Immortality, Immediacy and Into Darkness

The word of the week is longevity.

May 13 - Immortality

Time seems to be a theme for me this week.

What would you do with yourself, if you had all the time in the world? An infinity to do anything and everything, to wander the universe and explore every part of it in detail?

I've pondered the subject before and it recently( well, six months ago )appeared as a topic of an article on io9.com that deals with it somewhat whimsically.

Which I'm not sure should be the case. Humans, as we exist right now biologically, just aren't set up to deal with infinite lifespans. Setting aside the fact that our brains might quickly 'top out' their capacity, even if we maximized our mental abilities, there's the problem of boredom. That happens to people NOW, who have 'seen it all and done it all' with plenty of time still left on their clock.

What kind of solutions can we find to an infinite lifespan, if we bore so easily? I like to say that if I didn't have to work, I'd have enough to occupy me interest-wise for at least ten years, but thinking about it, that still leaves a few decades more of retirement to fill. Volunteer work? Take on a large project? One wonders and in wondering, you find more questions about motivation than you might care to know…

May 14 - Concentration

Most of us can concentrate, with various levels of success.

The video below shows what happens when you are able to take concentration to levels that most can only dream of. It's obvious that the performer has had a LOT of practice with her methods on stage, to the point where what she does seems to be a moving meditation of what we are all capable of. The utter silence of the audience as she performs gives testament to the rarity of what she achieves. Watch and don't be surprised if your jaw drops:

May 15 - Arizona on the 23rd!

One week from now, I'll be on a plane to Arizona to attend the 2013 Phoenix Comicon!

I can still hardly believe I'm going. The last convention I attended was in 2003: the 61st Annual WorldCon, held a decade ago in Toronto ON( lots of pics here! ). That was an incredible experience for me, where I saw and learned so much in a whirlwind of seminars, readings, and events of all kinds, including the 2003 Hugo Awards. You can take a look at the notes I made here, as I've compiled them into a concise Word document; I find them fascinating as they contain advice on writing novels that I took to heart.

In this connected age, I've been able to find out a lot about what one should do when attending a convention. Repeated advice pertains to wearing very comfortable shoes, bringing water / snacks with you to avoid long concession lines, scheduling rest periods during a packed day of Doing Stuff and not overspending. My favourite quote from the Fbook page for the site, on a post for giving advice to people new to visiting the Phoenix Comicon:

Hydrate! Take snacks. Wear comfortable shoes. Set your budget and stick to it. Nerd out like you've never nerded out before. Make friends. Talk to people. Don't be a jerk. Have fun.

One thing I won't be doing are photo ops; I can't afford any, as they're very expensive - check out the listings here. I'd have to spend hundreds to get my photo taken with all the stars I like and quite frankly, I don't go in for that sort of fan worship. I'd rather admire their work and their worth as people, instead of trying to tie my image to their celebrity through a single photo that I paid for. That just feels odd to me.

In any case: I'll BE THERE and THEY will be there in Arizona, which is more than enough! W00t!

May 16 - Trek = Great!

After a workday that seemed too long, I went to a movie tonight. Star Trek: Into Darkness!

A group of friends and I saw the early showing at a downtown theatre, one I'd not been to before - we climbed up to a third-floor theatre, g33king out all the while with each other lightheartedly. We took up a whole row in the middle, in a prime spot to soak in the marvels of the screen.

I wasn't disappointed; the movie delivered!

Without spoiling things, I can say that the movie moved itself along smartly, throwing action and surprises at us in equal measure. Lens-flare jokes aside, the effects were excellent, lending themselves to the story instead of taking it over. The characters were solid and familiar without being rehashes of familiar faces; Spock was definitely the focus of this film, just as Kirk was in the first. It was a great time that was had by all and everyone left with a smile on their face, bubbling about the film.

Given how the movie ended, I wonder what they'll come up with for the third one?

May 17 - I'm a keeper! Not a surprise, really...

The 15th of May marked the end of my 90-day 'probation' at my new job.

You may wonder why I mention this… but I have to say I wasn't sure they'd keep me. It's been so long since I had to undergo a 'trial period' for a job that I'd forgotten how stressful it can be sometimes. Only in regards to my own idea of how well I should be doing, tripping on every mistake and berating myself for not remembering tiny details that would let me do a better job the next day, every day.

Well, today I asked one of the managers if I'd be getting a verbal 90-day sum-up regarding staying with the company, as the handbook mentions. I should note that just a few hours previously, the same manager had thanked me and said she loved the way I operated on the floor with customers, that my experience showed and I was a natural in dealing with people. When I asked her about my 90-day being up, she looked at me, smiled and said:

"Don't worry, you're a keeper."

That made my month right there. :-)

May 18 - Timewise?

How do you use your time?

Last week I posted an image-quote about making the most of your day. The idea of 'not wasting time' has been on my mind a lot of late and I've wondered how other people divide up what's given to them.

Right now I'm working 3-4 days a week, maximum. Usually that leaves me with about 4 hours useful time on each of those days I work, once you get morning / bedtime prep, meals and travel time done with.

Days off are, well, more free. Yet I don't seem to get all that much more done, really, especially on days following a busy work day; I'm tired and it takes a bit more to rev up my engine again, I'm finding.

What I need to do is figure out what my daily focus will be, and do it.

Short story writing? Work on the novel? Work on the businesses? Get some online IT training done? Work on another writing project with a friend?

What's falling by the wayside is, well, 'useful' downtime. Time when I can 'get around' to those other things that I've put off, mainly organizational tasks. My days off seem to turn into a collection of pure downtime, with nothing really accomplished save relaxation.

Given that I'm no longer as stressed as I was, is that now enough?

May 19 - Aches?

For a wonder, I typed most of this week's blog. I've been careful with my wrists at home AND at work, doing very little to strain them and resting them as much as possible. I rarely play video games any more or type for more than a few minutes at a time now, using my voice software on my PC or my phone instead.

It seems to be working, as I've had very few days in the last few months that have taxed my arms to the point of aching by bedtime. At worst, I've had to use my left hand and my Logitech trackball after a long day of using the mouse with my right hand, but again I'm becoming tuned in to noticing aches earlier.

Much the same can't be said for my knee, which is still so-so. I believe I've narrowed down the cause to an injury of the LCL tendon that runs along the outside of the knee, a common injury for runners. I still can't kneel on it, but resting with it raised as well as icing after a long walk or bike ride seems to be slowly - very slowly - helping it daily. Again, I'm being careful with it at work and I hope that I will see a full recovery in a month or so, ComiCon aside; there's going to be a lot of walking there, but again I will be careful not to overdo it. 

Maybe I can rent a scooter? Though I think there's a lower weight limit for riders of 200 lbs at these sort of conventions... along with questionable personal hygiene. I've been there and let me say, the stories don't do it justice. All the same, I'm going to have a great time!

This time next week, I'll be finishing up my four days in Arizona and preparing to catch a 6am( local time )flight back to Victoria. Most likely I'll update my blog Monday afternoon, after I've had a chance to sort my experiences and notes on the Comicon into some semblance of order. Talk to you all then!