Sometimes, fate has a strange symmetry to it. Who would have guessed that I would be celebrating a birthday and funeral in the same week? It’s at times like these that I start taking stock of my life and wondering both where it will go and what I have accomplished so far. I haven’t done terribly for myself – I’ve stayed out of any sort of trouble whatsoever, and I have accomplished some very major educational goals which most people never have the opportunity to achieve. On the other hand, weeks like this inevitably make me wonder if I could or should do more with myself. I talked about the strangeness of time perception in my very first blog post, and I think the point bears repeating here: time can seem infinitely long or infinitesimally short depending on your perspective any given moment. Very few things can accentuate those feelings like celebrations of life were remembrances of death. This is a week that I will be pondering for many years if I manage to remember it at all. One thing that I will note is that even in the moments where you remember death, you can find happiness in the fact that a life you are celebrating may have been well lived. I think that is certainly the case here.
Monday, June 3, 2019
- Last Sunday, I decided to go down to our local $.99 store and get a cheap set of silverware for use at work. I am sick and tired of running out of disposable utensils when I need them most during lunch. I am happy to report that my planning is actually working beautifully so far. Seeing plans like this come together makes me smile.
- It’s not quite time yet, but I am already getting birthday wishes from people in other time zones for whom it is already June 4. It’s awesome to see how many people remembered, even now.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
- In case you have been reading this and wondering when my birthday is, it’s today! That alone is reason enough to smile. Call me narcissistic, but I like the idea of having one day out of the year that is all about you.
- Whoo-boy, I had quite a lot to eat today! My supervisor got me lunch from In & Out Burger, one of my other coworkers scraped together a candy jar just for me, and my family took me out to dinner when I got home.
- The steak at Ruth’s Chris steakhouse is probably the best you will ever find in California. I am still coming down from the ecstasy inspired by their culinary feats.
- Last but not least, I heard from both of my siblings today. Learning what they are up to caps my day off perfectly.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
- I was exceptionally busy at work today. Maybe the world will eventually grind me down, but for now I am once again happy to be useful
Thursday, June 6, 2019
- I dug into a box of gourmet chocolate today called Sees Candies. I don’t get these very often, because they are extraordinarily expensive but in light of my recent birthday I get to enjoy a confectionary treat about once a year. Pure awesomeness!
Friday, June 7, 2019
- We saw an amazing sci-fi movie the and Netflix tonight. It was called “I Am Mother”. Thrillers about philosophy won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it is probably one of the better movies I have seen in the last six months. That’s quite a statement considering that I’ve actually started keeping track of a few of them. I haven’t had to think so hard about a film since I watched “Ex Machina”. If you like films that make you think, this one definitely fits the bill.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
- Myself and a friend (henceforth known as MDJ) went down to Union station today to experience the second annual Los Angeles Festival of donuts at union station. It was wonderful catching up again and made me smile to be out in a beautiful day. These are the kind of days that I live for.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
- Today will go down in history as bitter sweet. I have the honor of being able to attend a public funeral service for my high school band director. He commanded respect and demanded excellence, and the bands under his tutelage reflected that perfectly. The world will greatly miss him, and so will I. But as sad as it was to reflect on his passing, it was amazing to be part of the group of people that gathered to look back on his life’s legacy.
- On a more personal note, coming together with so many high school alumni meant that I saw several faces that I haven’t seen in years. Meeting up with them again was pretty wonderful.
At least there is the ability to experience the world while also having a community to come back to at the end of the day…or after some period of time. On the one hand, some people only ever get to know their small town, and that is their world. On the other hand, some people move around so much that they dont feel connected to anything. So at least experiences like your band teacher’s passing remind the community that each of them are there for the other when it comes down to it.
Yeah…I like to think I strike a bit of a balance. I’ve lived in the same place forever, but as you know, I certainly like my adventures!
But yeah. It reminded me that I’m lucky to have ties.