I admit I tend to like October, with a lot of fall colors and some reprieve from the summer heat. This year, however, it was a trying month.
The main reason is that it was quite a busy month at work. And to a good deal, it was down to factors out of my (or my colleagues’) control. As a result, I was usually more mentally tired at the end of the day and sought out more relaxing forms of entertainment (which helped my reading pace) and often went to bed somewhat earlier. And I was looking forward to my weekend hikes, though at this point, I wasn’t exactly particular about the destination, as long as I got some physical activity to counterbalance the strained sedentary days.
When I mentioned reading, I finished the 6-book series I started back in late July (reviews were posted in the previous weeks), and after that, turned back to my own drafts. This led me to get some minor ideas, which I noted down.
As for hiking, I went on two one-day hikes: a solo hike the first weekend of the month, and a club hike the following weekend. I took my “break weekend” on the third as I needed to work on some materials for the hiking club’s next year’s schedule, and being home for both days allowed for a more relaxed pace. For now, I can share a teaser photo:
That wasn’t all, though – I went on a 5-day hiking trip with the hiking club at the end of the month, which will get a separate post. It was touching an area I planned to visit back in 2020 or 2021, but COVID lockdowns ruined my plans. So I at least covered some parts of the area, with minor overlaps with a visit to a nearby area some 13 years ago. This trip will get its own post later, once I manage to sort through the hundreds of photos.
The departure wasn’t easy, as the busy period at work meant I was waiting quite some time before my PTO was approved. But with the main goals met – even if barely – things have eased up at the end of the month, and I hope November will be calmer.
I also managed to get a tiny bit of writing done, finally. This included several, mostly minor edits for the draft of book two, focusing on the still quite large amount of polishing that story needs. And, maybe a bit surprisingly, some edits to the very rough draft of book three, which I’m currently going through, looking for passages that were left underdeveloped when I wrote this early draft over 5 years ago – I’ve given it minimal attention since then.
So, despite all, I would say October wasn’t as bad as it initially sounded. But I’m looking forward to the rest of the year, as that should be a calmer period. November will have some nice things in store for me, including a concert I’m going to see.
For now, I hope your October was calmer than mine, and that November will be a good, calm month with some cozy reading time fitting for the season that’s typically full of morning mists and rain showers here.
