Foo - My personal oasis

During the summertime, when I get home from a stressful day at work, I always look forward to sitting in my backyard with a beer of my choosing (this evening it's a Stella) whilst tending to the BBQ. Tonight we're having a thick and juicy T-bone.

We're finally getting our backyard to a point where it's actually relaxing and quite beautiful with the maturing trees and all the perenials my wife has planted over the years. We've also been collecting some gargoyle statues that are placed around our yard. Those combined with a couple of crosses gives our yard the feel of a cemetery. For some reason I've always felt very comfortable in a cemetery ... not sure why. Aside from slight neighbor noises (we've got to find a place in the country soon) all I can hear is the wind through the trees, some birds that have nested in our cedar tree, and the sounds of 2 squirrels chasing each other through the trees. Definitely my little piece of oasis here in my backyard.

Describe your oasis or the place that you escape your hectic life.

The bottom of the pool.

It's so peaceful and just a minute down there really clears my head.

There's also a clothing optional hiking trail which is great for relaxing. I love it there.

Our house has a hill in back, Pretty much the whole block backs up to the hill. But the lower part is steep, so steep only our neighbor on the right has natural access (borderline). I have a railroad tie set of stairs, followed by broken concrete steps going up a bench under a long established tree. In the middle of the city and all alone. On a good day with a nice breeze even when ther is not much of one lower down.

Walking the dogs...no ipod, no cell, low-traffic roads or maybe down to the beach for a swim and some frisbee,...me, the poochies, and Mother Nature :thumb:

.me, the poochies, and Mother Nature :thumb:

As much as I hated walking our dog (she had some behavioral issues that were getting worse, so we had to have her put down a few weeks ago), I must agree that it was nice sometimes.

Other than that there is being out there on the bike and doing yardwork/bikework for me.

My personal oasis is in a secret place. A very special place that I like to go to alone. I will only take one car there and no other - the Trans Am. Because of the tight winding roads there, I can finally let loose, open it up as much as I can....with nobody around to stop me or limit me. Hardly any other cars are there at the time I like to go, so there is minimal risk involved.

When I get there it is akin to being in the forest...cool, quiet except for the sounds of life in the environment. A place where I can be at peace and center myself. A place where all of the ugliness I have encountered comes into a funnel, compresses at the tightest spot and then releases only to be dispersed amongst the beauty, becoming part of it. A place where I am able to see things outside of myself. A place where soul and Earth come together within. A place not yet spoiled by those who can't appreciate it.

i just get in the gimp suit and crawl into my box.

There's also a clothing optional hiking trail which is great for relaxing. I love it there.

I love it there too...in my ghillie suit, a good set of binoculars...especially when that natural redhead happens along.

Cool thread.

My personal oasis is really just my apartment.

I have a lot of demands on my life right now - inner mixed with "wants" that I want to do as well. And I'm trying to combine them -- Mom versus Life versus Couch versus Where I want to go in life .....

I look forward soon (meaning this next year - early) to picking myself up and moving to a Couch World.

That is my oasis.

Till then - I just shut the window blinds and turned the lights off so no one can ring my doorbell, etc.

This, tonite, is my oasis.

The forest...cool, quiet except for the sounds of life in the environment. A place where I can be at peace and center myself. A place where all of the ugliness I have encountered comes into a funnel, compresses at the tightest spot and then releases only to be dispersed amongst the beauty, becoming part of it. A place where I am able to see things outside of myself. A place where soul and Earth come together within. A place not yet spoiled by those who can't appreciate it.


..

You know, after I typed my post, I wanted so bad to go to my special place. So I took the Trans Am out and started to go - but it was getting late and I thought to myself "Why am I leaving right NOW?" It's about an hour and a half drive for me. And I wasn't prepared to stay for long. It was just too late. I've had the most stressed out two weeks ever.........I really need to take some time out.

I've had the most stressed out two weeks ever.........I really need to take some time out.


You know what to do.

Yes, I know what do to now.

Thanks.

i just get in the gimp suit and crawl into my box.

I just snorted Sierra Nevada Pale Ale up my nose, you sod!

I just snorted Sierra Nevada Pale Ale up my nose, you sod!

So in a way, I just helped you create your own "inner oasis"...

You know, after I typed my post, I wanted so bad to go to my special place. So I took the Trans Am out and started to go - but it was getting late and I thought to myself "Why am I leaving right NOW?" It's about an hour and a half drive for me. And I wasn't prepared to stay for long. It was just too late. I've had the most stressed out two weeks ever.........I really need to take some time out.

