Reflection Day

Reflection day was a few days ago. This day comes every year whether I want it to or not; and I'm not so good about going through the whole routine every year. But this year I made a point of keeping with the tradition I started over a decade ago. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about. On my birthday each year (I've skipped it a couple of times) I go up on top of the Red Hill at 2:22 pm, and get comfortable in a spot where I can see the whole town. And then I reflect on the past year of my life. I also try and figure what I want to do with the next year. Usually it's a pretty quick hike up there and back, but this year I was up there for over an hour. Must have had a lot to figure out. And figure out, I did; in fact, I even can back with a plan. Which is a really good thing because I've been a little stressed lately. I was so pleased with the outcome, that I rewarded myself to an extra special birthday dinner. Being a poor college student, I don't get to treat myself to sushi very often. But hey, it's my day right? After months of living on oatmeal, boxes of mac-n-cheese, and rice, a meal of basil spring rolls, eel, and a big piece of German chocolate was just about as good as it gets.

I don't think I'm going to keep this place anymore. I rarely post anything, and I'm a little indifferent to it lately. Were I more popular, or had more friends that used this medium to keep tabs on me, I might feel more inclined to keep it. But that is not the case. This has served mainly as a forum to vent frustrations. I'm going to have to give this some thought. Either I need to delete it altogether, or update it more than once every three months.

The Best Book I've Ever Read.

This is it without a doubt. I have a feeling that no matter how many books I read in my life, this one will always be in my top 5. Top 10 at the very least.




"I Was Told There'd Be Cake" essays by Sloane Crosley

For about the last 8 months, or more, I've been half a dozen pages away from finishing this book. I don't really have an excuse. I can't say I've been busy, because I've logged more than a few hours watching tv in that time. But I finished it last night, and I'm so glad. Not only because I got to start a new one, but because I've been pretty disgusted with myself for the lack of literary input, and all the tv watching.
When I started this book, I hadn't finished the first page before I was in love. When I read the last line, I fell in love all over again. This book is really funny. That is, if funny to you is the same thing as funny to me. If you know what irony really is, you'll like this book. If you have ever laughed at a fat guy in a cut off shirt who was "gittin it dun" then this is probably not he book for you. Mostly because, as a book, with words, it requires the ability to read. Too mean?
So go read it. In fact, I challenge you to read it without smiling.

Pleasant Surprises

"I was pleasantly surprised." A phase I hear from time to time. But I never really gave it all that much thought. Most of the surprises in life usually are not really all that pleasant.

"What does the blue + sign mean?"
"Why is there water running under the door?"
"Look mom, I cut my hair myself."
"What was that sound and why is the car slowing down?"

I've been trying to get the tub facet in the guest bathroom fixed for a couple of days. Today, after trips to 4 different stores looking for the part, I finally find it. I get my wallet out, and the guy says, "It's under warranty, no charge.", a little confused I say "Really?" My house was built like 30 years ago, and this part is probably original. He reply's "Moen guarantees for life, here you go, have a nice day."

Was today just another day...

For the past year or so, I've been on a quest to figure out who I am, and where I'm going. And I think I'm getting closer to the answer. Throughout time many people have had many ways to express this simple idea.

Seize the day!
Live every day as if it were your last and then some day you'll be right. ~H.H. "Breaker" Morant
Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think. ~Chinese proverb
Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive. ~Elbert Hubbard
Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead.
Why must conversions always come so late? Why do people always apologize to corpses? ~David Brin
There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back. ~Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister
You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it. ~Charles Buxton
You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted. ~Ruth E. Renkl
We cannot waste time. We can only waste ourselves. ~George M. Adams
If you wait, all that happens is that you get older. ~Larry McMurtry, Some Can Whistle
I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung. ~Tagore
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die the world cries and you rejoice. ~Indian Saying
Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got. ~Art Buchwald
Eat, drink, and be merry for... you get the point.
I could go on, but I think you can do the same thing I did, and Google quotes. The webernet is full of pages of them. And it's a bit lazy to let others do my writing for me. But, since I have yet to develop a profound statement of my own, I will throw out just one more borrowed one.

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. ~Mark Twain

I know it's easy to both, see the importance in these statements, and to scoff at them. I could say that to take these things too seriously, would mean not doing the things necessary to put a roof over your head, and food in your belly. It would mean indulging every whim. And that's just not realistic, so what do we do instead? We spend our days constantly working toward that goal that is always just out of reach. I for one want to find the happy medium. I'm going to try and live my life in that fuzzy gray area.

