Tag: life

How did we arrive to 2025?

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while – you could miss it.”

Happy New Year to all!

And yes, I still fall within the “Happy New Year” Statute of Limitations when writing this, so it’s not annoying yet.

It feels that every January, I just have to write the obligatory January-type blog talking about how insanely fast time is flying by.

Last year, I talked about how the year 2024 actually felt like the future had arrived. Now one year later, I feel as if time is moving too fast and the future is quickly becoming the present before then becoming the past.

I mean, how the hell did we arrive to 2025? It came out of nowhere.

My Twitter account turned 14 years old this morning. Literally half of my life has been on the bird app:

2024 felt like a lightspeed blink despite so much happening within it. But now, here we are in 2025 and the past grows ever older while the future quickly becomes the past.

I’m starting out the new year curious as to where the time has gone…

To begin the year, I’ll be attending the Chicago Bulls v. New York Knicks game to celebrate the career of my favorite basketball player: Derrick Rose.

The Bulls are celebrating Derrick Rose’s career for what’s hopefully a jersey retirement ceremony on 1/4 at the United Center. Rose is from Chicago and remains the youngest MVP in NBA history that brought hope to Bulls fans for the first time since the Michael Jordan-led dynasty in the ’90s.

Rose last played a game for the Bulls in 2016, which is NINE calendar years ago. Which also makes this alley-oop against the Pistons (my favorite play of Rose’s MVP year) almost 13 years ago to the day:

Derrick Rose will always be a hero to me. His retirement is a celebration of a wonderful career that sparked life, hope, and excitement in the greatest city in the world.

Since then, the Bulls have been mediocre at best and I haven’t been as excited about the organization as much as I used to. I mean, how can I?

The Last Dance documentary about the rise and fall of the the ’90s Bulls championship dynasty as well as Rose’s own documentary, proved that the Bulls organization HATES its fans but loves their money, treats legends of the game like filth, and perpetually makes the wrong front office choices.

The Bulls continuously celebrate the past because it’s all they have. As a fan of theirs, I’m forced to do the same.

So yes, to begin 2025, the Bulls are my first vehicle to look back wondering “where did the time go?”

Something else that caught my eye as the calendar turned to 2025 was that it has been 1000 DAYS since we’ve last heard anything about Kingdom Hearts IV.

That’s right. One-fucking-thousand.

Which means, it’s been 1000 days since this:

Not that my YouTube page has been consistently updated in the last 1000 days anyway, but still. I thought this moment would’ve been something that helped me create video content for Kingdom Hearts more consistently.

But now, we’re here 1000 days later and we know nothing else about the game or when it will come out. My YouTube channel hasn’t been visited by me as frequently as this blog has.

In my blog about KHIII turning 5, I mentioned how the Kingdom Hearts series taught me patience; I still feel the same. I can go days, weeks, or even months not wondering about what comes next in the series. But knowing that Kingdom Hearts IV will eventually be on the end of whatever trials life throws at me between now and then gets me through some of those trials.

However, that doesn’t mean the dry season hasn’t been DRY.

The dryness forced me to get the Platinum Trophy for Kingdom Hearts III this year, finally conquering Black Code Mode and defeating Data Xion with limitations:

See? I played the shit out of KHIII this year just to do that.

Again, I still have patience for what’s next, but that doesn’t mean looking back 1000 days ago and realizing nothing has changed in a Kingdom Hearts sense won’t make me wonder “where the hell has the time gone?”

I can’t help but think about how the COVID lockdown was five years ago now, too.

So much about the world we know has changed since then. So much about life has changed in that time. The way people treat each other. The way we work. The way we live. All of it is different.

I turn 28 this year. I’ve been forced to grow through plenty since the COVID lockdowns. Some part of that growth is realizing that at some point, my head was down pushing forward (probably too much) until I rarely came up for air (probably WAY too little).

Seriously folks, enjoy the moment while it’s here: the White Sox literally had one of its most successful seasons in its 125-year history and the worst season in the history of baseball all within this time frame.

