15 Minutes Isn't As Long As It Use Be

Lately I’ve been in a canned beer frame of mind running all over the place looking for cool old stuff while meeting odd and interesting people. Spending here and selling there in hopes of saving enough for another chapter under the persona of, “World Traveler and Thinker”. For the most part I’ve been having fun as I ride a smooth wave along a broad expanse of familiar routine laced with never really knowing what I might find. It keeps things interesting. I go about it all in a very loosely planned, mostly random, fashion.

Give me an average good predictable day with a laugh and a giggle and I’ll take it. Give me a mildly unpredictable day laced with triumph and disappointment and I’ll probably like it a lot more. Dull days don’t really exist in my reality. Crazy days are best avoided because like most, I can only handle so much crazy. As long as I don’t give myself too hard of a time, when encountering inevitable bouts of disappointment, I’m more or less content. As usual, I really have nothing to complain about.

Since the last post work has been going well. I decided not to pursue a venture into a real estate opportunity as I thought it would be a bit more than I could realistically handle. I didn’t want the pressure. I was going to go to SXSW (Austin Music Festival) but I really had too much going on. Also, I wasn’t really feeling up for dealing with the crowds. Instead, I settled for free beer and live music at Cactus Records in Houston.

Creatively, I’ve continued shakily through the Artist Way program (via book) and am avoiding the guitar more than ever. After all, there’s work, I need to file my taxes, I need to go for a run, etc. etc… What are my true priorities? Avoiding the thing I really should be doing? Whatever it is? Content complacency is my friend when it comes to creative endeavors.

So, what’s the Antidote when everything is fine? Fine is good. Fine is no problem. Better is better but great is better than fine. At least I assume so. However, greatness can be elusive and fleeting. 15 minutes isn’t as long as it use to be.

Last Sunday I got up at 6am and ran 12 quick miles with some friends from the running club. It was the second time I’ve done so in the past month. I must admit it felt good to go further and a little faster. I have zero desire whatsoever to race but it’s nice to maintain a certain standard of fitness. It makes me feel like I’m not getting any older.

As of late, l've been looking at people my own age thinking, "There’s no way we’re the same age". I think to myself, “Geez, their kids are going to college”. They own a big house and fancy overpriced car while hovering upon the top tiers of a corporate ladder. Some even hint of an early retirement. How is that possible? Not to mention, some are starting to actually look old. Time and gravity aren’t the best friends to aging. All said, I’m not sure what to think about the 65 and over crowd sporting a new tattoo.