Sounds like you need to find a place a bit closer to home for those quick-fix de-stressers. Although from your description, I may have been tempted to make the 1 1/2 drive as well. Hopefully you can find some way to relieve some stress. Maybe you need to beat up a few people in your martial arts class :p ... or that thing Serendipper is alluding to.

Cool thread.

My personal oasis is really just my apartment.

I have a lot of demands on my life right now - inner mixed with "wants" that I want to do as well. And I'm trying to combine them -- Mom versus Life versus Couch versus Where I want to go in life .....

I look forward soon (meaning this next year - early) to picking myself up and moving to a Couch World.

That is my oasis.

Till then - I just shut the window blinds and turned the lights off so no one can ring my doorbell, etc.

This, tonite, is my oasis.

Isn't Couch World somewhere near Chicago :eek: You realize it's very windy there :twitchy:

i just get in the gimp suit and crawl into my box.

So your workplace is your oasis?

Sounds like you need to find a place a bit closer to home for those quick-fix de-stressers. Although from your description, I may have been tempted to make the 1 1/2 drive as well. Hopefully you can find some way to relieve some stress. Maybe you need to beat up a few people in your martial arts class :p ... or that thing Serendipper is alluding to.

Thanks Alfster. But I live in the ghetto. It's hard to find peace. It's a regular thing to have drive bys. Just last night I heard guns going off again. :(

Dipper is a very special friend. He knows me very well and can feel what I'm going through at times.

Mine is next to my Orange amp holding my Strat and playing whatever the mood indicates.

Thanks Alfster. But I live in the ghetto. It's hard to find peace. It's a regular thing to have drive bys. Just last night I heard guns going off again. :(

Dipper is a very special friend. He knows me very well and can feel what I'm going through at times.

You could make a bit of a sanctuary within your own home. Just sound-proof one of your rooms and bling it out.

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab143/jatodon/cockpit.jpg

http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab143/jatodon/cockpit.jpg

Your personal oasis ... my personal hell. (I posted this a while back ... but it fits your post so well :lol: )

http://khizmet.com/Bikes/sailing.jpg

So in a way, I just helped you create your own "inner oasis"...

If by "inner oasis" you mean a nasty, stinging discomfort in the sinuses causing me to pinch the bridge of my nose while walking around the room saying "Ow, ow, f***ing hell, ow, ow!" then yes, yes you did.

What's my oasis? Where do I go to get away from it all? Metro Diner. Gimme a couple of eggs, bacon, toast and good strong coffee. Lemme meet up and talk with the old-timers and I'm good as new. Open 24 hours too!
Ernest

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/Gordo_Ruckus/Foo/metro4.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/Gordo_Ruckus/Foo/metro1.jpg

Big E, been there and done that. You ever been to Poor Richard's in Plano?

Big E, been there and done that. You ever been to Poor Richard's in Plano?

No, but I'll have to try it out! I'm really into eating at diners, the older the better. I stop at the Metro after work most daily, unless I bicycle, then I eat elsewhere. It's good to have a place where you can just sit and they already know what you want and you see the same folks sitting around you. :)
Ernest

About an hour out of town, on the way into one of those little towns nobody knows anything about. It's a half gravel/half broken pavement, super technical two lane road on the coast, bordering a steep drop off on one side and cliff face on the other, that takes about an hour to drive normally and about a half hour when I'm there to relax. Music in the background, by myself, windows down and thrashing the car and everything else just disappears. There's something very special about touching 100mph or sliding around a sweeping right hand turn with the windows down on a road like that.

There's another, shorter road in town like that which runs right around the runways at the airport but the amount of people walking on that road tends to discourage me from "spirited" driving aside from late at night.

My neighborhood. Within 1/2 mile of my house I can be on the banks of the Mississippi, atop the bluffs on the Mississippi; or I can cruise out to the hilly farmlands around town. It is quiet and sparsely populated. I can ride a few miles or a metric. Five miles away and I can be in the nature preserve. We have very low crime. Nobody messes with me. It's kind of remote but very peaceful.

The downside is, there is not much here. No coffee shops. Few stores. No social stuff. Everything is a compromise.

i just get in the gimp suit and crawl into my box.

Another Foo Creative Writing Award!:thumb::lol::lol:

Big E, been there and done that. You ever been to Poor Richard's in Plano?

Honestly,where is there "not" an old diner in Texas?

My personal oasis is near the ocean... which is sad since I don't really live near the ocean. :cry:

The best I can do is volunteer at an aquarium, and the "backsides" of the exhibits are where I can find some peace.