Why bother leaving the house?

I made my escape from Africa this past week, arriving home on Tuesday night. I'll be writing a little somethin' up about the trip & other randomness this weekend.

Meanwhile, broaden your horizons with this video from TED.

More randomness

It's been a while since I wrote an essay of complete random bullshit, and, since I haven't posted here on ten or so days, now's as good as time as any.

1) Niger
Yes, Niger (not Nigeria. Two different places).

I'm going to Niger tomorrow for three weeks or so (and possibly again in January).

Hopefully I won't land what Bjorn called a grand slam of dysentery, malaria and getting kidnapped.

I will have internet access but have no idea of the workload as of yet, so posts may be sporadic. Well, more sporadic than usual...

There's no fishing there, which really doesn't help me write content for Traveling Angler Tuesdays.

Which brings us to...

2) Traveling Angler Tuesdays
Traveling Angler Tuesdays might be placed on hold for a little while.

I have no fishing trips planned or schemed (but some are dreamed). I am working on a few subjects for upcoming posts (doing liveaboard/mothership trips, using booking agents, etc.) and I was hoping for a few guest posts from other Traveling Anglers I was in touch with, but for now, this Traveling Angler isn't doing too much angling.

If anyone would like to contribute a guest post with how-to's or other fine points of being a Traveling Angler, by all means, get in touch, but I'm not chasing people down.

Trying to track down fishing addicts to write something is like herding cats, for f** all.

Not that I blame them. I'd rather be fishing, too. I'll always be a fisherman that writes, not a writer that fishes.

3) Pic of me with the best Key Lime pie ever

I'd shoot someone for a piece of that Key Lime pie right about now.

And that, folks, is why gun laws are tight in Canada. We'd shoot people over pie.

But not dog shit. Never dog shit. That's just irrational.

4) International Fly Tying Symposium
Last weekend I was in Somerset, New Jersey for the tying symposium; my first 'official duty' as Clear Cure Goo's writer-not-in-residence. I had a blast meeting a lot of folks that I had only spoke with via Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/Skype up until that point.

I understand turnout was a little down this year; a lot of that had to do with people dealing with the aftereffects of Hurricane Sandy.

Thanks to Brian of CCG for letting me tag along and to everyone for stopping by the CCG booth to say hi. It was great meeting y'all.

Note: I'll probably write a little more about the IFTS on the Clear Cure Blog soon, so keep your eyes peeled for it over there. 

5) Being sick sucks hole.
Honestly, I've been having my ass kicked by a cold/flu since the tying symposium in NJ, so I haven't been posting too much here, there, or anywhere else for that matter.

I've been combining various elixirs and concoctions for the last few days. The congestion remains...but I seemed to have made a new friend that appears after certain medications have been mixed together:

As I'm 28 hours away from boarding multiple tin-pigeons (with their healthy recycled air) for the better part of a day and a half, I'm hoping adding some Buckley's flu medication into the mix finally knocks this bastard down the basement stairs for good.

I'd like to take the elephant with me to Niger, though...

6) Being sick isn't the only excuse, though...
As I wrote many weeks back, I've been using my side project, The Saltwater Fly Journal, to share a lot of content that previously would have been posted here. Stuff like this. And this. And this, too. So sign up for email/RSS updates (right hand sidebar, underneath the Redington banner) so you don't miss anything awesome on The Saltwater Fly Journal.

Because someday, there will be awesome stuff there. Trust me.

7) The following people/blogs need to keep doing what they're doing...
...because it's damn good:

• Warmwater Chronicles
• Smallmouth Fly Box
• Pine Island Angler
• Stream2Stream
• Chi Wulff
• Salt 396
• and many, many more...

8) Some people just don't get it.

"Kramer goes to a Fantasy camp? His whole life is a fantasy camp! People should plunk down $2,000 to live like him for a week." George Costanza

Someone recently referenced that quote while talking to me about my life. Some days I think it it's bang-on.

But that particular day I just purchased this to keep strapped to my body 24/7 in Niger.

Fantasy camp, my ass...

9) I love this website.
I like to mix it up once in a while here: fly fishing and lifestyle.

That lifestyle probably doesn't jive for the majority (go back to 1) and 8) on this list) but I'm sure two or three of you are interested in it a little bit.

Oh, that link might be classified as NSFW and/or the kids. There's a lot of swears in there.

My apartment is in a state of flux right now. I call it controlled chaos. The clutter and squalor quotients are kept to a minimum, at least. The kayak, fishing gear and all the fly tying materials in the living lend a certain loveable ambience to the place.

UFYH gives a much-needed dose of reality to the realm of cleaning & organizing: cleaning sucks, but it needs to be done (for advanced level reality, give this guy a read...if you can handle it)

It's a good site to read when things get out of control.

10) The new James Bond...
...was ok. It was no Avengers, by any stretch, but it was good.

11) Music for your playlist
A few tracks I've been listening to recently, give 'em a listen:

(Can't see the videos above? Click here to view the full post)

Truth

The Wake-Up Call

As y'all probably figured out from previous posts and/or the Twazzler feed, I was on the road for work this past week, back in Idaho.

It was a decent rotation; being away working for eight or nine days as opposed to 28 or 29 days was quite agreeable to me. I even had an exceptional session of urban fishing on the Boise River (again) prior to flying out.

I did have a major wake-up call on this trip, however (one that doesn't involve how much I dislike casting with indicators).

On the third or fourth day, I had to make a visit to the project site to check up on processes and such, which involved a solid 15-20 minute hike uphill. No big deal, right?

Wrong.

Some of my friends and I have an expression: "I didn't know whether to shit or go blind." It's used to explain moments of mass confusion or anger. In this case, after walking three-quarters of the way up, I could have modified the saying: "I didn't know whether I was going to shit or die, or die while shitting and puking all over myself."

Anyway you cut it, that little hike didn't do anything to make me feel good about myself.

This was (is) a bitter pill for me to swallow. I mean, I still fit into pants with a 34" waist and as little as a few years ago I was mounting a comeback in rugby, getting in decent physical shape along the way.

Note #1: the rugby comeback ended when I realized I like to tackle with the same shoulder I cast with. It's hard to cast when you can't lift your arm. Priorities, you see...

I even tried to justify my near-death/near-shit experience with the difference in altitude: Fredericton is about 65' (20m) above sea level, while this project site is pushing 7500' (2285m).

Note #2: I only know these elevations because I looked it up while being dizzy and in denial about my physical fitness.

But reality bites. Once my heart rate and breathing returned to normal (about 2 days later, I'm sure), I came to a stark conclusion: I am horribly out of shape.

As I plan on having countless miles of rivers, streams, shorelines and flats to walk in my future, this is changing. Right now. I'm working on a leaner, fitter and possibly meaner, version of me.

