Swimming is weird. I have attended three classes and I still do not know how to breathe. We gulp in air, dive under the water, kick off from the wall, and flail as far as we can until we run out of air. Then, like a submarine, we surface. Our …
When I left work back in April, I presumed ahead only untrammeled idle leisure. Instead, I have been busier than ever. Why do I need to justify my time so much to myself? To you? Where went my plan to rest? I’m in the midst of an extensive coding course …
Am I happy? I don’t know. Sometimes I am overwhelmed, frantic, and stuffed by all the learning, projects, and uncertainly. Other times – often while building – I glide along a flow state. In between, I oscillate between the rails of overstimulated and bored. I experience happiness rarely in the …
I started late in life. While high school classmates convened covertly for beer and dates, I spent weekend nights at home lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I had neither many friends nor a car to visit them. Instead, I busied myself alone with miniature-figure painting and computer-game …
It is Monday. I struggle to get out of bed. I struggle for food, struggle for clarity, struggle for self-worth. The house grows colder on. I’m tired. I’m tired of writing a pithy essay every morning. I’m tired of learning and building and planning. I’m tired of justifying my hours …
Two hundred days of no work. Well not “job” work, but I have been working hard weekdays and even weekends. I had best enjoy the remaining 150-odd days of my planned 365-days away. Dr. Rick hosts my favorite annual San Franciscan event at his Italian villa and farmhouse in Bernal …
As I wind down from my travels and projects, I feel pulled in many directions. My future looks murky, unusual for an inveterate (invertebrate!) planner like myself. Perhaps I should look for a biotech job. I could resume bench science, synthesize small molecules or monomers, and manage a couple people. …
The San Francisco Halloween season starts tonight and runs for the next ten days, finishing on November 2 with Dias de Los Muertos. During this span, I’m attending at least six parties so I soon glue my Halloween costume to me. The usually warm Bay Area fall weather coupled with …
At home, I cut plastic sheets, solder connections, and staple wires. I’m making a triangular screen. Friend Jacob got me into a Creative Coding class at Gray Area. This intensive class meets three times each week: Tu-Th 6-9pm and Sa 12-4pm. I’m learning HTML, CSS, Javascript, Processing, and more ways …
After the sun sets below Lassen peak, the national park cools to frigid. We tromp back to our campsite over snow lurking in shadow spots. The sky darkens to full black. I put on another layer of shirts and jackets. I dig in my bag for a hat and gloves. …