Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Day 987

Has your life become a poor re-make of Groundhog Day? You remember that movie, don't you? Bill Murray is forced to relive the same day over and over again until he finally gets it right. I feel that way sometimes. I look for a flower, or something vaguely interesting to photograph for the blog on my morning walk with the dogs. I stay in the shower until the hot water runs out. I eat breakfast while watching an old episode of Dr. Who that I've seen five times already. Then I go to work. The work is almost always the same. It's usually slow and tedious. I add something to a website. I subtract something from a paragraph of text. I blend something together in Final Cut Pro. I crop something in Photoshop. I rarely talk to anyone. My marching orders typically come in the form of terse e-mails sent from smart phones. I don't even bother to answer these messages. The results will be on the web soon enough anyway. I just follow my instructions and move on to the next task.

I wonder if I will ever get it right. It would be nice to move beyond the boredom of endless repetition. The lesson of Groundhog Day was that even in the most boring of scenarios, there is plenty of room for improvement and personal growth. In theory, what I do should be fascinating. The problem is that I've done it all too many times already. This is the challenge of daily life. How do you take something that you have done 1000 times and make version number 1001 fresh and new? I don't have the answer, but I'm working on it. Let's just call it a work in progress.

Maybe I've become fixated on repetition because I've seen a lot of it on TV today. There's a political convention going on right now. It's exactly the same as every political convention I can remember. There's a hurricane headed straight for New Orleans. How many times has this happened? I don't know how the people of New Orleans have the tenacity to keep rebuilding on the same spot over and over again. Maybe they will never get it right. I would have moved to higher ground right after the first hurricane and never returned. That's just me though. I'm always looking for the practical solution. Could it be that being practical is right at the root of my boredom?

Hey, Wednesday is French Toast day though. I know it's just another part of the endless repetition, but I like French Toast. I look forward to it. Maybe the dogs and I will see something new on our walk.  Maybe I'll get an assignment I've never done before. Something brand new! One can always hope.

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

4 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed your post and often feel the same way these days, although I never would have likened it to Ground Hog Day. Clever. Good movie. I wish I had a profound answer but all I offer is this: the rare moments that take my breath away are the moments I strive for, however, you never know when those times will manifest so all you can do is keep striving, keep growing, and keep going with the knowledge that you will have more of those moments. The fact that they are rare is what makes them precious and worthwhile.

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  2. When I feel like that I always have 4 slices of bacon

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  3. That is pretty funny! My days get that way sometimes too. I don't handle the same old same old very well. I guess that's part of why I hike.

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  4. Since my kids are still young, every day is an adventure. Trying to work, take care of kids, the house, etc. While it is the same, I can see the variety in every day.

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