Some of my summary of what I've accomplished can be seen in my last post. I did finish that book I was reading, The Hunger Games, and I'm about a fourth of the way through the second book in that set. Carol and I are taking turns with it. I read ahead a few chapters and she catches up. She reads a few chapters, then I catch up. We walked to Arby's today and I mentioned that I think that was the first story book I've finished in a good 5 years or so. I've read other books, for school, work, or learning, but never one just for fun. Not in a long time.
The title of this post is "Farewell" because I don't see myself posting again on this blog any more. It will stand as a testament to a personal challenge, similar to my no-pop drinking New Year's resolution. A small personal sacrifice in the attempt to make my life slightly healthier, better, whatever. I still drink pop, but the occurances are far lower since the resolution, probably about 1/20th the previous level. Do I think this Renaissance will have a similar effect on my game playing and movie watching? We'll see. I'll probably read a bit more, and I'll continue to plug away at the programming, but I'll still play games.
It's funny, but I think I just spent a month teaching myself the lesson that everyone already takes for granted. "All things in moderation." When I was younger I used to hear that phrase and I would add, "All things in moderation, including moderation." Near the end of the month I was reading and playing chess mostly. And a few days ago was the first time in a really long time where I was genuinely bored. I don't usually get bored. When I say usually I mean for years on end I have not been to the point where I consider myself bored.
What will I do now? What will I probably do this weekend? I'll probably get the dust off my Xbox. I beat all my games before starting this journey, so I'm not sure what I'll play, maybe I'll rent something. Maybe I'll just watch some NetFlix. In the not so immediate future I'll continue to learn Spanish with a coworker who has taken up the interest on our lunch break. It's nothing intensive, just 5-10 new words each day. I'll probably still play chess, though after over a hundred games I don't feel I'm much better. I'm still struggling around the bottom of the ladder.
I have to think about if I'll start another blog any time soon. Although I know a couple of you have read most of my posts, it's still a very one sided proposition to write a blog. There's very little feedback, and mostly I feel like I'm just self-publishing a public-friendly diary that any curious person can read when they eventually get around to it. It's awkward. Take for example my Texas trip. I blogged more of that trip than I would have normally talked about. That's all fine and good except it leaves me very little to talk about in person when they have read my blog and seen my photos.
Anyway, it's been a fun little experiment, and Carol will certainly be glad that it's over. She's been waiting for me to be able to watch our favorite TV shows again, or to go out to a movie. Later everyone. It's someone else's turn to start a blog.
