Can someone explain this to me?

Question of the week.

Why are there people of different "races?" White, Asian, Black, Hispanic...aren't we all Humans? Somewhere we all came from the same glop of goo that ties us all together. What the hell happened?

Language barrier.

One of the hardest parts of living in the south when you grew up out west is the version of English they speak down here. I was standing outside the office this morning and there was a crew of guys putting up a new awning across the walkway. I was eavesdropping on a conversation they were having about...something...but, for the life of me, I could only understand about every other word. There's something funny about the way people speak that can give you the impression as to their intelligence level. Many people think the southern dialect is "cute." I think it makes you sound like an idiot. The sad thing is I tend to assimilate to my surroundings. When I lived in LA growing up, my mom used to give me a bunch of crap about speaking with a Mexican accent. I started that because my best friend was Hispanic at the time. My brother (who lives in Seattle) has told me that I've now picked up a southern accent. I can't deny it because I let a "y'all" slide out every once in a while. So by my own definition, I sound like an idiot. I draw the line at "fixin" though. If that starts to pop out of my mouth on a regular basis, I'm fixin to have to move back out where there are mountains and deserts.

Don't ever try to explain to a redneck that you aren't "Yankee" if you were born in Nevada. It's a complete waste of time.

Got the fever. Part deux.

It's getting close to Sun-N-Fun again. The plane geek always comes back to life with the flowers of spring. It says in my profile that I'm a pilot. Well I am but, to be honest, I haven't flown a plane in about five years. I feel terribly guilty for not exercising my privileges for so long. I miss it more and more every day. Now that L and I are back in black, it's time to dust off the old pilot skills again. Lately I've spent more and more time dreaming about buying or building a plane. Many hours have been spent searching the classified ads for that perfect aircraft as well as looking up at every plane that flies overhead. If there was any money in it, I would become a full time flight instructor. I think I would enjoy it more than any other career I could think of. I'm pretty sure I would be a great teacher and my laid back personality lends itself well to dealing with really nervous students. I think I'm going to start building time and ratings so that I can become an instructor at least part time. Anyone have a plane I can borrow?

Got the fever.

Spring is in the air. Georgia is truly a beautiful state. My home in the woods is wondrous and now that spring is upon us, I get to enjoy my covered seven foot wide porches on the front and rear of my home. I love to sit out in the mornings and listen to the trees grow and feel the breeze as it starts to stir with the warming sun. In the spring, as the foliage starts to breath new life, the smells come back to my nose that seemed to be on pause for the winter. Fresh cut grass, magnolia blossoms, and ozone just before a spring thunderstorm come to mind. Sitting on the back deck and looking over my railing I can start to see the green poking up though the old dead leaves of winter on the wooded landscape. I look to my left and see the neighbors house through the leafless trees and say a silent goodbye to the gray-blue siding. As the buds come back and eventually get replaced by the fresh lime colored leaves the house will disappear from view. Many times, before I know it, I'm cocooned in my summer rain forest again and my only visitors are silent fireflies floating in the early evening. Now I've learned to pay close attention to the rebirth so I don't miss it.

It's crazy how I have to put time aside to slow down. I get so caught up in my day to day life that I rarely stop to just breathe and be silent. My porch is a great place for reflection and I plan on enjoying the longer summer days on it this year. Just looking and inhaling deeply though my nose. It takes some tension out of my shoulders just thinking about it.

Humor.

Question of the week.

Have you ever tried to use humor on your blog or otherwise written and it completely backfired on you? Or did you write something you thought was hilarious and no one seemed to get it?

Blogification.

There is exactly one of you who read this regularly who, I'm sure, knows my full identity. The rest of you are about three clicks away from finding out.

I just wanted to let you know that you are a privileged few who see my ramblings. I have told no one I've met about this page. No I'm not trying to pump up my ego and tell you that I'm a special person, but you few are privy to stuff that even my wife, who I've known for over a decade, has yet to see. And that makes you special. (Forgive this for sounding like a Mr. Rogers episode.)

I often think about what motivates a lazy bastard, who never kept a journal in his life, to keep coming back to this blog. It's the connection. This blog thing connects us in some strange cosmic fashion. It amazes me that we are all separated by great distances, social situations, age groups, and overall lifestyles but seem to connect in some way. What really blows my mind is that many of you, who's blogs I visit regularly, are people that I would usually never get to know or would never have the opportunity to meet. One of the things that I find personally appealing to all the blogs I've read is that it reaffirms my belief that 99% of the people on this planet are good people.