Note #3: 'possibly meaner' due to increased crankiness from lack of cheeseburgers and Twizzlers.

Note #4: I won't be posting any before & after pics. Or spamming your twitter/facebook feeds with my RunKeeper stats or the health benefits of some paleo-bullshit diet. For what it's worth I'll probably still eat Twizzlers and cheeseburgers. In fact, I have no real idea why the hell I even wrote this post other than to say feeling completely winded & shitty (not literally) after that hike sucked ass, and I'm already doing something about it. So if you're in the same boat, maybe you should do something about it too. Just sayin'.

Note #5: Ignore this tweet from earlier today. I'm eating in moderation.

The Saltwater Journal

I am slightly pleased to announce the launch of The Saltwater Journal.

Essentially, it's another website sharing the same damn fishporn, fly tying videos and articles as a half-dozen other websites do.

BUT...

It does have a fine-ass collection of links (here) that will be added to regularly. And it will be a one-stop shop for all things salty.

You might be asking why.

Well, if I don't keep myself occupied with something over the course of this winter, I'm probably going to do something stupid, like drive my truck to Mexico with girlfriend, dog, fishing gear & kayak in tow. The Saltwater Journal (as well as this site) might prevent stupidity from occurring.

Check it out here, but be prepared to waste an hour watching fishporn you've already watched before.

Traveling Angler Tuesdays: Seven Sins of Air Travel

A more civilized form of air travel.

In the spirit of 'do onto others' and knowledge-sharing, I give you seven sins of air travel that drive me absolutely bonkers while I'm traveling in tightly-packed tin pigeons.

I don't do these things. Neither should you.

1. Not waiting for row number or section to board.
The mad rush occurring at the gate when the gate agent calls for general boarding is an affront to civilized society.

There is a method to the airline's madness when they ask for rows 21-27 to board. When people in row 17 try to board during this time, it messes up the method.

Wait your turn. The plane will not leave without you.

2. Not waiting your turn to exit.
This comic from The Oatmeal sums it up perfectly.

Click the image or here to view The Oatmeal's original post.

Note: I'm not intending to steal this content from The Oatmeal. The Oatmeal is funny as shit & should be read regularly. I'm hoping my numerous links back to The Oatmeal will absolve any ill-feelings someone might have for my borrowing this. I am but a moronic hack in comparison to the comic genius of The Oatmeal. Read The Oatmeal. All the time. Pre-order the book or buy some artwork or a shirt from The Oatmeal while you're at it. For more awesomeness from The Oatmeal on air travel, click here.

3. It's a touch screen, damn it!
That little entertainment system on the back of the seat in front of you? It's a touch screen.

It's not a "poke screen" or a "push with all your might screen" or a "two finger death jab screen."

Touch screen. As in, lightly place your finger on the selection you wish to make. Leave it there for a second, then remove your finger. That's it.

People are less likely to be beaten with a rolled-up issue of the complimentary in-flight magazine (or Financial Post) if they would adhere to this PSA.

4. Body odour or excessive perfume/cologne.
It should go without saying: people need to have some consideration for the other dozens of people cramped into an aluminum tube.

Don't be smelly.

5. Obnoxious overconsumption of alcohol.
I frequently travel to depressing and isolated places for work, leaving my lovely girlfriend and adorable dog behind for weeks at a time. Or I travel to fun places to fish or for vacation.

If anyone had an excuse to either drown their sorrows or celebrate with alcohol during air travel, it'd be me. But I don't. I drink ginger ale. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

If you need multiple drinks to deal with air travel, you probably feel you need multiple drinks to deal with other things in life. That means you are an alcoholic and require assistance. Visit AA.

Note: to my fellow Atlantic Canadians: YOU are the most frequent people I see being obnoxiously drunk in airports or on planes in my travels. Is Fort Mac not all it's cracked up to be? Straighten your shit out. It's embarrassing.

6. Carrying on way too much shit.
This is extremely inconsiderate to other passengers, and sadly airlines do little to enforce their rules on this.

People need to either pack less or get off their wallets and spend the extra $25 to check a bag.

Stop the madness.

7. Using other seats as pull-up bars or handrails.
This, too, should be fairly self-evident, but it's really not.

People are inconsiderate tools sometimes.

I'll share a story.

Note: Feel free to skip this story if you like. Especially if you don't wish to have your opinion of me changed.

Once upon a time, in a time long ago, I was flying from Montreal to Vancouver.

This flight is pretty much the longest non-stop flight we have in Canada, at about five hours or more.

Picture me sitting in a window seat in economy class, beside two middle-aged ladies from Quebec. Leopard-pattern pants, a zebra-print dress & leather jackets betrayed their cougarness. They scared me a little.

Shortly after the plane took off I put on my noise-cancelling headphones, lowered my hat, and dozed off.

Moments later, I awoke feeling as though a was in a deathly free-fall.

No, the plane wasn't crashing. It was a morbidly-obese man seated behind me, pulling himself up with my seat. Have you ever had a feeling of falling to your death while on the cusp of sleep? It sucks.

As Fatty moved toward the aisle, he grabbed Cougar #1's seat, and a handful of her hair, too. Same for Cougar #2's seat, but she did a preemptive duck to avoid having her hair pulled.

Note: insert your own 'cougars having their hair pulled' joke here, if you like.

The sad thing is, I allowed it to happen again more than once. Fatty was in violation of Pet Peeve #5: he was drinking a few beer but had the bladder of a small girl. Every time he stood up, he grabbed my seat to pull himself up.

Knowing sleep would be unattainable until this situation became remedied, I prepared myself for Fatty's return from his third trip to the lavatory. I requested a Globe and Mail from the flight attendant but received a National Post. I removed the Financial Post section and rolled it up tightly. I folded the tightly-rolled Financial Post in half. I waited.

I had an assumption and a quick glance over my shoulder proved that assumption correct: Fatty was grabbing everyone's seats along the aisle to steady himself as he waddled along. A flight attendant was several rows behind him, collecting empty cups. My timing would have to be perfect.

Clutching the rolled-up Financial Post, I faced forward in my seat but kept Fatty in my peripheral vision. The other passengers in the row behind us got up so he could enter. Fatty grabbed Cougar #2's seat and slid into the row. He pulled himself along the row using Cougar #1's seat. The cougars exchanged a look of displeasure.

Fatty was reaching for my seat when I turned. The flight attendant was four rows back and distracted with a passenger. Perfect.

The split-second Fatty's hand touched my seat to lower himself, I half-spun and rapped his knuckles with the rolled-up Financial Post. Fatty let go and fell backward into his seat with a look of surprise. The flight attendant was three rows back and approaching. She didn't see my clout in the name of justice and humanity.

I dropped the Financial Post in front of my seat to hide it and said firmly, "You have to stop grabbing my fucking seat."

