Lessons learned

The weekend before last I went on another road trip. The start of it involved going to Augusta to prep things for the cleaning we did last weekend. But after that I wanted to go on a road trip. I almost went to Savannah but ultimately I decided to go to Ashville. My GPS died and I had to kind of navigate where I was going based on intuition and signs (yes I could have bought a map but it seemed a waste of money.) I almost didn't find it but on my way back home on 85, I ran into a road that went there. I went on a beautiful drive in the mountains. Because of some things that happened on the internet, I didn't get to do what I originally went up to do (mainly a lot of reading on subjects I need to catch up on) but on the other hand I learned some very valuable lessons.

Dad sat me down a long time ago and broke out a human being into five categories; mental, physical, spiritual, social and emotional. He had me write what I thought my age was and he wrote what he thought my age was. Then we averaged the two. I came out very strongly in the mental and spiritual category, but less so in social and emotional was last. I've always worked on my emotional stability, but surprisingly except for mastering my temper last year, I have never really applied the systematic approach I have to so many other things in my life, including researching what 'emotional maturity' really means.

I know it is a little silly to say that a week makes a huge difference...but a week makes a huge difference. Having a model to study in a systemic fashion, combined with some of the other books on...other subjects...that I've been reading of late have caused me to have yet another paradigm change lately. I have, I admit, been doing that a lot but then again I've had to. Part of it of course is that I have a lot of time to make up for and part of it is that I have less time left. One thing I've noticed on dating sites is a certain age range, and it actually ends at 38 and then 39 and even less at 40. Now to be sure, one part of that paradigm change (yes its a corporatey word but when you get a masters in Project Management you start using corporatey words because they make sense) was that I am going to do things in my own time and in my own way, but with a legitimate sense of urgency in a reasonable fashion. Which might sound like gibberish, but it isn't to me.

So this past weekend, Russel, Claire, Bess, Skip, Grandma and I set off for the House of Doom to clean it. We are still there and may never get out alive. No just kidding. It seems that it is only capable of using the Aura of Despair on just two or three people at a time, and we clearly overwhelmed its defenses, allowing us to finish one room (95%) and make a huge dent in another room (80%). Given that previous trips have been measured in 1-3% progress, with a 5% being a major accomplishment, I think this was rather amazing. We're planning on going back with another (potentially even bigger hoard) in a few weeks. The House of Doom shall fall before our collective might. HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sunday I worked so I had today off. It was nice. Did some texting with a new friend which was also nice. I have started...Karate. And it is currently kicking my ass. However I am determined. Atlanta Kicks is an excellent school and I really like the staff there. Looks like taking my time and doing the research really paid off on this one. Their philosophy, staff and facility are exactly what I'm looking for. A bit expensive, but for four months at least its worth it. After that I will have completed my evaluation of the activity. Still going to the gym as well, though both the martial arts and the gym are not a long term scenario that is going to work.

I've helped Jay market his show the Sentinel Chronicles and will continue to do so (hint: Go to youtube and watch it and stuff!). I am greatly enjoying the Mighty Tide of Justice Blogging. So far I have covered the Ignobel Prize, Goldilocks Planet, a Shampoo Robot and the Apparition Abolishers. However one of the other bloggers, B-Lo, has skills at finding mind bending horrific nerd things that make one want to tear one's eyes out. This is a highly valuable skill which I must observe and master.

Work goes well. There is a very good choice you will be hearing more about the SWAGG application in November if you have a smart phone. In fact, you don't really need a smart phone even to use it. It will allow you to virtualized a good chunk of your wallet. You (theoretically) never need to forget a rewards card again. I do this all the time with my CVS card so it'll be nice.

Projects wise, I'm taking a medium approach. I had originally set the goal for early October to initiate several large measures but I'm also only interested in pursuing excellence, so while I want to be ambitious creative and daring, I also want to make sure I have the skills, the resources and more importantly the friends and associates to make some of the things I want to do happen and in many cases that means taking the time to do it RIGHT rather than just simply doing it and chalking it up as a learning experience.

Life is good and it is getting better all the time. Might be a lyric somewhere, but in my case, it is true.