a lil hoohaa

This truly seems like a question with an answer that changes as one gets older.

There was a stretch for about 12 years where I went to Montreal at least once a year. Sometimes twice. But we’d go, usually as a small group, and do what people in their 20s do in a city like Montreal.

We went to bars. We met people. We went to … clubs. It was fun and most nights were a blur. During the day, we’d explore the city (it’s truly an amazing city — I always felt like I was in Europe, but within driving distance), have good food and enjoy a few early cordials.

The stories we have from that city are best left to the memory and not a blog.

That being said, I haven’t been to Montreal since 2009. In 2010, we went on a family trip to Ireland. And since then, I’ve just not made it north of the border. I do plan on making a trip there within the next year or two, though, as I want to see it from an older set of eyes. To enjoy the food and the ambiance more.

Goodness knows I wouldn’t be able to last like I did in my 20s/early 30s!

It’s also funny because I used to hate the beach. Probably because I don’t like the heat, but for whatever reason — keep me away.

That’s changed as I’ve gotten older.

I still don’t really like to go to a beach in the middle of the summer when there are so many people. But I love to explore the beach in the fall. Sometimes you get lucky and the weather is delightful enough to act like it’s the summer.

But I’ve found I enjoy the relaxing atmospheres much more as I’ve gotten older.

For example, I almost dreaded going on a cruise a few years ago. But once on and experiencing everything, it was an absolute blast. Great food and ambiance. And the ability to sit out on a balcony for an hour before heading to bed was divine. The sound of the ship going across the water, the cool breeze, and the smell … was perfect.

Yet, I also like going away now where I can geocache or get a good hike in and things like that. I truly enjoy the more simple and serene places. In a recent geocaching trip out west (this past fall — I will eventually blog about it), I saw things I never thought about seeing when I was younger. National and state parks are places I love to explore and investigate.

Back to the question at hand — the best place to travel. I’m not sure I can answer that. I do know that you should travel to places you want to see and explore, as it will make the experiences that much better. Take chances and enjoy the ride!

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This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

The short answer? Nothing.

Therein lies a problem. I love reading and always have. As a kid, I used to read all the time. Even through college and all, I was a reader. Once the technology age came, I kept up a bit. I made life easier and started reading via a Kindle. I like it because it’s light and easy to take with me.

But somewhere along the line, I stopped.

Sure, I still read the newspaper every day. But I’ll be honest here — despite being a former newspaperman, I can get through the local daily just as fast as it takes to wolf down a breakfast sandwich or a bowl of cheerios. There’s not a lot to it anymore, so it doesn’t take long to read. Any national news I already know about, and the local stuff isn’t always that appealing. It’s quite amazing how the paper has changed over the past 10 years.

And yes, when some magazines come in, I still read or leaf through them.

Alas, the bulk of my reading is online. Be it sports news or regular news. The world works at a fast pace when it comes to news, so the reading is done that way.

But books — for some reason, I’ve fallen off. I’m not sure why as I like to read. But I used to read before bed. Problem is now when I go to bed, it doesn’t take me long to fall asleep. And if I read, often times the Kindle will come crashing down on my face because I start to doze off and my hands release the Kindle …

Ouch!

With that in mind, I recently started my third attempt at a Day Zero Project (a post on that will be coming soon), and one of the goals is to read a certain amount of books over the 1,001 days that this challenge happens. My thought process is that it will force me to get back into doing something I love to do.

Reading books is a wonderful thing as it can allow you to disappear in the words and the world in which the book is set. Be it fiction or real life, the books can allow an escape, which is something we all need.

How about you? Reading anything good or do you need to get back into it, too?

*****

This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Sometimes, you have to have some fun.

And maybe be devious.

But ever since I pulled this theme from the hat, this was in my head to do. Now I share it with you.

You’re welcome…

*****

This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

It seems like ages ago that I was boarding a plane to Florida.

