Notes from the Lab - RDate 153.23

As I approach my late 70s, I find myself thinking a little more about time. Not about how much I have left or anything morbid like that (as a Franklin disciple I understand that I have all the time there is). No, I'm talking about how I spend time.

As a retiree I do have a generous amount of discretionary time. But lately I've felt the need for even more. I'm not really a bucket-list guy. I've always thought that life was more about the journey than the score. I've always had goals (another Franklin habit), but my focus has been more about the behaviors engendered by goals than their actual attainment. Especially regarding big picture issues like relationships and health. 

Since retirement, my goals and behaviors have mostly been about friends and hobbies. And I'm now feeling the urge to spend more time on those behaviors. In other words, I want to play even more than I do now.  

Chores (7/29/12, Last Update 2/1/24): 

One way to play more is to work less. For years now I've been peeling away time commitments to what I call chores. Those life-sustaining tasks that fall on my side of the spousal duty roster. In the way distant past, the balance between my chores and my Bride's was maintained through periodic high-risk negotiations. That era passed when I retired and, due to a brief state of faux-euphoria, rashly entered into a lifetime chore agreement that can only be altered with a doctor's note. So absent a medical excuse, dumping passing tasks off to Nancy is off the table.  

It took me a while, but eventually I discovered the world of contractors and handymen. It started with small things like housekeeping, gutter cleaning and deck maintenance. Expanded to minor electrical and plumbing repairs. More recently we've added lawn care and yard cleanup. All of these changes are not only increasing my discretionary time, they're protecting our home from malpractice (I tried to loosen a rusty bolt on a toilet seat once, with a hammer and chisel; it didn't go well but the new toilet is nice). 

Another obvious opportunity for reducing chore time that I overlooked for years is expanded use of covers. For most of our almost 20 years at Wiser Times I've lugged (with the help of others) most of our deck and yard furniture to the back for winter storage in the garage. At home we did the same thing with our patio furniture. No longer. Now with heavy duty, fitted covers and a small army of bungee cords almost all of our seasonal outdoor equipment shelters in place. More time saved, and fewer trips to the medicine cabinet for chemical comfort.

Recently I stumbled onto another possible source of task relief. 

If I look better than usual in this picture of snow removal at Wiser Times, it's because it's not me. It's my son-in-law Matt. I think he's a natural.

The Purge (8/30/12, Last Update 2/1/24): On to spending that saved time. A large component of my hobby activities is collecting stuff. New and (more often) used media mostly. But also the occasional piece of memorabilia or even a piece of furniture. Father-in-law Rae's cottage porch rocker, for example. Couldn't let that memory-laden heirloom pass out of the family.

In previous posts I've described purge activities about hunting down and ridding ourselves of all sorts of items we no longer needed or wanted. I can say with confidence that with my mother's relocation to 651 Vernier 18 months ago, our potential for creating additional storage space by purging unwanted possessions was exhausted. Mom brought a few things with her. 

It all worked out, but we're now in zero-sum acquisition lockdown. Nothing can be added to our household without something being removed.

I can't say I didn't see this coming. Mom's addition was just the final straw. Awhile back, my Bride surveyed my personal space (the basement area commonly referred to as The Lab) and obtained my commitment not to shoehorn any more storage devices into my already overpopulated private paradise. At first, I wasn't sure why she felt pressed to impose such an inconsiderate restriction. So I took a hard look around.

Okay. I got it. I have a problem. I admit I frequently find myself browsing eBay for used movies, most of which are on sale at ridiculously low prices. And I have a thrift store addiction. Thrift stores often sell used music at even more ridiculously low prices. The result has been a steady influx of treasures I can't live without. Aggravating my predicament is the fact that with the advent of streaming services, people are dumping their old media at a record pace. I needed to act.

My first thought was to squeeze a little more capacity for new purchases by dumping stuff that I had no hope of ever using again (duh). So I dragged several old electronic devices down "the concrete mile" to the curb - a couple of tape decks, some retired cable boxes, two non-smart flat screen TVs and this little 12" sweetheart. 

The last tube TV to reside in the Burk household. This trooper served time at Ipperwash, in a couple of our conversion vans and a kid's bedroom or two. Quite a career. Here's a pic of its curtain call, sitting patiently at the curb hoping for one last chance (and it got it - it was nabbed by a junk picker). 