Before he could respond, the flight attended was on the scene. "Is everything ok here?"

"It would be if this gentleman would stop grabbing my seat to pull himself up when he goes to the bathroom every twenty minutes," I calmly replied.

Poor Fatty looked confused as the flight attendant addressed him. "Sir," she said, "please refrain from grabbing the seats of other passengers."

He mumbled an acknowledgement, staring daggers at me. I smirked at him and turned back around. I replaced my noise-cancelling headphones and lowered my hat. The cougars giggled at what just transpired. I dozed until the plane landed in Vancouver.

As I stood to exit the plane, I glanced at Fatty. He had the look of death warmed over; he spent the remainder of the flight coming off of his beer buzz. Perfect.

*          *          *

Did I miss anything? What annoys the shit out of you during air travel? Was I too mean to Fatty?

Hit it up in the comments section.

*          *          *

Traveling Angler Tuesdays launched June 26th, 2012 on mattrevors.com. My mission is to prove the concept of fly fishing travel abroad is not just the realm of old rich dudes and magazine writers & photographers. Keep checking back regularly as I share tips & tricks to get you to fly fishing locales you dream of going to. To see past articles & tips, click here.

Clarity

Saw this post in the NYT blogs. I absolutely loved this part:

My role is just to be a bad influence, the kid standing outside the classroom window making faces at you at your desk, urging you to just this once make some excuse and get out of there, come outside and play. My own resolute idleness has mostly been a luxury rather than a virtue, but I did make a conscious decision, a long time ago, to choose time over money, since I’ve always understood that the best investment of my limited time on earth was to spend it with people I love.

I feel ya, dog...

Three years ago this month, while showering off the shame of a boozy (Sunday) night, I came to a decision to step off the treadmill. I had been downsized "due to current market conditions" the previous December. From the time of the layoff until that July, I sent out CV after CV, resume after resume.

I knew very little about life outside of working. Of course, 'working' to me meant fieldwork: 12-16 hour days, seven days a week, four to six weeks at a time, seven to ten months of the year. It didn't really do anything to encourage learning anything about life outside of work. But I didn't seem to mind, and there I was actively trying to jump right back into it.

A life well wasted is a good life indeed.

It took a minor shame-spiral while showering to have the same clarity as the writer above:

Time > Money

This provided a foundation of a few basic ideas for my navigation of the 21st century:

1. The idea of a job for life is dead & gone. Loyalty to a corporation does not get reciprocated.
2. There's a big difference between what you need to live and what you want/think you need to live.
3. Working for yourself, with multiple sources of income, is far more secure than relying on one and only one income stream.
4. Being busy for the sake of being busy is ridiculous.
5. Cable TV: sucks donkey balls, insults my intelligence, a huge money-suck.
6. Catching fish (and traveling) is more enjoyable than sitting in an office.

I still don't have everything figured out, but those six concepts have guided me well over the past few years.

If only I had the same clarity before buying the Aluminum Bastard...

Mat
- July 1st, 2012


Note: since July, 2009, I have worked as a bartender, geologist, carpenter, bouncer, social media consultant, copywriter, logistician, project manager, music promoter, fly shop employee, Cuppow salesman, fly tyer, guide, t-shirt seller, and writer.

I'm busy when I choose to be busy, and I have yet to starve to death...but if I relied exclusively on promoting music or selling Cuppows or T-shirts, I surely would have...

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Announcement: Launch of Traveling Angler Tuesdays

I am very excited to announce the launch of Traveling Angler Tuesdays here at 411#3, starting this Tuesday (June 26th)

If you caught the Out of Alaska post yesterday, you might recall seeing mention of a new path (or, more accurately, a widening of an existing path) for the site. Well, this is it.

I travel a lot. I fish a lot. I carry gear with me when I travel. I know I can share a few tips, tricks and gear reviews to help out both beginner and experienced traveling anglers alike.

So starting this Tuesday, and every Tuesday after it, there will be a new post to inform, entertain and enlighten you, the Traveling Angler.

*          *          *

To kick off Traveling Angler Tuesdays, I enlisted the help of Dylan Rose of Fly Water Travel LLC and proceeded to pester him with lots of questions about fishing, traveling, working at Fly Water Travel, guiding Gierach and playing jazz.

So click over on Tuesday, June 26th to read my interview with Dylan!

To find out more about this tarpon & the guy holding it, check out the interview with Dylan on Tuesday!

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Fishing, writing, and writing about fishing

Time/Date: 1330, 07-May-12

Location: Latitude 67°, Nunavut

I don't know how exactly to put this without looking like I'm bragging, but here goes: my first article in print has just been published.

No, it's not in The Drake, The Flyfish Journal or Fly Rod & Reel...yet.

It's in our local monthly entertainment magazine called Faces Fredericton. It's published by my very good friends, and when they asked me to write a column on fishing in and around Fredericton, I gladly accepted. 

I just hope the arts & entertainment crowd of the Fredericton scene welcome the column as much as the regular readers I get visiting here seemingly approve of my usual fly fishing dribble.

As most people know, I do like writing and I consider myself somewhat competent at it. This is more due to my background writing technical reports in my past life more than any natural ability at writing. 

And that's the thing: as much as I enjoy writing, I'm fairly reluctant to venture outside my typical comfort zones of writing about fly fishing, travel, gear reviews, or fishing-related issues. In fact, I still catch myself proofreading (and re-reading again & again) every post to make sure I don't sound 'too technical' in my writing, like some nameless drone in a cubicle, spewing out tech reports.

Back in 2010, when I conceived this whole thing, I figured my writing topics be split evenly between fishing & travel tales, stories & drink recipes from my time behind the bar at Lava Vodka Lounge and the music shows I attend & artists I listen to. And let's not forget the forays into photography, too.

(There was also that whole minimalism phase; while I still practice & preach simple living in order to do the things you love, it's not brought up very much here on this site. You want minimalism stuff? Go visit Leo at Zen Habits.)

So let's review where this has gone since that fateful evening in Ouagadougou when I first hit 'publish:'

• While I still maintain Lava was the most fun I've ever had on a "project," I haven't bartended regularly since early January of 2011, so the drink recipes have dropped off the map.
• I gave up the photography and gave my D-SLR to my dad after seeing too much of Brian O'Keefe & Bryan Gregson. I just focus on Instagram on my iPod/Android, now (you can see that stuff here).
• With withdrawing from the bar scene, my visits to music venues has dropped considerably, too; though I still frequently post what I'm listening to in the form of youtube vids.
• Most of my travel is work-related, so while I might snap quite a few pics (or grumble about -33°C temps in May or brag about +35°C temps in February), I really don't think my readers would enjoy me writing about the fascinating world of geotechnical drilling programs and Intact Rock Strength.
• My pursuit of trout on a 3wt has given way to smallmouth bass and saltwater pursuits, but my current home address in New Brunswick leaves me with the better part of six months as fish-less during the winter.
• I have started fly tying and I do like sharing the products of the new fishing side-hobby. But I am currently an amateur and I'm occasionally reluctant to share the monstrosities that leave my vise. 

