Taking the Leap!

“It is never too late to become what you might have been”

~George Eliot

So, here I go.  Why on Earth would I want to start this blogging stuff?  I'm not a Writer by any stretch of the imagination.  There is nothing "special" about me...  I have a lot of interests, a lot of ideas, but no real STATEMENT to make.  I'm not even sure what the central theme of my blog is...  Nevertheless I feel like it's something I should try.  Maybe touch someone by the simple fact of writing about something someone else can relate to?  Maybe the suggestion of an idea will open the floodgates allowing someone else to run with it?  Who knows? 

I don't suspect I'll post very often, but I just might.  I get weird whims sometimes and I just have to run with them. 

So, a little bit about me:  I'm a middle aged guy, born and raised in Northern California.  In fact I've lived within 30 miles of where I was born my entire life.  It was a great place to grow up but now I can't wait to get out of here.  I've been married for 20 years and have a daughter in high school.    Both my parents are still alive for which I'm thankful.  I have one younger sister that lives out of state.  She and I have never been close, nor do I expcet we ever will be.  I have some college eduaction and some vocational training but I've never earned a degree or become certified in anything.  It hasn't kept me from being "successful" - I've attained managerial and Director status at my last few jobs - but I still wish I had a college degree.  I'm planning to re-enroll in the fall and start over, but my plans have a way of getting thrown out the window so we'll see...

My passions include music, books and DIY stuff.   I was a semi-professional musician for many, many years.  By "semi-pro" I mean I did in fact make money as a musician, just never enough to make a living at it so I've always had to have a "real" job.  I work with the elderly now and I'm constantly shocked by how often they act like children.  I don't hate my job but I don't really like it either.  I like the "Do It Yourself" stuff because a) I'm a cheap bastard and if I can do something rather than pay someone else to do it I will, and b) I get a sense of satisfaction out of it.  I've learned a LOT by just diving in and fixing something.  It's a good skill to have.

The quote I used at the top of the page is something that I ran across about a year ago and it had a profound impact on me.  I'm at that stage of my life where I'm thinking "What's next?"  I had been feeling that the professional musician ship had sailed, that I had "aged out", and therefor was destined to spend the rest of my life in some crap job, doing things I didn't want to do and keep chasing the American Dream.  Well my friends, that's B.S.  I figure I've got at least another 20 years left to live, if not more, and that is no way to go through life.  Sure, there is a 99.999% chance that I'll never make a living as a musician, that I'll never be wealthy, that I'll never be just like The Jones' next door with the flashy cars, the fancy toys, the private schools, et cetera, but that doesn't mean I can't be happy.  That doesn't mean I can't express myself.  That doesn't mean I can't live life on my own terms and make things happen for me and my family.  I've spent too much time worrying about the cant's, being jealous of what others have and not being thankful for what I have, but those days are done.  I've thrown that way of thinking out into the cold, dark night.

I've always marched to the beat of a Different Drummer and will continue to do so. 

Thanks for reading!