Monday, March 22, 2010

Day 97

Every day is a series of small triumphs and setbacks that allow me to keep score in the Monopoly game that is my life. On an average day, the triumphs and setbacks pretty evenly cancel each other out and I am left standing in exactly the same place as I was the day before. Little things like getting a picture accepted by the stock photo agency or discovering that I have a new blog follower allow me to advance one square. Things like a major computer crash or seeing the dreaded "Service Required 0001001B" message when I turn the printer on will make me lose a turn. If I get a new client, I might advance four or five squares at a time. Every once in a while I will draw the "Go to Jail" card, but I haven't suffered a serious setback like this in several years.

I wish I had a better sense of where I was going. I've never really had a long term goal and still tell people that I haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. I think I've learned the most during periods of my life when absolutely nothing was going on. Idle curiosity has always been the catalyst that kicks my brain into high gear. If it weren't for the fact that "idle" and "poor" seem to go hand in hand, I'd stay idle a lot more.

I've been busy for a long time. Being busy makes me efficient and productive, but I don't learn anything new. Learning something new isn't as much fun when you're busy. It just becomes one more task to complete. I have so many tasks to complete that I don't really see the big picture anymore. That's why I focus on the tiny triumphs and setbacks. I fixed the sump pump up on the roof today, so I get to move ahead one square. My leasing agent hasn't brought me a lease to sign yet from my supposedly "sure thing" new tenant, so I lose a turn. And on and on it goes. I probably am making forward progress, but it's definitely taking place at a snail's pace. Am I ahead or behind in the game?  Who knows. I do wonder ocassionally if there's even any point to "bringing home the bacon" anymore if I'm not even allowed to eat it.

Dalmatian of the Day

    Watch of the Day