Seasonal Work Jackpot for the Attention Deficit Lifestyle

This last place I was living/working, and will undoubtedly live again, is one of the most all-encompassing bubbles I have ever had the pleasure of being sucked into.  The two-month conference season at the Stanford Sierra Conference Center (SSC or Camp) is the seasonal worker’s dream come true.  With a full commitment of only eight weeks one can fully engage everything in this little sub-world, and then gracefully exit just as the initial shine wears off. 

It is not as if after a couple of months the place itself changes.  Nor do my co-workers change.  Eight weeks, or maybe even closer to six weeks, just seems to be MY expiration date, on any one situation.  And I’m sure this holds true for most of my seasonal working peers.  No matter how awesome the situation is, and this one is pretty sweet, mixing it up, frequently, seems to be the schedule I have subconsciously subscribed to.

This short-lived attention span, isn’t isolated to the seasonal work world.  Don’t most things seem to get old after two months?  Jobs, relationships, living situations, new purchases.  The shine really doesn’t last long on much.  Maybe this is a generational thing.  Maybe this is why so many people are on “A.D.D.” medication.  No one can settle on one thing because there is so freaking much to do.  We have access to everything.  The possibilities are literally endless.  How can anyone be expected to or limit themselves to one job, or one living situation, or one relationship for the rest of their lives? 

There really is no need to limit oneself.  Is a deficiet of attention really a disorder?   Or is it just our reality?  Why are people trying to suppress it?  Drugs, while fun and may very well have the desired effect, are completely unnecessary for this character trait.  Everything in our world is catering to the attention deficient.  Why fight it?  Embrace it. Go with it.  Mix it up. (I recommend drugs only for recreational use).     

Given this reality, seasonal work just makes sense.  And it seems natural in our otherwise nature-deficient existence.  While we are not migrating for food or warmth directly, we are doing so for the jobs that will provide these needs.  Effectively, we are getting back to our animal roots and simply blowing in the seasonal winds.  

And of all the wonderful places the seasonal winds have blown me, none is quite like this perfect little spot on Fallen Leaf Lake.  SSC is the attention deficit lifestyle gold.  This place does it right.  Besides the sheer greatness of the location, they know how to treat seasonal employees.  They offer their employees  everything they have, which in turn gets them sporadic bouts of hard work.  But, their expectations are realistic.  It is understood that we are there to have a good time.  Everyone wins. 

As fun as it was, I wouldn’t want to stay one more day.  While some might be fit to hang onto something like this for longer, I am not wired this way.  My attention has a very short timer on it.  For this reason I am so grateful for camp.  I have found nothing more fitting.  It allows us to engage fully, take it for all it is worth, waste nothing, and then leave.  I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.  If this complete two-month life cycle of Camp is even remotely reflective my entire life-cycle, I will die beyond satisfied.  I can’t imagine trying to squeeze any more activity into a single time period.  It was a grand eight weeks!

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Free Fallin'

For the past month and a half I have been in southern Oregon staying with friends. They live on the outskirts of a small rural town on the banks of a lush creek surrounded by old growth forest. It is other-worldly to me. While I feel most comfortable in high, dry climates, it is nice to live in other ecosystems from time to time. It is also very nice to stay in one place for awhile after moving around frequently for three months.

The creek that runs through their property

While there I helped them out around their homestead. I helped weed a garden that had been neglected for a few months, split firewood, dug trenches, built and cleared trails, harvested massive amounts of cherry tomatoes to be dried, harvested potatoes, cleaned and organized tool sheds, striped a door, housesat and did numerous other chores.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing all these tasks. Physical labor is fun. Especially when the results are so instant and I can check them off a list. Love that. It would be rough to do that strenuous of work all day everyday, but helping out for awhile is cool. Plus hard work is a great compliment to running while training for a race.

There are plenty of unpaved, old logging roads surrounding where I was staying. Most, however, have super grown-over spots that aren’t fun to run through. I picked one 5-ish mile loop to concentrate on and went to town clearing it. In 12 hours over a couple of days I made a lot of progress. Both days the hours flew by as I moved fallen trees and trimmed back branches. I love working on trails. A few weeks later Kali and I built a stretch of trail orchestrated as a birthday present. It was pretty awesome.

After working on the 5-ish mile loop, I ran on it…a lot. It is a wonderful little loop that climbs up steadily half way and descends just as nice. Very runnable. The steepest part is in and out of the driveway. I ran on this most days. When Kali showed up, after I had already been there a couple of weeks, we ran on some other trails. I find it much easier to justify driving to trails, if there is at least two people. Plus Kali just bought a car, so we didn’t have to move Mama. We ran on some incredible trails. Previously, I hadn’t been on too many in southern Oregon. Now that I have a better idea of what is out there, I am really excited to get on as many as possible the rest of the fall.

The part that stands out the most from the last month, as usual, is the food I’ve indulged in. My friends were kind enough to share their bountiful garden harvest with me. It was so nice. I primarily ate vegetables for a month. I strive to always do this, but it is much easier when I can just go pick them before every meal. Everything I made was so colorful and delicious. They grew potatoes, onions, garlic, squash, different kinds of kale, green beans, cucumbers, corn, and ridiculous amounts and different varieties of peppers and tomatoes. I am so grateful for generosity and the perfect fuel for training for these races.

My typical meal

All in all, it was a ideal setting to hang in for six weeks. Everything perfectly complimented my main focus, which was to train for these races I am currently on the road for. Right now I am in Bend, two days into recovering from the first race. This afternoon, after running some errands, I will trek over the Cascades and start making my way north to Orcas Island. Hopefully, I’ll get up a post about this past race very soon.