What’s another word for thesaurus? I was carefully considering this important matter the other day when it struck me that one problem with this pre-retirement period is that I’m running out of things to worry about. It’s starting to concern me, and the fact that my increasing lack of anxiety is becoming quite stressful is itself a cause for mounting unease.
Part of the problem is that I’m trying not to waste too much time on traditional sources of angst — news and current affairs. The unique permutation of prejudices and preferences we must each shoulder ensures that no consensus can exist on what the news actually is or should be, rendering most of it pretty pointless and unnecessarily provocative. Instead I’ve spent much of the past year reading PG Wodehouse and chuckling quietly to myself. This seems altogether more constructive, though towards the end of 2020, some whiff of guilt drive me towards daydreams in which I might introduce more complexity into my existence.
Which partly explains the reappearance of this website and my reacquaintance with worthy outdoor pursuits. Trouble is, multitasking has never been my strong suit, as a succession of exasperated managers would confirm. Getting fitter and healthier is proving to be a full-time occupation, leaving little time for trivialities like housework, paying bills, and working on writing projects — the latter having been an early entry on my to-do list. One of those writing projects is to maintain this blog, the wider intention being to establish a three-or-four-times-a-week habit. It shouldn’t be that hard, but I make it so.
The raw material may be plentiful but it’s a fragile substance with a short use-by date. Bullet points starting to turn green and mushy at the edges include:
• Sunday 14 March: Wagitalersee. A bracing walk round the lake in a blizzard with my German friend, C.
• Wednesday 17 March: a long, undulating, late afternoon stroll across round the outer reaches of Horgen.
• Completing the third week of the C25K running plan. Except I didn’t really complete it, so I sentenced myself to a repeat this week.
Added to these are countless, sturdier topics which I can keep in reserve:
• Technology. Ah! A new running watch has appeared on my left wrist. And I’ve been meaning to talk about spreadsheets for 19 years. No right-minded, left-brained person will want to miss such a thing.
• Photography. A snapshot of why, what, when, and who cares.
• The strains and rewards of indoor rowing. Finally reaching my million metres target.
• Keeping my brain alive: the puzzling appeal of the New York Times Spelling Bee, The Times Codeword and other daily intellectual itches.
• The tribulations of being married to someone stuck in another country. For some appalling cynics, such a state might be considered the secret to a long and happy marriage. This reprehensible assessment must be challenged.
• The, y’know, meaning of life in a pretty general sort of sense.
I’ll make a commitment to start on those first three items now*. It will at least give me something to worry about.
* Pretty soon, anyway
5 comments On It’s too short
Thank you very much, Andy. You both are very welcome to visit us when travel is possible again. By the way, I’m really glad because I can see a little light in the tunnel because I was administered the first dose of AstraZeneca two days ago. I’ve had no side effects so far. I hope that in a few months’ time life will be more similar to what it used to be in 2019. Take care and say hi to M. for me.
Dan — Erk, OK, it’s a fair cop. I see that the calendar widget in the sidebar (yes, word still current) can all too easily be used in evidence against me. On the general topic of the website, this is still just a temporary look. I need to tweak some things and add a couple of features. And I’m still trying to work out how best to show images. I should be posting something later today (Saturday)* about a couple of recent walks. And after that, the technology entry. Every time I check my spreadsheet I think “Ah yes, I must do Dan’s spreadsheet entry”. I’ve even taken a few screenshots in readiness.
EDIT: *or tomorrow
Antonio — I’m delighted that you have read some PG Wodehouse. His stories are a wonderful antidote to world crises. While it’s probably not healthy to shut your eyes against global turmoil, there are times when you must accept that you are powerless to change the world, in which case you have to make yourself as comfortable as possible. PGW does exactly that by inviting the reader into a new world of his invention. His gentle humour has been a fantastic friend to me in recent times. I will write more about this at some point. I totally understand your sentiment about not seeming to have time to do all the things one thought one would be doing! Having the chance to do sporty, healthy things during the day is lovely but it does eat into time. My own fault. I tend to over-prepare and over-think things, taking too long to get going and too long to wind down again. But it’s a First World problem. Take care Antonio, and say hola to E for me. (And remember that you would both be very welcome to visit me if and when travel is possible again.)
Consider our appetites whetted. Sounds like there’s plenty of ripe subject matter there. At 3-4 posts a week, you should have those 9 bullet points dealt with by Easter, right? Plus of course there is the perennial topic, writing about (not) writing. Like, totally meta.
I like the new calendar view that appears in the right sidebar (do we still call them that?). The number of hyperlinks (ditto) appearing each week will be an easy way to check if you’re true to your word on post frequency.
I’m glad you mentioned P.G. Wodehouse. Although I haven’t read much of his large work, I’ve read two of his short stories this last week. Wilton’s holidays, At Geisenheimer’s They were The Man With Two Left Feet. I really like the way he writes, that sort of humour which makes you smile and see the situation in a way that you didn’t expect if you were in the character’s shoes. Now I’m reading Against the Clock a Cricket Story.
As I’m already retired, I have plenty of time for reading, doing sport, doing housework… I have always a lot of things to do. Sometimes I think how I could do so many things when I worked and now I nearly have no time to do all I would like to do.
Hope you enjoy your preretirement, Andy. As you say running is the answer. Doing sport and keeping healthy is really good for body and mind.
I expect you can meet M. soon in the UK or in Switzerland. It’s a pity that Coronavirus prevents people from travelling as much as they want.