Social Situations

I'm not socially awkward. I wouldn't even say that I'm uncomfortable in most social situations. They're just not my thing. I think they tend to drain energy from me and sometimes it's just too much.

Last week we went out to dinner with friends on Monday and met with our small group on Tuesday. When Thursday night barchurch rolled around, I decided that I had already had enough people interaction for the week and stayed home. This week's barchurch was a planned social event that I considered skipping. We walked down to a local brewery, had pizza, beer, and just visited with each other--ugh.

Although the group is relatively small, there are people that I really don't know. I spent some time in conversation with people that I've talked with before and also made it a point to spend a little time getting to know someone new.
I'd say that an introvert's - "It wasn't bad," is a pretty good rating when it comes to social get togethers.
There is another church fall event on Sunday. I'll have about eight hours of solo time in the car tomorrow to gear up for it. 

It's a little weird that churches and other groups plan events that are generally geared toward reaching extroverts and expect the introverts to deal with the discomfort of such gatherings. I will say that The Venues does a fair job with small groups. Including introverts is not an easy task. If you are one of the introverts, I feel your discomfort. 
And I feel like The Venues is a safe place -- for everyone.

John

Living with Fall

Have I mentioned -- I'm not a fan of fall?
This morning (as I sit on the deck in sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt) I'm wondering how long it will be until I'm having my morning coffee inside by the fireplace. I'm not there yet and hopefully won't be for a little while, but it's coming and I'm not thrilled about it. In a couple of weeks the time change will move sunset to the early evening hours. Ugh! 

On the plus side,
The windows are open and the a/c if off for the year. The new question is - How long be fore we turn on the furnace?
Another plus is the daytime temps make working outside more bearable. It's not too big of a deal, but it is a plus worth mentioning.
There are a few good meteor showers. The Draconids were last week and the Orionids are next week. The Leonids will be next month.

That's about it.
But life goes on.
Maybe that's another good thing and perhaps the thing for me to keep in mind -- Life goes on.
The fall and coming winter are a necessary part of the cycle. Things have to die, the land has to rest, and the long nights are necessary to produce the colors, and the glory of the spring and summer.

Oh wait...
Fall baseball!
I've probably watched as much baseball through the early postseason as I've watched all year. Although the Cardinals' season has ended (and they're in that dying, resting, rebuilding season), post season baseball is fun to watch--three games today (I won't watch all three)!
And hockey season begins.

170 days until the Cardinals' 2022 opening day.

John

Note to Facebook friends: I've decided not to continue posting by daily journal from my Healthy Living (by an unhealthy guy) blog. I'm still writing daily, but will only share on FB weekly. Feel free to check it out on Twitter (@Magicianary) or subscribe directly,...or not.

Adult Peer Pressure

It's time.
I've put it off as long as I can.
I'm beginning to feel the peer pressure of my neighbors.
Hopefully it will be the last mowing of the season.
Maybe I'll throw some seed down in the thin areas after this final mowing. I think there is still enough time for it to germinate and get established before the first freeze. I'll have to check on that. I may need to wait until spring.

What peer pressure is in your life?

John

The Knowledge Machine

The Knowledge Machine by Michael Strevens is my current book. 
I'm only about a third of the way through it, and although it isn't a compelling page turner, it is very interesting. At this point I'd say that it is as much a book on philosophy as it is a book of science. Perhaps, it is meant to be that way as philosophy is science and science is a particular kind of philosophy.

It is a little disturbing at how far we have moved away from the scientific analysis of the information that is presented to us today. In a world where information (and misinformation) travels at the speed of a keyboard click, how is it that large parts of our society no longer examine nor evaluate its truthfulness? It would seem that today's standard for truthfulness is based solely on what we want to be true and bears no resemblance to what has scientifically been proved or disproved.

I don't know what can be done to encourage people to educate themselves on how to examine evidence and the credibility of those presenting evidence. Credibility seems to be bestowed based on personal bias rather than scientific fact -- I only believe people and evidence that agree with me.
That's not very scientific, is it?

(heavy sigh)

Some days I no longer wonder if our simple US experiment in democracy will survive. Instead I wonder how long the next form of government will last until there is another revolution.

John 

Old Habits

I suppose some of you that follow both my blog and my Facebook noticed that I haven't exactly been absent from posting or commenting over the past 24 hours or so.
Old habits are indeed difficult to break. To help me in that endeavor, I just removed the Facebook app from my phone. I'll still be able to log in from my phone's browser, but the additional step will give me something to consider. I'm not deleting nor abandoning FB, I just want to use it much less.

Time away from social media and not opening my laptop this morning gave me more contemplative time while enjoying my coffee and it gave me some time to read. I'm not too into The Knowledge Machine. It isn't that it is uninteresting, I'm just not really digging it right now. I'll manage to push through and read it because it does add to my own knowledge base and has already given me things to ponder as I work through life.

Do you have old habits that need to be adjusted or discarded?
What are they and how do you plan to adjust or get rid of them?
It is said that changing habits is easier than just quitting one. So if you stop one, what will you do to replace it?
Do tell!

John

No Comment

"No comment."
It's the simple non-response response.
I was thinking of doing the social media dump, but know that I'm just kidding myself. 

