Kansas Trip, Part 1

Oh boy, so much to say, and it's going to be very disjointed, but deal with it.

I spent the weekend in Kansas; the trips to and from Kansas were difficult (if I had to pick one, the trip out was far worse), hands down because of Adelia, who really isn't enjoying the long rides at this point.  That said, I had a great time there, better so than any other time I've ever been in Kansas.  Whether I can attribute that to Grandma Kruse's determination that we would enjoy ourselves, or to my own decision to NOT bring my computer, I can't be sure, but I am going to give equal credit to both.

Leo would be proud: instead of my usual several changes of clothes, multiple pairs of shoes, laptop, Gameboy, two or three books, and a few other things I'm sure I forgot, I brought along two spare changes of clothes, some basic toiletries, and the Kindle.  I spent most of my downtime reading Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ", which, due to the Kindle's data structure, can be read on the Kindle book or directly from my phone, a feature that came in handy when Mandy wanted to read also.  I'm over halfway through the book at this point, and I really didn't have any moments of boredom at all.  It is worth noting that the less I have around, the LESS bored I seem to be overall, which I thought would surely be the reverse.  An interesting phenomenon, but too lengthy to discuss at this point.

So, the above summary isn't entirely true; I brought our bicycles, which definitely wouldn't fit into a carry-on luggage!  Incidentally, I barely used mine, and Mandy didn't use hers at all, so it was technically a wasted effort, but I am still happy to have gotten the chance to experiment with a bike rack, just to know how to rig one up.  So, things that I brought that I wound up not needing.  Dress clothes, but that was only a technicality, since I was picked up directly from work, and couldn't NOT take them.  And bicycles.  I used everything else, which is a good track record for me.

I discovered that when I didn't need to bring all those things because I was no longer interested in them, I consequently didn't miss home.  I was nearly as at-home in Kansas as I am at my actual house, which is a specific goal of mine.  If I can pare my functional possessions down to what will fit in a luggage, then I can take my life anywhere with little fuss.  That's essentially where I would like to be.  There are always incidentals, things that a person needs to get by, but I still have plenty of room to pare it all down.  And it's good practice for having another baby in the house :)

For my birthday, Grandma gave me some money to get myself something nice; I am on the fence about what I want specifically, but it's definitely either clothing or biking.  There is a major upgrade of a rear bike rack which will keep me from misaligning my seat every time I accidentally kick the rack.  Then the saddlebag attachment for said rack would allow me to ride backpack-free, yay!  Also, there is a nice pair of North Face convertible pants that I noticed over the weekend; these could pass as work pants, and could be wearable everywhere.  To be honest, this is the direction I would like to go with my entire wardrobe, so that I could wear anything anywhere, but that is a lofty principle.  These pants, however, are a definite step in the right direction.  There is also a nice pair of all-weather shoes that would pass for work, biking, and home, but they retailed $90, and that's too much for shoes, perhaps even if they were my ONLY pair.  I'm just too cheap at this point.  I'll keep my eyes on clearance :)  So that's the gist of my birthday wishes; we'll see what I wind up choosing.

On another note, there was also a small ball at Dick's, where I was shopping.  The shape of the "ball" was such that any contact with the ground would send it in a radom direction nearby, which makes it excellent for reaction training for baseball/softball players.  It seems like something I may like to keep around for exercise, but again, I like to strongly consider and new things that I want to buy, since I am in the process of getting rid of things.

There are tons of other thoughts from the trip, but I will need to split it up a bit.  Until next time!