525,600 Minutes

I have a friend who teaches Show Choir and helps with the school musicals and is big into musical theater.  Based on her recommendation, I just recently watched the film version of the musical "Rent."  On the whole, "Rent" is (and I know that die-hard fans would stone me for saying this) not that great.  It's okay.  But I much prefer oldies like "Man of La Mancha" and "Pippin."  To me, the story has to be significant.  Even if "Rent" had more of a plot than "disenfranchised bohemians deal with drugs, AIDS and...life" the music isn't exceptional.  Some songs are quite good, but others leave me cold.

HOWEVER (and it is a big however), I absolutely love the show opener, "Seasons of Love."  If I listen to it there is a strong chance it will get stuck in my head and I'll sing it over and over for days.  Great tune.  Great message.  Perhaps what I like most is its question, "How do you measure a year?"

I've written elsewhere about my frequent annual meditations: New Years (obviously), my birthday, the end of summer/start of a school year.  Well, with this song running through my head I keep thinking about how I would measure this last year.  One of my most often-repeated mental exercises these days is to think back on what I would have been doing this time last year.  This was especially true when I was contemplated being married vs. being alone.  But enough time has passed that I am now comparing the early days of being alone to what it is like now.  The big difference at this point is my workout regimen.  Unlike last year, I am not working out at all and eating as rarely and as lightly as I can.  For fun I thought I would do some general numbers to "measure the year."
Time spent eating: 65,700 minutes (6 meals a day, 30 minutes per meal)
Time spent lifting: 21,900 minutes (an average of 60 minutes per day)
Do you want to hear a really depressing figure?
Time spent painting: 6,000 minutes (just 10 hours)

So I'm reevaluating my goals.  I'm looking at how I'll spend and measure the next year.  One big (anticipated) highlight will be the Maine trip.  In one year I will have visited two places (Europe and Maine) that I've wanted to see for a long time.  Also, I'd love to have more "cups of coffee" with friends, see more "sunsets" and meditate on God's creation, savor both the laughter and the strife, and enjoy everything that God brings into my life.