Wednesday, February 17, 2016

46. Nick's Notes 2/17

I’m so tired. I’ll just put this out there right now, I don’t know how people handle kids sometimes. As soon as I walked in the door this evening, I just wanted to collapse. Kudos to all the mom’s and dad’s who soldier on with house-related stuff even when they’re wicked tired. I didn’t feel like cooking dinner tonight, so I finished the half-eaten bowl of granola and yogurt that I didn’t finish this morning along with some Triscuits. Somedays I’m glad I still have the ability to get away with that (as in I’m glad I’m not responsible for the sustenance and care of another human being.) Maybe that will change with time, but right now I’m OK with it.

I’m doing ok with giving up Netflix for Lent. I am a week into it and I’ve been pretty OK with it. It’s freed up my mind to take care of other things: house stuff, writing letters, catching up on books, etc. There’s something freeing about not having that option in my mind to fall back on if I am bored/tired. I have to put in a little bit of effort to entertain myself. I’ve also noticed that the time goes by a lot slower now that my mind doesn’t melt away with continuous playing of television shows.

I’ve found that I still do some mindless things to entertain myself: scroll social media or dumb online games. I think those things are OK in moderation, but I’ve got to remember to stop myself once I feel my mind go slack.

My parents have been gone on a European trip for a couple of days now. It’s kind of weird having the house to myself. I like to think that I had the whole living on my own thing figured out, but those muscles have atrophied since moving back in with my parents. I’m not planning meals, cooking, grocery shopping (and I’m ashamed to say, cleaning up after myself.) Yesterday, I found myself groaning at the prospect of doing some dishes. But I have a hack to help stay focused for those things, I set the timer for about 15 minutes and just get everything done that I can. Finishing the dishes took me about seven minutes. I think it’s that removal of variables that helps things go by more quickly.

One weird thing I’ve noticed is that I can’t eat as much as I used to. That’s just one of the realities of growing older. My stomach gurgles more if I’ve had too much fried food and I feel like lying down and taking a nap after having a baked good. On the other hand, I usually feel pretty good when I eat some fruit. And I should probably stop eating a half a box of triscuits in one sitting.

Can a day go by where I don’t hear the word “impact” used incorrectly? I swear I hear it at least five times a day now. Ninety percent of the time, the correct word is affect! I guess I’m becoming more crotchety as well.

I set a timer for 15 minutes to get 500 words written. I got them typed in 11. Go me.

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