I'm just too lazy to finish this post.

Your humble scribe enjoying a Rum & Coke on a buddy's sailboat.

I’ve heard it said that the best boat is a friend’s boat.  You get to have fun, but without all the hassle of actually owning a boat.  Maybe your buddy trusts you enough to take it out yourself, or even better- ride along with him while he does all the work.  You just show up- preferably with some booze and food of course, you're willing to contribute to the price of admission.  What's $20 bucks when he's laid out thousands for his pride and joy?  With a friend's boat there's no maintenance, no headaches, and no need to concern yourself with another old adage- a boat is a hole in the water you throw money into. 

Along those same lines is a phrase I’ve sort of coined-  "The best blog is a friend’s blog." - I get to read it for entertainment, post very occasionally when I get a burst of creativity, and be under no obligation to be more prolific or maintain daily content.  Why my name is some prominently displayed on there, I'll never know. Sure, Sarge baits me to post a bit more regularly, especially when he sees me mention something on other sites, but I try to keep my political rants limited to that Face place, for the most part.  Heaven knows I change so many opinions on there! Snark.  I do feel a little guilty that I don't contribute more, but you know what they say about a certain road being paved with good intentions.

My wife has said I should have my own blog- a place for my thoughts, opinions, and rants to have their own audience. That however, requires some things I don't have- time, more time, and consistent interest in ruminating about this or that.  Sure, I have opinions- lots of them!  But I don't have time to fully develop my thoughts into a coherent stream of something you might be interested in reading.  I also feel the need to get all my ducks in a row before I discuss some issues, making sure I have sufficient facts to back up my opinions, and not just spew emotion and rhetoric that others use, leading me to get on my political soapbox.  That means doing some research and weighing the different data points, which just means more time.  See, you're already starting to get bored with this post and I haven't even said anything yet, political or otherwise. 

My future blog?  It might smell a little, but it's good for you!

It's not just a lack of extra time.  It's also due to being lazy.  I'm getting to a stage in life where I might want to do this or that, but sometimes it's just too much trouble.  For example, the Miramar Air Show was back last weekend after being canceled in 2013 due to sequestration and the Government shutdown. 

It was shaping up to be a great show in the days ahead of the weekend.  The Public Affairs Officers were working overtime to get the word out that the Blues were back, the local news stations were talking about it constantly, and even a few lucky reporters got to throw up and/or pass out in the back seat of the #7 jet.  1:30 for nap time or 1:50 in the longer video below.

I could even seen them practicing from my home about 9 miles south of the airfield. I was almost excited to go...but, it was really really hot last weekend (100+ on the tarmac!) and the traffic was horrible getting up the 15 freeway and into the gate.  And the crowds...  see what I mean? I'd rather pass on what would have been a great time at an air show surrounded by jets, than to go through the effort of actually going to the air show. I'm just lazy.

I wasn't always this lazy or lacking initiative.  When my dad retired from Miramar in the 70's, we moved to Oregon to build our house on the land he owned.  While that was in progress, we would have to traipse into town every other weekend to do laundry.  Actually my mom would do the laundry and the four of us kids would have to tag along, supposedly to help fold, but probably to keep us out of the house while dad worked.  I really hated those weekends.  It seemed like it would take all day to wash and dry the clothes, while me and my siblings sat there practically bored to tears.  I would keep myself occupied by hunting around for recyclables- 5 cents per can, 10 cents per bottle, with Oregon being the first state to have a deposit on those.  I would usually be able to scrape up just enough change to buy a comic book or two and a Quench soda.

This went on for a couple years until our house was built enough for us to move in and bring our washer and dryer out of storage.  As much as I disliked the laundromat, it did help me to be a little resourceful, self sufficient for the things I wanted, and got started me on a pretty darn good comic book collection if I do say so myself.  I was able to avoid those trips after a while, making myself useful to my dad while he was busy with the house building- fetching tools, lumber, nails, and so forth

Growing up there wasn't necessarily easy, but I didn't know any different.  I worry about my own kids' work ethic, as their lives in the city aren't nearly as challenging as mine was.  Sure, they do some chores, but I'm not sure the rigor of feeding the dog, taking out the trash, and doing some dishes has the same impact as feeding rabbits, goats, chickens, chopping wood, and building and maintaining a fire.  If my kids don't do their chores, they get yelled at.  If I didn't do my chores, we froze our a$$es off.

