J.P.

So yesterday it was bitter cold, which made taking a morning and afternoon walk at work less than as enjoyable as it could have been. It’s important to get exercise, plus walking at work has the amazing benefit of clearing my head and making me more productive when I return to my desk, so one must do what they must do, even if Mother Nature doesn’t want us to do it. Still, it was quite cold.

This morning when I got up for work I noticed that it was 9F. It was another chilly morning in these parts, just like it’s suppose to be in January. It’s what’s expected. Except now it’s over 40. And now only is it over 40, it’s over 45. The weather folks are saying that it could hit 50 by the weekend but I rarely believe what they say so only time will tell.

I feel like we are on some sort of weather roller-coaster this winter. I’m not complaining about it, mind you, as this appears to be the new norm, where the winters are more mild than they were when I was a kid. Earl tells me that it’s all cyclic and it probably is, we are just in a part of the cycle that I’m not familiar with.

But I have to admit that I do miss having that “really big storm” of the season where we get dumped on with several feet of snow within a 24 hour period. Sure, it’s inconvenient and I’d probably complain about it myself as it’s happening, but it’s a good way to get the adrenaline pumping and nature knows I love the pumping of adrenaline. Maybe after our spring in January we’ll get something wacky like a sno-nado or something.

Good times.

It is the last day of 2012.  I’m still here, the blog is still here and the world is still here. There’s a part of me that wants to ramble on about the things I learned, the people I met and the fun we had in 2012 but I’m not feeling overly rambly today. Even though it’s a workday for me, and I find it quite amusing that I am being somewhat productive, my head is already in 2013 mode and I’m looking forward to the challenges of the new year.

During a ride home from the in-laws yesterday, Earl made a comment: “which are the better years for us – the even ones or the odd ones?”  To be quite honest, I can’t remember which is which these days, partly because I have middle-age senility but also because I’m going to make 2013 a good year no matter what. Determination, coupled with a sense of relaxation (in the spirit of “what will be, will be”) is what is going to get 2013 off to a good start in my little head.

If I had to summarize 2012, I’d say that it was a learning experience. I learned a lot about people, I learned a lot about what money does to people, I learned a lot about big corporations and I learned a lot about our country. More importantly I learned a lot about myself and I like to think that I am starting 2013 a little smarter and more aware of my surroundings than where I was a year ago.

So tonight I’m going to raise my selected bottle of beer up in a toast to 2013 and welcome it with open arms. It’s going to be a hoot!

I have started watching “The Event” on Netflix while working out. I watched this show earlier in the year. Unfortunately, it lasted only one season on NBC and it doesn’t look like any other network is going to tidy up the loose ends. I reconcile the abrupt and unfinished ending by reading the comments of other fans on message boards and the like. A particular comment I read today struck a chord with me:

Are we living in a new dark age? Life is no longer about aspiring to learn more, to be better at science, to encourage diversity, to welcome challenges to our beliefs — but rather to gravitate toward the lowest common denominator. If you want an intellectual show about science fiction (as opposed to catechism) perhaps such content will eventually thrive via streaming. At present it seems the clowns are running the circus — meaning the networks are more concerned about selling a better laxative while dumbing down an already intellectually challenged audience. (How long can thinking people be entertained by reality TV? How many episodes of Cops can one watch before slipping into a coma?)

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I sometimes wonder what the world is going to be like in ten or twenty years, especially if current trends continue. The other night I watched a woman at the mall slip on some ice and fall on her backside, simply because it was 7:30 p.m. at night, she was wearing (apparently very stylish) sunglasses and heels and she couldn’t navigate the icy, darkened parking lot because she was more concerned with looking good in her sunglasses. While she looked good, she apparently had little to no common sense. I hope she wasn’t hurt.

People don’t think anymore. Technology does a lot of thinking for them, like cars that flash a warning that it’s dark out and you have to turn on your lights. This sets up an expectation and we end up with cups that let us know that the hot coffee was just ordered is hot.

I’m not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. I’ll be the first one to admit that, but I still aspire to shine brighter and brighter each day, even as I grow older and grow more forgetful. I hope that others will continue to do the same, but thinking seems to be too hard.