One of the changes brought about by my COVID-era lifestyle is that I’m sleeping better. Hell, I’m a regular 9 to 5 guy these days. My sleep score, as measured by Fitbit, is in the mid-80s as opposed to the 60s pre-COVID. One aspect of that higher score is an increase in the amount of REM sleep I’m getting. I had an hour and a half of that last night and with it came some intense dreams.
Don’t worry I’m not going recount the dream here and talk about possible hidden meanings. Much. Suffice to say it was work-related and I was a human resources hero doing some really important shit. Even got to fuck with China! I’d wake up to pee, go back to sleep, and the dream continued from where we’d left off. It was a long night’s work!
And I guess that’s the thing I was left with upon waking this morning. I miss the meaning and purpose that my working life provided. That’s probably pretty common, but damn, it’s been two and a half years since I last worked for pay. This makes me wonder if the life I’m currently living is so devoid of fulfillment that my poor subconscious has to pretend I’m working again. On the other hand, maybe the whole purpose of retired life is to step away from the stress and pressure that comes with working and to live a simple life doing the things you enjoy.
Well, I honestly do enjoy my hikes. Especially the ones with my various walking groups on M-W-F. Y’all have seen the pictures, what’s not to like? My social life of late is mostly me and a bottle of beer but I’m invariably joined by the setting sun.
And yes, I do hang out with people some too. I don’t feel particularly close to anyone in my life, but then, that’s not really different than it’s ever been. My life is what it is and I’m glad to have it. Work and love are both four-letter words and they are both a part of my past. Hey, past has four letters too!
A good long walk today and I’ll post about that tomorrow. I did spend some time under this tree waiting for the other guys at our meet-up spot:
Anyway, time waits for no man. And Tom Waits hates bad writing.
That’s it for now. I hear Trump has the COVID virus and I wish him well. I honestly believe if Biden were somehow to ascend to the throne it would be the end of America as we know it. And not in a good way.
Every time when I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by, like dusk to dawn
Isn’t that the way
Everybody’s got the dues in life to payI know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it’s everybody sin
You got to lose to know how to winHalf my life
Is books, written pages
Live and learn from fools and
From sages
You know it’s true, oh
All the things come back to youSing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it’s just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you awayDream on
Dream on
Dream on
Dream until your dreams come true
Dont want to bring politics too much into the blog (but here I go!!), but thought I would say that the rhetoric (on both sides) that the world will end if their preferred candidate does not get elected as President seems overblown. I remember Democrats talking about the end of the world when George W. Bush got elected and re-elected. The Republicans thought the same when Barak Obama won two terms. Then it was back to the Democrats talking about how the sky would fall if Donald Trump were elected. None of the above has happened.
You can look at historical data on various economic factors (GDP growth, unemployment, stock returns, %wage growth vs. inflation, etc etc) and on average, there is not a whole lot of difference between Republican and Democratic administrations.
I am an optimist and do believe that people are pretty resilient, regardless of who is President. I think that the President has less direct impact than many believe. Of course, he can influence policy, etc., but alot of it (to me) is mental – in that the President is a cheerleader, and depending upon what tribe you follow, it makes you feel good or makes you upset, but may not impact your life in real terms. The US is becoming a smaller part of the world pie, which means that a lot of external factors can influence what happens in the US, no matter what the US president does.
Honestly, I dont see how my life would have been too much different if there were a Democrat in the White House from 2000 – 2008, a Republican in the White House from 2008 – 2016, and a Democrat from 2016 – 2020. Mentally, I may have thought about things differently, but on a tangible basis, I just dont think there would have been much difference. Pretty sure I would have been with the same company, moved through the same positions, etc.
Though I do have to say that the ACA allowed me to retire at 50 a couple of years ago and allowed me to pick and choose the odd job/consulting gig going forward IF I want them. Without the ACA, there is no way I would have been able to retire.
Just my two cents. (Which will be worth less next year!) LOL
By the way, there is something to be said for enjoying each day as it is. Everything is in the moment. When I was working full time, I never seemed to be caught up. Projects overlapped and there was never a day when I went to sleep at night that there was not something “unfinished” or something that would carry over to the next day/week, etc. Now, there is no “prep” to the day, and no “follow up” either. To me, that is a great feeling!
A virtual “cheers” to that!
Thanks for the comment, Brian. I tend to be much more pessimistic than you appear to be. In 2016 I thought our choice was between a crook and a clown. I went with the clown and have been pleasantly surprised. I’m not a Trump fanboy and I do wish he’d tone down the rhetoric, but there is no arguing with his success…lowest unemployment (before COVID), record stock market, etc. But mostly I’m impressed that he had the balls to take on China and that he took steps to undo Obama’s efforts to nuclearize Iran.
Anyway, people see things differently and that’s fine. I don’t expect to see Biden elected and if he is I probably won’t live long enough to witness the destruction of the America I know and love.