Things I started
Nov. 16th, 2025 04:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rizhi_finThere are plenty of things that I have started in my life. Most of them are either un-finished, or cannot-be-finished, or should-not-be-finished, or good-lord-it's over-finished.
Not to bother into my dark distant past, recently (last 6-7 years) I started: learning Turkish, Chinese, Python, boxing, machine learning, data analytics, picked up bird watching, and went with kids to shelter dog walking.
And while I was listing here these activities, it occurred to me that reasons for starting them are ordinary and rational. But they all have the same reason for stopping: at some point they become achievable, if not easy. Why, why should I not continue learning Chinese if I found an awesome book that make is it easy to pick up grammar and some common vocabulary?
Since I was in high school, I have dreamt to have a fishing trip like Across the river and into the trees and catching trout. Since then, I fished a lot and never caught trout. Until I was 41. Then I did and I stopped fishing all together. Why, oh why?
One thing I am particularly not good at is math. 12 years ago, I started solving all problems in Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis and right now I am on Chapter 5. It is hard and hopeless. Hence, I am not giving up.
Not to bother into my dark distant past, recently (last 6-7 years) I started: learning Turkish, Chinese, Python, boxing, machine learning, data analytics, picked up bird watching, and went with kids to shelter dog walking.
And while I was listing here these activities, it occurred to me that reasons for starting them are ordinary and rational. But they all have the same reason for stopping: at some point they become achievable, if not easy. Why, why should I not continue learning Chinese if I found an awesome book that make is it easy to pick up grammar and some common vocabulary?
Since I was in high school, I have dreamt to have a fishing trip like Across the river and into the trees and catching trout. Since then, I fished a lot and never caught trout. Until I was 41. Then I did and I stopped fishing all together. Why, oh why?
One thing I am particularly not good at is math. 12 years ago, I started solving all problems in Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis and right now I am on Chapter 5. It is hard and hopeless. Hence, I am not giving up.
