Update!
I have to say that this whole online game break has been the greatest idea I've had in quite a while.
Sunday didn't start off so great. It was slow at work, and my mind was brooding. It wasn't untill we started getting customers that I came across a very 'Durr duh durrrr' moment.
I really didn't like my job.
Why's this? I get paid squat shit to put up with a lot of crap. Quite literally. Someone decided, on a whisp of brilliance, to get up and leave their bathroom stall in the middle of their business. So there I am, nose tucked under the collar of my shirt, mopping feces out of every corner of the men's room, when it struck me.
This job sucks. I need another one. One that at least pays me over six bucks to play poop patrol.
So after heading home, I planned out my day off. Something I haven't done in AGES.
Monday was very productive. I woke up, refreshed and energetic, at 8am. Shane left for college, and we said our goodbyes. I then went and mowed the entirety of the lawn. Even the overgrown back yard. By the time noon came around, I was proudly looking over a freshly mowed landscape, healthy green, and hardly any taller then my ankles. I was covered in grass and dirt, and my ass ached from the rattling of the lawn mower, and it felt fucking fantastic. I haven't been this proud of myself in a while. And the day has just gotten started.
I cleaned out the van, and started moving my books and drawing equipment into my brother's old room in my dad's office building, and prepared it to become my studio. I put my desk together, set up my computer, and wired the room to the office network.
And by George, it worked. Gracious!
So more or less, I have a studio up and running. Just need to organize some little things.
It was still early in the afternoon, and I went to do my less desirable chores. Bank and job searching. The bank went quickly. Randy, my step-brother-in-law who manages the branch I go to, was able to toss money at me without that 1-2 day wait bullshit. With money in my pocket, gas in the car and air in the tires, I went to the first place I wanted another job. Blockbuster.
Lo and behold, they're hiring! I beat feet Flintstones style back home and filled out the online application. I should hear back in a few days.
Woah... a job with benefits. With MY reputation? Scandalous!
The rest of the night, I chatted with folks and spent some time using my new drafting table. I fell asleep blissfully on my couch.
Today was interesting, and very enlightening. I woke up after a wonderfully refreshing 12 hours of sleep. No neck ache, no back ache, no groaning as I forced myself up. I bounced to my feet and made some coffee and drank it on the porch above dad's gift shop. It was a clear, warm day, soft cotton clouds drifting lazily across the sky, and birds chirping as they fluttered over the pond. A delightful breeze whispered a suggestion into my mind.
Hey, I haven't gone hiking in forever. I mean,not those pussy trails in the woods behind the house. I mean hiking a fucking mountain.
So I did. I got dressed, stopped by my stepmom's house for some breakfast and to fill my water bottle, and I drove to Rattlesnake Mountain. It had been YEARS since I hiked these trails, and I came to some very interesting conclusions as I made my way up.
One. I am TOTALLY out of shape. I was breathing hard on my third step.
Two. World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online don't hold a candle to a REAL adventure through some REAL woods. Especially when you're rewarded with the most amazing view I had ever seen up there.
I don't ever remember being able to see as far as I did. The weather was perfect. The view of the lake and mountains was breathtaking. Literally. I was so entranced by how beautiful the scenery was, I forgot to breathe.
Living like I have been, seeing the same damn thing day after day, same roads, same buildings, same rooms and same damn people... it really narrowed my universe down. Looking down at the world from a mountain really opened up my eyes to how big the world really is. It's fucking huge, man. At one point, I was able to erase the boats on the lake, the cars on the one road I saw, and the droning of a lawn mower, and I was able to witness what the world was like without people. Without obligations. Free, wild and untamed, and it was beautiful.
I got up after a good 25 minutes and brushed my shorts off and decided to go to the next peak. That was fun, it was practically a cliff climb, plus an additional half mile of hiking. That view was even better, I could see Mount Washington and Whiteface, where dad's farm is. As I was standing there, looking over the world, I glanced to the side and made eye contact with the LAST thing I ever thought I'd see.
A bald eagle was perched on a pine, and looking right at me with a tilted head and a curious eye. I swear to god, I never thought birds could get that big. I was scared to death at first, but it turned around and spread it's wings out, and nonchalantly dropped off the tree, over the side of the cliff, before catching the wind and gliding off. My heart sank a bit, envious of something so big and powerful being able to go where it wanted, when it wanted. Then I realized.
Fuck that. I'm not a bird, but I have just as much control over my own life.
I've built this cage around myself, and lead myself to think I have no way out. Truth is, all I gotta do is kick the bars out and walk away. If I don't like where I am, I can work to go somewhere else. If I don't like what I'm doing, I can pick up and do something else. Fuck cages, there's a whole world out there to see. I wanna see as much as I can, and rock the Casba on top of every point and shake my booty at whoever thought I couldn't do it. I'm looking at you, dad. You fucking prick.
