sudofox's journal

Austin Burk's journal, where I share little snippets of my writing, code, and dreams.

Let's end the old normal.

This entry is for July 26th, 2021.

Loss, and a better normal

It's the first day following ERC, and...there's a feeling of loss that I'm all too familiar with. Campmeeting is a community unlike any other. Love for your neighbor is on full display throughout. People are observant and show that they care, even if you're a stranger. It's a taste of what it's like to live with the love of Christ as a guiding hand.

This year, the loss is a little less intense. I feel inspired and motivated to write about my faith.

What is normality? In most cases, I'd say that the ideal normal is stability and consistency. Many people strive for it, but I think it's time to end striving for that and to understand that personal growth and the outreach of self-giving love is a much better way to live. It may not be stable, and it's certainly not going to be consistent, but I feel like at the end of the day, it will lead to something much better than normal: the profound sense of peace brought upon us by the Holy Spirit guiding us.

Work

I returned to work and got caught up on what I missed on Thursday and Friday.

Sudo Haiku

I've been feeling a bit stressed about maintaining Sudo Haiku. I have an innate sense of responsibility to provide constant improvement, but being very active in many other things means that I shift contexts frequently and sometimes it's hard to switch back. I worked nonstop on Sudo Haiku for several months, and on and off for about two years prior to that, so it may take a small bit of time to get back into it. I've said before that I'm committed to maintaining and improving it, of course, but let's just call this a bit of a break.

Lawn

I don't think I'm getting Vinnie back. I miss him lots. I'm going to keep putting up the MISSING sign in my front yard (it keeps disappearing for some reason?) but I do have to maintain my house and yard still. I mowed with an old gas-powered mower today that was choking on the grass a bit. It was only a little satisfying.