Ponderings and Musings

I find comfort in the structure of following established rules. Some find this surprising about me, as there are times that I show a rebellious streak, but it’s actually rare for me to deliberately ignore established rules. I cross the street at established crosswalks. I don’t lump our trash and recyclables together. And when leaving the nearby ‘L’ platform, I always use the designated exits instead of barging through one of the Emergency Exit doors.

At times I think my husband is amused by this and at others times he finds it incredibly frustrating. It’s usually the latter when we’re downtown in a snowstorm and he wants to dart across the street and then he ends up waiting for me to walk half a block to cross with the light and then make my way back to him.

To be fair, there are times when I don’t follow the rules. I rarely drive the speed limit on the expressway and if I’m cycling along the side streets of the neighborhoods I don’t stop at the stop signs; I usually look both ways but still cruise through. On the main thoroughfares I stop for lights and I won’t cross against them unless I’m certain it’s safe to do so.

As I said, it’s all about the comfort and structure of following established protocols. It’s just what I do and I figure it’s the simplest way to get through life.

My husband thinks I should have been a Boy Scout.

I deactivated my Twitter account this morning. Though Twitter really wanted me to stay around, I pushed through all the prompts and said “yes, I want to deactivate my account”. I then deleted the random password for the account out of my stored passwords. Twitter will allow me to reactivate my account within 30 days, but because I don’t know the password and I’ve removed my phone number from the account, it would take a couple of extra steps to turn things on and I did that on purpose.

I am amazed by the amount of relief I feel by this simple act of deleting the account. For the past year or so I have desperately tried to steer my Twitter timeline away from the dumpster fire of Twitter: I’d focus on tech and aviation, stay connected with online friends I’ve met across the world, and have a way to keep tabs on late breaking news, though in all honesty, over the past couple of years Twitter has become a very unreliable source of information. Since the company has little demonstrated interest in controlling bots and other sources of purposeful disinformation, it’s not like Twitter has become nothing more than a shouting match, ball of chaos, and time sink.

I’m fully aware Twitter is a symptom, not the problem, of what plagues our society today.

In full disclosure, I do still have a small, protected Twitter account. I have less than a dozen followers on that account and I follow less than three dozen people. As I go through the effort of improving focus in my life, I’m not allowing “endless scrolling” or “infinity pools” apps on my phone. If I can’t scroll to the end, it’s not allowed on the phone. I want to be present in the moment. However, another disclosure, Instagram is allowed on my phone (with it’s infinite scrolling) because I do like sharing photos. This morning I moved my account to protected status as well.

I know a LOT of people that thrive on social media and the feedback they receive through the various channels. I totally get it; the dopamine hit gives you a high like some illegal drugs and sometimes we just want some applause in our life. I remember how that felt back in my radio days, when I’d hear whispers of folks identifying me in public after seeing me in a television commercial or on stage promoting the radio station. It’s a good feeling. But like when I walked away from radio nearly 20 years ago, or when I turned down the callback for “Big Brother”, I just don’t need that hit anymore. I’m not worried about losing social collateral.

I’m excited about real life.

So the last two days of work have been all about training. The company has a few offices in Chicagoland, but as an official remote employee, I’ve never been to these offices before. However, since some management training became available, I decided to sign up, dust off my badge, and make a trek to the ‘burbs.

Having never officially commuted for work in Chicago, I left myself plenty of time to get to the office. I needed to travel about 25 miles by car (17 miles as the crow flies). I allowed myself 1 hour and 45 minutes, because I am no stranger to Chicago and I know how traffic works.

It turns out I needed 1 hour and 30 minutes of that time. I had just enough time to grab a cup of coffee, meet fellow employees in person, and settle into my seat at the training room at a comfortable pace.

I actually loved the experience of commuting again, despite the traffic doing what it does. It was much more interesting than the commuting I engaged in back in Upstate New York, where I’d wave at the same cow or have to slow down for an Amish buggy delivery milk day after day, but being able to people watch other commuters on the various expressways along my route was a refreshing change of pace.

I might have to head out to the offices more often.

Apparently seven years ago today I went for a Jeep ride to my hometown. Apple Photos was kind enough to remind me of this. I don’t remember taking this photo but I am very familiar with the area, as it is only a mile or two from where I grew up.

You’ll notice there are sand dunes along the green field in this photo; when Dad was digging the basement for our new home back in 1975, I remember mounds of sand all around the excavated area. The land of my hometown is very sandy, as once upon a time it was part of Lake Ontario. Even though the spot in the photo about is about 10 miles in from the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, there’s still plenty of sand dunes in the area, lending evidence to the fact that what we called home was once under water.

When we were kids we would ride our Coleco toboggans down those sand dunes. We’d have fun with our cousins, riding down and then trekking back up to do it all over again.

These dunes were on the approach to runway 34 at the small airport we were at every weekend; where my dad learned to fly. I always liked looking out of the back seat of the Piper J-5A and seeing the dunes, even though there was no lake to be found.

Seeing this photo made me smile. We need more smiles in today’s world.

I had the pleasure of listening to an aviation podcast earlier today after a wonderful breakfast with my fellow members of the flying club I belong to. The podcast is called Simple Flight, and is produced by a couple members of the club right from the clubhouse at KPWK. If you’re an AvGeek and enjoy podcasts, I highly recommend you adding it to your playlist for your listening pleasure.

In this latest podcast (09 Jul 19 episode), the guest was a man who has the goal of owning and flying a Phenom 300 business jet. He is working his way toward that goal, and it’s clear from the enthusiasm exhibited during this interview that he has a passion for aviation and I have no doubt that he will realize his dream.