I someday wish to explore new challenges for both fishing and writing, but I find myself more willing to take on the new fishing challenges and translate them into words. That seems to be my 'winning' formula, but does it get stale?

The kicker is, if I try new writing directions, will the current readers stick around? Will new readers show up?

One thing for sure: I plan on fishing A LOT in 2012 in multiple locales for numerous species, and I will continue to write about that here. That format seems to work well enough for everybody.

I think right now the most important question is this:

Will Fredericton's arts & entertainment community skewer my ode to smallmouth bass on the fly rod?

Thanks for reading.

Mat

You can click the image below to view the digital version of Faces Fredericton. My column is on page 10.

Keep Calm and Carry On...

...for new posts will be coming soon.

19 days until fishing season opens.

Tumblr + Instagram & Lightbox

Time/Date: 0130, 05-Feb-12
Location: the intertubes...

First up: a new Facebook page for my local shop, Fredericton Outfitters & Anglers (webpage).

Facebook is apparently making some changes to how they handle groups...which kinda sucks, as we had over 875 members in the group, with loads of photos & other great content. I'll slowly be moving the best of it over to the new page, one pic at a time, and have asked the group members to repost some of their photos & videos as well

I've been posting regularly (spamming?) on the various channels to let people know about the switch, but the group has been a regular habit for more than a handful of the members for a couple years now, so I anticipate it being a slow & steady process.

The new page is located at facebook.com/frederictonoutfitters; click on over & give us a 'like.' We're not all that bad...

Next up...Tumblr (that's not a typo).

Tumblr is a micro-blogging platform that is not as micro as Twitter & its 140 characters.

I'm sure Tumblr is totally awesome & lots of things can be done with it, but I signed up for it for one main reason: it's a one-stop online home for my Instagram & Lightbox photos from my iPod Touch and Android phone.

Since taking the (mentally-refreshing) step of giving my D-SLR camera, lenses & accessories to my dad (thank you for freeing me, Dave Bruno!!), I've become even more interested in mobile-device photography, but the platforms for having these photos were not the greatest.

• Uploading here? Too many steps: take pic, get pic from device to computer, upload & publish a post accompanying the pic.  
• Instagram is awesome on my iPod as an app, non-existent on the web.
• Lightbox is on the web & good as an app, but only about 4 people, including myself, know about it.
• Flickr works...but is cluttered with albums & shit like that (in my mind)

Enter Tumblr. Each of my preferred photo apps allow me to share directly to my Tumblr page, and formatting of the 'posts' happens automatically.

I like it.

(Don't worry, loyal readers; I won't be quitting here. Tumblr is essentially a nice photo album.)

I whittled away the evening sorting through which pics I already have on Instagram & Lightbox to share on Tumblr (great way to procrastinate, btw...) and set up the photo apps to post automatically.

Check it out at mattrevors.tumblr.com/ or click the image of my Tumblr page below:

Back to School

If you have read my twitter feed in the past week or so, this will be old news. But for those of you who aren't in the twitter loop...

I'm going back to school.

No, not the time & money-sucking post-secondary academics that I already battled through...spent over $40K on...successfully completed, but a more enjoyable and artful return to academic life.

Study materials I can really get behind...

I'm talking about the FFF's CCI program.

FFF = Federation of Fly Fishers

CCI = Certified Casting Instructor

Successful completion of this intensive self-study program & exam will permit me to put all those letters after my name.

Funny enough, I don't put those other letters after my name very often. Really not sure why that is...

I've been in touch with a casting instructor already to discuss a few things (thanks, Dean!) & get a few tips, which was pretty awesome.

After talking to Rich via email, I pretty much decided attending the exam session being offered in March was f**king insanity overly optimistic. My timeline for this is, for the most part, my own, but I want to get it done sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately he doesn't have any tips (outside of schnapps) for nutting-up to go outside to practice casting in -25°C weather...

(Quick update: it was super-ass mild here the last couple days. This keeps up & I'll be using the city's outdoor rink in Officers' Square as a casting pond)

Unfortunately going back to school won't involve this...this time at least...

Enjoy some tunes:

Year in Review: Looking back at 11 for 11

Time/Date: 2020, 07-Jan-12
Location: My semi-organized tying bench/workshop

Note: this is a really long post. I'm not apologizing for it, though; 2011 was sort of a watershed year for my personal little movement, so there's a lot to go over.  Grab a coffee or a ginger ale or whatever suits your fancy, put some good background music on, and have at 'er. Sorry, no pictures, videos, music or anything in this one. 

Back in December of 2010, I wrote a post based on Thoughtwrestling's 11 for 11.

The idea was to do more (or less) of eleven (semi-)meaningful things to improve my quality of life. As everyone in the blogosphere has been pumping out year in review-type posts for the past 2 or so weeks, I figure I'd weigh in as well.

My 11 for 11 (actually, it was Fish More (& 10 other things for 2011)) were:
1. Fish more
2. Travel more
3. Walk more. Drive less.
4. Train myself to eat more fruit & veggies
5. Train Awesome to be an off-leash dog
6. Less bullshit
7. Read more meaningful material
8. Fish even more (i.e. and fish smarter)
9. Get my financial house in order
10. See more (local) live music
11. Help more.
11.a) Learn to say 'no' more

So...how do I grade myself?

1. Fish more & 8. Fish smarter
Seeing this is almost a pure fly fishing blog now, I'll be pretty detailed in this one.

Positives: On a pure 'time fishing' quantitative measure, I think I might have fished more hours but maybe a few less days.

Days where I used to work the night before at the bar, grab my gear, fish the dawn patrol & call it a day around lunchtime became a thing of the past. I started fishing bankers' hours in September: I would drop my gf off at school for 08:30, be on the water from 9:30-1530, then pick her up at school for 1630. I did that 16 outta 21 days.

Tournament fishing was introduced to me this year (once); planning on doing more of that. I even bought a boat for it!

I also managed to fish at least thrice in each month from April to December.

I definitely fished in more places: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Maine, Idaho, Mexico and Guatemala.

As for fishing smarter: yes, I'd concur I did that. I spent countless nights reading & researching numerous fisheries & techniques for almost all of the locations in fished. I still do that; I have two more fly-rodding-for-bass books in transit that I can't wait to dive into...

I'd say it paid off, as well: I landed 11 new species of fish in 2011. See? 11 for 11! Smallmouth bass, chinook salmon, bull trout, striped bass, northern pike, Atlantic salmon, northern pikeminnow, rainbow trout, (baby) tarpon, Indo-Pacific sailfish, and dorado (mahi-mahi) all came to hand in 2011.