For a long time I've had this weird quirk, some of you know about. It's very common on nights when I don't have to get up early for work, school, or whatever, for me to stay up all night. Whether or not I've always been consciously aware of why I do this, I don't know. But what I've been doing all this time, is trying to stave off the new day. Because, with the new day comes the end of the old one. That day is gone from me. If it was a good day, I can no longer live in it. And if it was a bad one, there's no longer anything I can do to make it better. But the fact is, that doesn't work, and while I've been busy trying not to miss out on life, life has been passing me by.

So, this is the question I now ask myself.

Was today just another day, or was it the best day of your life?

Plans

I had all sorts of big plans to blog a ton while I was up here. Instead I've been slacking off even more than usual. Plus I'm dealing with internet restrictions, so I can't upload photos. This leaves me with a few options. I can attempt to improve my writing skills, and not depend on pictures to to speak for me. Or I could save up and then try and post a whole bunch all at once when I get back to America. But most likely I end up going with option 3, where I'll be too lazy, or uninterested to keep up with it. And I'll just do 1 or 2 blogs summing up my trip.

I'm going camping tomorrow on a lake up the coast. It's in a system that has salmon in it, and the Sockeye are starting to run. I'm anticipating plenty of photo opportunities.

As it turns out, I can't even post. So I guess it'll have to wait until I'm back In America.

hummm...

Well, I really don't have anything to say. But I feel like I should, since I have the night off, and I haven't posted anything in 2 weeks. Not that, that's an unusual span between my posts, but I'm trying to post more. I'm usually a fan of quality over quantity, however my blog lacks both. So if I have to choose, I guess I have no choice other than quantity. My hope is that at some point the balance will tip. But for now, come on, lets face it, most of my posts are either a rant, or a bunch of pictures of my latest solitary adventure. So for now, I will say nothing.

More to come.

Now Taking Applications.

Do you know the kind of people who always talk about making plans, but when it comes to actually making plans, there's little to no follow through? I seem to have surrounded myself with this personality type. I'll give you an example. I love camping and hiking, and it's always more fun to go with people. More than a few times this topic has come up in conversation, and it's always met the same way. "Oh, we love to do that, we should totally do that." That's almost word for word what I hear every time. And I fall for it every time. I always feel this little glimmer of hope that, even though I heard it from the same people before, this time they mean it. I've finally found companions to share in outdoor adventures with. But that's as far as it ever goes. Whenever I attempt to make any actual plans to engage in said activities, I quickly discover there's nothing to be had, other than disappointment. Sometimes, my suggestion is completely dismissed with zero consideration. But more often than not, (and this is the one that really bugs me) the response is, "Yeah, that sounds like fun. We'll have to talk about it." And then nothing more is said about it until I bring it up again a day or two later. And then the response is...(insert lame excuse here) And yes, the excuses are all lame, at this point in the conversation they can be nothing but lame. Even if the excuse sounds like a valid one, it's validity is negated by the fact that it wasn't expressed in the very beginning. Aside from the obvious of course, "I broke my back yesterday trying to prevent a crime from being committed."
So, I guess my message here is, if you don't want to do something I suggest, or if you have no intention of following through, just say that to begin with. I'm pretty sure that anyone who knows me well, has at one time or another invited me to do something, and my reply was along the lines of, "Wow, that really doesn't sound like any fun to me." Now I'm not saying that you have to be that abrasive about it. Just be straight forward, because otherwise you're just wasting my time and energy.
Children seem to be the biggest excuse. As most of the people I know have started having kids, I've noticed that along with the kids comes this strange idea that most activities are out of bounds. These people seem to think that they can't do anything outside of their own house.
Personally, I find sitting around the house all weekend watching tv boring as hell. Maybe some people don't. But I'm not going to wait around for them anymore. The older I get, the more I realize that life is a gift, and once it's gone there's no getting it back. And when this life is at an end, I'm not going to be someone who looks back on my life and says, "Well, I never walked in the sacred forest in Japan, or tryed to count the stars, but I did log a ton of hours playing xbox."

Ok, I think I've ranted enough. I guess the point is, I'm sick of being surrounded by people who never want to acually DO anything. Or maybe I've got it all wrong, and they just don't want to do anything with me. And if that's the case, that's fine. Either way, I'm done. I'm done waiting for people to run out of excuses. I'm done wasting my time and effort on poeple who aren't willing to waste a little of their's on me.

Just to clear up any confusion. The adorable youngster in the short shorts holding school supplies a couple of posts back, is in fact me. Yes, at one time I was cute enough to kidnap. I can't tell you what happened. Well, actually I could, but it involves a bit more gluttony than I care to admit to.

I'm just saying....

