Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Acceleration of Time (or What do You Mean the 30th Reunion is Next Year?)

Though I long ago resolved not to be preoccupied with age in my declining years, it's happening anyway.

Out of the blue, several Facebook postings this week herald the coming of my 30th high school class reunion next summer.

When I was in high school, I never contemplated living 30 years, let alone having a 30th high school reunion.

I didn't attend the 10th or 20th. I'm not sure I'll attend the 30th, but it’s happening regardless.

Where did the time go?

I've always heard from my elders (I very much respect them, by the way – young people, take note) that the older you get, the faster time flies.

When I was a kid, I was vividly aware of the differences between 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975. To this day, I can see a hairstyle from the 70s and tell you within about 12 months what year it was popular. My bright plaid pants with cuffs looked great in 1974, common in 1975, and silly by 1976.

Fast forward just 10 years: I lived in a different city every year or two for most of the 1980s. If I now hear a Madonna song on the radio, I can tell you whether I lived in Lincoln, New York, Omaha, or Richmond when it was popular.

But things changed in the 90s. I stopped moving around, yet the years flew by. How can I be nostalgic for Breakfast At Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something when it seems like it just came out? By the way, I really like that new artist, Sheryl Crow. I hope her career takes off.

I still wear shirts I wore in 1999. They look ok to me - maybe a little tight. Have I become an old dork? I'll never forget going out once with a slightly younger guy who guessed my age based on my shoes. Any self-confidence in my animal magnetism quickly evaporated.

The days, weeks, months are flying by. I regularly say, "Is it Friday again already? Where did the week go?" The good news is that while weekends once seemed so few and far between, they now come with increasing frequency.

I read a month or so ago (or was it a year or two?) that scientific studies point to possible physiological reasons why older people experience time in an accelerated way. It may be more than just the perspective of age.

So I have just one question. If time is speeding up, why is the last 30 minutes at the office the longest hour of the day?

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Planning to be Spontaneous

It is very difficult to not compulsively sit down, get out the AAA literature, Google some destinations, and make reservations. But I am determined NOT to plan my summer vacation.

As I reported a couple of blog entries ago (Organizer has Trouble Not Planning), I’ve always had a fantasy about just getting in the car and driving. No destination. See where the road takes me. But it’s a challenge to wait that long.

My thoughts go something like this: “Maybe I’ll spontaneously drive up to Manitoba and hit Minneapolis on the way back.” Or, at the suggestion of a good friend, “Without planning to, what if I drive through Michigan around the north shore of Lake Superior, and visit Minneapolis on the way back.”

Not all fantasy road trips involve swinging by the Twin Cities.

Commenting on the previous blog, a friend suggests road tripping to the mountains of North Carolina – the eastern version of “the middle of nowhere.” Another friend invites me to visit the Lincoln-Omaha area, what I used to call “Metrobraska.” Either or both of those sound like fun.

I’ve thought about some travel themes such as visiting all the state capitals between here and St. Paul, which is next to Minneapolis.

Another fun theme: go to every town of Springfield in a 10 state region. Yes, there’s one in Minnesota.

But the goal here is to challenge myself to behave in a different way from usual. Instead of planning everything down to the minute, which is my natural tendency, I’d like to see what happens if I have no plans – just the wide open road.

Here’s as much as I want to prepare ahead of this trip which begins June 11 or 12 and could last as long as 10 days (so not really long enough, perhaps, to go all the way to North Carolina – Minnesota on the other hand …):
  • Fill the tank.
  • Pack a cooler with drinks and snacks.
  • Fill a travel bag with cool clothing – I’m fairly certain it will be hot wherever I go. Hmm, the North Shore could be chilly I suppose. Ok, I’ll bring a jacket as well.
  • Drive out to Monaco Parkway and turn either left or right.
After that, I’ll be as free as one of those truckers in a country western song, with only the stars and the radio to keep me company.
That reminds me, I’ll need to bring my iPod. Perhaps I should start a list.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

No Such Thing as Free HBO

Holding an official looking clip board, the cable company representative told me through the screen door that they had been reviewing my account and discovered that for what I was currently paying, I could have many additional premium channels including all of those from HBO.

Not only that, I could have a Comcast land line phone with unlimited long distance to all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

I don't think I have ever called Puerto Rico.

In spite of the fact that my cell phone is adequate and I already have hundreds more channels than I could ever possibly watch, I invited him to come in and sit down so we could discuss it further.