Neutral: I've started fly tying, and am becoming somewhat comfortable with sitting at the vice, though I require more practice & a little more dedication to get off my ass & away from reading books, magazines, blogs, etc. and sit my ass down in front of my vise. And I have lots to learn.

Negatives: I skunked out on barracuda & snook (Mexico), largemouth bass (Guatemala), muskie (New Brunswick), striped bass (Maine), and the striper I did catch on a three-day trip to Nova Scotia that saw over 30 hours of fishing was only fourteen inches.
Overall grade: A


2. Travel more
Let's see:
4+ weeks in Senegal working with 4 days of touristy stuff tacked on after in London, UK;
3+ weeks working in Mexico;
2 stints of 4 weeks each working in Saskatchewan;
2+ weeks working in Northern British Columbia with 1 day fishing in Smithers & 2 days of fun in Vancouver;
4+ weeks working in Idaho, with fishing both during and an afternoon on the way outta Boise at the end;
1 week in Mexico for good friends' wedding, including a day offshore fishing & a morning sight-fishing for baby tarpon in the mangroves;
1 week in Guatemala fishing for sailfish and being a tourist.

Yeah, I'd say 'travel more' was covered.
Overall grade: A+

3. Walk more. Drive less.
Walk more: miserable fail.

But on the bright side, I did get a kick-ass new-to-me commuter bike right before Christmas that I WILL be riding in 2012.

Drive less: You could say that I did accomplish this, considering how much I was outta town traveling (refer to #2 Travel More above).
Overall grade: D

4. Train myself to eat more fruit & veggies.
Well, if fruit & veggies meant V8 juice, Vitamin Water & beef jerky...

...ah, f**k it...
(Though I am eating an apple right now, btw)
Overall grade: D

5. Train Awesome to be an off-leash dog
Jeebus, don't get me started on this. That fast little f**ker almost brought me to tears.

I still love him regardless, but these attempts may or may not continue into 2012.
Overall grade: F

6.  Less bullshit.
This was a pretty proud but subtle accomplishment of mine:

• I cut down my RSS feed to about a dozen & a half feeds that I truly enjoy reading; 
• I'm far more selective who gets into my Twitter feed;
• I've hidden a substantial amount of people from appearing on my Facebook feed (if you fish & read this, you're probably safe from that culling);
• I cut pouring over news articles & related idiot-filled comment sections by almost 98% (that's not a pure scientific number, but pretty damn close to it).

In addition, I've cut back substantially on what some refer to as "the booze." I can count how many times I've had more than 2 drinks in a sitting on my fingers...with the wedding trip to Mexico being totally exempt from that statistic.

This wasn't an overly-conscious decision; it's honestly just sorta lost its luster with me. Traditional margaritas-on-the-rocks, poolside at 10AM in Mexico notwithstanding. Less booze = more cash, too.
Overall grade: B+

7. Read more meaningful material.
Mixed feelings on this one. I read a lot this year. A LOT.

To put it into perspective, I have 46 archived titles on my Kindle app on my iPod. Those were all read in 2011. Multiply that by roughly a factor of 1.5 for books in paper-form I read as well.

So probably about 115 books consumed in 2011.

As for meaningful...well, that's the issue...who's to say what is meaningful?

Nobel-prize winners? Yup. A few of them. And they were boring as shit. Non-fiction books by Seth Godin, Hugh MacLeod, Colin Wright, Steven Pressfield seemed meaningful to me, but as they're not as critically-acclaimed as, say, Mario Vargas Llosa, how do they measure up?

My original post stated, "but I want to read more classical and/or thoughtful literature."

Thing is, I find it hard to deal with "thoughtful" or "classical" literature back-to-back-to-back, all the time. That's why I break it up with historical fiction by Wilbur Smith, thoughtful but funny-as-hell stuff from Carl Hiaasen (my favourite) and non-fiction by anyone spouting anything useful and meaningful.

I read what I want, when I want. My list, my rules.
Overall grade: A

8. Fish even more.
Well-covered in the first section. Go read it again if you want. But I gave myself an A grade, in case you forgot.

9. Get my financial house in order.
This is another pretty proud accomplishment of mine:

• Reduced my debt load by well over $22,000 in 2011;
• Never missed a payment for anything, including my $660/month student loan payments;
• Was never more than a day or two late for any payments (mostly due to travel schedule);
• Killed one loan completely. It stood at ~$15,000 at the start of the year, including a final lump-sum payment of $9300 to put it to rest. This was a $596 monthly payment. Bonus: by paying it off early, I saved almost $250 in "insurance" fees (everybody at once, now: f**king banks);
• One credit card is at $0, another is pretty close to $0 (and one is maxed to the tits, but in my defense, my client still owes me $5300, most of which is out-of-pocket expenses);
• My half-assed attempts at travel hacking are working; the total cost of airfare for my Guatemala trip was under $400. And I still have 150K combined airline points to play with.
• I have money in the bank...and an invoice to be paid to me is still outstanding...
• My monthly expenses (rent, power, internet, mobile, student loans, insurance) now come in at under $1400. For a year, that's about $16,500 (once I kill off student loans, look the f**k out! FishBum4Life, yo!);
• I'm cooking more at home to reduce excess spending.

That being said: I have a fly fishing magazine addiction, a fly fishing gear addiction, a travel addiction, and I still eat out too much. 

Plus, my coffee addiction is epic enough to be heralded in song. 

I'll take coffee from home, made with my espresso maker (thanks again, Chris & Sarah!) or my new Aeropress (thanks again, mom & dad!) and still end up drinking one or two coffee from a coffee shop while I'm out & about tooling around. How's that for a latte factor?

Overall grade: B+ (very proud of myself but recognize there's still a lot of room for improvement)

10. See more (local) live music.

I missed FredRock 2011 due to working away (sorry Mike & Nick).

I was too busy trying to catch Atlantic salmon to really take part in Harvest Jazz & Blues Fest...though I had one super-fun night out on the Saturday, watching Ross Nielsen rip it up late-night then heading to the rugby club for a 5AM kickoff of Canada vs. Japan (?) in the Rugby World Cup, in which a former teammate was playing for Canada. I'm old-school: I brought sunglasses with me, knowing what was in store.

I did catch The Stanfields, Bedouin Soundclash, Big Sugar, Wide Mouth Mason and a few others this year. My 'like' (not so much 'love' but really strong 'like') of reggae was reignited at the resort in Mexico, too.

I'm hoping to improve on this a lot in 2012.

Overall grade: C

11. Help more.

I don't think anyone can ever say they've "done enough" to help others; there's always room for improvement in charity...somehow...

