Bits and Pieces

Well, I have to blog at least one more time before November officially comes to an end in a matter of hours. The busy month that has just passed is about to give way to an even busier one. I'm having some difficulty with this whole almost winter/almost Christmas thing. Again, time seems to have slipped away. In the next three weeks, I have somewhere between 9 and 15 gym visits to make, 6 karate classes to teach, 3 tech classes to teach, a few social gatherings to take part in, some hockey games to watch, several meetings to attend, and, oh yes, one doctor's appointment to keep (yes, that doctor--the one who gets to decide the fate of my roundhouse kick). Throw in the rest of life, and I'm not anticipating a whole lot of down time over the next few weeks. Guess I'll have to create my own silence.

Not having a topic of particular import to share, I leave you with the random thoughts that seem to have collected in my head this evening:

Is it just me, or has it suddenly become mandatory to include Mylie Cyrus in every television holiday special? First she invaded my Macy's Parade, now she's going to intrude upon the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center. I must be the only one to have missed the importance of her stature in our collective culture.

Loving that the members of the gingerbread family have returned for another round of Sprint commercials this year. What's not to love about a gingerbread dad repairing his roof with an icing pack on his back?

Why is it that sometimes it feels twice as difficult to do half as much?

I have yet to tire of the San Diego Chicken in the Sony commercial.

Cats love being Christmas presents under the tree. And I love that they love that.

I love my new Blackberry, but have to admit that being constantly connected sometimes creeps me out a little.

I really love Thanksgiving, and can't believe that it's time to shift gears already. Guess I already kind of said that, didn't I.

It's too bad I don't blog about real stuff. But then, I probably wouldn't be very good at it.

Paradox

November 1st. That just seems impossible. This morning, we sat through breakfast and wondered if the sun would ever rise (it finally did sometime around 7:30). I mowed the lawn today for what will, most likely, be the last time this season, and almost immediately regretted not wearing a hat and gloves. As I write this, the sun has set and the moon has risen. Wasn't it just a few days ago that it was hot, sunny, and the calendar read July? And the lawn stopped growing because it was so hot and dry? And it was light until 9:00pm? How did this happen? How did we get to cold and dark and dormant?

Though I'm no scientist, I think I get the concept of the tilt of the Earth and the passing of seasons, so my question is not about that. I'm much more perplexed about how life (or my perception of it) has changed. When did time begin to pass so quickly? There was a point in life when 40 seemed to be eons away, yet here I am. In my teens, days might as well have been years (for many reasons). Today, I'm lucky to fit my day into my day. Again I ask, how did this happen?

Of course, the one exception to the acceleration of time is any situation when I really, really want something. Now. It seems that in those situations, my perception of time hasn't changed an ounce during my life. It never moves quite fast enough.

The reality is that time has always taken time. One minute has always been comprised of sixty seconds, no matter how many times I doubt that fact one way or the other. Knowing how much my perception has already changed only makes me wonder how much faster life is going to move from now on.

It's a shame that youth is wasted on the young. And that no one ever warns you how much more valuable time will be than money.