weeks with only two foul ups. (May 20 - June 24), will repeat test again when I move.
If I pass my test, then maybe I'll let myself go look at a shelter... but not until I pass my test. Also, maybe try selling my place in the mean-time... or maybe just give up the dream.
