Another Orbit Around the Sun
Forty-seven doesn't seem all that old anymore. Strands of white add a little variation to a mostly-full head of light brown hair. The goatee is just the same as it has been for years. Muscles don't ache like they used to and I sleep like a log most nights. A lot of the warnings my parents, aunts, and uncles used to tell me about "life after 40" seem to be little more than personal stories. Perhaps one day I'll understand what it's like to have throbbing knees before a rainfall or to sleep wrong but, for the most part, the body has been remarkably resilient thus far.
Knock on wood.
Some of this may be due to sheer will, though. After almost 12 entire months with zero income, I'm now working part time with four companies. At least 7 hours of every day of the week is dedicated to somebody, with a few days requiring 13 hours of effort plus travel time. To have an abundance of work after such a long time is something I'm grateful for. There are bills to pay and governments to appease. But I do wonder whether burning the candle at both ends is tenable. Based on some basic work with a spreadsheet, my year of unemployment will cost at least two years to recover from, and a single large expenditure could see anything saved up wiped out in no time at all. Hopefully everything will pan out.
One downside of working for four places, aside from the numerous scheduling demands, is Ayumi. For the entire time that she and I have been together, I've worked from home. This allowed us to be together for most of the day and she could enjoy a walk in the park just about any time so long as the weather permitted it and I was not in the middle of a meeting. Now that I'm working on-site at one place, though, she's sleeping her afternoons away on the sofa while YouTube plays on TV. The background noise and movement is meant to break up the monotony of being in a static house all alone. She has been able to handle the change for the most part but, when I'm gone for more than six hours, there are some puddles on the floor to clean up. Not from needing the bathroom, but from the anxiety of being alone.
Ayumi will need to be patient for just a few more years before any of this can change, but I wonder if she'd be open to another dog joining our little pack. If she had someone to play and interact with, it might help her feel better.
Am I over-thinking this?
Either way. Last year was defined by a series of tests that resulted in me holding onto only the most important things while letting everything else go. This year will hopefully see a series of opportunities open up to allow for some creative pursuits to flourish. There is a lot that I would like to do, personally and professionally, so long as the opportunity is there. One goal that stands out above the others, though, is my desire to create better travel videos.
Over the past three years, I've learned quite a bit about making videos for YouTube. I've learned about the patterns that should be followed, the art of thumbnail consistency, the challenges of planning for multiple languages, the struggle to maintain people's interest as a video begins to exceed 5 minutes in length. I'm still very much an amateur at this, but I do see a great deal of potential to create better stories centred around the trips that Ayumi and I embark upon. This is where I've been focusing my energy lately with the goal to create videos that do not require narration or any speaking setup. If there is speaking in the video, it might be with others, but I do not want to record myself speaking or Ayumi barking if it's not necessary. The videos will be centred around the story and put to music. Nothing more.
While I doubt this will ever be popular, these YouTube videos are not about earning money. What I really hope to do is show people what this country is like when you head away from the typical tourist destinations. There's a lot to see in Japan and I am forever surprised when I meet people who have lived here their whole lives who have yet to explore the country beyond the big cities. Sure, domestic travel is not for everyone, but there's a great deal of beauty to see and experience if we go just beyond the borders of the rural communities.
This is what I hope to continue developing on this next orbit around the sun.