Month: October 2020

Time Travel

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of time travel. Going forward in time. Going backward in time. Meeting our heroes. Visiting with loved ones we miss. But the question arises. Even if we could, should we? Should we put ourselves into a situation where we could vastly alter our past or even our future?

While it isn’t certain whether or not we can travel through time, we have several reasons not to. We have countless movies that show us what could go wrong. Back to the Future shows us what could go wrong if those from the future return to visit themselves in the past. Timeless is a good example of how changing the past can affect the future. It still stands as one of my favorite TV shows, but when you mess with time, time messes back.

The music video for “Another World” by Gojira gives us a chilling look into what the future could hold. This is, of course, assuming we don’t change our current ways. And while we may not be thinking hundreds of years ahead, we need to. Because without today, tomorrow doesn’t exist.

However, there is a very basic way we can travel through time. It comes in the form of music. There are songs that takes us back to a certain time and place when we hear them. They remind us of people, places, events, vacations, the list goes on. And while we can’t exactly travel back to that time, for a few minutes, we do return to that time and we get a chance to relive it. Maybe even a little different than before.

My brain has a tendency to wander. I’m constantly thinking about new projects without finishing old ones. I have so many stories I want to write. So many comics I need to finish. Short films to write and film. The list goes on and on. But one of the things I haven’t gotten to yet is a story about time travel. I’ve always wanted to do one and I plan on doing it one day.

I did try writing a story in which the main character was following the clues left behind from Bonnie and Clyde in order to find a treasure. I never finished the story. And the middle got stale and boring. I’m not even sure I still have it. But in the original idea, the main character was going to travel back in time. When I couldn’t figure out how to make that happen, I scrapped the time travel aspect. But that’s a story for another post.

While time travel would be cool, I think it’s wise to not travel through time. Even if we could, I’d never go to the future. To see how things turn out would destroy our idea of the present. But to go back in time, that’s something I’ve often thought about. Seeing historical figures of the past. Hanging out with all these famous people before they were famous. As a history geek that idea excites me. As a rational human, I’d be concerned about getting stuck in the past. And while we can’t exactly travel through time yet, the idea excites me and scares me at the same time.

A New Beginning

October 2020. 8 months after the beginning of the pandemic. Life is not what it once was. We live in a world of uncertainty. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We don’t know if this pandemic will ever end. And yet, we keep moving on. We keep fighting. We have hope that one day, life will return to normal. Is that even possible at this point? Can we go back to normal? Who knows.

This pandemic has exposed many of the flaws in our society. From health care issues to how the ultra rich can be comfortable while the rest of us struggle. It has showed us how divided we are. How entitled some of us are. How we believe wearing a mask is losing our rights when it’s really there to keep everyone safe and healthy.

The unknown scares us. We could have this pandemic another 2 months or another 2 years. But one thing is for sure, the pandemic has caused us to confront issues we didn’t before and as a result, things are slowly changing.

I have made some changes in my life as well. Partially because of the pandemic, partially because it was time. I’ve spent a majority of my life playing it safe. Not taking a risk for fear of failure or rejection. 2020 was the first year where I said, “Screw it! Let’s see what happens!”

It started when I changed my job in February. I left my current job of 4 years after they didn’t want to negotiate a pay raise. I had just worked 14 days in a row and felt I wasn’t being compensated fairly after a co-worker quit. They didn’t want to entertain the idea of a negotiation. So I left. I went somewhere closer to home that was going to pay me more and work me less than 14 days in a row. As it turns out, that was one of the smartest things I did.

Come March the pandemic hit and everything was shut down. I was at home from March-May and I got paid by my new job for the hours I would have worked. This came as a shock to me. I was only a part time employee and I had only been there a month. I’m grateful that they did pay me during lockdown. And it just shows that sometimes when you take a leap of faith it all works out for the better.

I went back to work in June and it’s been a bit of a struggle. Not for me personally, but for work. There are additional rules and regulations in place. Masks are required at all times. We have to constantly clean things. It isn’t anything overly complicated, but it is extra work. While I don’t expect to be compensated for it, I wouldn’t take this opportunity for granted. It has proven to be a wise decision to come here. And in time, I know things will work out in my favor. We are in a unique time. An era none of us have experienced. And I’m sure once this is over, the reward for sticking it out will be waiting. I just have to take that leap of faith once more.