happiness in neutrality [thinking]
i've been trying to think of things i want to do before i'm 30, or things to do during an indefinite time period as an adult, but i'm drawing blanks. i just can't think right now and don't seem to mind that my brain isn't working. it's as if i'm stuck in neutral and am content with it, perhaps not content so much as complacent. the only things i can come up with sound stupid to me like some talk show rhetoric.
1. to just be true to myself and not let strange things cloud my judgment but exactly what is true and what is strange is still up for grabs. true to the ideal i set forth as a child (a bit immature to live in that mindset your entire life but you won't get people saying you've changed or sold out, hahahaaa) or to be true to the metamorphosis of life and not stick my nose up at such and such.
2. to just accept people the way they are, not trying to change them, and not trying to peer much further than the facade they put forth. (stop assuming it's a facade and don't become their psychologist.) stop being critical. i suppose it starts now because i started to blab on but erased it because i was being assuming and critical. *sigh* it's hard to go cold turkey. this is really the base of my humor. i have been open to the idea of changing it in the past but that isn't be true to me isn't it? that's a violation of #1 so i think these two cancel each other out to a degree.
3. also, learn to drive stick shift just so that not being able to will never be a barrier to the experiences that may lay before me. (i.e., it'd be cool to get on "the amazing race".) i never learned because i never liked driving to begin with and thus never got excited to get a license and never intended to pass the driving test but somehow i did at 17 and have been driving pretty much ever since out of necessity. (nobody walks in LA.) once i parallel parked a minivan on a hill in san francisco by myself, i felt like there really wasn't much else to learn as san francisco is pretty much the extent of vehicular maneuverability challenges in california unless you live in parts that snow. stick shift especially didn't interest me 'cos i have better things to do with my limbs but there was this one time that it would've been good to know (i.e., to help get a drunk comrade home and their car too!). i'd rather just press a button and fall asleep like in "the jetsons". no, scratch that. i want teleporters like in "the fly". actually, i think i only wrote all this crap because a co-worker gave me *that* look when i said i don't know stick and said he'd teach me. maybe he will, maybe he won't. maybe i'll become a trucker.
Comments
I believe that learning to drive a stick is a step to becoming a true driver. I was just telling a friend that there are two types of drivers: A Class and B Class (my own rating). If you can drive stick, you are a real driver - you can drive anything. If you can't, well, you should learn.
From what I understand, in Europe there are two types of licenses. You can get a automatic transmission license. But if you want to drive a manual, you have to test specially for it. On the other hand, if you test with a manual first - if you want to drive an automatic - there is no need to take an extra test.
I think driving stick should be required. There are already too many asshole drivers on the road - who don't seem to understand the basic rules - spoken or unspoken.
Benefits
# Learning how to drive a stick shift/manual transmission has many benefits: Longer life for your brakes (due to engine braking).
# More control in the snow.
# Generally better fuel efficiency over an automatic of the same model.
# Can start a car with a dead battery without a jumpstart.
# Cheaper to fix and maintain.
# More control over the car as a whole.
# Manual cars usually cost less than their automatic counterparts.
# Having the ability to drive every car on the road.
p.s. If you become a truck driver - you'll definitely be a super driver: The most common amount of gears in an 18 wheeler today is 10 forward and 2 reverse gears. Although they can range from 9, 10, 13, 15, and 18 gears!
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I agree with you about analyzing people - it's really not good to. Although - one cannot help it. Problem is - you really never know a person. You only know what you see and assuming that you do is just plain ridiculous and contributes to the ignorance of the world. I battle this all the time. How I am today -at work - at the store - during a three month period, etc. Is not ME. Not entirely. For someone to even try to claim that they know me or would even attempt to analyze me - well....go ahead, but I think people have almost always been wrong. I made a rule a long, long time ago: never judge - unless someone treats you very badly and even then - let it/them go. Life is too short.
Posted by: april | June 13, 2006 7:54 PM
By the way...I think that these things are very useful to learn/accept at any age - but then again - we all need some sort of marker - something to aspire to. New Year's Resolutions turning 18 - 25 - 30 - whatever...
I forgot to make a comment about the first item - I think that sticking your nose up to things - (without trying them first - along those lines) is sooo bad. Life is so short to not experience everything that you can - within reason. Or if you do - to find yourself again - because sometimes indulgences/change can cause you to temporarily "lose" oneself (your core self).
and what does selling out mean anyway?
One of my favorite quotes:
"It's all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back." -Mick Jagger
Posted by: april | June 14, 2006 1:07 PM
some things aren't fleeting enough to do just for the experience, some entail lifetime commitments (i.e., childbirth) unless of course you're a bastard (pun intended?). i still think phones and driving suck ass so the worst of these is cell phones and stick shift but hey, look at my resume. i always thought the american driver's license test was too easy. 90% of americans would fail the german test.
p.s.
the guy my mom almost married before my dad (and possibly almost again after my dad) became a trucker so yeah, i could've been a trucker.
Posted by: kalavinka | June 14, 2006 5:01 PM