Far Out Son of Lung...

Had a little meeting

So, I had a little meeting with Jyri last night. It has been many months since I last saw him, so it was good to get together and chat. He's been busy and has taken on a new position with the airline, his new responsibilities revolve around fuel conservation. Good stuff and he seems to have some good ideas about how to make it happen.

He and Patti are patching things back together. I'm glad, as far as I could tell they were a good match, but their careers put a huge strain on their marriage. Last night we talked about some things, his residence in the Reality House and the mistakes and issues that whole situation afforded. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it offered him the opportunity to get into a bad situation along the way. Circumstances being what they were it was too easy for him (them, really) to lose track of their marriage and what was truly important. A few things lead up to thier eventual reconciliation and the current process of repair and unfortunately, I had to witness it first hand.

With them on the mend and his honest and frank conversation last night, I feel better for them. I also feel good about the decision I made to confront him and, at least what I saw as, his stupidity. Luckily he listened and with the help of another good friend I think we were able to make a few waves that resulted in his seeking help from another, much closer friend. In the end, we are were we are...

All that aside, obtuse as that may be, he gave me some advice last night. Given what we've been through, and what he thinks of my friendship, I trust his opinion. Add to that the fact that I've had the same advice from countless other people in the last two years, and I figure its about time to give it a whirl and see what happens.

I'm going to try my hand at freelance writing. It is, in some ways, a bit daunting. Primarily because I have no real clue what to write about. I have written some things and posted them in various forums over the last few years and people seem to enjoy reading them. Is this the kind of thing I can send to a magazine? I have no clue. My fear is of rejection, of course. Rejection sucks, but I need to get used to it. Generally I am too reserved in situations than to put myself out there and risk rejection. Personally, professionally, socially... I'm generally a sissy.

Seeing as how I want to write more, I figure I also need something to write and type on. I have this computer at work, but I cannot very well think that I'll be able to compose anything with any soul while at the office. I have a desktop at home but I don't like being in my apartment any more than I need to be, and especially now I have no desire to be couped up with the kitties and getting distracted by too many other things. And, most importantly, laptops are cool.

The cool factor on a laptop is that I can take it anywhere, and write upon inspiration. Not that I get inspired at random very often, but if I do happen to become so inclined I can quickly and easily put pen to paper (or finger to key) and make something happen. Too often I find myself with ideas, funny ideas, that flow through my mind at 2 A.M., get completely refined in my head, and are subsequently forgotten because they're done. No seriously, my brain assumes that whatever it is I've been thinking about has now finished it's progression from idea to fleshed out scenario and simply relegates it to the trash bin of my brain. It is a curiosity I've struggled with for many years, but no solution has been found. I could, of course, get out of bed and write it down, but I have a hard time making pictures (my brain operates in full motion video with sound) into words. If making movies were as easy as typing, I would do that instead.

Too often I have these random ideas for TV commercials, products, events, scenarios and such that I am unable to put into writing. Most of them would only be funny to me and more often than not they would end up being overlooked by everyone but my mother, but that's beyond the point.

So, I need a laptop. But, I'm also broke. Well, I'm not broke, that's not true. I do, however, tend to spend money on things like bills and rent... but seeing as how I don't get paid very well by the multi-national, global, super-power company I work for, it doesn't leave me with very much extra to spend on things like laptops. Often, my purchasing decisions come down to what is going to make me the most happy for the longest period of time.

Actually, I bought that MTB thinking it would provide endless opportunities to meet new people, get me involved in another healthy aspect of cycling and provide countless hours of entertainment. All of that instead of taking a weekend vacation to see my sister in NYC, or go to Colorado and hike in the mountains. And now, I have a fucking broken leg after wrecking the MTB in the woods. Does that seem right to you?

But, I digress. There's the power of the 0% rate credit card (some restriction apply). I'm not big on owing anyone money, but these do present a certain amount of convenience. And, seeing as how my credit rating is stratospheric (yeah, I kick ass) I get them all the damn time.

Picking a laptop is the hard part, especially seeing as how I really don't know a damn thing about what each of the little options are worth. I know that faster is better, but how much faster is worth how much more? I don't know. At first I figured I was trying not to spend over $1,000. Now, however, I'm looking at not spending over $1,200... Man, that's a chunk of change.

posted by GreSam @ 13:53