NYE friend visit, late

I'm on my way back home from Seattle, where heisenbug and I met up with his traditional New Year's Eve friends a little bit late. It wasn't as relaxed as usual, because Zillian wasn't in its holiday lull. It was still good to meet a newly attached girlfriend though (she's a yes; we will adopt her), who is, incidentally, now the youngest of the bunch at 36. I finished reading Station Eleven, which was quite lovely in the end, and Search Inside Yourself, and played a lot of Contre Jour, and came away with a strong intention to read Waking Up by Sam Harris. It's about atheism, meditation and ego / sense of self / identity stuff, and thus kind of in the sweet spot of what I'm studying right now.

I talked with TR, who I mostly quite like and respect, about early retirement options and future career plans and identity. He doesn't see himself retiring early, in part because then he'd feel driven to do something else and also because he identifies pretty strongly as a Zillianaire these days (after 7.5ish years). I think the latter is likely a mistake, and the former is the symptom of some kind of oddly American disease. Then again, I'm not in a good place to judge; I've been feeling awfully overwhelmed by life lately. TR's appreciation of Zillian as "something he can really engage with" is understandable; such things are good. It's just that my life overflows with too much of a good thing in almost every area. I want... less... right now.

I can feel the plane descending. Gonna pet me some kitty heads, soon, soon.