The Purge Continues...

As I wrote last week (Going Stalin on Clutter), I had already crossed off clothing from the black list. The next item for this week was paper. Receipts. Instruction manuals. Geology journals. Books. Tax documents.

Books were easy. Any book I had no desire to read/re-read were donated to Stanley Public Library through Daisy (pseudonym), a.k.a., my roommate's gf and also conveniently the librarian at...Stanley Public Library. It works out well: books can go on the stacks or sold to raise funds for the library.

Instruction manuals were also easy: recycling bin. Everything can be found online nowadays.

High Plains Drifter, checking out the scene in Deadwood, SD

Geology journals mostly consisted of Gold Prospector and ICMJ's Prospector & Mining Journal back issues. These publications seemed important to me when I was running around with gold panning gear in the High Plains Drifter in the Western US back in Ought-Eight. But not so much at my current time & place. Gone!

Onto tax, student loan, receipts, bank statements, etc. I decided anything with my name, address or any sort of account number would get shredded. Six hours over the course of a few days later, I am finished. I almost fried the paper shredder.

Side note: Revenue Canada, please do not audit me. I will not retain my records anymore. Your tax laws coddle the balls of clutter, and I refuse to follow them. Next year I might scan them. Maybe.

After the purge on clothing and paper, my room is ~80% clutter-free. I now have approximately one laundry-load's worth of clothing to my name, which makes it really easy to decide what to wear. And my filing cabinet has the bare minimum of paper shit inside.

How about some music?

A band called Explosions in the Sky. I have 3 of their albums. All instrumental. All awesome.

Sights & Sounds of Montreal

Time/Date: 2020, 14-Sep-10
Location: F'ton

My gf & I went to Montreal this summer for a few nights. After driving or flying through the city about 18 times in the last 16 years, this was my first actual trip to Montreal.

We stayed at the Opus Hotel on Sherbrooke Ouest, and it was pretty swank. I knew of the one in Vancouver so I knew it was gonna be sweet. Plus we were walking distance to just about everything. A trip to Old Montreal & La Ronde was taken care of by the Metro. Was nice not driving for 3 days.

My awesome gf took me to Juliette et Chocolat multiple times. Her choice. Seriously. I wasn't that addicted to their milkshakes. And I finally got to hammer some smoked meat at Schwartz's, which was awesome!

This was also my first outing with my new Canon lens, the 55-250mm EF-S, so here are a couple shots (with some new Arcade Fire to go along with them).

A la prochaine...

Crater Lake National Park

In my first year geology textbook, I saw a picture of Crater Lake National Park (Wikipedia entry here) in Oregon.

From that moment on, it was on my short list of things to visit. That something so naturally beautiful could come from a destructive volcanic eruption amazed me (btw, it's not really a crater, it's a collapsed caldera, but enough geo-nerd talk).

On May 31st, 2008 I visited the park on my drive back to Vancouver from the project site in Nevada. It was a little bit of a detour but one I readily made.

One thing I didn't count on was the park still being closed due to alpine winter conditions, with most of the roads & all of the campsites still closed.

Here are a few pics from my 30 minute tour of the place I waited 9 years to see:

Alpine conditions on the roads? I guess so...

Wizard Island on the left

Wizard Island

The trip was definitely not for nothing, however. I promptly left the park & hightailed it north to pick up my best (four-legged) friend from his foster home outside of Seattle. Awesome was in the care of American Brittany Rescue (though his dad is a greyhound) until we became a family (travelling circus?).

Awesome chilling out in Nevada

This is probably Awesome's theme song, but we're still working on changing that:

Updated Web Address

After some hand-wringing and hair-pulling (not the fun, bedroom kind, either), I got the blog moved over to its new domain name, 411number3.net

There was a ridiculously helpful person with the user name nitecruzr on the Google/Blogger help forums that got me straightened out with some links to really complicated fairly simple instructions (once I read them 3 times).

Unfortunately the blogroll did not make the boat to the Ellis Island of 411#3, so that will be updated ASAP.

I promise, with all my heart, that I will post something informative, entertaining and relevant tomorrow.

Until then, how about some music?

A Scottish band my Cape Breton-born friend told me about while we were in West Africa that I'm sharing with you while I'm in New Brunswick. Get all that?

A demain, mes amis...

Going Stalin on Clutter

Time/Date: 1745, 6-Sep-10
Location: F'ton, NB

I'm purging clutter out of my life & mind. As mentioned in an earlier post, I've been reading on simplifying & minimalism from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits, Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist and Everett Bogue of Far Beyond The Stars.


I will never claim that I am a full-on minimalist. Everett Bogue proudly proclaims he has 57 possessions. I have that many trout flies and I'm not giving them up (except to fish...or snags...in a river). And I can't really see myself biking to Juniper, NB to go salmon fishing in October, so my truck (the High Plains Drifter) is staying, too.

