We had a really good weekend. I was able to see Piper 3 times, which is a rarity. We spent some good times hanging out with friends, and the weather was great all weekend long. Of course that meant that Monday had to come with a vengeance. The shot above is a view from my floor of the harbor, this afternoon. It’s not exactly inspiring.

This is where I start talking about a bunch of random stuff that has been on my mind. First: Since we went sailing with our friends in SC, I have been mildly curious/obsessed (depending on the day) about buying a sailboat. After reading a feature on Boingboing a few weeks ago, about simplifying life and unloading possessions, I started thinking about it even more. How awesome would it be to just live on the boat? Realistically it is more than a pipe dream, given our current situation. But, how great would it be so just untie from the buoy and sail up to the cape for the weekend? Anyway, I went as far as looking into prices on CL. The image below is just one of several examples that I found priced well under $10k. $10K!! Cheaper than the price of a crappy used car.

Onto random topic number two: Because of the weather, I totally skipped my run this morning. I’m really really stressing out about it. I would probably cut myself some slack, except for the fact that my last two weeks of training have been less than satisfactory. So, I feel like I have a decent reason to be stressing. Then, I think back to a couple of articles that I have read recently. One of which appeared in Details, and was titled “Are you wasting away at the gym?”

The article basically talks about people who become so obsessed with working out, that it becomes their first priority, and they beat themselves up if they miss a workout. Here is an excerpt:

[...] a growing number of guys, it seems, think that missing one day of exercise, or even cutting short a workout, will suddenly make them frail or—far worse—fat. Among their ranks is the guy who can’t sleep nights because he’s too amped-up about the training he’s going to do at 5 a.m. If his trip to the gym isn’t up to snuff, he’ll log another in the evening, making excuses to blow off work or a date. And then there’s the guy who feels compelled to ride the stationary bike until he has burned off every last calorie from lunch (“You’re paying the price for that slice of pizza,” he tells himself). And if these workout junkies can’t exercise—if they spend a mere 24 hours away from the weight room—they plunge headlong into depression.

For the most part, the article doesn’t describe me, at all. But, as of late, some of it kind of does. I just hope that I can just have a good race at Hartford, then stop stressing so much. Ok, I guess that concludes my ranting for today.

The first one caught my eye because it is about a guy who lives in a cave in Moab. It’s called “Could you survive without money? Meet the guy who does.” It was in the latest issue of Details. It is basically about a guy named Daniel Suelo who used to be a college professor before swearing off modern capitalism, and reverting to living off of the land.

The author follows Suelo around Moab, documenting the way that he subsists from dumpster diving, eating road kill, and sleeping in a cave.

I confess that the main reason that I was interested in the article is because it involves Moab. Frankly, I would be very surprised if Suelo is the only guy in Moab who lives in a cave. As I was reading it, I thought that his ideas also probably seem pretty tame compared to some of the other philosophies that abound in that region. It certainly is a beautiful place to be homeless though.

I also thought that the idea of swearing off money was an interesting one. It is a quick read, so even if you hate it, you won’t be wasting more than a few minutes. Christopher Ketcham is the author. The photo is by Mark Heithoff. Here is the link.

The next article that really grabbed me, this week is called “Never Forget,” by Michael Patemiti. The article ran in the latest issue of GQ. I am not sure how to best describe this article. I want to call it deeply disturbing, but it is also a heart-breaker. Definitely only read it, if you have a strong stomach. The story details the atrocities that occurred in Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

The author focuses on one labor camp specifically, called S-21, where roughly 15,000 Cambodians were tortured and murdered. The story also catches up a couple of the seven people who survived the camp, as well as telling the story of the former Khmer Rouge operative who was in charge of running the camp.

I definitely recommend this story, not only as an extremely moving story, but as a fantastic piece of journalism. Here is the link.