Annie Dillard
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living."
Annie Dillard Another 30 days draws to close. I almost feel like the cycles are speeding up. I just prepared the month's final work lunch for tomorrow: quinoa again. Seems fitting in an Ouroboros kind of way. So was it hard to break the habit of eating out over lunch several times a week? It was actually easier than I thought it would be. I did miss having a change of scenery in the middle of the day, so I took to shutting my office door (lucky to have one!) and moving to a different part of the room to eat and read during my break. It's a bit antisocial but it works. One of the main reasons I decided to take on this challenge was to save money. Let's break it down, arithmetic-style. I normally would have eaten out for an average of 13 lunches in a month, at approximately $6.75 each. I was able to bring lunches instead for about $2.75 each. Plus I saved just over $8 in gas. Before expenses for 13 lunches: $95.75 After expenses for 13 lunches: $35.75 Savings: $60 Not bad! Anyone who has watched “The Wonder Years” knows it is about the process of growing up and what stays with you from that horrible and hopeful time. And if there is one episode that has stayed with me for years
(god, it's pretty much decades by now) it's Coda, the one where Kevin reluctantly takes piano lessons. He eventually quits instead of continuing to push against his musical limitations. Although the entire episode is excellent, it's the opening narration that I can practically recall by heart. “When you're a little kid, you're a little bit of everything: artist, scientist, athlete, scholar. Sometimes it seems like growing up is a process of giving those things up, one by one. I guess we all have one thing we regret giving up; one thing we really miss - that we gave up because we were too lazy, or because we couldn't stick it out, or because we were afraid.” When I was a kid myself I thought this sentiment was unnecessarily tragic. When I was a teenager I thought it was tragic yet necessary. Now that I'm older I want to believe it's never too late, that you can still be the scientist and the artist. That you can pick up where you left off. Otherwise, all we have left is regret and fantasy. I've been doing pretty well with my piano practicing. Even when away from home during Thanksgiving, thanks to a couple of apps on my tablet. Technology is amazing. Here is a super thrilling video of me practicing Greensleeves. It may not be completely perfect yet but that's what practice is for. Practicing Greensleeves from J K on Vimeo. Last week I felt like I was having to scavenge the cupboard to bring a healthy lunch to work. So this week I planned ahead and made a giant pot of root vegetable soup on Sunday. The only problem is that root vegetable soup loses its appeal around the third lunch in a row. I failed a challenge. Stupidly, I forgot to bring multivitamins along to a Thanksgiving road trip and missed day 30. I guess it's hard to continue a tenuous habit when your routine is disrupted. Who knew? It's OK though, as the vitamin challenge is an easy one to redo. I have just started two more this month also: 1. Keeping a happiness jar This is a concept popularized by Elizabeth Gilbert. You jot down the happiest moment of your day for preservation. I think it's a lovely and quick way to save those fleeting feelings and experiences. To prepare, I cut up some pretty paper scraps and grabbed a pen to keep next to the jar. 2. Bringing lunch to work I'm keeping a happiness jar this month to shore up my mental and emotional well-being, but I'm doing this second challenge to improve my physical and financial well-being. I tend go out to lunch a couple of times a week, which is a waste of money and gas. Plus it's not like Noodles and Co. is the healthiest eating option around. So, for the month of December, I'm bringing my lunch to work every day. And it can't be a Cliff bar either. I started today with a quinoa pilaf and green beans. |
JessDoing 30-day challenges, 30 of them, before I turn 30. Or something like that. Archives
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