My First Apartment

For some reason the last few days I have been thinking about my first apartment.

It was a studio and furnished with hand-me-downs (in the days when you were glad to get them and didn't just go to IKEA or Dollarama and buy new stuff) and discards picked up on the street from people's garbage (amazing what a bit of paint can do).  It was on the expensive side but was in a nice building in a good neighbourhood and had an unobstructed view over the city.  And it was quiet - I never heard a sound from any neighbour.

I was very happy living there.  I left only because I decided to go to graduate school and needed to save money.

I have lived many places since then but I don't think I have ever been as happy with my residence.

 

Minimalism March 7, 2023

This morning I went to IKEA to pick up a lamp that I've looked at at least twice and this week finally decided I would buy.

As a minimalist I'm careful about what I bring into my home and this lamp was a replacement for an old one that is shabby, but still working.

But, they were out of stock.

So I've taken that as a "message" that I really don't need to replace a lamp that is still working, shabby or not.

It's not like a lot of my other furnishings are not looking a bit tired.

I remember when I was young thinking I would never be like old people who let their homes get shabby.

But here we are.

TV Viewing

So, continuing with the three free months of AppleTV+.

I really like Slow Horses.

I've tried several other things but nothing has caught my interest.  So that seems to be the end of that experience.  I'll wait until closer to the end of the three months to cancel the subscription before they start charging me for it.

I also haven't been finding much to watch on Netflix of late.

Perhaps I'm just tired of TV period.

I am tired of series that take a storyline and drag it out for 6, 8 or more episodes, which crawl along with lots of acting but very little actual plot advancement.  And then in the last episode they leave you with a hanging ending because they're hoping to get a second (or more) season.  

I may drop Netflix and give BritBox a try.  The British do such a good job with their detective type series.

The good part of that it that it leaves me more time for reading which has for a while taken a back seat to TV.  

Withdrawal

 

I'm pretty sure I've posted before about my introversion and not being upset with the pandemic caused isolation.  

Now though I find many things are back to "normal" and although I'm doing some socializing I'm not back to the limited amount I did pre-pandemic.  One friend died during the pandemic, not from Covid, but I'm still seeing less of my other friends.  I'm not upset about that, I'm quite happy on my own, but I do worry a bit that it isn't good for me.

I've heard that older people can easily become isolated and that is certainly true for me.  I don't have any young people in my life and I don't/do not want to/will not get involved in volunteer activities (that would involve dealing with people) even though that is the usual suggestion.

The recent unprovoked subway and street attacks on random people are not making it any easier for me to go out in the world.  I feel even less comfortable walking and moving about the city than before, and I never have felt all that secure.  I don't know how women navigate this unsafe world.  I feel somewhat vulnerable as a gay man but women are even more of a target.

But all that aside, what has become clear and does concern me is that I'm feeling quite sure that I'm not going to travel again.  I've never liked travelling but now the idea of dealing with airports and sitting on an airplane just seems impossible.  I am so irritable around people and the idea of sitting surrounded by strangers on a plane just brings on a response in my head of, "No, no, no!".  I am usually invited to the Atlantic coast for a week during the summer and just feel I can't cope with the travel or restaurant meals and unfamiliar situations.  But this also means that a large number of longtime friends who live other places, and are unlikely to visit here, are probably never going to be seen in person again.

So I see this withdrawal from the world happening and it clearly does concern me but I don't see that I'm going to be taking any action to avoid it.

Minimalism Feb 10, 2023

 

I have this easy chair that I never sit in, partly because I'm suspicious it aggravates my sciatica, but I've never really found it all that comfortable.  But the usual mind things of, "I paid good money for it" or "the room will look empty without it" or "maybe I'll get used to it" have been kicking in.  

So last week I moved it to another room just to see how I felt about it being "gone" - at first the space seemed a little empty but within a couple of days I was loving seeing the open space, and of course not missing the chair since I never sit in it.

So today it's going down to the condo garbage area where someone can take it if they want it or it will just get thrown out.

Downsizing can be kind of addictive.  I get thinking there's nothing left I can discard and thenI find myself looking at something and the thought creeps in, "Maybe I don't need that", and it always feels so good when something goes.

AppleTV+: For All Mankind

 

I did not expect to like this.  However, I'm now bingeing Season Three and am totally hooked.  It's a fun mix of science fiction and soap opera.  The cast is great as are the effects.

I'm on a free three month trial of AppleTV+ that came with my new computer so I'm busy looking at what they have and trying things out.

Figure Skating

 So, I just watched the men's short program at the European Championships and, I know I'm old and not aware of or a fan of popular music, but overall I found the music choices in this competition just dreadful.

Loud, repetitive, drum-filled noise.  How can there be any artistic expression connected to this?  It's one thing for regular dancing where they can just flop their bodies around as sexually as possible, but skating provides such a wonderful opportunity for flow and speed and grace - and most of them just throw that away.

I know the new rules and marking system are fairer than anything before but it's also resulted in so many programmes being so similar.  The pairs start with a throw triple twist and then go to the other end of the rink and do a pairs jump.  The individual short programmes start with a bit of skating followed by two jump passes.  There's more variation in ice dancing but again a lot of awful music choices.

I have been a fan and follower of skating since the 1960's, and have been pleased to see so much more coverage available - thank you ISU and the internet.  But I'm sad to say that I'm losing interest in watching.  

Actually, when I'm able to watch coverage to the entire competition, it's often the lower ranked skaters in the first groups that I enjoy the most.