Howdy Hide,
A post from @GrayRyder influenced this idea. Basically the gist is things that used to "blow your skirts up" but for one reason or another you're presently indifferent to (but maybe hopeful that'll change in the upcoming seasons). Some here may celebrate in learning that I'm up tonight because of having oral surgery that left the one side of my mouth is being held together by stitches and what can only be described as silly putty. I was given an insulting Rx of Ibuprofen.
(1) And this goes back to @GrayRyder, hunting... Whelp- I didn't get a hunting license again this year with the rifle season kicking off last Saturday here for Buck in PA. It's not that I have anything against hunting and years ago I couldn't wait for the season to come across (here in PA, even the schools are off for the Monday after Thanksgiving because that was the traditional start of rifle season for bucks here for many decades. So that to say- it used to be a big part of my life. These days though- after years upon years of seeing anything but bucks, I started questioning whether I was making the most use of my vacation time to sit in the woods alone, in the cold, and only seeing a couple of squirrels. The rare times that I did see deer that I could legally shoot, I spent years of making excuses that they weren't 'big enough' to warrant the effort entailed afterwards but as the years went by- the fact of the matter is I just don't have the drive I used to carry to kill a deer. Nothing sacred about it/them- just it doesn't give me any joy in doing so like it used to.
(2) Fishing- Good lord did I used to love fishing. Specifically fishing in creeks for trout. I never got into fly fishing but growing up- I was permitted a day off of school for my birthday (which coincided with trout season here in PA) and I picked that every single time because I just enjoyed the hell out of that. About 10 years or so ago though- it was like a switch flipped and I stopped caring about chasing after stocked fish. To be fair, I was in my last year (of my 2nd attempt of college) and I was taking a heavy course load and chasing after fish had to take a backseat to reading textbooks and I don't think I ever rejuvenated that passion after I graduated from college.
(3) I used to love going backpacking. It honestly scratched a lot of my itches, I loved being in the woods, I'm a self professed 'gear queer' and would get untold hours of enjoyment just researching the latest and greatest equipment for backpacking but in this pursuit- I simply lost all of my friends who used to join in on the adventure and it stopped being fun doing it by myself.
(4) Back to hunting- but birds this time instead of deer, by and large, chasing pheasants & grouse was always my favorite form of hunting. It just was.. different I'd say, you didn't have to worry about being quiet or stalking them, you just walked the fields with your friends and talked shit until a bird exploded from your footsteps and then the whole line instantly went alive trying to pop said bird. Similar to my previous comments about backpacking, those friends either died or moved onto other things. The grouse in PA all but disappeared and the pheasants turned into a sore point where the state game commission started charging a stamp that cost more than a regular hunting license to participate in pheasant hunting but cut the stocking of said pheasants by more than half in the same year. That was the end of grouse/pheasant hunting for me.
(5) Waterfowl hunting- that was a relatively new one for me and different enough to fill the gaps left behind from my grouse/pheasant pursuits, but that was also dependent on having a friend with a boat/decoys (for ducks) or a friend with a relationship with a farmer and also decoys (for geese). And they all got married & got out of the waterfowl game.
(6) Concerts- I used to be the biggest concert whore you'd ever met, 20 years or so ago, I saw them all and I was front row and center. I was there with my battle buddies and a mosh pit started at a Korn/whoever concert 20 years ago and someone left with a broken collar bone. I was there at a 3 Days Grace/Breaking Benjamin concert where some chick literally bought the shirt off of my roommates back depicting a stripper pole and the text "I support single moms". Now- I don't keep up with modern music nor do I care to. I seldom participate in concerts but when I do, I opt for the cheap seats away from the crowds and give me a place to park my ass.
(7) Holidays (in general)- I remember when I used to care about New Years, St. Patricks Day (in particular), Memorial Day, 4th of July, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Now- I feel like New Year's is amateur hour for drunks, St Patricks Day isn't far behind that. Memorial Day is nothing more than a commercial excuse to put things on sale while I try to keep whatever demons I may have in check, 4th of July- I frankly don't know what we've been celebrating anymore other than an excuse to send up fireworks. Halloween is still cool although very commercialized anymore, Veterans Day... I'm just going to skip sharing my opinions on that one. Thanksgiving is now a financial and/or expected societal burden and Christmas... hell I couldn't tell you the last time this was a holiday that held any 'magic'... maybe it did in 2007 for me but that pursuit is also long gone. Now, at least for me, it's nothing more than a commercial pursuit to buy family members crap they felt forced to write a list for so they in turn can also buy you crap that you felt obligated to write a list for.
Ugh- sorry, not trying to be bitter by any means, my jaw is just killing me and I can't sleep.
