Concrete Lunch

Finishing up the year with post 900 on this blog.

For my friend Paul.

2022 was a busy year. We did a major house remodel that took the first quarter of the year. We got a puppy in October, which is a challenge and tiring but also a joyous delight.

2022 was a year of healing in many ways. I started the year with severe anxiety but with the help of a good therapist and a patient wife I’ve learned to deal with it and for the most part I don’t feel like catastrophe is about to occur at any time (though of course it might).

I’d like for 2023 to be a year for regrouping. Not like in groups. I just feel like with all that happened in 2022 I was really out of any sort if rhythm in life. The remodel was all-consuming and exhausting. It was very hard to think about anything else while that was going on and we were in temporary living accommodations. And it was hard to recover from. As a result many of the personal pursuits that keep me sane were not pursued. These include skateboarding, gaming, and reading. I did get back to Aikido practice a few times, and I am not quitting Aikido, but my life is a lot different now than it was 10 years ago and it is very hard to work practice in. If I can get to practice once a month in the coming year that would be good, but I’m not stressing out over it. Frankly I’m still not excited about being up in my fellow aikidoists’ faces, breathing up all their Covid/Flu/RSV germs.

Like anyone else, when I’m tired I tend to do mindless stuff like stare at the TV or just fiddle around on the computer. Sometimes the idea of summoning 20 minutes of energy and focus to simply go to an empty room and read is just beyond what I can muster.  I really want that to change. Nothing makes me feel more down than getting to the end of a day and realizing I haven’t done a single thing that I enjoy just for me. And it’s my fault. The time is there. The focus and determination are not.

As our dog gets more mature and is eventually not freaked about by cars, trucks, and the other horrible noises of suburban life I’d like to get up early with my wife and take him for a walk. This will be a real stretch for me. I’m not a morning person. But I think this would be good for me. The current schedule and lifestyle clearly are not working.

If I can skate twice a week that would be good. That will be enough. And if we can get back to our D&D game that will be good too.

Overall 2022 was a good year though. We got our house fixed up. This year we’re getting the yard fixed up. We took a great trip to Mississippi to pick up a great puppy, and man we love this little dog. Most importantly, we are both healthy.

Are we ready for Pandemic Nostalgia yet? I mean, the virus is still out there, and frankly in our house we still treat things as if there is a pandemic, but nostalgia?

For reasons I’d rather not delve into deeply, the pandemic was extra horrible for us. Simultaneously it was the most time my wife and I have spent together in over 30 years of marriage. I was working from home for 14 months. I was here with her and our cats. I have to admit I miss being here all the time.

One thing we really came to enjoy was Twitch.com. My wife discovered it while following the comedian Anthony Atamanuik, who was playing DayZ online with his friends. Eventually I got her an Xbox, and we discovered lots of great streaming music shows on Twitch.

Tonight I am sitting here watching the Wax Trax Records channel on Twitch and just remembering what a joy and comfort these music shows were during a horrible time. I’m so glad those horrible times are in the rearview, but I still enjoy these shows. I am calling this a technology WIN.

Been thinking about doing an end-o’-the-year post in a few days.

2020 and 2021 were pretty tough. Really, they were shit in many ways, though I’m glad we survived them.

2022 was a year of healing. We still have some healing to do, but overall I’d say healing was the theme.

When the pandemic started and I realized I’d be working from home I ordered a new MacBook Pro. I needed something that would run Adobe Creative Cloud really well, especially Adobe Premiere. So I got the 16″ late 2019 model I’m on right now. I spent more on a computer than I ever had. Maxed it out in every way possible. It is a bad-ass machine. I love it.

The speakers on this laptop continue to blow me away. I forget how good the built-in speakers sound until I have to use the speakers on a lesser computer, like the ones at work or my trusty Chromebook. Man, these speakers just great. Just killer.

I have of course been back “in the office” for over a year now. In the “new” position I took during the pandemic and that I still have I’m very involved in audio and video editing, and they got me a really nice Dell laptop with Adobe Creative Cloud, but honestly there’s still a lot that is easier on my MacBook. It’s just superior.

Two days ago (November 9) was Carl Sagan’s birthday.

I didn’t forget it, but  I got really busy and didn’t manage to do my usual post. So happy birthday and rest in peace to one of the greatest humans.

There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.

Carl – Pale Blue Dot

Every year my wife creates an ofrenda in the days leading up to Dia de los Muertos. This is a tradition and day I was totally unaware of until we got married three decades ago. If you want your life enriched, marrying into a new culture is a good way to do it. Not the only way, but a good way.

I really love this tradition. I enjoy having a time to remember those who have gone before and celebrate them. I would like to be remembered when I’m gone.

A few years back I got a wide angle/macro lens to clip on my phone. It works like a charm! However, it makes me look fatter when I film myself skating with it. Tonight I decided to use the macro part to take this shot of my fountain pen. Pretty cool. I can’t seem to find my old point n shoot camera with built-in macro. Oh well.

In the 1980s there wasn’t a lot of comic book merch available. When Marvel created “Marvel Press” to make posters it was a big deal. I bought them all. I always loved this Daredevil poster. Had it on my wall in college. So cool. Love the character too. The Daredevil series on Netflix was fantastic, and I’m glad they have brought in he same actor, Charlie Cox, to play him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His appearance on the recent episode of She Hulk was great. Hoping when he gets his own series they really keep it gritty like the Netflix series.