A view from a sunset drive in a wetland this last week.

That hill reminded me I'm not the kid I was fifteen years ago.

Adminisk8or

11/27/2023

So... I missed a week? How did that happen? I'm usually so consistent- I have no idea how that just slipped by. Well...

One super awesome thing that happened was that I got to go see Postmodern Jukebox in person! They put on a fantastic show! And the talent is off the charts. One super not-awesome thing that happened was that I was sick for like a whole week prior to that.

During the holidays, I also found myself in an interesting juncture. An old friend asked if there were any old monitors getting tossed out at work, and while we had none to speak of, I had two in my office that I, myself, had collected from the throw-out bin at work. Seeing as how I felt as though it was about time for a new setup anyways, I decided to donate my old ones (surprisingly nice and vibrant for being thinclient monitors that double as regular monitors via VGA inputs) and buy some new ones. And I did; I'm currently typing this out on two dual-screen 27" curved Samsung monitors, and it's pretty nice!

As it was Thanksgiving, there was a lot of time spent with folks, and that was good fun. Perhaps, though, my favorite thing was a continuation of a story from my last post. After taking my roller blades out for a quick spin around the local park, I decided to step up my game and take it up a notch. I roller bladed the almost two miles uphill to my in-laws' house to drop something off... and that part wasn't actually too bad. Tiring, yes- but not too bad. The fun came into play where I should've expected it to- downhill. I started going down the steep road back to my place, and before very long at all, I found I was going a speed that I was not liking. The amusing thing is that like 15 years ago, my same younger self took on that exact same hill with a little fear but mostly adrenaline and enjoyment; now here I was as an adult trying to muster up that same youthful courage and fun... and I succeeded a little, but not as much as I would've liked.

And that's just life, I guess. Who knows, maybe as I go rolling more I'll gain back a similar spirit as I had back then, but life changes, and so does our perspectives on everything. The feeling of invincibility and freedom that accompanies an adventurous teenager is quite often not the same one that accompanies a thirty year old adult who is just trying to figure out life one day at a time. Of course, that's not to say getting older is just inherently bad and altogether a miserable experience. As Robert Browning one said, in a very underappreciated line of poetry,

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!”

And I think I need not ramble on anymore than what he said. Think about it- ponder on it. And until next time, see ya!