When I was a youngster there was a game show on TV called "Beat the Clock". I know it has undergone various rebirths, so many may be familiar with it. The crux of the game was a contestant is given a stunt or task to perform within a certain period of time. This could be as simple as moving spoonfuls of sugar across the room and into a container until such time as the container's weight triggered a mechanism that released a balloon. Sometimes the stunts were very simple and sometimes they were crazy. But the star of the show was always the clock. It was huge, ominous and always in your face. If I asked you to do most of the stunts from the show, you'd have no issue. But once you put in that time limit, something happens inside and fine motor skills seem to diminish. The most fun was when the contestant was close to their goal but then noticed their allotment of time was dwindling. The studio audience, of course, was whipped into a frenzy and would scream louder and louder as the time limit was approaching. When those moments came, many contestants would be so distracted by the short amount of time remaining that whatever motor-skills they possessed were quickly diminished and failing. In the end, the buzzer would sound, telling them their time and their hope was now gone.
From our earliest days we are nurtured to make some sort of peace with time. From the moment we draw our first breath we know that, somewhere, a clock starts. And when you think about it, 10 years, 75 years or 120 years are all just drops in the bucket in the face of the cosmos. Still, time is precious and if we learn anything about time it is that we shouldn't squander it. Time is massively affected by perception. We can spend a weekend with friends and wonder where the time went. We can spend an hour in a sales meeting and wonder if we'll ever get out alive. Many people live in such a way that they are wishing their lives away. Everything they hope for is always in some distant time. "Once I graduate..." "When I get that job..." "After I get a promotion..." "After we are married..." "Once the kids grow up..." Etc. This is a way of avoiding the now, which makes our lives dribble away at a faster rate. No, I am not saying that planning for the future is foolish, but I am saying that living in the future means you are missing the present.
When it comes to the segmenting of our time, modern society likes to break our allotment into nice... well, "bite size" pieces. We have breakfast, lunch and dinner times. They are all spaced out nicely to facilitate our feeding and not interfere with TV shows. We also change our diet based on our time on earth. Infants don't eat what toddlers eat. Toddlers don't eat what adolescents eat. Adults get to eat things children don't eat. Elderly people eat differently than when they were younger. Time and food seem to be inextricably bound. Most has an expiration date. Some foods are even eaten a certain times (like breakfast cereal). You will often notice that people who rarely look at a clock will start to care about time when food is in the offering. "How long until dinner?" "What time does the restaurant open?" "How long do I have to cook this?"
In the early part of my Reboot, I felt like I had to consume something every five minutes. I'd look up at the clock and a good three hours would have passed. Time for another smoothie. Ugh! I then let the number of smoothies decrease a bit toward the end as it was becoming a nuisance. Now that I am back on solid food, albeit raw and vegan only for the second half of my Reboot, I feel like I am not eating enough. Now, I've not limited myself in any way other than raw and vegan for the remainder of the Reboot. That means I can eat 24/7 if I'd like. But the realities of life and work and genetics compel me to at least try to be reasonable. The first 30 days were easy. These last 30 are proving to be a pain in the ass. Now, I understand that the prep time for my meals is negligible and clean-up time is the same. I am saving an enormous amount of time by eating this way. Even so, I think I am committing that most abominable of sins: not being here now. My mind keeps wandering off to September 8th when my Reboot will be over. It isn't even that I want it to be over, really. It is just that life will seem to be easier. That isn't true, but for whatever reason that is how my brain is working.
So, in all, things are going very well so I don't even know why I am bringing this up. Maybe that is the problem? Maybe when things go too well you are always looking over your shoulder, or at the clock? I guess I just need to let things settle into their own groove. Once the Reboot is over, I'll be in a place where there is no clock to examine. It will all be open-ended. How will I react to no time limit? And, by Rebooting, am I attempting to beat another sort of clock from another sort of old TV show? The sands flowing through the hourglass of the days of my life? Sadly, I won't be able to deal with that question now as I am out of time. Thanks for playing our game.
Readers of "Frank Black Reboots" receive the home edition of "Beat the Clock"
(Subject to availability and mood of Frank Black. Void where prohibited or in oxygen/nitrogen atmospheres. Never drive immediately after reading "Frank Black Reboots" or operate heavy machinery. Always flush several times after depositing dead spiders in the toilet. Staring directly into "Frank Black Reboots" may cause blindness. Dilute, dilute, dilute!")
Progress:
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| I am 60% through the 60 days. |
Weight: 148.5 lbs.
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| Up a bit more. I hope to peak soon. |
Food: Cherries, grapes, nuts, banana, almond butter, salad and broccoli slaw
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