Yeah, I know I could abandon it and not feel any negative impact, but there are definitely parts of it I would miss. I'm thinking of going into "lurker" mode. You know--reading, but not posting or commenting.
Social media really a lazy way to stay connected to people and the connection is mostly an illusion anyway.

In one of my past "friends" purges I dropped people that I saw on a regular basis. Facebook had become the substitute for actually conversing with people. Now I rarely have any in person contact with people, so it may be more of a connection than it once was, but not really. I think it's still an excuse to vent, comment, and post opinions and think that we can do so without consequence. I doubt there is a way to keep the beneficial aspects of social media and restrict the negative ones.

I'll probably keep sharing blog posts and maybe some pics, but I think you'll be seeing less from me. I'll most likely be on Twitter more than other platforms. I'm there at @magicianary. Even though "magicianary" is my identity on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, it isn't a very good name for me anymore. It's kind of weird explaining it to people that didn't really know me as a preaching magician.

In any case, I'm going to fade (temporarily, at least) from the social media scene. If you are local, hit me up for coffee, beer, lunch, or whatever and we can catch up in person. If you're not local and want to chat, call me, email, or send a message. I'm not difficult to find.

John

The Teacher and the Student

An idea popped into my head the other day while I was driving and listening to NPR. I don't recall what was on and I don't know what the inspiration was, but I got the idea for a short series of short poems.
I've never really been into poetry--not reading it, nor writing it.
Here is my attempt at some free form poetry. There may (or may not) be more.

John

The Teacher and the Student

Help me to learn.
Day by day, help me to grow.
Teach me the things I need to know.
Show me problems from a different perspective.
Teach me to think and solve them my way.
Teach me to see that different people learn in different ways.

Dear Student, 
Teach me.

Signed,
The Teacher

Life Maps; a mini book review

So i just finished reading Life Maps by Jim Fowler and Sam Keen. I'd say it is a book that every adult that is interested in growing (or even just growing up) should read. It's a little weird in that there are two men with differing perspectives on human development that share their thoughts on how people grow, don't grow, or just get stuck for life in a single way of thinking and processing the world around them.

I found that I like Fowler's method of explanation more than Keen's, but Keen was probably more relatable in many ways. I was reminded of some of our NATCA Constitution Committee meetings where two people would passionately argue their positions when a third member would interrupt and point out they were in violent agreement, but coming from very different perspectives.

One odd thing that wasn't really addressed in the book, but obviously exists in real life, is that we sometimes cling to primitive (childlike) thought processes on things like faith, politics, or other specific areas of thought, but graduate to more mature processes in business, science, community, etc.
It was difficult reading and not seeing the behaviors of others, but there came a time when one is forced to see themselves and their own progress or lack of it and assess what (if anything) needs to be done next.

I can't say it was truly an enjoyable book, but I don't think it was meant to be. It was (and is) a kind of necessary book when it comes to understanding people, how and why they think the way they think, and how to communicate between stages of thought processes.

John

Watches

Who wears a watch these days?

A couple of decades ago I stopped wearing a wrist watch. I was working (part-time) at Silver Dollar City and wrist watches weren't allowed because they didn't fit into the time era of the theme park. I started using a pocket watch and just never went back to a wristwatch. My pocket watch was replaced by a cellphone.

A recent change in cell phones prompted me to buy a cheap smartwatch to use as a step counter. Counting steps isn't as important to me as it once was and I'm considering shelving the smartwatch, but have gotten used to wearing a wristwatch again. I can continue to use the smartwatch as a timepiece, go back to one of the wristwatches that are in a drawer and just need new batteries, or just use my cellphone as my portable time piece.   

It's funny that an ordinary wristwatch is a bit nostalgic. While still functional, it's not as practical nor as necessary as it once was. Today's wristwatch is more of a fashion accessory than a necessary timepiece.
Do you still wear one?

John

Last Quarter

It's October and we are in the final quarter of 2021.
I don't think that '21 turned out to be the year most of us were hoping for, but the calendar pages change regardless. 

Now might be a good time to assess how our 2021 projects and goals are going. I am a little behind on some of mine, but they really aren't that pressing.
Most of our flowers came in nicely this year. The vegetable garden was a different story. 
We managed to get some produce, but needed to have a better bed to get a better yield. I'm starting now to prepare the beds for next spring, so we should do better in our 2022 vegetable garden.

We are also adding flower garden space.
Can you have too many flowers?
I think not.
I'm re-working my compass rose garden to have a bit more flower space. I thing I'll use the added space for some low growing, but colorful annuals, and the inside part of the compass circle will have perennials. Maybe I should include some roses in the compass rose garden. The centerpiece of the compass rose will be a sundial on a post. It's not exactly like a floral clock that supposedly exists in Niagara, but it will be my SWMO version of a floral timepiece.
We will also be adding more flowers to the front flower beds and creating a place for sunflowers on the west side of the house.

As you can see, I have plenty of projects to keep me busy -- and that doesn't count the shelves that need to be built in the basement and all of the pitching, cleaning, and organizing that needs to be done there. A truly ambitious person would never have time to read a book, smoke a cigar, or just sit and enjoy the sounds of nature. I should probably try to find something in between the two.

So,
How are your 2021 goals coming along?

John