Sunday, September 8, 2019

Day 3545

I see the same people at the gym every Sunday. Each of them has a completely different routine and just like me, their routine never changes. I occasionally wonder if I should copy someone else's routine. Maybe theirs would produce better results. I never change though. Nobody ever changes. I'm comfortable with my exercise routine. I know exactly how long it takes and how I'll feel afterwards. I guess this just proves that habits can be powerful.

My walks are always the same as well. Part of this is determined by where I live, but there are alternate paths available. Again, I like following the same path. It provides a frame of reference. I can easily tell if I'm going slower or faster. I know, almost to the minute, when I'll return home. Familiar things are relaxing, even when you're doing something strenuous.

Unfamiliar things drive me nuts. I had to update a website this afternoon, and the software I use had gone through a major update. Nothing was where it was supposed to be. It took me forever to add some slides to a simple slideshow, all because the familiar navigation controls I knew by heart were gone. This is one reason I hate software subscriptions. I don't care about the latest updates. Old versions where I am familiar with everything are so much easier to work with. I use extremely old versions of Microsoft Word and Photoshop all the time. I used to use an equally old copy of Dreamweaver too, until the need to produce mobile ready websites made this familiar friend obsolete. Now I use a suite of powerful online software tools that keeps changing every week. Maybe I could keep up with the changes if I used this software everyday. Once a month is clearly asking for trouble. I practically had to relearn the entire program this afternoon. Why do people keep changing things? This is probably my own personal version of "get off my lawn." I'm tired of change. It's a huge nuisance.

I've got a lot of people to contact next week. I need to find our why the pharmacist is saying a prescription is ready that I never ordered. I need to get the tree guy to remove the tree that fell in my back yard. I need to find out when the carpenter is going to start repairing the greenhouse. Is the roofer ever going to bring me a can of silicon material? What happened to the Sequential Circuits synthesizers I was trying to sell?  There are a lot of loose ends.

I never did get around to making final edits on my article for Sky and Telescope. Deciphering the changes in Webflow used up all my time. Actually, taking long walks in the hot sun used up all my time, but that's another story. I still think I'll be able to wrap things up and submit the article tomorrow. Then we'll wait.

I've almost finished my Sunday routine. Tomorrow I begin the Monday routine. I was always fascinated by Andy Warhol's desire to be a machine. There is a comfort in repetition. The odd thing is that even though I make no effort whatsoever to change things up, every day is different anyway.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day
Watch of the Day