Achievement Unlocked - Virtual camping!

“Dad - it’s not virtual camping, you just turned off the Wi-Fi” said Amelia in protest. And she’s right! We were originally going to go real camping, but I had some minor oral surgery, so wanted to stay home in case there were complications. But, I wanted the camping experience where we weren’t distracted and did stuff together to avoid boredom. So - I decided virtual camping would be having the Wi-Fi off. Turns out, as expected, and including for the parents, WiFi withdrawl is real. Once we over came that, was awesome to get out and adventure, and adventure we did. Biking, Kayaking, Beaching, Zooing, Bubbling.

Why?

• Seattle is amazing, our location is amazing. Bike, hike, paddle, downtown, restaurants, within 5 miles
• But can’t do it if you’re stuck on Wi-Fi
• SO … Turn off the wifi … Let the stir crazy kick in … and then enjoy the amazing city.

It starts with withdrawl

Withdrawal is real, and it was especially brutal on Zach. He made the case that even though it was virtual, we’d still need to virtually drive there, so he should be able to watch stuff he’d downloaded on his laptop, as that would be allowed. I agreed with him, but virtual camping was only 30 minutes away, so he didn’t get too much extra time.

Once Zach got through the withdrawal he opened way up, he even setup a green screen and made a fun little movie.

Amelia

• Went swimming (donut)
• Backyard to make smores in our gas firepit
• Went biking with Gears. Dad this will take months; Changed my mind; this is only gonna take days.

Amelia and Ceil

• Just like real camping, it’s better when youb ring a friend.
• Ciel came. Amelia calls Ciel her first friend
• Went to the zoo, and swimming at the beach. Even Zach joined the swimming.

Zach

• Come on, let me write or make a movie, that’s production not consumption.
• Got on his bike, first time in a year, maybe in 3.
• Rode the bigger bike like a champ
• Volunteered to go the beach, had a great time, and convinced Tori to join us (which was easy since there was parking)
• Went Kayaking, and did Amazing.

Oral Surgery

• Yes, that’s a random photo of the bubble machine prototype, nothing to do with oral surgery. But it makes me hapy, so it stays.
• Went to pharmacy told me 5 to pick up. I thougth 5 pills? Wow, the dentist was being stingy. Turns out 5 bottles of meds!
• Lots of mental trauma, but it’s done, next up get an implant and move on (but slow process)
• Very worried there was a remaining root tip. Since my endontist told me that was the reason I needed the extraction. Oral Surgeon was like no it’s not the case, I was on laughing gas so was like “look, I’m not gonna argue right now”, then next day said need you to talk to endontist to make me feel safe. They talked, he was like no it’s fine, but to be a 100% sure come in and get an xrary.
• Came in, and he was like, ok you being paranoid made me paranoid. Everything is fine. See you in a few months for the implant.

Igor

• Biked around, people loved the bubbles
• Made hot dogs camp fire food.
• Figured out how to paddle and park at u of w
• Focus on compassion, altruistic joy and loving kindness.
• Got up and did a morning workout with the sunrise and pullups
• Encouraged all the activiites
• Running out of energy by the end

One Very Early morning

As it says in my eulogy “Wearing a silly hat, his trusty folding bike at his feet, and using a purple fountain pen, Igor “Began with the end in mind” with the “important but not urgent” task of penning this eulogy, likely starting at 5am. Igor wanted this life, so he wrote it, he reviewed it, he lived it, and he worked with his family, friends, and multitude of mentors, to adjust and tweak it

Well it just so happens that when you wake up at 4:30 am normally, and you can’t sleep so wake up early you get up at 3:30am.

That is what happened to me on this virtual camping trip, so I putzed about till 4:30am then went to the beach to enjoy the sunrise (which I always say I should do, but don’t unless we’re camping) and do my mobility and pullup workout (which I always thinks sounds cool, but also never do, not even when camping).

• Bands, foam roller, and yoga

After my workout, it was 5:30am, so I hit the coffee shop and worked on this blog post till 8am, when Tori and the kids were starting to wake out.

Luckily for me, all of my bags are packed with emergency cables/chargers/magic supplies as I’d run out of juice, and I hadn’t brought my magic (aka normal) fanny pack. With my emergency pack and bands I was able to go through my magic practice routine which is nice.

Kayaking

Amelia

Zach

It ends with

Us all getting sucked back into our devices….

Have a great year and remember:Turn off the WiFi and your family will detoxify - ZiaT