Big Willie Anderson has been keeping a diary of sorts for the Enquirer at Bengals training camp. I liked the one, quoted from below, where he thinks back to when he entered the league.
I think a lot about the passing of time too these days. Not in a negative way, though. I guess it's because I've now been working longer than I ever spent in school. I spent a few years in college, a few years in graduate school. And now I've been working longer than any of those periods of my life.I was looking at the roster the other day and noticed all of the young guys, born in 1981, '82, '83, '84, '85 ... damn. We have a lot of '80s babies.
It's weird to look at the roster and see all of the young guys. It's interesting to look at when I grew up, in the hip-hop generation. I still remember my first road trip as a rookie in the regular season, and I went in a suit. I was a 1996 draft pick. Joe Walter and those guys were 1980s linemen. They wore boots, jeans, flannel shirts tucked in. I remember getting laughed at so hard. I said, "Those guys are old. They don't know what's going on."
I am thinking a lot about the passing of time. I've got a backpack filled with vitamins and minerals I put in my water. Your second or third years (in the NFL), you learn it's survival. I remember telling Levi Jones when he was a rookie, "Hey, man, tape your fingers. Take care of your hands." He said, "Man, I'm young. I don't do that." By the end of the year he had a cast on every finger.
Time passes by so fast now. It's August now, and I think back to January and I can't even remember what occurred in the months in-between. Where did all those months go?
I hate that feeling. Like months have gone by and I didn't even notice. There are things I do to combat that feeling - keeping this blog is one of them.
Another thing is - what I've found is that it's only when I do the same things every day that time goes by fast. When every day is different, and holds new challenges, it actually seems like time goes slower. At my previous job, I worked on the same project for two years. I didn't dislike the project, but it was just so repetitive I barely remember what I did those two years.
But in the year I changed jobs, bought a house, and got engaged all at once was the longest year of my life. I felt like I lived two years worth of life instead of one. Every day and night was packed for months. It stretched me and pulled me in all sorts of directions.
It's not a great thing though. It's stressful and anxious, and I can't even say I would do things the same way if I could do them over again.
The last few months have been pretty calm, thus they've passed with barely a glance. But things are picking up. It feels like I've had plans every evening for the past two weeks (some of those plans involve happy hour, but nonetheless.) This week, I have errands every morning, and meetings and work every evening. I guess time is about to slow down again.
No comments:
Post a Comment