[=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=] [<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>] [=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=] Stardate: 20181205.23h54 Location: Kitchen Input Device: AlphaSmart dana.wireless Audio: the drizzle and rain from outside Visual: Kitchen table, placemat with bamboo print, table cloth with fruit print, mug 'o green tea. Energy: 50% Mental: 60% Emotional: There is annoyance and frustration, rushed. [=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=] It is almost midnight and I find myself trying to rush through and do all of the stuff I wanted to do tonight. But I am short on time, as usual. I did get in a full hour of practice with my guitar. It was only supposed to be 0.5 hours, but I kept playing even though I did set the alarm. That happens sometimes. I get warmed up and in a groove and I can't put it down. I had to force myself after an hour. I try to play at least 5 times a week for 30 minutes, but lately, I have only been practicing 2 or 3 times. I should practice more. My playing is starting to get a little sloppy and it takes me longer to warm up. There was a link to an article that has been on my mind that was posted on mastodon. I had read the article but did not remember who posted it and forgot to add it as a favorite. I tried searching for it, but did not find it, so I scrolled back. I found it from 2 days ago. It was posted by Willow@salixlucida . The title of the article is, "Why our sense of time speeds up as we age - and how to slow it down." [1] It basically touched on a few factors, like how 1 year to a child is a long time compared to an adult who has been here much longer, or like how the child's neural network is still developing and an adult is already in place, etc. It didn't go too deep, but had me thinking again about my experience with the perception of time. I have noticed that my perception of time has changed over the years. I don't know too much about it, but I find it curious. Before, summers used to last forever and it took forever for the school year to end. I had time to get bored and sometimes enjoyed the times being bored, especially looking back on those times now. These days, I'm super busy and have no time to be bored. Or am I just super distracted? Maybe that's something to ruminate over later. Anyhow, especially since the year is coming to a close (25 more days?) I start thinking of the passage of time and what had transpired over the past 365 days. I'm not quite ready to go there just yet, but in thinking of the upcoming closure of 2018 has me wondering what happend to 2007...and the time since then? It just whizzes by and it seems faster with each year that passes by. There is a sense of sadness for me. Not sure why it is sad. Maybe because I am not experiencing the moments like I did when I had time to be bored or experiencing everlasting summers or whatever. Maybe the super distractions are keeping me from getting back to those moments. Actually, I take that back. I do experience those moments, but they are not as frequent and the duration is shorter. The article mentioned how learning new things can help slow things down. I do experience this quite a bit, especially working in the tech industry and computers/electronics being a hobby of mine. I am always learning new things and the technology keeps evolving. Also, playing the guitar or any musical instrument seems to help slow it down as well. Timing is a big part of music. For me, doing creative things seem to help, whether it be fabricating some ghetto project in my garage or having my head deep in creating code. Maybe it's that hyperfocussed state as well. The one where you're in the zone and you seem to have transcended the laws of conventional space and time....like that Start Trek TNG episode where the Picard ends up living a whole separate lifetime in the span of one episode and he learns from that lady how to stretch space and time. (sorry, I forgot the details or which episode. I'm sure someone in gopherspace knows. Please revoke my Star Trek card now.) Looking at the activities I just mentioned, most of those are solitary pursuits for me. That makes sense since I am an introvert. I do enjoy my time alone and tend to recharge that way. Being around people drains me and I have to be in the right mood or have enough physical and mental bandwidth to be around them. I do like people, just in limited doses and under the right conditions (for myself.) I should stop now and rest. [1] https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/why-our-sense-time-speeds-we-age-how-slow-it-ncna936351 [=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=]