Current memberships I hold are: the Atlantic Salmon Federation, the Miramichi Salmon Association, the Miramichi Headwaters Salmon Federation, the Tarpon & Bonefish Trust, and the Nashwaak Watershed Association (I sit on the board of directors as vice-president for the Nashwaak Watershed Association).

I'm an online ambassador for Recycled Fish and on the mailing list for Stripers Forever, and I helped publicize the Atlantic Salmon Museum, including sponsoring a youngster for their summer camp.

Two-thirds of my wardrobe was donated to Community Living...though that was helping me reduce clutter more than it was an act of 'charity.'

In various auctions & fundraisers, I've spent almost $1000 in 2011, and donated over $700 to Kiva & Charity: Water

And I've picked up a metric shitload of garbage on riverbanks (that's a scientific measurement around these parts)

This isn't to brag. I've spent as much, or more space, detailing each of the other ten goals I had in 2011; that being said, do I feel good about it?

I'd say so...but there's always room for more...

Overall grade: B

11.a) Learn to say 'no' more.

In the original post, I wrote:

Some people don't understand "working for yourself" means I still have to work and it's not all fun times & lollipops. Whatever the reason, I won't be rude about it, and I'll probably provide alternative options & solutions, but I will have to say no. Yeah, I know, it sucks.

To be clear, this was not directed at anyone in particular.

But in 2010, I felt a lot of my time didn't feel like it was MY time (even though I did fish close to 70 days :p ).

To put it into perspective, the number of companies/clients/organizations that received time from me, either paid, unpaid, or rewarded with something awesome* was eleven. ELEVEN. I'm not talking a day here or there for them, either. Some of them included over 90 days out of town, others were 3 evenings or a couple afternoons a week a piece when in town, and so on & so forth.

* - rewarded with something awesome = like getting to see a lot of music...thanks again, Nick & Mike!!

My whole idea with this cutting clutter, expenses and unnecessary bullshit thing was, is, and always will be about time. My time. 

But what's the point of doing all that if I always had responsibilities to other people to give them my time?

So I cut things out:

• no longer on the executive committee & managing the bar at the rugby club anymore...but I'm still a huge fan of going to watch them kick ass in their games;
• not bartending at Lava anymore...but it still remains one of the best & favourite projects I've ever been involved with, and I wish nothing but the best of luck for them as they move forward. AND it's the only place I really like to go when I do go out;
• not at the beck & call of four companies in the geological field anymore...but I kept the best company, who I really enjoy consulting for, and as I've cleared out my "client list" considerably, I'm able to do more (& better) work for them.

Am I awesome at saying no now? Not a frigging chance. 

Am I using all this newfound time & freedom to do productive things? Not even close.

But I'm trying, and I do have the ability to either be productive...or sit on my ass & procrastinate or read or tool around town & spend money needlessly on coffee...or fish from 9:30AM to 3:30PM for 16 out of 21 days

Everyone should try this segment 11.a) sometime. Trust me. It feels good once you look back on it.

Overall grade: B

********

So this is it. My look back on my 11 for 11 year in review.  A damn good year, if I do say so myself.

I haven't thought too far into 2012 yet. Tell you one thing: I am NOT doing 12 for 12. No effin' way. Too much mind-clutter involved in that shite. Just as long as I fish, walk/bike, pay off more debt, it'll be all good in my books.

All for now, thanks for reading. Best of luck to you & yours in 2012.

Mat

On slumps.

Time/Date: 2300 MST, 06-Oct-11
Location: Yellow Pine, Idaho

I'll be honest: this post might not apply to the occasional weekend warrior that fishes every second or third Saturday morning for a few hours. I understand (without any sort of prejudice at all) that, while you enjoy fishing, it's not high on the priority list; wives/kids/jobs/household chores/whatever have to be attended to before fishing can be even thought of.

This post is more for the three or four or more times a week guys & gals that are obsessed with fly fishing. Out on the water, fishing hard, for hours on end, for days at a time.

And not catching anything.

My recent (current?) slump started precisely when I released my second Atlantic salmon ever. Which happened approximately 15 minutes after I released my first Atlantic salmon ever. I was feeling pretty good about myself (you can read about it here).

Two days later, I was back at it again.

Cast. Mend. Swing. Step. Repeat.

Hours go by, but, hey, this worked the other day. I did my homework. There were fish around, too; they were jumping throughout the run & the pool. A tug! Damn, it didn't take. Oh well, there's fish around, though!

This is the first stage of slumps: overconfidence, bordering on delusion. It's almost karma that a slump is starting.

Cast. Mend. Swing. Step. Repeat.

Days go by. Changed flies. Changed leaders. Changed spools. Adjusted speed of swing. Started dead-drifting bombers. Flies are changed more frequently. Back to swinging.

Slump, stage two: self-doubt.

Cast. Mend. Swing. Step. Repeat.

Rain for a couple days didn't stop me, nor did the high water from the rain. But it slowed me down. And I started swearing.

The fish are still jumping, though. All over the place.

Stage three: annoyance

Cast (casts start falling apart).

Mend (and mend and mend and mend...and yank the fly out of the fish's mouth).

Swear (did I mention I'm now swearing aloud, and fishing by myself? Great for tourism...).

Swing (fly's hung up on a boulder...give it a tug...fish comes up with it...the fly comes loose in midair).

Swear (again).

Step (and slip).

Swear (again),

Repeat (for 12 out of 15 days).

Stage four: anger & self-loathing.

********

Based on numerous experiences, in life and in fishing, firsthand or secondhand, the following are possible outcomes from here:

• the slumping angler finally catches his fish, and falls to his knees sobbing with tears of joy & elation;
• the slumping angler tells off all the Atlantic salmon (and, inadvertently, the two elderly anglers) within earshot, and goes fly fishing for smallmouth;
• the slumping angler, in a moment of frustration, purposely makes his Helios rod from a 4-piece rod to a 12-piece rod;
• the slumping angler, tired of seeing photos of fish in magazines, books a flight, hotel & guide in New Orleans for sight fishing for redfish.

Wanna guess what two-and-a-half out of four outcomes I've done?
(hint: I don't own an Orvis rod).

********

This is the part that might lose me a few fans...well, I don't have any fans, but it'll probably cause a few people to think of me differently.

The following are things I hold to be true, and they tie in quite well with slumps:

"Well, you know...it's just being out there, enjoying the fresh air and nature and stuff...."

Bollocks.

If I wanted to just enjoy fresh air and nature and "stuff," I would own a backpack and a pair of hiking boots, and that's it. Or maybe a bicycle. Or maybe I'd go sit on a park bench with some breadcrumbs for birds.

I would not own a 3-weight, a 5-weight, a 6-weight, an 8-weight (4-piece), an 8-weight (5-piece), an 8-weight (2-piece fiberglass), a 10-weight, and a 12-weight. I would not be standing privates-deep in 50°F water in the rain in 25mph wind gusts. I would not be collecting Aeroplan & Alaska Air points like some sicko hoarder from reality television for future fishing adventures & schemes.

