1.21.2023

for a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free

What’s the best part of growing older?     senior discounts
What’s been on your mind most lately?     money
What do you think is worth waiting for?     oven-reheated pizza (rather than microwaved, which is an abomination)
What chance do you wish you had taken?     I wish I'd gone to Vegas to meet Johnnie Walker. At the time it all seemed extra dramatic and fated, but I now believe that we'd have ... we'd just have had a good time, gotten to know each other, saw the sights, and laughed a lot. And what I'd have been left with was an experience of a lifetime in an exotic city, a real friendship with a real person (instead of an idealized relationship with an unreal persona), and a whole lot less mysticism revolving around a weekend that never was. And I'd be a braver person just for having done it.
Where else would you like to live? Why?     Lawrence, Kansas - because it's far enough south of here that the weather would HAVE to be more amenable to living. It's also a fun college town with sources of natural water. 
    Or Miami, Florida - if I'm dreaming of a vacation spot (like I am now). Miami is, from certain vantage points, beautiful, and in a very different way from anywhere else I've lived.
What motivates you to go to work each day?     ask me that when I've gotten a job.
What do you wish you had done differently?     I wish I'd never met Ulysses, and instead had used any associated money to fund a nice, quiet, solid investment.
What is your greatest strength and your greatest weakness?     I am independent and self-reliant. That also makes me self-involved and obstinate.
When was the last time you lied? What did you lie about?     I've told a LOT of people lately that I'm doing just fine and am not letting recent events get me down.
What made you smile this week?     it hasn't been a smiley week
What do you do with the majority of your money?     pay my mortgage
What motivates you to be your best?     stubbornness, fear, or intellectual challenge
When was the last time you lost your temper? About what?     I hung up on the staff member from a state department with whom I spoke earlier this month. He was surly and arrogant, I was extremely upset (words don't even come close to covering that), and there was no hope of being rational about it. Sometimes, rarely, hanging up is the best possible communication. And, after I hung up on him, I sat down on my basement stairs and sobbed until my stomach ached.
 
[from here; the title quotation is Wendell Berry, from "The Peace of Wild Things"]

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