My kids, like all kids I expect, complain or grumble a bit about their chores.  I never did!  Now that might be a little bit of selective memory on my part, but discipline was different back then and I don't remember getting punished for not doing chores.  Fighting with my siblings?  Oh yes, I remember those punishments quite well, but in general, I think I toed the line most of the time.

While my son's work ethic may still be in development, he does have some resourcefulness and initiative. When he was younger, he'd pretty regularly set up a card table in our driveway, mix up some lemonade, and hang out a sign offering a glass to the few people who walked by.  We live at the end of our neighborhood and no one really comes through unless they are lost or heading home, so his customer base was pretty small.  There were some girls at other end of the neighborhood who would do a booming business, because their stand, set up at a well-traveled cross street, supported the Realtor mantra- location, location, location. My son was undeterred because his location was near several nice neighbors who knew him well and thought he was so cute.  The kid would break down his stand after an hour or two, return with an almost full pitcher of lemonade, and a box full of cash.  I forgot to mention that in addition to being nice neighbors, they were fairly well off and far too generous.  Who needs to work hard when you're cute?

My daughter on the other hand has no interest in money, mainly because she wants for nothing.  Not that we give her everything, it's because she truly doesn't ask for anything.  She's not into what others think is popular, and has no interest in wearing the latest fashion.  She's perfectly content with wearing thrift store treasures and rummage sale gems, sewing her own Halloween and Comic-Con costumes, and listening to music on the radio vice buying it herself.  She's a voracious reader and a great artist.

She wants to attend a very distinguished art school after graduating.  Started by Walt Disney himself, it's a little north of Los Angeles and VERY expensive.  I'd rather her attend the one in Laguna Beach that's a bit cheaper, a little less prestigious, and a whole lot closer.  Remember when I said I was lazy?  If I didn't want to fight the Miramar Air Show traffic, what makes you think I'd want to slog through LA traffic?

So my laziness is primarily because I don't want the hassle and I would rather spend my time more wisely- expending my efforts in the most efficient way possible.

In high school I took typing because I figured I could write out my papers in the computer lab much faster than writing them by hand.  I'm also too lazy to pay the bills, so I set them all up on autopay, not writing a single check for any of them.  Ok, that's not lazy in the truest sense of the word, but it saves me time.

Speaking of money, I think money has made me sort of lazy.  My grandfather lived during the depression so he built and fixed everything.  My dad the same.  I picked up a bit of that skill, but only the part about knowing righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.  I could do more, but after multiple trips to Home Depot for the same project countless times, I realized that I have a little more money than know-how.  So, I would rather hire somebody to come in and do it right the first time.

I do most of the grocery shopping in our house since it's closer to my work.  When do I hit the commissary?  NEVER on payday, avoiding weekends if at all possible.  Are you kidding me? That place is a madhouse on payday!  The best time?  The day before payday, and if that falls on a weekend, only at 7 AM when it opens, before the rush.  I'm all about avoiding the crowds.  I even park the shopping cart at the end of an aisle and weave through, picking up items along the row- much easier than playing demolition shopping carts.  Do I make a shopping list? Definitely- it saves time inside.

 

So after all this, you're probably wondering two things.  The first is where am I going with all this?  The second is what do I do with all the time I'm saving?

I'd answer both questions, but I have to wake up early to hit the commissary and liquor store since I'm going sailing again. I also need to stop by Home Depot on the way home.  And those Facebook rants aren't going to write themselves!  So until next time.  I'd like to promise that it will be soon, but that would be just another paving stone made out of good intentions, and I'm not sure I can find the time.