I do this because the pulse of energy, transmitted from leader to line to rod to me, when a fish takes my fly, is my crack-cocaine.

I fish to catch fish. It's what I live for (now).

And then I let them go. All of them.

"You know what they say: a bad day fishin' is better than the best day at work!"

I say this one myself sometimes. For me, it's largely true: I'd rather fish and get skunked than be at work.

But when it's howling wind, sideways rain, four or five degrees above freezing, and there's a better shot of not catching a fish than catching one...add in waking up at 4AM, spending over $100 on gas (and $35 on beef jerky?!) in three days, arguing with your girlfriend about fishing, losing flies, and chipping your windshield....

...maybe it's just better for you to go to work.

"10% of the anglers catch 90% of this fish."

I don't know if this is true or not.

If it is, I want to be in that 10%. Honestly, I want to be even better than that.

I'm not there...yet. But I'm trying my damnedest by learning one or two new things to help me reach that goal each day.

It's just this effin' slump is getting in my way.

"You can't catch anything without a hook in the water."

Yup.

That's why I go fishing in howling wind, sideways rain, when it's four or five degrees above freezing, and there's a better shot of not catching a fish than catching one. And why I don't mind waking up at 4AM, spending over $100 on gas and $35 on beef jerky in three days; and I deal with arguing with my girlfriend about fishing, losing flies, and chipping my windshield....

One year in.

Time/Date: 2115 CST, 27-Aug-11
Location: Northern Saskatchewan

So today/tomorrow marks one year since I started this site.

Where it all began...

I say today/tomorrow because of time zones & such; the first post was published in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (GMT +0), home is  Fredericton (GMT -4) and I'm currently in Saskatchewan (GMT -7).

A lot has changed since that first post.

In fact, so much has changed from that first post, it's not even relevant anymore; even my twitter handle has changed (it's @mattrevors, if you don't know already).

But, change is a good thing. Isn't it?

Before we go any further, just in case any of the traditional fly fishing types are reading this & they don't find the dog with the birthday hat to their liking, maybe something a little more reserved is up their alley.

Now that's outta the way, we can begin my year in review.

Number of posts: 140 (that's a post every 2.6 days, in case you're wondering)

Most visited post: 13 fly fishing blogs & e-zines to get you through winter

Most commented post: Same as above, with most comments by the guys in that list (thanks, fellas!)

2nd most visited post: FredRock 2011 Lineup!! (mostly due to my unintentional awesomeness at SEO; that thing stayed in the top 3 of Google searches for FredRock since it was posted)

Post with the most hate mail I moderated: A lowly bartender fixes New Brunswick - I don't dive into politics too much, but when things start f**king with my Qi, I can come out with guns (typing fingers) blazing. This one raised some hackles (fly tying pun not intended)

Post(s) I regret writing: None. A few early ones I'm slightly embarrassed about, but I'm sure it's part of that 'growth process' people talk about...or something like that. I am what I am, so deal with it.

Post(s) I wish got more traction: meh, I figure if my posts had have been good enough, they would've been noticed. That being said, I wish the shale gas post from two weeks ago was shared a little more locally...and nobody ever really asked me what hanging out with Pauly Shore was like.

Thing I find hilarious: Once in a while I check what search terms are getting people to 411#3. And, well, I use variations of the expression 'fish porn' once in a while (like in "Lazy fish porn post: Striper Madness"). This ends up with hilarious results.

One thing about doing this whole blog thing: it has introduced me to some of the most supportive people in the fly fishing (& conventional fishing) world. I have almost 200 people in my fishing circle on Google+, plus dozens more on twitter and facebook.

The frequent users are always giving support, sharing posts, offering tips and just all-around good folk...even that Owl Jones fella, who won't give me a hat-tip on his new website, probably because I argue with him about politics on Twitter... (just kidding, Owl; you're one of the good ones...even though I wholeheartedly disagree with your politics :) ).

So, that's been a really brief overview of my life as a fly fishing blogger for the past year.

What's coming next?

A lot of fishing. A bunch of travel. Hopefully some good tunes & nice pics.

That's what I'm offering here, and the price is right, don't you think?

AND...

...as a few of you have been following along on G+ with what I refer to as my "Eff It! Chronicles," I'm starting a guiding outfit. More details will be coming soon...with some prize giveaways, too.

You can sign up for updates on the landing page at waterworksguiding.com; those of you who use the email subscription option will have your name entered to win some stuff (I won't ever, ever spam you, btw).

In case you thought this post needed another picture of a dog, here's my dog, Awesome.

Enjoy some music.

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The Gospel According to Mat

Time/Date: 1645 AST, 09-Aug-11
Location: Fredericton, NB

I forgot my water bottle in the fridge.

No big deal; I had a few bucks in change in my cup holder. 

I stopped at the convenience store along the way. As I walked out of the store, fully geared up in my waders & studded wading boots, a work truck from a local construction company parked two spots away from my truck.

The driver, quite obviously a slack-jawed yokel, looked over towards me. 

In a good ol' boy, Maritimer-twanged voice, he says, "Nice waders! Hur hur hur!!" His coworker glanced over and snorted out a chuckle.

I stopped and looked at them, then the work truck, then back at them. 

"Nice work truck," I said.

Hillbilly #1 gave me an open-mouthed stare. "Huh?"

Leaving them to ponder this, I turned and opened the door to my truck.

Hillbilly #2 called out to me: "Tooo-shay, buddy. Tooo-shay."

********
I posted this tune/video a month or so back. It's been getting quite a bit of radio play in the past couple of weeks here.

It's still catchy (as in, it hasn't been overplayed to the point of me despising it yet).

And it's really fun to crank up on the highway with the sunroof open. Just sayin'.

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Random BC Post v4.0

Time/Date: 0820 PST, 20-Jul-11
Location: BC

Another project is just about in the books. Some last-minute laundry & packing remains.

My reputation (career?) as a semi-retired country gentleman (that said semi-retired, not semi-retarded, btw) is can definitely be challenged; I've spent almost 16 weeks on project sites so far in 2011.

Oh well, student loans don't pay themselves (unless you finished university after I did; then the government seemingly throws money at you with all their looney 'Come/Stay the F**K Home' grants).

NBD*, however.

It all plays into the master plan...

Looks easy enough...

********
Fishing note:
Derek from Frontier FarWest emailed me to say river conditions were probably going to be tough for my trip for Chinook tomorrow.

Another NBD...

I'm well-versed in The Skunkening.

I've had many. Probably will have many more (especially if I keep chasing muskie).

As the saying goes, a bad day of fishin' is better than the best day of workin'.

We'll see how it all plays out tomorrow.


