Tag: work

new year

I talk about this every year, and have managed to avoid it so far… but now it’s happening. September is the beginning of the year. At least it’s always felt like that, since the Edmonton Public School system set forward the notion that the fall; historically a season of death, is the beginning of the school year. That means July & August are essentially the end of the year in the same way that Saturday and Sunday are the end of the week.

So in the fall, it’s often time to start nesting; in that, we need to prepare for a harsh Canadian winter.

Obviously preparing for winter doesn’t mean what it once meant. Squirrels are gathering food for winter, Geese are flying south, and I am working on a new workout plan for the cold months that includes a Swimming, Cycling, Running, and lifting weights. I’m giving myself 6 days to play with because that’s what I’m currently doing, but I will need to ensure I get all my muscle groups covered in 5 days because I often have weekend obligations.

It goes beyond gym rat status, though.

I’m beginning to put the structure around another writing and composing project that will likely not see the light of day for a few years… but that’s fine. Doing the thing IS the reward, whereas completing the thing means having to find a new thing, the hunt for which can sometimes be stressful and sad.

There are songs to write and a car to work on, of course, but that’s where it gets sticky. If I pile too much on and struggle to get to all of it then I risk being disappointed with all the things I didn’t accomplish rather than focusing on what I did accomplish. That might sound insane to you… but the prairie winter is a hard and unforgiving bitch goddess that actively tries to kill us, and vitamin D deficiency is a real thing that messes with your brain. Season Affectiveness Disorder is a real thing, even when you’re on top of the world, there are still blue days.

So that’s what I’m muddling through as I try to soak up every ray of sunshine possible for the next handful of weeks.

I’ll likely be indoors by Halloween.
Thanksgiving if I’m lucky… the irony of which is not lost on me.

Anyway… it is beautiful out, and everything is dying around us.
Enjoy!

This evening I’m in Red Deer, Alberta, playing at D2 Bar & Stage with Forbidden Dimension and The Offsailors. Minors are welcome at this show.

Sisyphus

In times such as these, with high inflation, increasing job turnover, general discontentment with wages, a mental health crisis, and all of the woes that come with the changing times, I feel like I hear the comparisons to Sisyphus’ plight – rolling the boulder uphill for eternity – all the time.

In the moment, that might seem relatable, but there are a few things to know about Sisyphus before making that comparison. As all stories of ancient Greece and the gods, there is justice being doled out in every story, so before we go tying ourselves to the plight of a character, we should take note of one thing:

Sisyphus was an asshole. A smooth-talking and outwardly polite asshole by all accounts, but an asshole nonetheless.

The first king of Ephyra; the region now known as Corinth, was an evil king who killed visitors to his land as a show of strength, which was a violation of the tradition of hospitality as laid out by the gods. He conned his way out of death – twice – including sweet-talking his way out of the underworld with a promise he’d never intended to keep. So upon his 3rd encounter with the underworld, was given the option to submit to death and live in the underworld, or take the opportunity to leave once again and live forever – IF he could roll the boulder up the track and push it out of the underworld.

… so there he is, gradually going mad, having given his boulder a name and speaking to it like it was his confidant and friend.

That latter part could maybe be compared to the concept of the ‘work family’ depending on your work place, I guess – as with the concept that Sisyphus is working towards total freedom as many of us are working toward retirement… but at the core of the story is an absolutely terrible person who placed himself, through his own deeds, in a terrible position…

… and I may or may not know you… but I don’t think that’s you.