When I'm 54

i.e., today

When I was in library school, a guy I knew was in his early thirties, and I was in my late twenties. I was talking about looking ahead to turning thirty, and he said, “oh, turning thirty is great. Everyone makes a big deal out of it and it’s kind of fun and funny. The problem is, the birthdays don’t stop at thirty. They keep coming. And it gets less funny.”

Anyway, I turn 54 today. Thanks, mom and dad, for having me and being great parents. All things considered, I’m glad I’m here.

Looking back

Last year I mentioned that, probably like many people, I often make a few little resolutions for my own personal new year on my birthday.

I did pretty well with the ones I made last year, especially if you ignore the details. I have shot more than 30 rolls of film since my last birthday, and I did create the zine featuring my plastic camera photos. I did read all the Chekhov major plays and watched several screen adaptations. Nick is taking a Chekhov in translation class this term in college and I have been pestering him about it. I didn’t learn any German, though. I did listen to some of the 20th century art music I wrote about but my plan to be more systematic about it fell through.

Looking ahead

My main art/hobby goals are still around photography and zines. I want to resist the urge to try new cameras and films and instead my resolution is to shoot 50 or more rolls of black and white film on my two main cameras (the Nikon SLR and the Yashica twin-lens). Even with as much as I have shot this year I still don’t feel fully comfortable with either camera, and when I change methods all the time it’s harder to really improve, I think.

I’d hoped by today to have a short zine completed with my photos of the power plant demolition in Colorado Springs. Instead, I’ll hope to finish that by the end of the calendar year. Then I want to make a more ambitious zine of the photos I have been taking in the Shooks Run creek near my house.

I also want to take more photos of people, both more street-style candids and more posed portraits of both people I know and people I meet on the street. Recent examples below.

Manitou Springs Penny Arcade. This guy flipped me off right after I took the photo. I wish I’d got that image.

Manitou Springs Penny Arcade

Clare and Carol

This year I want to do a better job with house and garden stuff. We will likely eventually want to move to a smaller house with all the main living space on one floor. In preparation for that, I think there are an infinite number of things I need to fix up and improve around here, and I might as well do that soon so we can enjoy the improvements ourselves. Then in the garden, I really need to get some viable tomatoes next summer!

Semi-related is improving my emergency plans, including a plan for sheltering in the house during a winter power outage, and for evacuating in the case of a fire or similar disaster.

Otherwise, I think I just want to keep in better touch with y’all. There are so many people I enjoy hearing from, but I don’t always do a good job of keeping up my end of the communication, so I will be trying to do a better job.

A brief word about the election

Letterpress printed in Berkeley by my friend Kendra

Whatever happens, let’s try and take care of each other.