Are You Being You?

   Silly question.  Or is it?  I've seen a lot of people who spend a lot of time and effort being not themselves.  They hide behind a façade of who they want others to believe them to be.  They buy into the latest fads and fashions because somebody tells them that by doing so, their lives will be better, or more glamorous, or more popular, or the envy of their neighbors, etc.
   I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to do.  Indeed, sometimes it is necessary to put up such a façade in order to achieve something really important.  From personal experience, when I was in college I would often wear some of my nicest clothes when going into take an exam.  Even though I was prepared for the test, wearing something nice helped me feel more confident.  And confidence paid off.  Especially when I had some professors who would throw some unexpected zingers into an exam.  Instead of panicking, I would remain calm and figure out just what it is the prof was looking for.
  Do I dress nicely all the time?  No.  I mean, I'm not a total slob.  But I am generally a laid-back kind of guy, and I feel most comfortable dressing in a laid-back manner.  If every day I tried to dress like I stepped out of the pages of GQ, I'd probably go nuts.  At the very least, I'd probably be so ridden with anxiety, my stress level would be off the charts.
   I prefer to be me.  Occasionally a sharp dresser, but more often a casual guy with unsophisticated tastes.  And in the long run, I think I'm a better me. 
   Am I the best me that I can be?  I'm still working on that.
   How about you?

Back to Normal, I Hope

   I was feeling pretty good Monday, and I hope that I feel as good or better today.  And I hope that everyone has an awesome day.  I used to think that for every person having a great day, there would be another person having a rotten day.
   I came to accept that life isn't fair and doesn't operate by such simplistic rules.  There is no reason for there to be equal amounts of good/bad, happy/sad, fortunate/unfortunate events.  None at all.
   I say that everyone should have good, happy, wonderful days.  And I believe that this is possible because we have free will and can choose to have the awesomeness that abounds.
   Are you with me on this?  Let's all start a streak of spectacularness and discover what miraculous possibilities we can bring about!

Memorial Day Monday

   Got any big plans for today?  I remember as a kid that the Memorial Day Weekend was when we usually go the ol' grill out, scrubbed off the previous year's crud, added charcoal and had our first cookout of the summer. 
   I imagine a lot of people will be doing the same.  It seems that gas grills are more popular now, and they make for the possibility of grilling out a year-round thing.  But for me, I prefer grilling out in the late spring/summer seasons.
   It might be a bit too windy for my tastes this year.  My gas grill bit the dust, and I'm not too sure about live coals  being blown about.
   I think, however, I will take it easy.  When it comes right down to it, Memorial Day is meant to be a day of reflection.  To remember those who fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy.  Having never been in the military, I am in awe of those who fought on foreign soil, in countries with completely different languages and cultures and customs, and to do it knowing that they may not return home alive.  Many didn't. 
   Wow.  My deepest thanks to all who fought for us and sacrificed so much.

What Kind of Bicycle Would You Ride on the Moon?

   I woke up in the middle of the night and asked myself this question. 
   Silly question?  Perhaps.  Upon waking, my thoughts are often free from the restraints of logic.  Usually, I pay little attention to these little bits of fluff.
   But this time, I kept wondering.  And if I were to go to the moon, what would I ride?  Bicycles are lightweight and relatively low-maintenance.  So far in my life, I can firmly say that I am not mechanically inclined.  However, I can manage routine maintenance on a bike. 
   A bicycle might be a good choice for the moon.  Sure, it would have to be modified somewhat, but it would most likely be fairly light in weight (to reduce the payload and save on transportation), and would, by its very nature, be fairly easy to fix.
   To extend this line of thinking about getting around on the moon, I began to think of other ways APT (Astronaut Powered Transportation) could be achieved.  Foot power (think Flintstones), different ways of pedaling (something like an elliptical trainer hooked to a drive train?).  And these modes of motion could be used to store up a charge in a battery which could be used for other purposes.
   These ideas I find intriguing.  I would love to work for a think tank that could take these further and see if they would be feasible.  I'd like to believe that these and other ideas have been tested.  Unfortunately, most of what gets reported seems to be money-centric.  Even the news that bleeds refers to gains and losses, the costs of war, the price we pay for freedom, etc.
   Oh well.  That won't stop me from dreaming.  And asking random questions.  How about you?

