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.