Oh to be old again...

I've become more aware than ever during this break that I will have no trouble transitioning into retirement.  I will not be one of those 'has to be working' types or even a 'has to be doing something in the community' types.  I've been perfectly content surfing the Internet, listening to music, watching movies, playing Wii, reading books, and skiing (my lone physical activity, which will be replaced by golf in retirement).  It just doesn't get old for me - I'm perfectly happy being a consumer and not a creator.

Unfortunately, I have quite some time before I get there (if I get there) but for these next two weeks I'm perfectly happy living my retired lifestyle.

Elephant in the Room

Politics aren't my forte because when I express my opinions, I like to be fully informed on the issue.  For me to be fully informed about U.S. politics would require a lot of effort that I'm not necessarily interested in making at this point in my life.  

But I have been following Republicans' refusal to pass the 9/11 responders bill, which would give them medical benefits/compensation for their sacrifices. Many of them are facing serious health issues because of their heroism on that day.  There's a time to be stubborn and hold out to get what you want, and then there's black-and-white decisions.  

Jon Stewart highlighted their hypocrisy last night.  I mostly watch his show for the comedic/satiric aspect, but I think he excels in these moments where he is able to call out politicians' backwards thinking and flip-flopping.

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Death of a Zombie

The Walking Dead's first season just ended, and while I didn't love the human characters in it, it's pretty cool to have zombies in your living room. As I was watching the survivors trying to stay alive in the zombie apocalypse, I thought about how poorly I would handle this catastrophic event.  This is because...

1) I've never shot a gun, but if my experience in multi-player shooting games is any indication (always last place, always), I would not be a good shot, so I'd probably end up being eaten alive by a zombie even with a gun in my hand.

2) I'm not like fat people where I am constantly thinking about food, in fact I usually forget to eat, but when I do eat I like to know I can keep eating until I'm full. Hence, I would not do well on the can-of-beans-a-day diet.

3) Society never recovers from a zombie attack. So that hopelessness would not help my emotional state, likely resulting in a breakdown where I'd question the purpose of my existence and try to bring others down with me.

4) I have a very strange taste in women and could see myself falling in love with an emo zombie girl and then trying to write a terrible song about our forbidden romance before she fatefully bit me.