Tag: dailyprompt

Best purchase ever

~ Veselin ~ 4 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What is the best purchase you have ever made?
View all responses

I try to not get too attached to items and keep them replaceable.

I grew up in an environment when we couldn’t really own anything expensive. One day, my parents brought home beautiful fake adidas pants with three stripes (I think it was abidas or something like that). I went out with it and a kid pushed me down during play (probably on purpose) so my pants got torn. I learned by that mistake and the next fancy thing (a sweather) my parents brought, I didn’t wear at all. Then there was a birthday party and I wanted to put it on, and it was already too small. I outgrew it. So that didn’t work either.

Later in life, I had a chance to experience shopping stuff I need and want, I need and don’t want, I want but don’t need, and even stuff I neither wanted or needed. I it was around my mid-30s when I established some stable principles and conclusions about purchases.

  • The satisfaction you get from a new car and from a new book is not too far out but the car is far more expensive
  • Storage space is a limiting factor for the things you want but don’t need. Space management requires a good sense of minimalism. Once you learn how to throw away things, you get attached to items even less and no longer buy as much as before
  • You can’t be cheap on stuff you’ll use for work, and some of the hardware that frequently fails, I keep fallbacks. I have multiple backup glasses, some kept at specific locations, multiple headphones, countless chargers, cables, connectors, a battery that can recharge my computer and so on.

So with this philosophy, the items I buy are replaceable. Even my book collection is fluid, with a constant outflow of books that get donated.

If I can nominate one item that was life changing and at the same time inexpensive and easily replaceable, that’s my Apple Watch. It keeps me walking.

Shaped by experience

~ Veselin ~ 8 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Do you think we’re shaped more by our experiences or by who we are?
View all responses

I used to believe in the idea that we shape our own futures, at least to a large extent, unless something catastrophic gets in the way. I read Ayn Rand and found her perspective appealing.

Then I had kids.

My children are so different that it’s hard to believe. From a very young age, they had distinct personalities, different strengths, and different abilities to focus on the things that interested them. I now believe that nature has a greater influence than nurture, even though nurture still matter a great deal and shouldn’t be underestimated. You may have a much higher odd of becoming a pro basketball player if you’re super tall but you won’t if you don’t put in the hours.

A book that deserves a sequel

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment
Daily writing prompt
What’s a book you think deserves a sequel?
View all responses

There are a few obvious choices here, and I’d place them in no particular order.

  1. Alan Campbell’s Gravedigger’s Chronicles. Book #2 ends well but this is a clear trilogy, where the issue with the flooded planet needs to get at least partially addressed. Unfortunately, Alan Campbell announced he won’t write books anymore and just quit.
  2. The Thraxas original series of 12 books didn’t reveal the origins of Thraxas and Makri. Book 13 was promised and not delivered.
  3. Patrick Rothfuss stormed the world with his Wise Man’s Fear book. Kvothe, supposedly, already told his story but not to us. 15 years later, book 3 remains unpublished. It is very unlikely that we see anything other than another short story or a prequel.
  4. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson introduced us to a duo of young sorcerers who could create living glyphs. It is called a series but it is a series of one book. Second one never materialized.

Out of these, I think I regret the Gravedigger’s Chronicles the most. It was such an absurd idea, deserved to be wrapped up.

Chaos

~ Veselin ~ 2 Comments

Is a little chaos actually good for us?

Constant changes are part of life. Changes come with a little bit of chaos.

Not much changes on Mars and Mars isn’t a very habitable place.

Better sleep

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment
Daily writing prompt
What do you do to improve your sleep?
View all responses

I stopped sleeping well in my mid to late 30s. I used alcohol to end the day, coffee to start it, and didn’t sleep much in total. Yet I still woke up at night anyway. The bad sleep eventually contributed to significant health issues.

Here’s what helped me turn things around:

  • No beer. The first 3-4 days without beer are awful but then it’s like no longer carrying a backpack full of bricks. Mornings are far more productive
  • No coffee. I’m convinced stopping coffee helped, but can’t evaluate by how much. Probably less important than beer, I’d place it second most important as I can physically sense the caffeine when I have too much
  • I count my steps and have daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Feeling physically tired helps me but steps are also like a form of meditation, they help process information, get my thoughts in order, and I think reduce stress
  • I dedicate time to reading before bed, as it makes me sleepy
  • Go to bed early. I found a saying somewhere and blogged about it but can’t find the source now. It goes roughly as follows:

If it’s not worth doing first thing in the morning, it’s not worth doing last thing in the evening

The reason for going to bed late most nights was just doing random things online, like doomscrolling or watching TV shows. Not worth it, according to the rule above.

This resulted in better sleep for me on average, and I think I clock 7+ hours most nights.