Without coffee in the mix anymore I needed to add something to my morning routine to replace it. Looking through my master list last night I found this goal and it sounded just about perfect. There were a few things that inspired this to be one of the weekly goals. Last year I would get up at 5:00 AM to deliver papers via bicycle and foot to an apartment complex. If I timed my paper route exactly right, some mornings approaching the last 4 doors on the route I would get to watch the sun coming up over the mountains east of Ellett Valley. It was the best part of my day.
Later towards the end of the year some friends and I decided to get up super early and go watch the sunrise on a northeast facing ridge of the Appalachian Trail. It was nothing like the sunrise pictured to the left. It ended up being fairly cloudy and far from picturesque. It didn't matter though. We had fun. We got up at a crazy time of day and went and did something out of the ordinary. Out of all the memories made last year this one stands out to me as a great one.
Similar to my goal of drinking tea twice a day this goal is ultimately about feeling good about the day. So what does watching a sunrise do for you? For me, it makes me relaxed. It makes me appreciate nature. It starts my day positively knowing that I am going to be productive. Hearing the birds makes me think about the rest of the animals that we share this planet with. It defines the day. Just as I am defining my year by doing something different every week, I don't want to define my day by watching the sunrise from the same place every week. If anyone has any suggestions of good spots to watch it from throw them out in the comments OR just go with me! Here's to getting up early!
End of Week 12 Update
Later towards the end of the year some friends and I decided to get up super early and go watch the sunrise on a northeast facing ridge of the Appalachian Trail. It was nothing like the sunrise pictured to the left. It ended up being fairly cloudy and far from picturesque. It didn't matter though. We had fun. We got up at a crazy time of day and went and did something out of the ordinary. Out of all the memories made last year this one stands out to me as a great one.
Similar to my goal of drinking tea twice a day this goal is ultimately about feeling good about the day. So what does watching a sunrise do for you? For me, it makes me relaxed. It makes me appreciate nature. It starts my day positively knowing that I am going to be productive. Hearing the birds makes me think about the rest of the animals that we share this planet with. It defines the day. Just as I am defining my year by doing something different every week, I don't want to define my day by watching the sunrise from the same place every week. If anyone has any suggestions of good spots to watch it from throw them out in the comments OR just go with me! Here's to getting up early!
End of Week 12 Update
I gave checking out the sunrise two attempts the first week. The first time I drove up to a good spot in town and fell asleep in my car as I was waiting for the sun. I'm not accustomed to being awake any time before eight but it was very cloudy that day so I decided to give it another shot and the second time I caught a pretty nice one.
I took the photo to the right but it doesn't do it any justice. My good friend Brandon brought up a point that maybe I should look into getting a better camera if I am going to be watching the sunrise so much. Chances are by the end of the year I will have seen the sunrise from some pretty obscure places so I'm going to take his advice and look into something a little better than my 5 megapixel caveman camera. I'm sure it will help to spice up the blog a bit towards the end of the year.
Week 12 Totals
Soda - 0 ounces
Water - 41.68 Gallons
Liquor - 0 shots
Tea - 126 cups
Trips to unhappy places - Jimmy Johns (1)
$ to support neighbors = $150.44
Fried food consumption - 2 dorito chips
Breakfasts eaten - 35
Pushups - 780 Crunches - 720
Days Flossed - 21
Coffee - 0 cups
Sunrises attended - 1
I took the photo to the right but it doesn't do it any justice. My good friend Brandon brought up a point that maybe I should look into getting a better camera if I am going to be watching the sunrise so much. Chances are by the end of the year I will have seen the sunrise from some pretty obscure places so I'm going to take his advice and look into something a little better than my 5 megapixel caveman camera. I'm sure it will help to spice up the blog a bit towards the end of the year.
Week 12 Totals
Soda - 0 ounces
Water - 41.68 Gallons
Liquor - 0 shots
Tea - 126 cups
Trips to unhappy places - Jimmy Johns (1)
$ to support neighbors = $150.44
Fried food consumption - 2 dorito chips
Breakfasts eaten - 35
Pushups - 780 Crunches - 720
Days Flossed - 21
Coffee - 0 cups
Sunrises attended - 1