As Charles, my 18 month old, jumped up on his lap and sniffed the clip board, we discussed my cable needs. I apologized for the cat. He said that he'd gotten the same treatment from the animals next door and didn't mind.

So evidently, this wasn't just a special visit because Comcast was interested in me. In fact, my neighbor, Terese, subscribed to the same new package that I did.

I realized much later that I should have asked, "How can I keep the same service I have now and pay less?" Oh these sales guys are slick.

As the Comcast guy made an appointment for the technician to come and install the replacement modem for my new land line phone, I thought that I might as well ask about a second DVR for the bedroom.

I rarely view TV shows "live." With the digital video recorder I can watch at my convenience and fast forward through commercials. The only problem is I have to do it in the living room. Since I've been falling asleep on the sofa a lot, it has occurred to me that it would be nice to watch The Daily Show in bed.

So for between eight and nine dollars per month, I now have a DVR in my bedroom - with HBO and Starz.

Meanwhile, I realized that if I was going to have a land line, I should probably get a telephone. Terese told me about a sale at Sears, so for $20 I bought one with a speakerphone, caller ID, and some other features I'll probably never use.

On Sunday, my new DVR, phone, and modem were piled up on the dresser with my wireless router and bedroom TV ready to use. Charles enjoyed playing with the new wires, and I looked forward to an evening in bed with The Simpsons and a few reruns of Sordid Lives.

It wasn't the relaxing utopia I was expecting. In fact, my 20 year old mattress was kind of lumpy. As a matter of fact, I suffer from considerable insomnia, and I often wake up without feeling in one of my arms. Spending more time watching TV in bed would only make it worse.

So my new $800 memory foam mattress (on sale!), arrives this Saturday. I can hardly wait to snuggle up with the cats and enjoy some recorded natural disaster documentaries from the National Geographic Channel - on my new, comfy mattress.

I guess you can't have free HBO without paying a price.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Organizer Has Trouble Not Planning Summer Vacation

Among my strengths are organization and planning. From managing large project teams at work to hosting a huge holiday meal for 25 people in my little condo, I meet many challenges by writing it down first, anticipating every possible scenario, and following a plan.

Most summers when I have time off, I stay at home. I figure since many people come to Colorado for their vacations, why would I want to leave? I plan to go to the mountains, enjoy local cultural attractions, and catch up on home projects. Usually, however, I end up sleeping the days away, or watching movie after movie after movie without doing any of those other things. A day or two before going back to work, I realize I haven’t done one thing I thought I would do. Rest is all well and good, and I save money by staying at home, but I think this year I should do something more adventurous – something that really is a vacation from my routine.

Regular readers know that my big vacation every year is a winter trip to San Diego. For over a decade, I’ve escaped the cold, barren landscape of Colorado February for California’s spring-like weather and sunny beaches.

This year, Colorado was so cold and brown, and California was so green and warm, I almost didn’t come home.

The question is, what should I do this summer?

I’ve always had a fantasy about just getting in the car and driving. No destination. Just see where the road takes me.

But naturally, I’ve never actually done this. What if I get someplace and can’t find a hotel room? Reservations must be made ahead of time, just to be safe. What if I get to the middle of nowhere and run out of gas? When you’ve traveled in Wyoming as much as I have, you know that’s not such an unlikely possibility.

When I was a kid, my family got into the RV and headed for the Grand Canyon. It was a long, hot drive. My mom required us to drink one pop an hour (the only time she ever did that) so we wouldn’t dehydrate. My dad was sure we’d be able to find a campground near the national park without any problem.

He was wrong. To stay anywhere near the Grand Canyon in the middle of the summer, you have to make reservations months ahead. After driving for days on end, we parked at an overlook, peered into the canyon for a few minutes, and turned around to go home.

You really can’t appreciate the grandeur of such a place in less than a half hour.

The lesson: plan ahead.

When I was young, I loved to travel spontaneously. I once wandered around England in a rented car with no idea about where I was going. But somewhere along the line, I lost my desire to explore. The last time I was adventurous out on the road was probably in 2003 when my friend Brian talked me into leaving the interstate to visit Ole’s Big Game Lounge in Paxton, Nebraska.

So this year, on June 12, I’m going to get into the car and start driving. I will not go to California. Nor will I go to Wyoming. There are a few other places I probably won’t go, like Texas, but other than that, who knows where I might end up?

The test until then is to avoid planning. Stay tuned to BillsWeek for updates on this challenging situation.