Earned vs. Owed

Over the past few months the family and I have participated in a number of 5K and 10K runs.  At the end of these runs, there is always some sort of snack/food/water area for the runners to grab a bite.  Sometimes it is a pancake breakfast, sometime fresh fruit,  or energy bars, or even boysenberry pie.  In every race, the folks handing out the food are cheerful and congratulatory to the runners, and the runners accepting the food are grateful and make sure that those around are thanked and that their fellow runners are able to get snacks as well.. I've yet to see pushing, shoving or complaining.  People are patient, happy and grateful.  Maybe it is the endorphins from the run, or we're all too tired to complain about any wait or long lines.  Either way, it is one of the very great things I have encountered in my very short running journey.

On the other side of the coin...

When a run is a bit of distance from our house, we will drive to the area the day/night before and get a hotel room.  Given the choice, we try to get a room that includes a 'complementary continental breakfast', for a small bite before or after the race.  Usually these breakfast consist of toast, cold cereal, maybe some fruit, coffee juice, etc... We look at this as a nice 'extra' to our room - not a replacement for a meal, but more of a small snack.  Not everyone sees it that way. 

After our race this past weekend, we went back to the hotel to shower, and thought we'd stop in to grab a little something.  As we were in the line at the 'complementary' breakfast, I saw a family of 6 that had built a small smorgasbord on their table that consisted of no fewer than 2 dozen waffles, 1/2 a dozen bowls of cereal, and assorted cups of coffee, juice, and milk too numerous to count.  While this food sat, untouched by the father and kids, the mom of the group was in line and was systematically going thru the tray of donuts, pulling out all of the fancy glazed/sprinkle covered chocolate donuts.  While she was blocking the the line from moving forward, a second tray of donuts was brought our, at which point she moved BACK in the line to continue gathering up the fancy chocolate morsels --ALL of them.  By the time she finished, she had a tower of about a dozen donuts, and  the tray had been decimated.

The truly sad part was that when I went back thru the lobby area 20 minutes later to check out, the family had left the table in shambles, and most of the food had only been partially eaten.

In both experiences, I was struck by the similarities, and saddened by the difference. 

Money was paid to participate in the run and stay at the hotel:
At the run, the fee was reflected in race tee shirts, finishers medals, course prep, timers, security, road closer costs, and yes, even post race snacks.
At the hotel, the money was for room rental, power, cleaning services, taxes, and yes,  'complementary' breakfast.

The line between  'what we are owed' in life versus 'what we have earned' is constantly in danger of being erased. 

Babies+Zoo=Unwritten Law?

It was a beautiful day in Los Angeles yesterday, so we took a little trip to the LA Zoo.  (Don't panic - this is not Dave's SoCal Travelogue - I'll leave that to Huell Howser ) As we walked around, I was struck by how many babies were being pushed and carried up and down the hills of the zoo.  I'm not talking toddlers who may have been able to appreciate the animals, but little babies - well under a year old. 

I guess it is just a given that if you have a baby, you take them to the zoo. The fresh air, the lack of lines, the ability to go at your own pace and the POSSIBILITY that your kid may get something out of the experience is really all you you can hope to get out of the day.

Come to think of it, we all could use a day at the zoo.

What Time is it?

I think that Pandora Radio can read minds.  Or at least freak me out when I use it.  I was on a run yesterday and the Journey song 'Separate Ways'  came on.  That in itself is not weird or odd, as I had the radio set to Summer Hits of the 80's. 

What made it a bit spooky is that I was thinking about time when the song came on.  Stay with me...

Separate Ways was released on  February 5, 1983, and was the commencement song at my high school graduation that May.  When they played the song at graduation, it was met with a bit of 'meh' from the graduates and even less enthusiasm by the family and friends in attendance.  I did not own the Frontiers album and have never purchased the song from iTunes.  But every time I hear the opening keyboard riff, I immediately flash on a orange moon over the Palo Verde High School football stadium 29 years ago.

I know that songs can trigger memories, but it got me to wondering...with the access we  now have to all kinds of  things from our collective past, are we in danger of not having those trigger moments of memory?  It used to be that we were much more dependent on our own internal memories, as we didn't have the internet to look up what year Sound of Music came out (1965) or who was the original lead singer for Faith No More (Chuck Mosley), and if we wanted to see the Sound of Music we had to wait until it came on TV.  Now, with nearly instant access to well, just about everything, we no longer have to wait. In turn , I don't think we relate to time in the same way we used to. Our 'fond remembrances' are now merely playlist and web sites.  We have even reduced our over beer arguments about who had the highest batting average In the American League in 1963 (Carl Yastrzemsk  .321) to a game of how fast can you get the info on your smart phone.  We're loosing the need to remember, and replacing it with the ability to find.

So, back to time.

I think that this generations relationship with time is changing, compressing if you will.  When we were younger, 20 years was a long time, and 50 was a lifetime.  This was due, I believe, to our dependency on our own memories. Now, when you are listening to Meet The Beatles, do you eve stop to realize that the music you are enjoying is 48 years old? 99% of the time , I don't.