Yet, it was only March of 2018.

Not even a full year ago and I was escaping the cold and snow of the Northeast for the sunny days (at least some of those days) of Spring Training.

This was a bucket list item to cross off and I was battling an awful back issue.

Spring vacation, indeed — I could barely walk.

This was something that had been in the works for a long time. We had planned the route, the stadiums, the days etc. And here I was struggling to get on the plane without any major issues because standing upright for too long was hell on my back.

There weren’t many things I could do without pain.

Alas, off to Florida I went. We had a bunch of games and places to go planned. It was time for some baseball.

All told, we saw six games. We watched baseball in the spring homes of Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia. Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and the New York Yankees.

The weather wasn’t always perfect. The night watching the Yankees was cold. It was a gloomy day when we watched the Phillies. It took about half the game for the weather to turn night with the Pirates.

Still, it was spring training.

Let me tell you a little about spring training — and please remember, I say a lot of this because of a bad back. This back was so bad that I couldn’t walk too far without having to go down into a catcher’s crouch to relieve the pressure on my back. That’s not a fun way to travel, especially when wanting to see these stadiums.

Needless to say, I wasn’t walking around the stadiums and seeing everything — and that was disappointing. It was get into the stadium, look at the team store, maybe grab something to eat, and then find my seat. And then don’t move until the game was over.

Part of going to new baseball stadiums and places is exploring. I didn’t get to do that.

Still, I had the opportunity to go to spring training. There were a ton of people (obviously) and sometimes it was difficult to move around. One place had issues finding our tickets, which were supposed to be at will call. They were in the one spot the whole time — the one person working there just didn’t look close enough. There were definitely times people missed details.

In the end, the experiences was pretty good. It was baseball in March in Florida. It gave me the chance to experience spring training. I just wish I had been in better health while there. I am not sure I will do it again because of the people/prices and all of that, but it was worth doing. (When I say prices… there was one game we paid nearly 60 bucks per ticket… for a spring training game. Way too much). Maybe going to Arizona for spring training would be cool to do at some point.

It was a spring vacation I’ll always remember — for good and bad — so that’s one thing.

How about all of you? Any good spring vacation stories?

*****

This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Do you all plan?

For years and years, I used to get a daily planner. I thought it would be good to have and to utilize. But each year, I’d start and then it would fade.

I even tried to have it just for blogging.

Alas, I just never could stick with it. I bought bigger planners and smaller planners. I got thin ones and thick ones. There were ones that were way more in-depth and then the simplest ones.

Nothing worked.

So I’m trying it again — just a bit differently this time. Now, I’m going digital. While there are some good aspects of this, there are some not-so-good parts, too.

The planner I am using is one I purchased via Etsy for Goodnotes, which is something I have on my iPad for note taking etc. It’s a very good app and I love using it for many things, including with my Apple Pencil.

But the one problem I am seeing is .. it’s on my iPad. I don’t have it with me 24/7, so if I don’t have it … how do I use the planner? As far as I can tell, even if I have it on my phone, this won’t be accessible there at the same time.

Therefore, I’m doing this in a few different ways.

The planner on the iPad is going to be an overall thing. I’m going to eventually use it to keep track of things as I go along, be it food or exercise, or even simple things like gaming and geocaching.

What I try and do is make it a little more creative, using things like digital stickers or items or colors. I tend to look at this 4-5 days per week and see what I have planned etc.

I mix this with my Google Calendar, which is something I can access all the time on my phone or computer or wherever. This will help me do a bit of each when it comes to planning.

How about you?

Are you a planner? If so, do you still use old-school planners? Digital? Things like Google? Something else? Share below in the comments and maybe I can learn some new ideas to try and help me get better!

There are other hobbies I have that I don’t always focus on (blogging, for example, which I need to become more routine) but they are still there and I enjoy.

How about you? What kind of hobbies or games do you participate in?

*****

This post is part of the 2019 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!