Z Space Blog

I've spent the past few weeks reflecting on the sort of content that tends to get posted this time of year: retrospectives. Opportunities to review the events of the year, look at what went well, what didn't, what we'll do in the future to be better. Even though companies and other bullshit are joining in the spirit, it's still important to give yourself moments to look back and self-assess your life. A new year is a new opportunity to improve. You don't need a new year to justify it, but it feels right for some people. I kicked a nicotine habit cold-turkey with a New Year's resolution, back in 2005. It can be done.

So, what was 2022 like? Let's try to exclude the grim politics and general state of the world. Life is rough right now. Some countries are at war. Some are dealing with radical extremists. Some are starving or struggling to stabilize their currencies. Others are fighting for basic rights of expression with clothing, or to keep their culture alive in the face of re-education camps. Let's try to find the good stuff.

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The lady and I went to Long Beach, WA last weekend for three days. It calls itself the longest beach in the world, but I never bothered to look it up, haha. It was a fun trip. We had Thai food, took pictures and sunbathed on the beach, and I went go-karting for the first time. Sadly, I got smacked with a headache on day two, but we managed to make it go away in a few hours. I'm prone to migraines, so I have to treat every headache as if it could ruin my day... because sometimes it will.

I felt like Bowser in Mario Kart, since I'm a tall, heavy-ish guy. The little engines in those things can take off pretty well, and the inertia from my weight made some of the turns feel a little dangerous, so I had to use the brakes a bit. Overall I had a ton of fun and would love to go to a larger track for adult karting.

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Recent times have been interesting, to say the least. COVID-19 and the ensuing consequences are having a profound effect on society. I'm lucky enough that my job is considered essential, so I'm working through this. I'm not worried about myself getting sick so much as spreading it to those more vulnerable than I am. Ironically, my generally isolated lifestyle has proven to be an advantage. Staying away from people is second nature to me. :P

I bought myself a new desk. It's a Eureka Ergonomic Z1S gaming desk. The plastic bits and LEDs are a bit too much for my taste, but it's finally a desk that's high enough and deep enough that it can handle my long body. It has a metal frame and HDF desktop, though honestly you could probably use your own desktop if you wanted. The Z-shaped legs offer me even more leg room, off to the sides. There's a hook for my headphones, a cup holder, and a separate, small rack for stuff. It finally feels like MY workspace, and it's only 55lbs. Check it out!

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A while back, I found a post talking about the concept of the Non-Zero Day.

The idea is, to fight depression or demotivation or analysis paralysis, or whatever mental block is between you and what you want to do, you do ONE thing. Doesn't matter if it's just tidying a room, taking the trash out, something. If you're trying to focus, make it one task -- any task -- regarding your goal that you can do. Find something you can start and finish in 10 minutes.

Even if that's all you do, you still took a step toward something. It's still progress.

I am trying to apply this concept to my hobbies. We'll see what happens.

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My physical possessions are a little more tidy now. The shed has been prepped for the winter, everything of mine that's important is indoors and has a place. I bought a new hard drive a while ago to expand Windows to 2 TB. Sadly, Windows doesn't like being cloned. It's been quite a battle but it more or less runs correctly. If it goes to shit again, I'll wipe it before I reinstall. At any rate, Windows is setup and ready to be used if anything happens to my other OSes or I want to game. That's a major source of anxiety crossed off the list.

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