Bernard Walter

Tag: Quick Thoughts

  • January 3, 2025

    Three houses ago, my dad bought me a TV because the one I had was too small for him. Today, we replaced it. The right side stopped lighting up, slowly spreading the darkness across the rest of the screen.

    I know that I watch too much TV. I should be staring at the 6-inch screen of my Kobo instead of the 55-inches of the TV. This isn’t about the size, it’s about the quality.

    During the course of this Winter Break, one very important thing happened: I relaxed a fair bit. Even though I was busying myself with things, I was relaxed. I slept better than I have done in a long time. My mind was able to percolate and spill ideas out. It was nice to get an idea and then pull the thread.

    My dad’s had a greater influence on me than just enjoying TV. He was always tinkering when I was a kid. We moved house and he just stopped, much like our old TV. He didn’t ever seem to find a replacement, I don’t think.

  • April 23, 2024

    I was thinking about mastery of a craft today after watching a YouTube video of Japanese craftsmen making, what looked to be, game boards. Their commitment to craft was intentional and apparent. With tireless patience, they reproduced that same product repeatedly.

    A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes is better than a master of one.

    There is a beauty that is lost is the generalization of skills. We value productivity higher than the product. We have confused the value of more. We want what we have to do many things instead of doing one necessary thing well. We treat people the same way.

    We would do well to sharpen our focus, to narrow our perspective, looking at what the true purpose of our actions are. In so many ways, we’ve complicated simplicity.

  • April 17, 2024

    The world must’ve heard me complaining yesterday because I got two rather nice compliments today.

    One happened during lunch when a student said that the library wouldn’t run without me and that she hopes I’m the librarian again next year. It’s nice to hear that, especially when you feel as though you’re not doing your job as well as you could be. It’s a nice, soft kick in the ass to do better.

    The second was when I man I met in the sauna at the gym told me that I have a very warm smile. Turns out he’s a former principal and now works as a psychotherapist. We had a good conversation around the book he’s writing. It was a pleasant compliment, even if the circumstances were a bit unusual. It’s been quite some time since anyone has complimented my smile.

    I had to pay it forward so I bought the concierge a Snapple on my way home.

  • April 9, 2024

    I’m finding myself growing increasingly impatient, wanting things to get done, to make progress. I got angry with one of my classes today because only one person completed the homework. I find myself standing in the middle of the library just turning circles in the same spot, trying to figure out how things got so disorganised in the last hour. At home, I’m edgy about getting to my computer to work on a new tea light lantern, taking pictures of products, reading material about business, or wanting to go to the shop. At the shop, I stay later than I should because I want whatever I’m working on to get done. My YouTube channel feels stagnant and I don’t know what to do about it. I even worry about these blog posts and the quality of them.

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  • April 4, 2024

    I realised something this morning that put me on my back foot a little. At once, there was relief in the acknowledgement and an unsettling in the realisation.

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  • March 31, 2024

    Nearing the end of each month, I look ahead to the next month as an opportunity to start the things I wanted to have started already. At some point, I just have to accept that starting at any time, the 15th, 22nd, 31st, or 7th, is the right time to start. I attach an importance to dates that I needn’t do.

    My plan for next month is to stop waiting for another month to arrive before starting on the things I want to do. Tomorrow is April 1st. No joke.

  • March 19, 2024

    For the first time ever, I forgot to do my hair this morning. If I don’t have to go to work, I’ll wear a hat. I prefer wearing a hat. The pomade makes my hair sticky.

    This feels like part of something larger. I’ve been more forgetful lately, more irritable, and information has been harder to process. Something’s missing or up or sideways. I wish I knew what it was.

    This feeling, like my brain is malfunctioning, is bothering me.

  • March 16, 2024

    I made a cross cut sled for my table saw. I had a good reason for making it when I set out to. Now, I can’t remember what I was wanting it for.

  • March 14, 2024

    Hannah joined me at the shop today so that we could cut some wood for a couple of shelves that she wants to put up in the apartment.

    While there, she commented that the shop was my head unfurled. She said it differently but that’s what she meant. An interesting comment, a clever insight. It is where I go to lay out the ideas in my head and see if I can’t put them together and turn them into something.

    She sanded the boards and then put some wipe-on poly on them. The shelves should be ready in a couple of days.

  • March 13, 2024

    I wish that more days could be like yesterday and today, spending my time working for myself and seeing some progress.

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  • March 10, 2024

    The fatigue hit me today, just as I expected.

  • March 2, 2024

    It’s getting a bit tough to come up with ideas for things to write about. I did manage to get to the shop today, but only for a couple of hours. I’m planning to go again tomorrow. I’m hoping to have something more interesting to write about by then.