'*' - No Big Deal

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Once Upon a Time In Mexico, Chapter 4

Time/Date: 1710 CST, 15-Mar-11
Location: Still GoatTown...

They're kinda cute until they grow up & try to eat the power cord of your MacBook...

They're also tasty when grilled, rolled into a fresh corn
tortilla & smothered with salsa verde.

I truly wish there was something a little more photogenic around here, but you gotta do what you can with what you got.

In other news...

I gave my notice. This 3 weeks on, 1 week off thing isn't for me.

Now begins the search for meaning. Or I might just fly fish a lot. Probably the latter.

Feel free to provide career advice in the comments section!

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The Next Adventure (Alternate Title: I'm a sell out)

Time/Date: 2335 GMT, 23-Jan-11
Location: Drill pad on the side of a hill, Senegal

"There's two kinds of rocks in the world: mineralized & unmineralized. Guess which one I care about?" - Me, to a junior geologist, Winter, 2008

My lifestyle of a retired country gentleman was officially put on hold last week.

A few weeks before Christmas, a recruiter contacted me regarding a geologist position. Well, she emailed me last spring, summer and fall regarding this same position. But she actually called me in December.

My answer to her included the words "I'd rather shoot myself in the face if I have to spend eight to ten hours a day logging drill core again."

Turns out the same client was looking for an operations/logistics person, too.

This was fairly significant news, considering the following has been a frequent exchange over the past few years:

Random person: "So, like, does that mean you like rocks & stuff?"
Me: "No, I just like what's in them. Rocks are boring."
Random person leaves, fully confused.

I really like the fast-paced, swing-for-the fences atmosphere and challenges of the resource industry. I like being in the field. I like business development & economics, too. There's are many aspects of this industry I really enjoy.

But sitting in a core shack with hundreds of metres of core under my nose is not one of them.

I've looked at >35,000 m of drill core in a little over 5 years. That's enough.

Fast forward through CVs, phone interviews, emails, reference checks, etc., and I've accepted the offer.

It's my first full-time job in over 2 years. 3 weeks on, 1 week off.

And it's in Mexico.

I love Mexican food.

-------

Unfortunately, this means I'm hanging up the apron at Lava Vodka Lounge. Of all the projects I've been involved in, geological or not, Lava is one of my absolute favourites.

How many of you can say that you've been super-excited to go to work almost every shift? That's how I felt about heading to work at Lava.

So special thanks to Nick, Kris & others for putting up with my shit & trusting my concoctions enough to do taste-tests. Thanks to everyone who came in, frequently or infrequently. It's been a blast & I look forward to being on the other side of the bar with you in the near future.

-------

Things are not going to change too much at 411#3. I'm planning (hoping) to have more frequent fly fishing content, along with pics, travel info and music. And I'll still throw in the odd drink recipe, too.

-------

Here's some music, courtesy of iTunes on shuffle.

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Fish more (& 10 other things for 2011)

Time/Date: 1515, 16-Dec-10
Location: F'ton

Last night I wrote the following on my whiteboard:

1. FOA FB Ev (translation: do the Facebook event for fly-tying night at Fredericton Outfitters & Anglers)
2. H-wash trav tow (translation: hand-wash my new quick-dry travel towel so I don't turn blue in Senegal & freak out the villagers)
3. compost/garbage/vacuum (self-explanatory)
4. sort/shred paperwork
5. WRITE!!

I have an unnatural affinity for whiteboards, ask anyone who has worked with me. I also like lists (more on this in a moment).

After accomplishing 1 through 4, I browsed my RSS feed & came across Thoughtwrestling's 11 for 11 posts. Simply brilliant. As I said, I like lists. I've been thinking about what's coming up for 2011. My fifth task on my whiteboard was write. So why the hell not.

Note: these aren't resolutions. I hate new years resolutions. They're 11 things I'm going to focus on in 2011. There's no binding contract with the New Year baby or anything like that. Consider this a framework.

1. Fish more.

This is a given. 

2. Travel more.

It's not like I don't travel a fair bit already; for instance, in 2010:

• Feb-Mar: 5 weeks working in Northern Ontario;
• June: 3 weeks working in Northern Ontario
• July: 3-day vacation in Montreal
• Aug-Sep: 3+ weeks working in Burkina Faso
• Nov: 9 days working in Nova Scotia
• Nov: 2 days fly fishing in Louisiana

What's frustrating is this: ~90 days were spent working out of town & I didn't bother, for whatever reason, to do anything but work. For instance: I spent 13 hours at CDG airport in Paris & didn't do anything. So that is definitely going to change (details of my 2011 travel goals will be in an upcoming post).

3. Walk more. Drive less.

This is not some hippy, carbon footprint thing. This just makes sense for physical, mental & financial well-being. Burn less gas, burn more fat, burn less money. And reduce my carbon footprint! Ha! Gotcha! (ps - add biking to that, too)

4. Train myself to eat more fruit & veggies.

I'd really like to get to the point of a banana, apple or pear is my first thought for something to eat.

5. Train Awesome to be an off-leash dog.

This is high on my priority list. I would love to take Awesome more places but...well, let's just say he's special (he's a rescue dog). I'm afraid if he was off-leash, he'd put the ears back and head back to Seattle. He dislikes winter more than I do.

6. Less bullshit.

I've been working on physical & digital clutter. Moving on: mental clutter. Examples: I don't need to read how much of an asshole Toronto's new mayor is. Or how ignorant the typical poster on CanadaEast & CBC-NB's comment section is. This means more time doing fun things. Like fishing. Or making LAVA even more awesome.

7. Read more meaningful material.

I already read a lot. Probably more than you. But I want to read more classical and/or thoughtful literature. First up: Generation A by Douglas Coupland. After that: Thoreau's Walden.

8. Fish even more...

...and practice casting, practice knot-tying, tie more flies, improve my ability to read the water, meet more anglers, so & so forth.

9. Get my financial house in order.

It's not like it's bad...I just want to make it better. My philosophy from 2010 hasn't changed: paying off debt doesn't mean having more money to spend, it means there's less pressure to make money. That equals more time...to fish more. Travel more. And train Awesome.

10. See more (local) live music.

This doesn't really need an explanation, but if you're so inclined, check my music page for how I feel about this.

11. Help more.

There are people & organizations I helped in 2010. They will continue to receive my help, though some may get more & some may get less. There are others I hope to start donating time and/or money to. I'll probably mention them here from time to time. Everybody's got something to give to help others, be it time, skill or money.

Conversely....

11. a) (Bonus) Learn to say 'no' more.

Some people don't understand "working for yourself" means I still have to work and it's not all fun times & lollipops. Whatever the reason, I won't be rude about it, and I'll probably provide alternative options & solutions, but I will have to say no. Yeah, I know, it sucks.

Any big plans or changes for 2011? Throw 'em out there in the comments section.

Here's some music:

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