Category: Random

What have you been working on?

Me.

There are lots of things I work on every single day, but the best way to summarize is to say that I am working to create and be the best version of myself, whatever that ends up looking like.

I don’t know quite yet. I’m a work in progress. 😉

Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

For the most part, unproductive.

Even if I desperately need a lazy day, I tend to put it off until I literally can’t function at all, and I’m not able to fully recover anyway, so I tend to spend my days in various states of tired.

I have been learning to be better about this, however. Resting when I need to, allowing myself to just be instead of constantly doing.

Ask me again in a year and I’ll be able to give you a better, more informed answer. 😉

When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

Any single parent in the world who manages to raise a happy, healthy child. All of the single parents I’ve known personally have been moms, but I know there’s single dads out there too. Moms and dads who, for whatever reason, are in a position where they have to play the roles of both parents, who sacrifice themselves for the sake of their children and who work as long and as hard as they have to to make sure their children are not only taken care of, but have the best life possible. That is the picture of success. And, a picture of heroism as far as I’m concerned.

What makes a good neighbor?

This, like so many other preferences and definitions of what a “good” whatever is, depends on my mood.

In general, I want my neighbors to not be assholes. We don’t necessarily have to be friends, per se, but friendly is always good. If the person is crabby, so be it, but I like to smile and wave at neighbors. Also, keep your pets, plants, kids, etc. out of my yard unless invited. That’s just being polite.

I also think that neighbors who mind their own business but get involved in emergency situations is good. For example, if I come home from a shopping trip with a small trampoline, several buckets of paint, and half a dozen brightly colored feather boas, you can be curious, but that’s about it unless we have become friends at some point or I volunteer more information. At the same time, if I come home from work one day and some creepy dude attacks me, and you hear or see what’s going on, you better be doing something to help! If not, you definitely crash into asshole status.

What principles define how you live?

There are a couple, but I would have to say that being kind in everything I do is the main one. There is no reason to treat people poorly, even if they upset you or make you mad.And there are a million reasons to be kind even if the other person doesn’t know about it, or if they can’t do anything for you in return.

Now, this is not to say that I don’t put an asshole in their place from time to time. That is sometimes necessary. But I won’t be an asshole towards them in response to their actions towards me.

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

The first time I actually felt like a grownup was when I read a eulogy for my father at the age of 15. My uncle, who I adore, was standing at the podium behind me in the chapel. He had told me to let him know if I needed him to step in. There was a point when I felt I couldn’t continue, but I heard him crying so hard, though he tried to stifle it, and felt him shaking as his hands were on my shoulders. I summoned all my strength in that moment and finished the eulogy.

If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

This is a difficult one.

There are thousands of charities out there, many of them exist for a good cause. Of note for me personally are the MS Society, the American
Cancer Society, the Wounded Warrior Project…. I mean, the list goes on.

But then, the cynical side of my brain kicks in and says, “yeah, but how many of the people who run these supposed non-profit organizations are making bank in their positions? How much of what you donate is actually going to go to the cause rather than funding someone’s salary?” And so, I think more….

If I had a million dollars to give away to any cause, I would use the money to build homes for homeless veterans, with the first year of property and school tax included to allow them time to get back on their feet. And I would work exclusively with contractors and suppliers who would work with me on the costs of their products and services, understanding how important the cause is. I, and the vendors, would make zero dollars in these transactions. This would be an opportunity to do the right thing for people who did right by us, and if the contractor or supplier is more interested in making money, they don’t get the business. Simple as that.

Now, would this endeavor help thousands of people? Probably not. Maybe a handful at best. But, to completely change the lives of 6, 7, maybe even 10 people, people who put their lives on the line for me? And to change those lives for the better, with no ill effects to anyone? That would be an amazing opportunity, and one that I would jump at with no hesitation.

What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

Well, the first thing to pop in my head was skydiving. 😝 I have always wanted to do that, but have issues with planes and am basically a chicken shit when it comes to strapping myself into a giant metal container going a couple hundred miles an hour while tens of thousands of feet away from the ground. So, yeah, there’s that.

Thinking more seriously about it, though, a few different things come to mind. The first of which is going back to school with the ultimate goal of becoming a researcher at CERN. That has been a dream of mine for a very long time.

The second, more practical response is that I would get the licensing for and start my own financial advisory firm, specializing in helping everyday people with everything from budgets to investing to finance their dreams.

Finally, perhaps in addition to one of the first two options, I want to publish a book that I’ve had the idea for since I was 20.

Each of these options present issues with how I pay bills in the interim. If I am guaranteed not to fail at the goal, that’s awesome, but I don’t need to end up in dire straits in the meantime because I can’t afford basic living expenses.

Will any of them happen? If so, which one? I have no idea, but I will continue dreaming and hopefully gain the courage to do at least one of them….