Stalin's expertise can be applied to decluttering?

But I do have a pile of crap that I don't use and/or need. I'm going Joseph Stalin on clutter.

First on the black list is my room. More specifically, clothes.

Phase 1 was a few odds & ends that didn't need to fly back across the Atlantic Ocean. This included 2 dirty t-shirts, a $4.50 pair of flipflops and torn socks. A few books & magazines also stayed behind to entertain the next wandering soul to find themselves in Ouagadougou.

Phase 2 occurred back at home and I did it quick, like ripping off a band-aid.

Motivational music is definitely required for this process. Try this:

I made two piles; one for donating, one for tossing out:

Donated:
1 rain coat, 1 blazer, 1 fleece pullover, 1 hoodie, 3 polo shirts, 3 board shorts, 2 (barely used) synthetic workout shirts, gym shorts, cargo shorts, 2 dress pants, 1 chinos, 2 dress shirts, 3 t-shirts, 1 (unworn) cap, 2 belts, 1 pr dress shoes. And 1 John Lynch Tampa Bay Bucs football jersey :(

Tossed:
1 cargo shorts, 1 pr jeans, 1 shirt w/ ink stain, 1 l.s. t-shirt w/ holes, 7 t-shirts, 1 pr long-johns, 1 cap, 1 pr work pants, 1 pr North Face slip-ons (bad purchase!!), 1 pr of Blundstones (best boots ever).

I'm happy with the progress. So far.

But now, enjoy a picture of what J-Lo would look like as a tree:

Home

Time/Date: 1355, 6-Sep-10
Location: F'ton, aka home.

Made it home after a very lengthy journey (29 hours total) and with only one minor meltdown. More on that in a future post, though.

I managed to successfully surprise my gf by coming home a day early with some co-conspirators in the form of her friends helping me out. It was fun and her reaction made me feel pretty damn good.

I'm in the midst of unpacking & starting my purge of clutter & getting ready to relaunch the fly fishing career & sorting pics from Burkina, so that's what's on tap for the next few posts at 411#3.

Enjoy some City & Colour.

Vancouver

Time/Date: 0805, 03-Sep-10
Location: Ouaga. But not for much longer.


When I used to live & work in Vancouver, I told people my office had a view of the mountains and the water. I wasn't totally lying.

Silly Signs, v1.0

Time/Date: 02-Sep-10
Location: Guess...

I like funny or odd signs. Here are a few from my photo library:

At least they didn't call the men lazy, too.

Thanks for pointing that out. Here I thought falling was always good times.

And...ummmm....ok then.

Home Water: Nashwaak River Love

Time/Date: 1825, 01-Sep-10
Location: Still in Ouaga...

Seems my lovely Nashwaak River has been getting some press while I've been gone. Some of it is good (salmon counts), some of it is bad (littering. And more littering).

As a semi-active member in the Nashwaak Watershed Association, I spoke to the president regarding the issues of overuse & littering. I applaud the group's efforts of trying to educate users of the river system and putting forth the idea of designated access points.

I'm hoping this winter the NWAI will accept my offer of improving their website and online presence in a bid to increase membership & further raise awareness of the river system. But that doesn't mean I'm raising awareness of my fishing spots. There's 113 km of river out there, get a map, like we did.

I'm all for fun & shenanigans, but I hope some of the tubers will become active stewards of the Nashwaak. There is no place for littering anywhere in the year 2010.

Some pics of my home water & a musical interlude are below, enjoy!

Authors that Matter: Edward Abbey

Time/Date: 1440, 01-Sep-10
Location: Ouaga, BF

Ed Abbey is one of my all-time favourites. His book Desert Solitaire pretty much ruined me for any sort of normal, 9-5 Monday to Friday existence. A typical Abbey quote:

"Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: You will outlive the bastards."

He left the following instructions for his remains after his death (from Wikipedia):

He wanted his body transported in the bed of a pickup truck. He wanted to be buried as soon as possible. He wanted no undertakers. No embalming, for Godsake! No coffin. Just an old sleeping bag... Disregard all state laws concerning burial. "I want my body to help fertilize the growth of a cactus or cliff rose or sagebrush or tree." said the message.

As for his funeral: He wanted gunfire, and a little music. "No formal speeches desired, though the deceased will not interfere if someone feels the urge. But keep it all simple and brief." And then a big happy raucous wake. He wanted more music, gay and lively music. He wanted bagpipes. "And a flood of beer and booze! Lots of singing, dancing, talking, hollering, laughing, and lovemaking." said the message. And meat! Beans and chilis! And corn on the cob. Only a man deeply in love with life and hopelessly soft on humanity would specify, from beyond the grave, that his mourners receive corn on the cob.

He was that cranky on national television as well:

Abbey on NBC from Eric Temple on Vimeo.

I thought of Ed and his books frequently when I worked in Northern Nevada. He was one of a kind.