But writing this now, I feel like Ferris Bueller’s advice at the end of the movie has finally hit home:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while – you could miss it.”

To me, this quote now means something different. It no longer means “do everything you can with the time you’ve got because life’s too short.” Because, I do, A LOT. Concerts, ballgames, friend get-togethers, late bar nights, dates, karaoke performances, travelling, weddings, etc. I’ve done more in the last 5 years than some might do in a lifetime! So, I don’t feel like I’m ignoring Ferris’s advice in that aspect.

I just think the quote now means to me that the stopping and looking around might be a little bit shocking and that “missing it” will be missing all that you’ve done rather than all that you didn’t do.

Yes, I know that’s not what the intention of the character nor the filmmaker meant by the quote. But, that’s just how I see it now.

Five years can come and go in the blink of an eye. Shit, 20 years can come and go in the blink of an eye. But no matter what, you’ll find something about the past that you’ll miss and you won’t realize it until it’s gone.

Please do stop and look around every once in a while. Reflect. Appreciate. But then move forward into that great unknown. There will always be more to look back upon, but only if you give yourself something to look back upon.

I have no idea what 2025 has in store for me. It’s just another day in another year. But a lot more can change than just a number on a calendar.

I wonder what I’ll be looking back upon after this year passes.

Who knows? But I still can’t believe where the damn time has gone…

I guess, to turn the title of the blog into a different question for myself to ponder as I plunder on in life: “where will the time go?”

I’ll let you know the answer by next year or beyond.

~DS

The Perfect Way to Embrace the Fall

“Bother burgling, adventuring, and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home alone in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!”

The winds of change have finally arrived.

It’s always a bittersweet feeling when a summer ends and a fall begins. While football, bonfire, sweater, and beer season begins, it’s sad to look back upon another summer over.

The summer is no friend to me. As I said in my last blog, I haven’t been as big of a fan of the summer as I was in my youth when it meant school was out. Now it just means normal life, but sweating.

Regardless, it’s finally time for the fall. My favorite time of the year.

I’ve always said that I have reverse seasonal affective disorder. When others get upset by less sunlight and colder weather, I’m the opposite. The fall is just my season.

As an enjoyer of football, fall leaves, flannels, jeans, boots, bonfires, and rotting on a pub stool for hours on end, this is the perfect time to do so. I find peace in it. Even if it brings a little rain.

I wanted to share this story when the time was right. Considering my last blog was all about a train ride, I didn’t want to make this entire blog about a train ride, but rather, an example to my overall point to writing this.

So, earlier this week, I took a train commute into the city for work. I was awake bright and early before the sun on a dark, rainy Monday morning. Wearing a light jacket and jeans, feeling more joyful than almost anyone ever could on a rainy Monday morning on their way to work.

Not only was I feeling joy at getting to wear my fall gear, I was feeling joy because I felt alone in my joy. Who else was feeling this joy this early on a Monday morning? I’d wager nobody.

I’ve recently picked back up on my audiobook journey through Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and that is what backdropped my morning commute that was already off to an abnormally joyful start in society’s case.

Andy Serkis is the narrator for the latest audio book version and he does a masterful job at bringing Tolkien’s world to life. As I boarded the train and went to my car, there was almost nobody on it. It was perfect.

My joyful internal solitude could further be enjoyed with more external solitude. I put my bag on the seat next to me, slouched in my very own seat, rested my head against the cool window, and closed my eyes enjoying the sound of the train rumbling over the tracks with rain pattering against the window.

With Serkis’ narration along with the sounds, I was transported to Middle Earth in my solitude. With the comfort of my internal and external lonesome and a good story to backdrop it, I found peace there in what is normally, not a peaceful time.

Eventually, the peace had to be disturbed, but I felt more relaxed on a Monday more than I ever have.

