By Guy Chapman – Navarro County Gazette
Yes We Can
For those who know me outside of the Gazette, it’s no secret that I’m usually pretty busy. I’m often taking calls, or reading emails, or checking messages. And if I’m not talking to someone, I’m usually writing about something. I enjoy my work. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t still be doing this. But there have come a few costs that have come with it.
Again, for those who know me outside of the Gazette, know I’m a collector of experiences. I love to go out, try new things, spend time with my social circle, and sometimes *gasp* relax and take a moment to reflect on my day. For a few months, I haven’t been able to do that.
Between my news and radio work, I lead a very long day. I have home responsibilities, family responsibilities, and a lot of things I need to do that don’t always conveniently fit into the space of a weekend. Over the holidays, I got to experience the now foreign concept of “time off,” but even then, the time was spent trying to play catch up.
“You look so tired.”
It’s funny how many people say that to me these days unprompted. There’s no malice behind it, and I didn’t even realize how much I apparently carry it on my face,but they’re not wrong. Downtime is a rarity, especially with refilling the above referenced experiences. I don’t really subscribe to the whole “New year, new me” philosophy, but I have decided to better structure some of the social elements of my life.
The Missus and I went to the Perot Museum of Science and Nature this weekend. I’ve never been to the current version of the place since my leaving and coming back, but I’ve retained a bit of “Museum Nerd” in me (and even worked at a few museums in Las Vegas), and wanted something to revitalize some “big braining” in me.
The museum currently has a traveling exhibit called The Science Behind Pixar, based off the studio’s various films (Toy Story, The Incredibles, WALL-E, etc.). Considering my filmmaking background, coupled with the fact that I was a regular Disneyland visitor during my time on the West Coast, the idea sounded fun.
And it was. I love learning about film-making techniques, and find animation interesting. Anyone who has even a passing interest in Coco, Ratatouille, or Finding Nemo should find something of value here. The exhibit is definitely accessible for kids to understand, but there’s enough technical aspects for adults to really appreciate the work that goes into these films.
After the exhibit, we had the option to explore the rest of the museum. For me, the appeal of outer space and dinosaurs fascinated me as a child, and in looking at the bones and galaxies, the curiosity never really left me. The other exhibits were very well done. It’s a quality museum, and a I’d recommend it for families.
We followed it with brunch in Deep Ellum, my teenage/young adult stomping ground. I still appreciate the vibe of the place, the colorful places and music mixed with the smell of barbecue and… other things. Food was good at the Punch Bowl Social on Main Street.
The rest of the day was filled with exploring Grapevine Mills Mall and a supermarket for more “fun” foods that aren’t regularly in stock here.
Driving home, I felt better. Refreshed. As an adult, it’s easy to fall into this rut of work/home/work/home/etc. and saying “Nothing much” when being asked “What’s new.” I’ve realized it’s so easy to focus on routine that one sometimes forgets to look up and see there’s still a world past a computer screen.
Perhaps there’s not much to the moral of this story other than a reminder to take time for yourself. The world has been so outlandishly weird in the last few years, we’re mostly trying to just survive, but a mental break goes a long way, and now I can look at my own screen again and feel like there’s something to say.
It won’t be the last time I plan to shake things up this year.
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