-LD
A post from @GrayRyder influenced this idea. Basically the gist is things that used to "blow your skirts up" but for one reason or another you're presently indifferent to (but maybe hopeful that'll change in the upcoming seasons). Some here may celebrate in learning that I'm up tonight because of having oral surgery that left the one side of my mouth is being held together by stitches and what can only be described as silly putty. I was given an insulting Rx of Ibuprofen.
(1) And this goes back to @GrayRyder, hunting... Whelp- I didn't get a hunting license again this year with the rifle season kicking off last Saturday here for Buck in PA. It's not that I have anything against hunting and years ago I couldn't wait for the season to come across (here in PA, even the schools are off for the Monday after Thanksgiving because that was the traditional start of rifle season for bucks here for many decades. So that to say- it used to be a big part of my life. These days though- after years upon years of seeing anything but bucks, I started questioning whether I was making the most use of my vacation time to sit in the woods alone, in the cold, and only seeing a couple of squirrels. The rare times that I did see deer that I could legally shoot, I spent years of making excuses that they weren't 'big enough' to warrant the effort entailed afterwards but as the years went by- the fact of the matter is I just don't have the drive I used to carry to kill a deer. Nothing sacred about it/them- just it doesn't give me any joy in doing so like it used to.
(2) Fishing- Good lord did I used to love fishing. Specifically fishing in creeks for trout. I never got into fly fishing but growing up- I was permitted a day off of school for my birthday (which coincided with trout season here in PA) and I picked that every single time because I just enjoyed the hell out of that. About 10 years or so ago though- it was like a switch flipped and I stopped caring about chasing after stocked fish. To be fair, I was in my last year (of my 2nd attempt of college) and I was taking a heavy course load and chasing after fish had to take a backseat to reading textbooks and I don't think I ever rejuvenated that passion after I graduated from college.
(3) I used to love going backpacking. It honestly scratched a lot of my itches, I loved being in the woods, I'm a self professed 'gear queer' and would get untold hours of enjoyment just researching the latest and greatest equipment for backpacking but in this pursuit- I simply lost all of my friends who used to join in on the adventure and it stopped being fun doing it by myself.
(4) Back to hunting- but birds this time instead of deer, by and large, chasing pheasants & grouse was always my favorite form of hunting. It just was.. different I'd say, you didn't have to worry about being quiet or stalking them, you just walked the fields with your friends and talked shit until a bird exploded from your footsteps and then the whole line instantly went alive trying to pop said bird. Similar to my previous comments about backpacking, those friends either died or moved onto other things. The grouse in PA all but disappeared and the pheasants turned into a sore point where the state game commission started charging a stamp that cost more than a regular hunting license to participate in pheasant hunting but cut the stocking of said pheasants by more than half in the same year. That was the end of grouse/pheasant hunting for me.
(5) Waterfowl hunting- that was a relatively new one for me and different enough to fill the gaps left behind from my grouse/pheasant pursuits, but that was also dependent on having a friend with a boat/decoys (for ducks) or a friend with a relationship with a farmer and also decoys (for geese). And they all got married & got out of the waterfowl game.
(6) Concerts- I used to be the biggest concert whore you'd ever met, 20 years or so ago, I saw them all and I was front row and center. I was there with my battle buddies and a mosh pit started at a Korn/whoever concert 20 years ago and someone left with a broken collar bone. I was there at a 3 Days Grace/Breaking Benjamin concert where some chick literally bought the shirt off of my roommates back depicting a stripper pole and the text "I support single moms". Now- I don't keep up with modern music nor do I care to. I seldom participate in concerts but when I do, I opt for the cheap seats away from the crowds and give me a place to park my ass.
(7) Holidays (in general)- I remember when I used to care about New Years, St. Patricks Day (in particular), Memorial Day, 4th of July, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Now- I feel like New Year's is amateur hour for drunks, St Patricks Day isn't far behind that. Memorial Day is nothing more than a commercial excuse to put things on sale while I try to keep whatever demons I may have in check, 4th of July- I frankly don't know what we've been celebrating anymore other than an excuse to send up fireworks. Halloween is still cool although very commercialized anymore, Veterans Day... I'm just going to skip sharing my opinions on that one. Thanksgiving is now a financial and/or expected societal burden and Christmas... hell I couldn't tell you the last time this was a holiday that held any 'magic'... maybe it did in 2007 for me but that pursuit is also long gone. Now, at least for me, it's nothing more than a commercial pursuit to buy family members crap they felt forced to write a list for so they in turn can also buy you crap that you felt obligated to write a list for.
Ugh- sorry, not trying to be bitter by any means, my jaw is just killing me and I can't sleep.
-LD
