life

Time, Seasons + Planks

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pocket watches telling time

So did you enjoy having that extra day last month? But then miss the hour we lost last night? Thinking about both changes in time makes life feel more arbitrary and random than usual.

In the natural world around us, we see the seasons change before our eyes. But the way humans interpret and manipulate time is based on the choices of very few people. The rest of us just go along with it.

I’ve always liked the idea of Leap Years and enjoy having more light in the evenings once Daylight Saving Time begins. But it is odd when you really think about it. Time is a social construct.

Time is also our most valuable resource, precisely because none of us knows how much we actually have. It is so precious. So how do we want to spend it?

If more of us thought deeply about this, I think we might choose to spend our time differently. The more time we get in life, the greater our appreciation for good health.

I’ve been making many changes over the years to improve my health, both physically and mentally. The latest tiny change that I’ve started is doing a daily plank. Like the late great RBG.

Once I blog something, I have a greater chance of sticking to it. So here it is! My goal is to do at least one plank every day for the rest of my life! And be able to keep increasing the time I can hold it.

Along with my language learning goals, it will be interesting to see changes over the next few months and years. This is another post to look back on and follow-up!

Language Learning – Update 2

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In the last post, I mentioned that I’ve been struggling with a lot. So I’ve had to realize that I cannot keep up with the pace of language learning that I’d like.

The Coursera class didn’t work out as I’d hoped and learning Hangeul is on the back burner at this point. My focus is on French.

I’m still using Duolingo every day and have other forms of French immersion that help. French Teacher Carlito‘s newsletter is great! Plus, I’ve loaded up my YouTube and Instagram feeds with wonderful bite-sized French lessons from several people.

With all that I have on my plate, that’s about all that I can handle. After reading a recent blog post where I encountered an English word that was new to me, equiponderate, I decided that I need to cut myself some slack.

There is no deadline for becoming fluent in French. I have a goal and I’m doing the best I can. It takes a lot of time and practice to become fluent in another language. Life is throwing a lot my way right now, so I can’t progress the way I could if things were different.

I’m fluent in English and have a fairly decent vocabulary. It’s taken decades to reach this point and I’m still learning new English words. New English words keep being invented. Language learning is a lifelong journey, so I have to keep reminding myself to be patient.

Maybe you’re going through something similar. Remember to be patient with yourself and keep going. There is no race and live life one day at a time.

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Image: Wordnik

Caregiving is Hard

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Back at the end of November, when I decided to blog twice a week, I didn’t know what life had in store. During the holiday season, both my mom and brother started having increased health issues. Things have gotten progressively worse since then. While they don’t live with me, I’m the primary caregiver for both of them. Caregiving is hard.

I try to do all I can to help them, but it also takes an emotional toll. It hurts to see them hurting. And there is nothing that I can do about that.

My ability to cope with it all has diminished significantly. I don’t know that my twice a week blogging schedule is sustainable. Not that anyone is forcing me. It was a promise to myself first. But I have to focus on what I can do. I’m reaching out to to others and seeking resources to help with everything.

For now, I’ll shoot for posting once a week on Sundays. I don’t want to blog just to blog and not feel genuine in terms of my writing. I strive to create content that is not only interesting and helpful for me, but for others as well. When I don’t have the energy to write what I want, I don’t want to to just post filler. Which some posts feel like, even if they are kind of fun.

Maybe this is part of my answer in terms of deciding whether to continue blogging. I’m letting time be my guide as I continue this caregiving journey.

Blogging in 2024

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blogging in 2006

Blogging in 2024 versus blogging in 2006. It’s a whole different world.

This picture above is how my old blog, Anali’s First Amendment, looked back then. This was the first capture of it on the Wayback Machine on August 11, 2006. My first post was on April 29th of that year, so it took a little while for it to register on the internet.

I was still using an alias and my picture didn’t show my whole face. This blog has been through so many iterations that I forgot what it used to look like!

