The photos in which really have nothing to do with the bulk of the post are from a group hike in Maryland on July 11, 2020. This said, I’m not really going to go into the details of the hike. For the most part, the photos will do the talking. However, I will provide the location details as usual. 😃
Bad shot that turned out to be a really cool blendy shot after edits
Water Level was Low
Yes, it was quite cold, but worth
Snacks on Bridge as Rachel put it
| Name | Gunpowder Falls State Park (Hereford Area) |
| Location | Parkton, MD |
| Trailhead/Parking | Parking: 39.610968, -76.682694 Trailhead: 39.611265, -76.682968 |
| Trail Name | Gunpowder South Trail (White) – 0.1 miles Left Turn Highland Trail – 1.1 miles Left Turn Unnamed Trail – 0.3 miles Left Turn Gunpower South Trail (White) – 0.4 miles Turn Around (180) Gunpower South Trail (White) – 2.3 miles |
| Hike Length | 4.2 miles |
Side Notes:
- The trails were very much over grown – dress properly
- I grew up around this area and never thought until recently to bring a group here on a hike
- This loop was a combination of two routes that you can find on All Trails:
- The air is generally cooler by the Gunpowder River because the water supply is water from the bottom of a reservoir via the Prettyboy Dam.
Personal Life Update
I manged to find an apartment in my price range, 10 minutes from work, 10 minutes from Hope, and 5 minutes from a reservoir with some beautiful hiking trails. I did this pretty quick too. Normally, you shouldn’t rush this, but I found a deal the first day of looking that was too good to ignore. After signing, I moved everything with the help in about half of a day. With the help of Hope and my immediate family, I fortunately managed to also work half a day!
Anyhow, if you read my previous post you’d know that I think apartments are a bad investment of my time and money, but under the current circumstances, it will be one of the best uses of my time and energy, which will largely be personal space for personal growth.
With personal growth in mind, while it would be easy to just get by with a bed, I think it would be of value for me to expand. Plus, I would need to be able to do work from home for long hours. This said, I’ve been looking back into standing desks. I’ve been fond of standing desks ever since I’ve used them back in 2015 with my previous employer, Raytheon, though if I am going to add another extension to myself, such extension will need to be multi-functional and be long-lasting.
Naturally, this surface should also be used as an eating area. With an adjustable height, this could also just as easily be raised to bar height. If I were to move somewhere later with a more open kitchen like in a studio apartment, this could also be used as an extension like an island. If anyone is interested in the result of my continuous off and on “research” over the years, UPLIFT Desk has in my opinion, the best product on its market. The customization for the desks are wide enough to fit anyone’s needs and their warranties are generous. That said, this is the desk I decided to go with:
It is a 80″ x 30″ maple laminate top motorized standing desk. I know what you are thinking. The hammock seems silly, but in reality it’s a bold statement of UPLIFT Desk’s sturdiness that is frankly hard to ignore. Plus, it came with the desk! 🥰🤙🏻🔥 If you are interested in the exact modifications I decided to go with, comment below and I’ll answer them as soon as I can!
For a couch, I picked up a hardly used leather couch from Facebook’s market page for $100. To be honest, I think I got lucky. The seller just happened to post the couch the same day I was looking and was clear upon meeting him that he was only interested in clearing space out of his garage for one of his cars.
The TV was easy. I know OLED is still cutting edge so I went ahead and retrieved a used OLED with a easy to use operating system.
I really didn’t want a couch or a TV because of the time I’ve previously spent using them, but was willing to make the effort in retrieving them for the comfort of my guests.
Fortunately, other stuff like as to what makes up a kitchen had been stored in my parent’s basement from previous apartments. I did get rid of a lot of my stuff prior post trail, but I could not find a reason to get rid of my kitchen appliances and utensils. The time spent to acquire a kitchen (minus what most apartments provide) is not worth repeating so keeping everything kitchen related seemed to be the best course of action.
How did I act so quick and assemble my apartment in a week?
Well, I did not know what my future would hold so, I planned all of the different paths I’d take such as what I would do and what I would buy to accommodate the life style I wanted to live, which included the following:
- Tiny house life
- Van Life
- Jeep Life
- Car Life
- Apartment Life
- Renter’s Arbitrage Life
- Home Owner’s Life
News
With everything sorted out and moved in, I should be back on my regular schedule of posting every Tuesday and Friday!