As I was sitting in traffic on Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway, making my way home while listening to this podcast, I started daydreaming about my passions, and how I’m happiest when I’m focused on those passions. I enjoy many things, but I’m passionate about four things, and I have dreams that I’m still striving to realize in this second half of my life.

So what am I passionate about?

I say this is without hesitation, but my first and foremost passion, is my family and home. As my mother would say, “well duh, John”, the truth of the matter is, I feel fulfilled and happiest when I’m in our home space in a place that I love with the people I love. My love for my family is the driver for everything else, and this enables me to work hard, play harder, and discover the next big thing in my life.

My second passion is aviation. I live life without regret but honestly I wish I had become a pilot sooner in my life. Obviously things happen when and where they best should happen, and become a pilot five years ago was the right time and place, but sometimes I wonder where I’d be in the world today if I had found the confidence and resources to become a pilot earlier in life. Would I be flying for the airlines? Would I be flying cargo? Would Earl and I own an airplane together? My passion for aviation drives me to become a better pilot with every flight, and I honestly I’ve been too slow in getting the ratings I want. I need to ramp that up. Focus on the passion, not the distraction.

My third passion, and this is another thing I could talk non-stop about, is what I call “practical technology”. I am fascinated by how far technology has come along in my lifetime, but the truth of the matter is, not all of it is good. Practical Technology needs to continue to move ahead, but this extraneous stuff to me holds little interest for me. I definite practical technology as tech that makes a positive contribution to the world. Practical tech makes using technology easier for the user. A number of years ago an appliance company designed a washer that connected to the dryer so the dryer would know when the washer was finishing up its cycle and start warming up ahead of time. This is nifty and certainly possible, but is it practical? What’s it accomplishing? If you’re not standing right there when the washer completes, how is this going to help? It’s like this trend of having cars turn off and automatically start again when you step off the brake, all in the name of energy conservation. How much energy does it really conserve? How much does it screw up traffic patterns due to waiting for the car to restart when the light turns green? We have so much technology available to use that is not practical; I’d really like to see what I can do as a software engineer to bring technology back in the line of being practical again. I’m really interested in bringing more tech into aviation. I’m not a fan of remote controlled passenger aircraft, but I am a fan of succinctly informing the pilot with as much data as relevant to a situation.

My fourth passion is music. Great music, full of emotion and feeling, and performed in a genuine manner, makes my heart sing. So much new music today is created for the purpose of stardom and making money. This type of performance elicits no response in me. But powerful moments, where you can nearly wrap your arms around the joy the performer is feeling during their performance, will nearly bring me to tears. I care less about perfection and am always looking for the genuine. Seeking out performances of this nature will always make me happy, and my passion for finding this happiness always makes me smile.

There’s a lot of things one must do for the purpose of generating the opportunity to pursue their passions. This is the energy that all humans should be allowed to expend.

I’m certain the world would be a happier place if we all just allowed one another to be passionate.

One of the perks of working from home is that I have the opportunity to take a few moments to relax when I need a time out during the work day. I spent a few moments relaxing on the bed after lunch today and Truman hopped up to sit next to me.

It’s hard to believe that he’s lived with us for over six months. He has his routine and while it was disturbed a bit during our recent time away, he seems unfazed by the whole thing and is indicating expectation for his schedule. He’s not much of a cuddler as he prefers to sit nearby rather than on me or snuggled up with me, which is fine. I just needed to learn the ground rules early on.

As I relaxed on the bed with him alongside, he situated himself so he could see out the window and observe the goings-on on the rooftop patio next door. We had the windows wide open, as it was a glorious day in The Windy City today, and every time a train passed on the Brown Line, I noticed his little notice would go into action sniffing the air passing through the open windows. I don’t know what he was smelling, but his nose would jump around a little bit, almost as if he was using smell to read a newspaper. Come to think of it, that may be a way that felines communicate. Perhaps they rely on smell as much as we rely on sight.

When I was a teenager we had an orange and white cat named Waldo (named after the cartoon “Waldo Kitty”). One day he was laying next to me on my bed and I noticed that if I looked at him with one eye he had a more orange hue to his fur than if I looked at him with the other eye. It was like a green tint was removed and/or inserted to his fur color, depending on the eye I was using to look at him.

Forty years later and I was playing the same game with similarly-colored Truman this afternoon. As his nose wiggled, I switched back and forth between my left and right eye, the green tint in his fur coming and going depending on which eye was in use.

Closing and opening each eye individually caught Truman’s attention, and he turned away from the window for a moment to see what I was doing. I smiled and gave him some nice pets.

He commenced purring.

Relaxing on the bed is a good way to boost the energy in the midday.

Earl and I are on a 5-day getaway, currently aboard a United flight from O’Hare to Denver. This getaway is a focus on relaxation for the two of us, and I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long while. Denver is not out final destination today.

There are many things I love about calling Chicago home, and one of them is the fact we live so close to a major airport. Not only can I watch flights on approach into O’Hare on a daily basis (something I love to do), but many of our flights out of the Windy City are a one hop experience (contrary to today’s flight). When we leave ORD I’m always excited to identify the landmarks I can easily identify as a private pilot. Here’s a photo fo KPWK, the home airport of one of the Flying Clubs I belong to and the airport where I’ve logged many departures and takeoffs in the Archer III.

I’m at one of the most happiest moments in my life, despite all the chaos going on in the world. Life is what you make it to be, always strive to make it the best it can be.

According to Apple’s spell check, “ponderance” isn’t a word. Betty White could never give enough clues to guess that Password.

That’s how I feel tonight: full of ponderance. There’s a lot to think about.