We often revisit the past when thinking about what we want in the future. Doing NaBloPoMo last year was part of that process for me. When I finished, I decided that I would write twice a week, Wednesday and Sunday.

So far I have, but I’m starting to wonder why. And I’m starting to wonder why I’m continuing to blog. Before when these thoughts crept up, something would happen that made me feel like I wanted to continue. But I’ve been feeling this way for a bit and nothing has changed this time.

April 29th will be 18 years blogging. When people turn 18, in most places, that means they have reached the age of majority and can be considered an adult. The adulthood of this blog might look different.

I’ll still always write, but writing doesn’t have to be here. Time will tell.

Pluto in Aquarius

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What were you doing between March 23, 2023  and June 11, 2023? During that time period, we got a preview of Pluto in Aquarius. The last time that Pluto changed signs was in 2008.

For me personally, some extremely significant things happened during both of these times. There has been a lot of chatter in the astrology community about Pluto and its impact.

When I first started hearing about it at the beginning of 2023, the first thing that I thought about was that I had somewhat major surgery in 2008. But it was planned surgery. I didn’t have any surgery planned during 2023, so I hoped that Pluto wouldn’t impact me the same way.

Unfortunately, it did. It just wasn’t planned. In the beginning of June 2023, I ended up in the hospital and had emergency surgery. As someone who is usually healthy, this was so out of the blue and bizarre. I was truly shocked.

Both transits weren’t all bad though. Especially between March and June last year. I was starting to make my way into the world and back to focusing on me again after COVID and moving my mom closer to me.

At the end of March, I saw Jill Scott in Boston and the next day traveled to Maryland and DC. I also went on a short retreat at Kripalu in the Berkshires in May. I had so much fun spending time with family and friends and focusing on wellness. Oh, and I got Wordle in one try!

I haven’t mentioned all the changes that happened to me personally, and there are also many things that happened to us as a collective during these times. The 2008 financial crisis, then in March 2023 there was the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Also, I will never forget where I was when I learned that the former president was indicted by the state of New York. I was on the train to DC and had just arrived in New York!

A lot happens when Pluto changes signs. It’s really quite remarkable and something to take note of. Pluto’s orbit around the sun takes 248 years. So it spends a lot of time in each sign. Astrologer Chani Nicholas gives a nice summary of the last time that Pluto was in Aquarius.

“The last time Pluto journeyed through Aquarius, between 1777 and 1798, the world’s balance of power massively shifted. These two decades saw the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The monarchy was toppled in France, showing that even the world’s most powerful institutions can crumble in the face of Pluto’s wrecking ball.

The Age of Enlightenment also reached a crescendo at this time. Aquarian ideals of reason, rationality, and humanity’s power to steer its own destiny fueled this epoch and laid the groundwork for democratic institutions and human rights.”

So why is all this relevant now? Pluto moves into Aquarius again this Saturday, January 20, 2024. An article on Stylecaster explains more about the dates and upcoming changes.

“Pluto has been transiting down-to-business Capricorn since 2008, so its initial move into airy Aquarius on March 23, 2023 marked the first sign shift for this planet in nearly 15 years. This was Pluto’s first dip into the revolutionary sign of the water bearer since the late 18th century—but in true Pluto fashion, it’ll take time to fully complete this zodiacal transition.

Thanks to Pluto’s slow orbit and annual retrograde periods, it reverted back to Capricorn on June 11, 2023, but as of Saturday, January 20, 2024, it will move forward into Aquarius once again. However, this is another temporary dip into Aquarius, as Pluto retrogrades back into Capricorn on September 1. Luckily, it will return to Aquarius for good as of November 19, 2024. From there, Pluto will remain in Aquarius until 2043 and 2044—giving the planet a solid two decades to work its transformative magic in the Aquarius-ruled parts of our chart.”

There is so much happening in the world right now, that I probably cannot even come close to imagining how this will all play out. But I expect there will be some revolutionary changes. Let’s hope for the best.