Too Early Old, Too Late Smart

On to-do lists and other works of fiction by Jeremy D. Nichols Those who have been reading this blog since its inception know that I am an avid believer in Benchley’s law: “Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” Robert Benchley (1889-1945) I have a daunting to-do list that I made for this long weekend, and I have done precisely none of it. I did just start a load of laundry, so I’ve not been entirely idle.

Before we start, let me preface by saying that I am not a trekker in case you got sent here by accident looking for a Star Trek-related newsletter.1 Hello everyone. I want to continue writing about the things that I would like to do this year. Here is the list again: Improve my handwriting. Journal more. Correspond more by email and post. Learn some calligraphy with Jennifer. Take more pictures. Move more. Read more. Cook more. Clean more.

For some reason I thought that 2025 was going to be my year. I suppose that in some ways it was. I started a new job in the field that I worked hard to get into. And it is fulfilling work. I have a good working relationship with my boss. And my coworker/office mate could not be cooler or more helpful. She’s also hilarious, which is a strong bonus. I finally got my certification after almost two years of dilly-dallying. I got a small raise for getting said certification.

Last time I wrote I asked y’all to keep my mom in your thoughts and prayers. I told y’all that she was very ill and had been in either a hospital or skilled nursing facility since June 17th. I was under the illusion in early September that she was slowly improving, but I was mistaken. She was actually beginning the process of dying. I cannot write about the weeks leading up to her death right now.

Since my last post, a lot of terrible stuff has happened in the world at large, and a lot is happening right now. All I can say about that is that my prescription for lorazepam (Ativan) used to last for more than a year, but now I need it refilled every couple of months. I’m not using it daily, but I am taking it “as needed” more often than I used to. Not habitually, just not every couple of months like before.

Yesterday the high was 66F. We had the heat off and the glass sliding door to our patio open for some fresh air. The cats could smell outside and Daniel could safely eck-eck at birds behind the screen door. Henrietta and Daniel have been indoor cats since they were little rescue kittens. The only times that they have ever been outside since we adopted them was in their carrier. Once to go home with us. Once to move to our current apartment, and several times to go see the V-E-T.

I have been at my new job since January 21st. Which feels like a year ago and also just yesterday. The job is going well. I have been doing a ton of training and orientation, but I can already tell that I really like my coworker and boss—right now we’re a team of three with a part-time community health worker who works in tandem with us, but there will eventually be another peer recovery specialist like myself.

Film director, auteur, painter, musician, producer, writer, woodworker, cartoonist, amateur weatherman, and actor David Lynch died today. He was one of my favorite artists of all time. I have been a fan of his work since I first saw The Elephant Man and Dune as a tween in the early 80s. While I did not immediately latch onto Twin Peaks in its first few episodes, I eventually became a hardcore Tweaker. The fandom of Twin Peaks is the one that I went the deepest into.

Here we are nine days into the year of 2025. That is 2.46575342466% of the new year finished for those of you that appreciate statistics like that. I just want to check in with y’all about how my first week and change has gone so far. Here are my resolutions the things I would like to do in 2025: Read 100 books. Write a blog post every week. Practice guitar 15 minutes a day. Get on the treadmill or walk five days a week. Write and complete something that is not a blog post.

Things I Would Like to Do in 2025 Read 100 books. Write a blog post every week. Practice guitar 15 minutes a day. Get on the treadmill or walk five days a week. Write and complete something that is not a blog post. Perfect a New York Style pizza at home. Read at a live lit event. Read 100 books. I used to be an avid reader and I remain convinced that I am happiest when I read more books. And one hundred books is a doable amount of books. This works out to just under two books a week.