Author: A Purple Life

Celebrating 2 Years Of Running: My Progress and Revelations

by A Purple Life, posted in Fitness, Hobbies

Shockingly, I’m still a runner 🙂 . I’ve gone from despising running more than anything to completing a couch to 5K program twice and now I have been running regularly for 2 years straight. Life is wild 🙂 .

If someone wants to know the most surprising thing about retirement – this is it. I never would have dreamed I could go from loathing something to loving it after discovering I’ve been doing it wrong my whole life, but here we are. So let’s see how I’ve improved and what I’ve learned about running in the last year.

Continue reading “Celebrating 2 Years Of Running: My Progress and Revelations” →

Review: VIA Rail Canada Train – Ottawa to Montréal

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

My investigation of random travel experiences continues 🙂 . And this time, it’s the Canadian edition! I took a weekend trip to Ottawa and decided to take the train back so this is a recap of my first time using a Canadian train company, VIA Rail Canada, on a trip between those two cities. Let’s see what happened! Continue reading “Review: VIA Rail Canada Train – Ottawa to Montréal” →

How Retirement Is Like College (And Why I Love Both)

by A Purple Life, posted in Early Retirement, Musings

First, some background 🙂 . Until retirement, my freshman year of college was the best year of my life. The years after leaving college and before I retired didn’t really come close and I was curious to investigate why. Now in retirement I’m the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been. So let’s see why that might be and what retirement and college have in common. Continue reading “How Retirement Is Like College (And Why I Love Both)” →

My Favorite Free Apps To Make The Most Of Nature

by A Purple Life, posted in Hobbies, Travel

If you’ve been here for a while you know that retirement has turned me into a complete nature nerd. Instead of having my head down and my eyes on a screen all day while working, I now go outside all the time to investigate new bird songs, learn new plant names, and watch local fauna. I also often plan my nights around watching amazing astrological events. All that to say, I’m a very different person 🙂 . Continue reading “My Favorite Free Apps To Make The Most Of Nature” →

Slow Travel Review: Chicago, IL, USA – The Land Of Pizza And Waterways

by A Purple Life, posted in Reviews, Travel, Travel Reviews

I’ve visited Chicago several times in the past and for some reason never loved it. So when a college friend invited us to a wedding in Chicago, we decided to live there a month to investigate why I didn’t love it in the past, and see if I could change my opinion. Continue reading “Slow Travel Review: Chicago, IL, USA – The Land Of Pizza And Waterways” →