First, in response to a common question – this post took a long time. This means something different than when I talk about how the extended process of my reading reviews also takes a long time (it can be over a year after I identify the book before I publish the post). What I mean by a long time is that this post required a condensed effort over a few days in early July. My guess is that my first draft got about 80% of the way, then I followed up with some long editing and proofreading sessions. It was a little unusual for me to focus on one piece for so long over such a short period but the result was well worth it. My experience with this post reinforces my belief that big chunks of uninterrupted time are only way to consistently produce high-quality work.
In terms of the post itself, I thought I weaved in almost all of the Big Ideas I considered at one point or another. The only one I had to cut was based on an online I review I read about Sapporo Ramen that justified its low rating for, among other things, having a 'Mexican' behind the counter. I had (and have) a lot to say about a review like that but I don't think I’m going to get around to a full post about it so I’ll distill my reaction into a quick remark – it doesn’t matter who cooks the food. If you don’t agree with that, you probably won’t agree with what I post here on TOA, and I kindly suggest you divert your reading energies.
Finally, I had to wonder after this post went up – did I peak? I’m fascinated by the possibility. It’s simply a mathematical fact that in any measurable pursuit there will be a lifetime best accomplishment. What do you when you’ve climbed higher than ever before? I imagine this is always a challenging moment regardless of the specific circumstances. I suppose one line of thinking suggests finding a new summit. There’s a certain logic to that and perhaps being at the peak means having the best view of the surrounding possibilities. But such a line of thought forgets that our best work was probably at one time beyond our horizons and therefore completely out of sight. It's probably not really a question of the next effort but simply waiting until I understand where to go next. In the meantime, I'll keep in mind that the way down from the peak is probably not much different than the way up – one foot goes in front of the other, over and over, with the only guide along the path a commitment to giving every journey my best effort.
