Off the Grid

We're off to ABQ early this morning to commune with family, drink beer, smoke cigars, and attend a wedding.  SN1 should have arrived in ABQ yesterday if all went to plan and I've not touched base with him yet, seein' as how he prolly has more important things to do on his first day home from the desert.  I did speak with DIL Erma yesterday and confirmed everything is on track and goin' according to schedule.

So blogging may (or may not) be light for the next couple o' few.  Well, check that... original blogging may be light.  The Deity At Hand knows we have lots and lots o' re-runs we can post.

Why, here's one now (August 2009)!

Inertia... and Related Stuff

So. A couple of things. In my previous post I mentioned "Inertia" and I don't want you Gentle Readers to think inertia is a bad thing… because it isn't. Not in the slightest. At this stage in life "low and slow," or inertia is most definitely a GOOD Thing. Mainly because things as they are these days are eminently predictable and safe. We've had our fill… and then some… of "experience" in this life; these days we are more than comfortable with the sedate and mundane.

Which brings us to our next point. Most of you are familiar with those Facebook or Blogger memes that ask you to list 25, 50, or 150 "things" that you may or may not have done at this point in your life's journey. I've posted a couple of them, and they're kinda-sorta mundane. But only in the sense that those things are ALL safe… meaning they are stuff that one could have done without fear of intervention on the part of The Authorities or condemnation from one's peers. I'm thinking it would be interesting to deviate (ahem) from the safe and predictable and post a list of stuff I've done that goes beyond the pale… things that transcend, in a manner of speaking, the usual "swam with dolphins" and "watched a meteor shower" sorta stuff. So, without further ado, a list of life experiences you may or may not relate to… but most probably do NOT… and in no particular order.

1. Reclined naked on a verandah whilst watching low clouds scud across the night sky... periodically obscuring a waxing moon... enjoying sweet sweat emanate from your body… and hers… San Miguel in hand, with a "for hire" sweetie in the wee small hours in the oh-so-sultry Philippine Islands clime. It don't get no better than this, Gentle Reader. But you hadda be there to appreciate the fullness of the moment.

2. Gone "window shopping" in Amsterdam… for a week or more… followed up with a sojurn in Prague, doing more of the same. The event was a combination of pleasures of the flesh and aesthetic pursuits (think: museums, architecture, food, drink), none of which I skimped on. A subject for conversation over many beers, this. (The photo is of a friend and I in Prague, never before published.)

3. Been run over by a motorcycle not 25 yards off the starting line of a race. And enjoyed every minute of it.

4. Let your competitors at said racing events in the wilds of Hokkaido, Japan get you shit-faced drunk the night before the race… and enjoyed every minute of it. But not so much the race-day that followed… when our racing endeavors were less than impressive in our hung-over state.

5. Rejected the gift of a rice-bug from yet another "for hire sweetie" whilst vowing never to kiss her again… ever… but going back on that vow not four hours later. And loving every minute of it. Ooh, yes… we DID love every minute of it!

6. Stood on The Great Wall of China. Nothing too deviant about this… but an experience, none the less.

7. Spent an evening discussing US politics into the wee smalls with a Turkish courtesan in the Black Sea port of Samsun whilst disposing a couple of bottles of raki and incurring the wrath of my buddy… who had previously negotiated an assignation with said courtesan… only to watch said assignation slip away into an alcoholic fog. And awakening the following morning to find my clothes gone missing and me in the bed of a woman at least 80 years of age who could ONLY be described as "coyote ugly." With a world-class hangover. And laughing about it later. Much later. Payback, as they say, is HELL. I can testify…

8. Rode Mad Sunday across the top of Mount Snaefell well in excess of 100 mph and broke no traffic laws (there aren't any speed limits on the closed portions of the public roads... which double as the race circuit... on Mad Sunday). This is deviant only in the sense that this sort of thing could NEVER happen on public roads in the US of A. Yet it happens every year in the Isle of Man, and I'm proud to say I both partook… and survived.

9. Watched a Tucson monsoon thunderstorm from underneath the eaves of the Davis-Monthan AFB BOQ in the wee smalls with a woman I thought might could be my life partner but later decided otherwise. But… Omigawd… what a night!

10. Committed three felonies before breakfast once upon a time… ALL of which were victimless crimes and did the participants involved much good, including YrHmblScrb… and not getting caught. We shall forgo the details of this adventure, even though I'm quite sure the statute of limitations has long since expired. It was the Best of Times, it was the Worst of Times… as Mr. Dickens said.

11. Sang karaoke in an after-hours bar in Singapore… in suit and tie… and lived up to the Capitalist Pig image in each and every respect. My co-worker and I delivered a spirited rendition of Barrett Strong's hit "Money"… and you hadda be there to understand where I'm coming from. (The "Singapore" link isn't karaoke related but it is me, pictured on that particular trip.)

So. Now do you see why we think inertia is good? We've "been there and done that" to an extent that causes me to wonder at my good fortune from time to time, not to mention marvel at the fact we managed to escape the foibles of our youth (relatively) intact. But I wouldn't change a thing, Gentle Reader. Not ONE. It is what it is… or was.

Committed to the Inter-tubes by Buck Pennington on 8/15/2009 06:55:00 PM 22 comments: 

I'll be checking mail on my phone and will prolly answer comments, too.  That's only fair, innit?