The other weekend when I finished mowing the grass, I noticed that I'd ended up in a totally different place than I usually end up. Not only that, but the whole rhythm of the mow was off from my usual routine; I have a lot of trees in my yard, for example, and I noticed that I was getting to them at different points in my mow, creating different "islands" of unmowed lawn than usual.
Usually, I mow around the borders of the yard, slowly working my way in. I prefer this method because (like a Dominion game, in fact) you'll think you're nowhere close to being done but before you know it you realize that it's actually almost over. However, this particular day my neighbor was working on his fence and I didn't want to throw grass all over him, so I did two stripes up and down the far side of the yard. After that, he was done with the fence and I took up my usual mowing route, but as I explained it was totally different because of those two stripes.
When I was done, I realized that it reminded me of nothing so much as the beginning of a Dominion game: making a minor change right at the very start profoundly changed the rest of the experience. I know this is a lighthearted topic and I'm not trying to get too profound, but something I've always loved most about learning a new skill, whether it's been sleight of hand or web design or even Dominion strategy, is how learning that skill gives me another way of looking at the world. It's always fascinating how one discipline can inform and enrich other, completely unrelated, aspects of your life, and I hope I never stop learning new things and having these sorts of insights.
(In less of a "that heavy, bro" vein: I also realized the other day that Bryan Ferry was trying to teach me
a Dominion combo!)