Alas, the extra space recovered through these disposals was quickly re-purposed to other, more pressing needs than my bulging media collection (mainly Canadian-made beverages - trying to get ahead of the tariff wars). I finally realized that the only way to sustain my acquisition compulsion would be to discard things I like (old used media) to make room for things I like better (newer used media). Quite the dilemma.

So last month I started my quest to escape from the darkness. Step 1 - a purge of VHS cassettes. I began by screening my VHS movies and selecting the least admired for departure. I'm using the old standby criteria "will I ever watch this movie again". If the answer is no, I put it in the box for the thrift store (yes, I now give as well as receive). If the answer is yes, I keep the title temporarily while I search for a low-cost digital replacement. Once the digital replacement is obtained, the VHS goes in the box. It's a painful process, but necessary. Each purged VHS cassette creates shelf space for two DVDs or Blu-rays. So I've got that going for me.

I imagine there will eventually be purge actions for other media types. Perhaps even for vinyl and my beloved LaserDiscs. But to quote Scarlett O'Hara, "I can't think about that now". I'm a month into the program and happy to report that shelf space for new purchases is being created. Slowly. As with most things I get involved with, it'll take a while. I'm getting through it with a lot of self-talk and some of those aforementioned Canadian beverages.

Disney (11/1/12, Last Update 9/30/22): Despite my obsession with hard media and time to play with it, I do have other interests that would benefit from more free time. Or rather, from a reorientation. Disney is a good example. For years my emphasis was on getting to Disney as much as possible and seeing/doing as many things as I could squeeze in. To that point, here is an update on the family statistics (I guess occasionally I do keep score):

--Number of times at least one Burk family member has checked into a Disney resort - 102

--Number of days stayed at a Disney resort associated with the 102 visits - 451

--Number of days at least one Burk family member has visited a Disney theme park - 143

In some ways it's sad to say that my own days of "seeing/doing as many things as I could" are pretty much over. I no longer stuff my back pack with supplies, slip into my pin lanyard, strap on my cross trainers and water bottle and launch myself into the frenzy that is a theme park. A shot from the good old days, just before the "rope drop". Nerd hall-of-fame material.

Some would say I've slowed down, or maybe just come to my senses. Both good points. But there's more to it. The time thing again. I'm much more interested these days in taking things in more slowly and digesting experiences more thoroughly.  

During park visits I used to be the event planner, the field guide and the answer man. Now all those jobs have been taken over by the next generation (thankfully). My new jobs are 1) keeping up and 2) helping my grandkids manage their parents. It's tricky. But I have the essential equipment - a personal conveyance and funny hats.

I like my new roles. I'm able to enjoy watching the crazy people more than I used to (except when it's my turn to push), and I always have a place to sit down though it's often with someone on my lap. Best of all I get to enjoy all of the magic of Disney through the eyes of my kids (once again) and my grandkids. Time well spent. 

The Art of the Dawdle (11/7/12, Last Update 5/13/20): I can't let a discussion of time go by without touching on dawdling. In my last update I sang the virtues of dawdling as a tool for dealing with the inconveniences and stress of the COVID crisis. Things are back to a new normal for me now, and hopefully for many of you. We still have that government insanity thing going on, but my daily activities look much like they did pre-COVID. Except for the work-less-play-more thing I've been talking about. 

You could say that my dawdling tendencies have gone mainstream. I start each day with an extended sit (by the fire in season) during which I chat with my roomies, have a lite breakfast and do my best to forward to a future date any task on my PDTL (prioritized daily task list) requiring serious effort. 

I confess that I have taken liberties with Franklin guru Hyrum Smith's principle "if it's in the Planner it happens". I'm now more like "if it's in the Planner it will happen - someday". Critical things (medical stuff, spousal commitments, happy hour) come off pretty much as planned. Everything else is mood-dependent. 

In order to make proper use of my new planning freedom I've upgraded my lab facilities. 

Multiple hi-def screens, speed and photo printers, photo-grade scanner, CD duplicator, media players of all types and (not in the picture) a digital paper cutter (I operate it with my digits). Not to mention 35 years of day-planner history to work with (first pic, top left). A hobby-nerd's paradise. 

Enough about time today. Time to move on. Here's wishing you all a healthy dawdle in the coming days. See you back on Memory Lane as I head into 1988.

Grosse Pointe Charles