2020, the year we all stayed home and did nothing. Wait, nothing? There’s plenty to do at home: eat, drink, complete puzzles, watch tv…get fat. Even though the gyms are closed, there are a lot of online options for workouts. For some reason, I don’t find those very motivating most days, even the live zoom ones. And I miss running. Of course, here in California—with our current wildfire situation—running outside is not ideal due to the unhealthy air quality.
I’m fortunate enough to have a treadmill, so I’ve been taking advantage recently. I didn’t run at all in 2018 or 2019, due to various injuries. Now, I’m taking it slow and building up a solid running base before attempting longer and faster runs.
I will probably always be a slow runner, and that’s fine. What’s important to me now is staying healthy and avoiding injuries. With the quarantine, I’m no longer going to the office, and thus no standing desk. Sitting all the time has been proven to be bad for your health, so this is one way I’m attempting to compensate.
My most immediate goal is to run 5k and then 10k. Hopefully, by the end of the year. Does anyone want to join me in training for a 10k?
Virtual race 10k medal for my mom, if she joins me!
This week, the Perseid Meteor Shower hit its prime viewing peak. With a visibility estimate of 160-200 meteors per hour, I managed to see several shooting stars, although some of them were quite faint. Most of all, I enjoyed taking the time to appreciate nature and to unplug for a bit.
If you’re a sciencey-type person, you can find more information about the Perseid Meteor Shower here. I find it fascinating that what we’re watching is remnants of Comet Swift-Tuttle from 1862 or before. Since this is all happening trillions of miles away, it takes quite some time for it to be visible from Earth, even though it appears to be happening in realtime. I suppose it’s all a matter of perspective.
Wednesday night, I lay in my hammock late at night, staring up at the night sky. I felt like an insignificant speck of dust, on a rock, lazily making its way through a vast, unknowable space. Is this not an accurate description? On a cosmic scale, humans, and one individual human at that, are just specks of dust.
Searching for shooting stars, wishing for a falling star, I kept coming back to this thought of insignificance.
As we sit on this 3rd rock from the sun, we often forget that we are orbiting the sun. We have a false perspective that we are stationary, and everything else is moving. The Earth is always moving, and it’s taking us along with it.
When I think about the sheer enormity of the universe, it boggles my mind. It’s already hard to worry about the typo in my email to someone important at work, the perceived criticism from a friend, the less than healthy food choices I made today. There is so much shit happening in the world today: a global pandemic that’s killed almost a million people; a general state of unrest in the US due to police violence, racism, and politics; climate change; and a complete idiot who’s running the country into the ground.
When set within the context of the universe as a whole, the cosmic insignificance of all these seemingly gigantic issues becomes clear. Does the sun care about racism? Does Comet Swift-Tuttle care if humans will be extinct—or not—on its next pass?
All of this has me thinking about philosophy, and that makes me think about Plato’s Cave, which then causes me to think about the brain in a vat theory.
So, what’s the point? Should we bury our heads in the sand and ignoring the problems in the world today? I don’t think so. Suffering exists. It will always exist, but so too will the things that can alleviate it.
However, everyone can benefit from taking a step back, framing their perspective, and investing in determining what’s truly important in their lives. I think someone famous once said “don’t sweat the small stuff,” and also “it’s all small stuff.”
On that note, I’ll end with this. I’m working out what those important things are in my life, and on letting go of the small stuff. That, and I really want to spend more time learning about philosophy, I find it fascinating.
When were you last onstage, literally or figuratively? High school. I’m trying to remember which play was the last one — maybe 7 Brides for 7 Brothers?
Beginning with the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, what would you name the different personal stages you’ve been through to today? 1 – vacation anxiety, 2 – flying on plane anxiety, 3 – grocery shopping anxiety, 4 – everything is online, let’s spend money, wheeeee….
When did you unintentionally upstage someone, or when did someone unintentionally upstage you? I probably do this unintentionally all the time. Sometimes I am not always as aware of others as I could be.
How or when do you experience stage fright? Yes, I hate public speaking. My boss makes me do it all the time, and rightfully so, it’s part of my job, still hate it!
What are you in the early stages of, and what are you the late stages of? I am in the early stages of kitten fostering. The babies have been here for 5 days. I am lso in the early stages of writing a short story, but it’s just an exercise and probably will not be shared WITH ANYONE! Late stages — I’m not sure, I tend to start projects and not finish them. Oh! The bathroom remodel. Just a few finishing touches left…..
It’s Tuesday! You know what that means? It’s time for the Friday 5! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What’s your favorite cake? A friend once made me a vegan Samoa (girl scout cookie) ice “cream” cake for my birthday. It was ahhhhhh-mazing.
When did you last have pancakes? 2019 for my birthday. At Denny’s, at like 3am? With Sachin, Robin, and Tony. I am not responsible for anything I said that night. Oh, and I still owe Sachin a milkshake.
When did you last bake a cake or a cake-like thing? I have no idea. I am not a cake baker. Oh wait, I made brownie/muffins in November. They were supposed to be sugar free (and gluten-free, corn-free, soy-free, and vegan) and they came out so terrible I threw them all away.
What part of your job is a piece of cake? Finding bugs. They find me.
Where have you had a really good cupcake? at work, I think that’s the last time I had a cupcake.
Bonus question: What are your thoughts on icing? I’m fond of telling people that if it doesn’t have icing, it’s a not a cupcake. It’s a muffin!
