Tag: Break time

Old Age and New Land Development

I’ve gotten older. The evidence wasn’t just the tiny inferno atop my cake this year. I realized I was older for different reasons. The first instance was during a conversation with my niece and nephew. On the bus, on the way to do some shopping, I kept telling them about what store or building used-to be there. They, of course, had no input or interest in local architecture and business trends through the decades; however, that fact did not dissuade my fascination. So, until I noticed my behavior, I was gleefully carrying on this one-sided conversation. Lightbulb…OLD!

​Second instance, was almost a badge of honor before I realized it was an indicator of my aging: a behavior I’ve labelled Food Triage.  In my late 20’s or early 30’s, I discovered the importance of seeking out all of the near-expiring food and creating some sort makeshift, CHOPPED-esque meal.  There was a strange sense of satisfaction when creating some sort of loose chicken, old vegetable and rando-cheese burrito.  It tasted mediocre at best, but I felt like a field surgeon making due with his supplies in order to patch-up an injured soldier.  Apparently, that tingle of satisfaction was just the gentle vibration of time passing.  Lightbulb…OLD!

Finally, and maybe the most damning evidence, is my newly found interest in the potential warmth of jackets and coats. I’m ALWAYS hot. And yet, I now find myself entrenched in the outerwear department asking myself and others, “how warm is this rancher jacket… really? Would a real Sherpa sign-off on this lining?” Also, at some point, I’ve become able to expertly rub my fingers against the inside of any outerwear and instinctually sense how it will stand up to cold weather (apparently, one of my new older person super powers). Moreover, I’m now not only concerned about my warmth, but also the warmth of others. An interest that has led my normally anti-social self to ask strangers about their coats. Lightbulb…I am OLD!

We The Hunched Over Wordies

Have you noticed that no one wants the two spaces after the period anymore? Apparently, Microsoft decided to make it one – most likely for Its own convenience. There’s a whiff of that compromise in all things language and literature. It’s no coincidence that a tech mega-company decides what’s best for writers and readers. Sometime between the Scientific Revolution and when the term ‘Language Arts’ became obsolete, people began to discredit and disrespect the written word and all of us hunched over and vocabulary-laden wordies. Where were you when they came for our non-colloquial definitions, our leather-bound editions, our tiny notepads, and our odiferous library corners and, at last, our word-processing etiquette? “Tech Evolution” cannot take the history of the letter away by simply adding an E (E—Mail – excuse the pun, but I pun when I get upset)! So forgive my tedious and troublesome double space, but we’re a package deal.