So the day after I buy my iPhone, my stock in Apple jumps up 6.6%. Coincidence? Well, I have no choice but to believe that my actions are directly affecting the economy. So everyone should follow my lead, and go buy an iPhone, iPod, or any one of Apple's amazing Mac computers. We'll be out of this economic slump in no time.

What Can I Say?

I held out as long as I could.

Message to Me.

So now I’m done with my second week of school, and it’s been a little overwhelming. But I’m hoping that’s over now. I’ve been out for 10 years, and settling into this new groove is going to take a little getting used to. One of the few reoccurring dreams that I remember, is being back in high school, but I can’t remember my locker combination or where any of my classes are. Anyone else ever have that one?

Going back to college as an adult kind of sucks. In some ways it’s nice, because I’m older, and now I know who I am, and what I want to do with my life. But in other ways I’m very much, out of my comfort zone. Between getting all of my classes lined out, and my books and supplies, the whole thing has been a little bewildering. And yet, the feeling is some how familiar at the same time.




















Oh, young Ian, there’s just so much, I need to warn you about. And yet, tragically, I can not… But if I could, I guess I’d say.

Don’t wear a tie. Ever.
Don’t spend any time on crushes on popular girls who don’t know your name. Those girls aren’t any fun anyway.
Take Japanese in high school. You’ll understand later.
Invest every penny you earn in Apple stock, but sell it all in August of 2008.
Don’t let mom home school you. Run away and join a cult if you have to, just as long as they offer some kind of communal education.
Don’t slack off on your guitar lessons. It’s just that much harder to pick back up latter. Plus, girls dig guys who can play the guitar.
Go to the library and find a book that teaches you how to pick up on hints from girls. Because otherwise you’re going to miss out on a lot of opportunities buddy.
No matter how many people wear them. No matter how popular they seem to be. Braided leather belts are not cool.
Chuck Taylor Converse All Star’s “Chuck’s” on the other hand, seem to remain cool forever.
You’re probably going to be the first person to come up with the idea to combine a MP3 player and a cell phone. But you won’t be in a position to do anything about it, and a few years later Apple is going to make a billion dollars doing it.
Don’t waist one single second with people who don’t think you’re fine just the way you are. Don’t change to be what anyone else wants you to be. Be who you are.
Don’t let life get you down, because it’ll pass you by before you know it. So enjoy it, and don’t be afraid to give into spontaneity.
When you’re in high school, date the girl next door, or down the street in this case.
When you’re in college, date that same girl. Anyone who’s willing to come get your grumpy ass out of bed early in the morning to go to the fitness center is a keeper.
Just one last thing little guy, study hard in school, especially math. And stay in college, because if you drop out, and don’t go back until you’re in your thirties, I’m going to kick you ass.

The Weekend

I know what the weekend is again. No school, no work, it's fantastic! I got up this morning and made buckwheat pancakes, and ate them at an actual kitchen table. Then I had my coffee and read this months NRA magazine. And all that was before 9AM on Friday. Weekends kick ass...

Done

There's something in my kitchen....
It's big, and kind of square, and made out of metal.
It has a door in the front, and 4 metal coils on top.
I can put pots and pans on the metal coils and they get hot.
And then I can put food in the pots and pans, and the food will cook.
It's amazing!

I just had the best bowl of oatmeal I've ever eaten.
I'm going to save a fortune, I've been spending an unacceptable amount of money on food lately. And all the eating out has been bad for my waistline as well. I think I've put back on a lot of the weight I lost over the summer.

Not much to say.

I went for another drive in the desert today. I came across this tree all alone, not another in sight, and I took some pictures. I'm not going to say any more than that because I'm tired. So I going to kick back with Doctor Who, and fall asleep.

P.S.

I guess I didn't give any explanation to the pictures I posted yesterday. I was bored and wanted to get out of the house. And I've been wanting to break in my new, old truck, so yesterday (well technically day before yesterday since it's 1AM) afternoon I drove out to Ft. Pierce to take some pictures. It's really not all that far out, and it was nice to get out of the house. I took the long way home, and looped around through Hurricane. Then I ordered some dinner. Pirate themed pizza places might be fun for the kid, and I must admit that the waitresses looked cute in the costumes, but pirates make crappy pizza.

Facebook is lame!

I just spent half an hour trying to upload 4 pictures on to facebook with no luck. Facebook is a little bitch. So to HELL with it, I'll just put my pics up here. No one will see them of course, because I don't think anyone really reads this.

What a freak!

Okay, so I'm in this tiny little shop on Main Street that sells jewelry and some antiques. And I'm just kind of looking around, and the owner is talking to this girl who is wearing the strangest outfit I've seen in quite a while, including what looks like a military cap of some kind. And she says to the owner, "I have a necklace made out of my baby teeth, would that be worth anything?"