Yeah, it’s that time again. Holiday time? No, Hurricane Season! You know, the time of year where the local weather media goes nuts talking about every rainstorm as if it could be the next “Big One.” You know, there’s only so many times I can hear that on TV and get concerned. I mean, we lived in N.O. before and after Katrina (we were smart enough to get out during the storm). We saw what happened, we know the consequences. There are some things in life that you just have to accept a certain level of risk for. In fact, when you know God is in control of everything, you pretty much don’t have a say in the matter, anyway.
Still, in my life, it’s time to minimize. No, not getting rid of old clothes, I’m talking about my life. “But you’re not that busy,” you say. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m too busy to do the things I really want to do, long-term. I’m not too busy to play a game every now and then, and I’m not too busy to have fun with the family.
So I’m going to cut down on the amount of time I spend doing nothing. What am I going to fill it with? I need to find activities that will help me become a better person… not just a better video game player, or bulletin board poster. Something with eternal value.
This will be an interesting adventure, and by no means do I know how it will turn out… but anything worth having is worth sacrificing for.
Well, I am all about blogging, but just like every other blogger, I’ve found it hard to write about stuff after the first few weeks. Have you ever started something and were unable to finish it? For me, that’s been about every single thing I’ve ever (almost) done.
Recently our kids lost out digital camera. I used it to document everything I do, from auto racing, to computer modding, to goofing off with the kids. Without it, it’s like I’m living life, but without proof. If I rebuild my bathroom countertop, people say “Where’s the photos of it?” and I can’t produce any.
So I bought a new camera. I’m feeling better already, and I’m going to be retro-documenting everything that’s happened in the last few weeks. Keep looking!
I was digging through my regular internet forums lately, and realized just how much the internet has removed physical boundries. I watch dance troupes from Korea. Talk to computer modders from Israel, the UK, Australia, and more. Share car information with people in South America. Talk about music to people all over the world.
Some of these friends I’d call “acquaintances” because I’ve never actually met them in person. Some of them I’ve only met once, but I talk to on a weekly basis, and I know more about their lives than I know about my own extended family. Why is that?
It’s because we share some sort of passion. And life is all about passion. What makes you passionate? What are you willing to sacrifice for? What do people say you eat, sleep, and breathe for? Who are you most readily associated with? What about people that don’t know you personally? What part of you do they see first?
Find your passions. Pursue them. Chase them. Don’t be afraid to dream about them. They define who you are.
Ain’t what they used to be. I even tried to play mine down this year, because every year my parents and kids go nuts trying to do something crazy for me. I like the attention, but man, they didn’t let me get away with jack. So now I’m 34. I’m working on a holiday, it’s my birthday, and I’ve got a cold.
Life is awesome. Prayers go out to all the people in China who have lost loved ones. If we hadn’t gotten prior warning about Katrina, we’d have been in the same boat. If you want to help, go visit the American Red Cross and see what you can do.
Now that the temperatures are creeping closer to triple-digits, it makes me wonder why I ever thought black cars were cool. I mean, they’re hard to keep clean, they show swirl marks and scratches easily, and they’re HOT when you leave them in the sun!
But you rarely see cars in black anymore. Some sports cars, but nobody sells minivans in black. Very few 4-door sedans come in “stealth” black. It’s kinda ironic, when you remember that the very first mass-produced auto in history “came in any color you wanted, as long as it was black.”
Tint would help, but I don’t like the C.I.A. look, and I definitely ain’t okay with calling a car “murdered out.” It might be okay, though, since nobody could see who’s inside. They couldn’t see the kid’s car seats, couldn’t see the napkins and toys left there by my kids, and couldn’t see that I’m not a 16 year old, and I don’t really want to street race your Honda.
I sold my old car. Yeah, it’s just a clunker, but it was my clunker, and it served me well over the last ten years. It even survived Hurricane Katrina! I’m going to miss it. It was my very first “new” car, and it’s now got over 205,000 miles on it.
The good news is, I’m going to use the (very little) money I got from it to get some cool stuff. I might even buy a drill press! Goodness, it’s not like I couldn’t use one of those… it would improve my computer modding 100% instead of eyeballing measurements and praying that the drill bits don’t wander, and ruin a project…
Anyway, change is good. Sometimes we have to put aside things that we like, to accomplish things that we love.