The reason why I’m writing about the perfect amount of solitude is I believe the Fall season is the perfect time to appreciate it. I’m enjoying my Fall by writing, both at work and here on this blog listening to the following fall vibes soundtracks:

Following a summer full of hangouts, ballgames, dates, and family parties, and before a holiday season full of hectic schedules, family time, and more, the fall is really the only season you get to enjoy that solitude.

Spring is a close second, but spring has this pre-summer excitement quality about it that the Fall doesn’t. That’s what makes the Fall much more enjoyable.

There doesn’t seem to be a rush to get anywhere, rather, just a brief moment in time to just sit, breathe, and enjoy life as it’s moving along.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I enjoy dressing up, eating candy without judgement, and hanging out with my friends; it’s the buildup to that social gathering that makes this alone time during the fall even more special.

While I already look back upon my peaceful Monday and as I look forward to Halloween, I want to speak now to the peace that is being alone.

Being alone is not a bad thing. A lot of the time, people confuse being alone with the feeling of loneliness. They are not the same at all.

Loneliness is a horrible feeling. Loneliness is feeling like you have no where or no one to turn to. Being alone is not that. Being alone is the bubble of “me time” you’ve earned in between time spent with loved ones.

I frequent concerts, baseball games, trips, expos and conventions, and movies by myself a decent amount. There’s a certain peace to it but also, I think it makes an experience more meaningful at times.

Yes, life in most cases is better with others than it is by yourself. However, when you go to the movies alone, you don’t have to worry about other people’s schedules or whether or not they want popcorn, it’s up to you and you alone! You can sit in whatever seat you’d like without worrying about anyone else’s preferences. It’s just more relaxing than having to figure out plans with someone else.

You’re on your own wavelength and you can operate with your own thoughts and beliefs without worrying about someone else’s opinion or feelings changing or bogging down what you might think about the movie, concert, experience, or whatever it is.

Don’t get me wrong: my friends and my family are the most important things in my life. I am who I am because of them. Spending time with the people I care about is my favorite thing in the world to do and when I do get that feeling of loneliness, I know it won’t last long because I have so many great people to rely on that give me strength when I’m weakest.

But, it is because of that fact that I enjoy my alone time so much as well. It makes me appreciate my friends and family more. They’re with me in my alone time in a certain way, and that’s what makes the alone time better. It’s a small portal between interactions with my loved ones that makes the interactions more special.

If you are feeling lonely, then lean into those that make you feel like you’re not. I know it’s easier said than done: the peace I’ve been able to find in being alone hasn’t always been there. I used to tie being alone with loneliness a lot. It’s not healthy. And if you don’t feel like you have that, then give me a call. I’d be happy to help you find that peace.

I felt like writing this blog would help me arrange my thoughts. I am, in fact, alone, at peace with my thoughts, and have never felt more confident in my ability to describe how I’m feeling.

It’s the wind outside. The warm tea in my mug. The leaves changing. The happy memories of summer fading away. The eagerness of the Halloween holiday as a portal to the winter togetherness with family and loved ones. This moment right just now was carved for me to do this thinking, reminiscing, and smiling.

While there are things to frown about, and the winter along with another new year is creeping, it’s this peace of fall that has me as relaxed as I can be. I feel as peaceful as a Hobbit in the Shire that is happily between adventures. And before I close, enjoy this peaceful Shire ambience that helped me write this:

Time is fleeting. It always moves by us faster than we can even comprehend. Days can sometimes feel like weeks. Weeks can sometimes feel like seconds. Seconds can sometimes feel like years if you want them to.

Before you know it, the moments you’re experiencing now will be the stories of tomorrow. You’ll probably never share the stories of your time spent alone, which is why it is important to spend some time alone. Keep that for yourself.

When you do that, you’ll appreciate the time spent with loved ones so much more. I promise. It’ll make your stories from the time spent with them better as well, because you’ll be speaking from a place where all the time spent enjoying the moment, both alone and not, will be the soul of your stories.

Enjoy your alone time. Enjoy your time with loved ones. Each little moment is important to who you are.

~ DS