Three Days

Three days does not sound like a long time, but when you're working from behind, it's actually the longest time. I've been stuck in a perpetual loop for this entire month. I've been trying to make up for three days ever since March started. It's only now that I can finally see the end in sight.

The problem is that it's not just three days -- that chunk of time represents a recurring pattern of slack that has taken hold, dropping my pace to near zero. Never had I felt more stuck in the mud. I have consistently broken my consistency and that's the true failure to be observed in this mess.

To make new habits one must break old ones first. I wonder how many epiphanies it'll take before one finally sticks. Instead of resisting the cycle, perhaps I should lean into it instead. After all, if I predictably veer off course, it'll be easier to get back on track. Life never goes in a straight line. I should expect a detour or two. That way, I won't suddenly find myself waist deep in the muck.

Zero Escape

On Monday, I went with my co-workers to do an escape room. There were seven of us and we had roughly an hour to get out of a locked room. We managed to do it with nine minutes to spare. I wish I could say that I was the MVP but one of the girls in our group really took charge and barreled through each challenge.

I had my moments but my biggest contribution was getting the group to burn through our clues. If you got them, you might as well use them. I'm a hoarder in RPGs and there's nothing like beating the final boss with 90 elixirs left in your inventory. With a 20% success rate, you best believe that I'll use everything at my disposal to ensure the best chance of victory.

Now I'm itchin' to do some more escapin'.

Dugged

Every so often I find myself in a hole. And I have to dig myself out every single time. And I keep doing it. I tell myself I won't be here again -- surprise, surprise -- I'm here again. I wouldn't be so annoyed if I wasn't so predictable, and I'm pretty sure I said the same exact thing the last time this happened. Well, the only thing I can do now is...

Keep digging.

I think it's partly justifiable this time though. I did stuff I normally wouldn't like watching movies with my co-workers. I saw Get Out, which was solid in terms of suspense, comedy, and social commentary, but I lack the perspective to truly appreciate the horror aspects.

Because of the trailer for The Belkin Experiment, I watched a film called Circle. It's an interesting take on the death game genre and I was inspired with several ideas on how to subvert the usual tropes. Then I watched 10 Rillington Place, a true crime dramatization about an English serial killer along with the miscarriage of justice that accompanied his case.

The film didn't receive much love back in the day but its stature has grown with time thanks to its journalistic commitment to the mundane everyday life that frames such shocking acts. I tend to enjoy these dry portrayals because what's most shocking is never the act itself, but how such acts can go unnoticed for so long. The thought of such horror happening underneath our noses is truly the most horrifying thought of all.

The Things You Can't Avoid

Ever since I started working from home, I knew that a reckoning would soon come knocking on my door and it was called tax day. With a standard deduction, I would owe in excess of $4000. I was shocked but also prepared to pay the piper until my brother came for a visit on the same day and told me about his tax guy.

Flash forward to yesterday and I went from owing over $4000 to around $1300. Yes, please, thank you, sir, I will be taking my leave now before anyone notices. With an extra $3000 in my pocket, that means I'm going on vacation because why the hell not? That was money I was more than willing to part with and now that I don't have to it's time to go crazy!

No, not really. I'm very conservative but I will take this moment to enjoy the finer things in life. It pays not to have an itchy trigger finger. Before you jump off that cliff -- and you're gonna have to because there's a stampede behind you -- check to see if you can get lower first. Because a couple feet could spell the difference between a hard fall and broken ankles.

It'll hurt, but at least one of those options you can walk off.