Sunda’s Wandering Thoughts
I watched a woman enter the coffee shop. She’s familiar to me as a semi-regular. Like me, in her late sixties, I think, she walks with direct, no-nonsense style. Her hair is short but neat, and her clothing matches that no-nonsense, low maintenance image. I wonder if that’s how she is — no nonsense, direct, practical. Or is this a facade? Does she walk like that because that’s how she wants to be, and not how she is?
Fun to imagine such a character like that. Reminds me of friends I’ve had. Intelligent and capable in one arena, they were disasters in other areas of their life. Yet others were methodical, practical, and organized in all facets of life.
Memory of a co-worker’s comment to me once springs up: “Your level of organization must drive your wife nuts.” They said that while I was organizing software packages.
No, my wife has never commented on it. But when I put something away, I can tell you exactly where it is. Which, as I think about it, is exactly like both Mom and Dad.
The Running Dream
I was set up to run. I learned that there were four courses.
All were unfamiliar to me. A young man, this was a competition. Someone else signed me up for it. Their faith in me — and I don’t know who signed me up — flattered me. I vowed to do the I could.
The four courses were laid out over the course of several green hills. They were long distances but we were expected to sprint over them if we wanted to win. As I chugged over them, I discovered various degrees of muddiness despite a wealth of sunshine. Other competitors were encountered but all of us were focused on learning the courses and practicing our runs. Dressed in dark shorts and a white tank top, I did this for three or four days in a row. Then, while running on another day, I discovered crowds gathering to watch. As I ran by them, I heard some exclaiming to others, “He’s running the race.”
From other comments, I learned that everyone else had quit or had been eliminated. This fueled me to go faster and try harder. But I also learned that many people thought the competition were over. They were crossing the courses, forcing me to go through crowds. Seeing me still running, though, some of the people acted like officials and cleared a path for me. Some now began applauding and cheering. Others said, “He’s going to set a new world record.”
I awoke as I began the final course. I felt strong, exhilerated.
Cool dream.
Keep On Keeping On
Daily writing prompt
What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?
Well, the challenge is to keep on keeping on. I get tired and frustrated. Like, “Oh my God, I have to vacuum the floor again? It’s time to take out the trash? I just took out the trash.” I mean, the tedium of these things… The weariness builds and grows…
My wife is with me on this. It seems like she’s washing clothes every other day. There are just two of us living in the house. How in the world do we use so many clothes?
Then there is the irritating, always-asked question: “What should we do for dinner?”
This is truly a song of the first world blues when you’re complaining about what I have to cook to eat. Like, waah.
Which delivers me on the doorstep of the biggest challenges facing me in the next six months. To keep perspective. To remind myself that things like higher gas prices are minor for me but major for others. To remember that my health complaints are minor and not to get too absorbed about who I am and what’s bothering me. Because let me tell you, brothers and sisters, there are many out there with a much worse fucking life than me.
That’s the challenge to keep in mind.
A Simple One
This is a simple prompt to address. It’s simple for me because I’ve thought about it before. I long ago read about, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” So I’ve examined. Looked at what I did wrong. Catalogued my failures and successes. Looked at where and how they could be improved.
Five basic tenets emerged.
- Have more confidence.
- Pursue more education.
- Party less.
- Be kinder and more helpful to others.
- Have the courage to chase your dreams.
I imagine many people have similar insights into themselves. Fortunately, at 68 years old, I can still pursue these changes for myself. Especially the ‘party less’ aspect. I mean, do you know how much energy it takes to party? I don’t have it at my age.
I’d rather be reading a book.
Just In Passing
I stole this graphic from a Facebook post I saw today. Not mine at all. But as I encounter bloggers who sometimes issue GRRRRRRs in response to news events — won’t give any names here — I thought the graphic was apropos.
You can probably bet I’ll spend some time in my private growlery over the next few days.
Tursda’s Wandering Political Thoughts
Colson Whitehead has sadly summarized my own initial gloomy feelings for 2025.
Colson Whitehead, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author:
I have no hopes for 2025. Humanity is disappointing. We killed the Earth. Villains triumph and the innocents suffer. I imagine these trends will continue.
I wish I could be more like Garrett Needham.
Garrett Needham, 13, of McKinney, Texas (interview):
Stuff has gotten so expensive. If we could just form a system to support everybody. America was based on freedom, but right now it seems like only the wealthy have the freedom.
These quotes are from a Peter Coy penned-column in the NY Times. Business executives often mention AI. Like Roland Busch, for example.
Roland Busch, the chief executive of Siemens, the industrial company based in Munich:
2025 will be the year of industrial A.I. It will be a powerful tool to address skilled labor shortages and boost productivity, creating substantial growth opportunities.
I’m trying to pivot to be more like Douglas Hofstadter.
Douglas Hofstadter, a computer scientist at Indiana University in Bloomington and an author:
I hope somehow to regain some measure of hope in this, the most ominous-seeming year that I have yet faced. Over this past year, and especially these last few months, I have lost much of my once-strong faith in humanity, but I hope, somehow, to regain at least a little bit of it in 2025. How, I certainly don’t know, but hope springs eternal.
Really, though, it’s a balancing act for me. I react to the news and trends. So far, they’ve not been overly reassuring.
The year is still young, though. The year is still young.
Michael Seidel, writer 