What's the point to this post you ask? Well earlier this year I made a resolution of sorts that I would make an individual post about all the people who I link to on the right and explain why I find them intriguing. Here I am in March and I've only managed to get to a couple of you. It's not that some are more important than others, it's just that I'm a lazy bastard and this blog is kind of a free flow of diarrhea from my cranium. So today I've decided to hit on each link to the right and give a little blurb in case I never get to doing an individual post for each which I might still do but no promises because I'm obviously bad with that.

Here we go.

Shoottheduck: Great blog
I already hit on le duck here.

VagaBob: My semi-daily shot of Zen
And Bob here.

Ms. Me: Caregiver of family and strangers alike
Jane. You fascinate me with your kindness and giving nature. You always surprise me with your outlook on things. You recent lottery post says it all.

Procrastination Station: Fun
Ben's site is always a fun read. You can tell he has a sharp wit and the fact that his site is mostly contributory makes it always interesting.

Dating: It's a Numbers Game
Congrats to you for your recent engagement. Your ability to lay it all on the line and truly free flow ideas in a no holds barred fashion is amazing. you're truly eloquent when it comes to describing your feelings, fears, and dreams. (note to self change to 1 in a million)

Nice Guys Finish Last: I have faith brother
Dude, I find it fascinating to (sort of) relive my early days as a bachelor through you. It reminds me how lucky I am to have a loving wife and how long it took me to perfect my dating skills.

ZeroDoll's life: FISH's doll
FISHFOOD: Zero's hero
You can't mention one without the other here. They're like peas and carrots. The most interesting thing I find about you two is your love for each other and the fact that you're blogs intertwine. It's fun to read about the same situation from two similar, yet different, perspectives.

PJ: This girl can write.
What can I say PJ? Yours is one of the few blogs I've read from beginning to end. You've got skills with the written word. I would definitely stalk you in a different life. Even though it would never work because I like cats and PT Cruisers.

Grandpa's Snazzy Legs. He's back.
Rev. Buckweet. You're the living epitome of the duality people face every day. I can identify with the conflict you face with your family and understand and identify with many of your viewpoints. I've taken many of the things you've put down to heart and included a semi- quote from you're website into my daily routine.

Cloudy Lucidity
To be honest, I don't know that much about you. I do know this...I stumbled onto your blog and something trapped me there and even so much as caused me to link you here.

In A Big Way
My most recent addition is Katherine. Girl! You're a RIOT. Your blog is just plain fun to visit.

There you have it. Quick and dirty. Thank you all for stopping by.

Burn out.

Whew!

I've been working so hard on my bus that I feel like it's dominating my life. I still have a ton of work to do but at least I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I took it to the paint shop yesterday and the guy said he'll have it back to me in about a week. I'm stoked! I can't wait to see the finished product. There is a laundry list of things I need to do while it's away, but I feel confident that I can get them done. I'm on the home stretch and I just need to sprint those last few yards to the finish line. I cleaned out the garage today before going to work. It's amazing how big it seems when I'm not tripping over tools and auto parts on my way through. I love my hobby but it's supposed to be a hobby. Lately I feel like it's been my second job and that's just not cool. I'm starting to get burnt out and need a break. Still, with a clean workspace and progress being made, I'm feeling strangely invigorated today...or it could be the great sleep I got last night...or the early morning nookie. Either way, in a couple weeks there will be no more burn out. And with a 40 hp van I mean that quite literally.

Good times!

Survey

I took a survey of all my friends one time not too long ago and found out that every one of them has (had) an uncle Bob.

Question of the week.

Do you have an uncle Bob? Seriously.
Roberts count too.

Back in Black!

It's been a long time coming. The road was long, bumpy and filled with expensive forks. But, for the first time in over eight years, L and I are 100% in the black. We sent the payoff to the credit card this last week (close to 4K). We now have five monthly bills. Mortgage, electric, phone, internet, and gym.

I can't begin to describe how much of a relief it is. Like having sex after a long dry spell. Now I can buy a pair of jeans or VW parts without feeling guilty about it.