I wonder how the view is on top of Mount Washington...
Sunday didn't start off so great. It was slow at work, and my mind was brooding. It wasn't untill we started getting customers that I came across a very 'Durr duh durrrr' moment.
I really didn't like my job.
Why's this? I get paid squat shit to put up with a lot of crap. Quite literally. Someone decided, on a whisp of brilliance, to get up and leave their bathroom stall in the middle of their business. So there I am, nose tucked under the collar of my shirt, mopping feces out of every corner of the men's room, when it struck me.
This job sucks. I need another one. One that at least pays me over six bucks to play poop patrol.
So after heading home, I planned out my day off. Something I haven't done in AGES.
Monday was very productive. I woke up, refreshed and energetic, at 8am. Shane left for college, and we said our goodbyes. I then went and mowed the entirety of the lawn. Even the overgrown back yard. By the time noon came around, I was proudly looking over a freshly mowed landscape, healthy green, and hardly any taller then my ankles. I was covered in grass and dirt, and my ass ached from the rattling of the lawn mower, and it felt fucking fantastic. I haven't been this proud of myself in a while. And the day has just gotten started.
I cleaned out the van, and started moving my books and drawing equipment into my brother's old room in my dad's office building, and prepared it to become my studio. I put my desk together, set up my computer, and wired the room to the office network.
And by George, it worked. Gracious!
So more or less, I have a studio up and running. Just need to organize some little things.
It was still early in the afternoon, and I went to do my less desirable chores. Bank and job searching. The bank went quickly. Randy, my step-brother-in-law who manages the branch I go to, was able to toss money at me without that 1-2 day wait bullshit. With money in my pocket, gas in the car and air in the tires, I went to the first place I wanted another job. Blockbuster.
Lo and behold, they're hiring! I beat feet Flintstones style back home and filled out the online application. I should hear back in a few days.
Woah... a job with benefits. With MY reputation? Scandalous!
The rest of the night, I chatted with folks and spent some time using my new drafting table. I fell asleep blissfully on my couch.
Today was interesting, and very enlightening. I woke up after a wonderfully refreshing 12 hours of sleep. No neck ache, no back ache, no groaning as I forced myself up. I bounced to my feet and made some coffee and drank it on the porch above dad's gift shop. It was a clear, warm day, soft cotton clouds drifting lazily across the sky, and birds chirping as they fluttered over the pond. A delightful breeze whispered a suggestion into my mind.
Hey, I haven't gone hiking in forever. I mean,not those pussy trails in the woods behind the house. I mean hiking a fucking mountain.
So I did. I got dressed, stopped by my stepmom's house for some breakfast and to fill my water bottle, and I drove to Rattlesnake Mountain. It had been YEARS since I hiked these trails, and I came to some very interesting conclusions as I made my way up.
One. I am TOTALLY out of shape. I was breathing hard on my third step.
Two. World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online don't hold a candle to a REAL adventure through some REAL woods. Especially when you're rewarded with the most amazing view I had ever seen up there.
I don't ever remember being able to see as far as I did. The weather was perfect. The view of the lake and mountains was breathtaking. Literally. I was so entranced by how beautiful the scenery was, I forgot to breathe.
Living like I have been, seeing the same damn thing day after day, same roads, same buildings, same rooms and same damn people... it really narrowed my universe down. Looking down at the world from a mountain really opened up my eyes to how big the world really is. It's fucking huge, man. At one point, I was able to erase the boats on the lake, the cars on the one road I saw, and the droning of a lawn mower, and I was able to witness what the world was like without people. Without obligations. Free, wild and untamed, and it was beautiful.
I got up after a good 25 minutes and brushed my shorts off and decided to go to the next peak. That was fun, it was practically a cliff climb, plus an additional half mile of hiking. That view was even better, I could see Mount Washington and Whiteface, where dad's farm is. As I was standing there, looking over the world, I glanced to the side and made eye contact with the LAST thing I ever thought I'd see.
A bald eagle was perched on a pine, and looking right at me with a tilted head and a curious eye. I swear to god, I never thought birds could get that big. I was scared to death at first, but it turned around and spread it's wings out, and nonchalantly dropped off the tree, over the side of the cliff, before catching the wind and gliding off. My heart sank a bit, envious of something so big and powerful being able to go where it wanted, when it wanted. Then I realized.
Fuck that. I'm not a bird, but I have just as much control over my own life.
I've built this cage around myself, and lead myself to think I have no way out. Truth is, all I gotta do is kick the bars out and walk away. If I don't like where I am, I can work to go somewhere else. If I don't like what I'm doing, I can pick up and do something else. Fuck cages, there's a whole world out there to see. I wanna see as much as I can, and rock the Casba on top of every point and shake my booty at whoever thought I couldn't do it. I'm looking at you, dad. You fucking prick.
I wonder how the view is on top of Mount Washington...