I Want to Play Outside

   When you were a kid, do you remember those days when your mom used to say, "Go outside and play!  It's too nice to be in the house all day."?
   My mom said that a lot.  I think part of it was because my sister and I were probably driving her crazy with our siblingness, and my mom needed a beak.  Usually we did end up outside, and stayed out most of the rest of the day, except for bathroom breaks and lunch time.
   But I also remember the opposite situation.  The times when I had a cold, or the flu, or chicken pox, or some other illness that kept me indoors.  For some reason, during those times, I wanted out!  I didn't care if the weather was good or bad, I just wanted to get outside and do something.
   I think it's not so much that I wanted outside, but that I wanted to feel better.  And feeling better meant freedom to do the things I couldn't do while under the weather.  And I'm sure that if I felt better, I probably wouldn't necessarily really want to go outside.  I just wanted the choice of doing it.
   Today, I want to go outside and play or do something.  But I have a cold.  Or something.  I guess I'll stay inside.  I sometimes miss being a kid.

Hooray for Molten Cheese!

   I have been fighting a nasty cold, or perhaps back-to-back-to-back colds for nearly a month now.  Today, however, I am feeling much better.  So much so that I think I am probably over the hump.

   I've had a few good days, where my symptoms were minimal, except for the cough.  But today has been the first day I've realized that I've had hardly anything to eat AND that I'm hungry and actually felt like eating.  Until now, I've been munching on crackers and drinking lots of water.
   But tonight I am feasting.  A layer of chips with a sprinkling of shredded cheddar and generously applied jalapeno slices, topped with another layer of chips, cheese, and pepper slices and spices.  The cheese was generously heaped on this next layer and from the side, my concoction looked like a cheesy volcano.
   Popped it into the microwave and started cooking, adding a wee bit of extra time to account for the extra cheese, which has melted down and through the chips to create half-hidden rivers of molten cheese.

   And now it sits, cooling to a temperature that won't scald my mouth.
   Comfort food.  I love it!
   Do you turn to comfort food when you're not feeling well?  What do you like?

Opportunities Abound!

   I read somewhere that setbacks are really opportunities to greater things.  If that's true, then the past couple of years have been setting me up for some kind of unimaginable awesomeness.

   Yes, I know.  I have to take advantage of each opportunity to achieve the greatness hidden within.  Right now, though, I'm a bit overwhelmed with opportunities - or setbacks, depending on your point of view.

   When my lawnmower died a couple of years ago, I had the chance to learn how to fix the mower.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find anybody who had the time to teach me how to fix the mower.  I took it to a repair shop and spent over $100 trying to get it fixed.  I bought it practically brand new for $75 (the guy had a tiny yard and realized he had too much mower for such a small patch of grass). 

   After hitting the $100 mark on repairs, and admission of defeat by the repairman, I gave up getting it fixed.  And if he couldn't figure out how to fix it, I was pretty sure he couldn't teach me how to fix it.  Besides, at this point I'd been laid off and didn't want to keep throwing money at a problem when my own money situation was taking a nosedive.

   Without going into too many details, the other setbacks that have presented themselves to me since that time are:

• The electricity in the living room went out.  We use extension cords when necessary.  Doesn't help with the ceiling fan, though.
• Washing machine quit working.  I did manage to get that fixed, thanks to a guy who, having just been laid off himself, sympathized with my plight.
• Septic system had to be pumped - twice.    
• Hot water heater died.  I thought they were supposed to last more than four years.
• Central heat/air unit had to be repaired.
• Too many illnesses.  My wife and daughter are pretty much home-bound.  I'm fighting a cold or something that has lasted several weeks.  Affordable health care?  I've heard of such a beastie.  Must be a point of view thing.
• Dryer doesn't dry.  Can't afford to fix it at this point, but I actually found that if I need to run an errand, I can take wet laundry to the laundromat and throw them in the dryers there.  It gives me an incentive to keep errands to half an hour.
• No garbage pickup.  I have to haul my own garbage if I want it done.  The service out here is spotty at best.  I quit paying to have my garbage not picked up.  I wish I had a truck, though.
• The advent of digital TV.  The downside of living an hour away from cities that have television stations is that when they went digital, the signal strength dropped dramatically the farther away you were.  At least with analog, a rabbit ears antenna would allow us to find out if really nasty weather was heading our way, since there are no tornado sirens nearby.
• Dishwasher quit working.  Until I got this nasty cold, I was coping okay.  I used the dishwasher as a drying rack and could get quite a bit done in the evenings.  Still, in a house that was built in 2004, you'd think that most things would still be working.

   There are some more things going on, but as you can see, I am overwhelmed by all these opportunities.  I don't know where to begin.

   In spite of all this, I'm optimistic that things will get better.  Faith plays a strong rôle in my life.  And I know that out there somewhere lies a solution.  I look forward to the day when I meet that solution.