Do you think our parents, or grandparents related to time in the same way?  How many times to you find yourself saying "that was HOW many years ago?" 

When Separate Ways came thru my headphones, it took me back and made me recall a fun time in my life. then I thought about all the things that had happened in my life since then, how much TIME had gone by. In the end, I just felt...old.

To end this on an upbeat note, here is possibly one of the the worst music videos  ever...still a pretty good song.

Cool vs. Crazy

I have a Pinterest page/blog/thingy.  Here is the sum total of what I've done with it:

Sorry its so small - click to enlarge

4 images. Four. Vier. Quatre. 

I got this email yesterday:

For those of you who don't know who Peter Molyneux is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Molyneux

 

Why in the the WORLD is he following my Pins? 

Door #1, Door #2 or Door #3?

I've never been a huge fan of traditional game shows.  I enjoy playing trivia and puzzle games, but with friends, not on TV for money (or a life time supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Fransisco Treat!)

The types of game shows I like are the slightly off...Liars Club or To Tell the Truth, or even Wipeout...Big Balls!

Basically, games with no real talent or skill - no knowledge of trivia, or ability to solve puzzles.

My all time favorite was 'Lets Make a Deal'.  Now before you all go get huffy, and say that in order to play well, you needed to have a general idea of household items and grocery costs, I say 'HA!' You only need to have a ridiculous costume and the ability to physically agonize over 'Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3?'

The utter joy or crushing pain on the contestant's face that was triggered by the pull back and reveal of what was behind their chosen door was what made the show such a draw for me.  Recently, I started to think about why I was attracted to this very primitive type of proposition... win or lose.  I think it is because, instead of a Roman Emperor giving the thumbs up/thumbs down, or even something as simple as a coin flip, there is at least the illusion of control of destiny.  The 3rd choice, combined with the player themselves being given the choice made it seem more than random chance. 

I think that with many of the decisions we have in our daily lives, it really does turn into 'Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3?', and we kid ourselves that what we choose, no mater how much research we do, how much influence is applied to us by outside forces, that it will make any difference - we still could get the ZOINK!

Sour grapes?  Not really.  To appreciate the good in my life, I have to realize that I have to accept the ZOINKS! as well as the new car.  I have to embrace that I will not always be in control of my fate, that I will make both good and bad choices - regardless of preparation , or lack there of, and that sometimes I will have to choose between 'Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3?'.

The best part is, I still get to choose.

So...

Apologies for the blanks...

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.  ~Benjamin Franklin

Multiple Angles / Full Reality?

17,766.  That is how many photos I have in digital format on my computer.  The photo archive spans just under 10 years, and contains photos taken by not only me, but by my son, daughter and wife.

There are photos of great family vacations, of holidays, stop motion experiments by my son, backyard BBQs and pool parties.  A fairly well rounded collection of images.

Mixed in with the good, necessary fun or important pictures, is a pretty fair amount of digital flotsam and jetsam.  You know the type ..the somewhat out of focus, or badly lit shot, the ones with the heads of the subjects cut off or 25 'auto-winder' shots, all nearly identical.  the kind of shots that, in this digital age, are nothing more than hard drive space wasters.  I really could cut the number of pictures by about 50% with just a bit of 'highlight/delete'.  And yet...

Its in this scatter shot group of digital information that I think my 'real' pictures can be found.  Its easy enough to focus on the pristine, well composed moments in time, and to think that they represent the full picture of who we are.  And who would know or even care if I was to simply remove the not good enough, duplicates or just plain bad bits of data.

I would.

We like to spend our time putting our best images out for the world to see. We all want to hear that we have the best looking kids, the nicest house, the hottest wife.  That what we have accomplished in life has value. 

In order to truly appreciate the perfect 'Kodak Moments (TM)' , we have to be willing and open to not just looking at the bad pictures, but be ready and accepting of others telling us that ..."gee, not your best side in that shot."

Just because we can...don't delete.

24

In my dreams, I'm always 24 years old.

Regardless off the type of dream, the events in the dream, the people in the dream, I'm always 24.
 
I don't know why.

In that fog of time between dreaming and waking, when the world has yet to invade my brain, before my body is able to groan at me for the previous days run, let alone the 40 plus years of less that perfect living, I am 24.

When I was  24, life was o.k. To the best of my recollection, nothing major happened to me when I was 24.  No relationship (starting/ending/existing) to speak of. I hadn't started in the games industry yet - I was working a pretty boring 9-5 job in 'Franchise Development'.  I was not in great physical shape, had no real hobbies, no tangible assets, save for a car.  I had met Ann, but we were not even close to dating (that is a whole 'nother post!)

The best, as they say, was still ahead for me.

Just to clarify...I LOVE my life today.  I'm healthier than I have ever been, I have the greatest (yes THE GREATEST) wife and kids in the world and as soon as I navigate a small bit of career turbulence, I will have the schmaltzy Lifetime, made for TV movie ending that permeates the airwaves.

So why 24?  Was it because that is the age when I stopped growing emotionally? Spiritual? Physically? Intellectually? I don't think so, because most of the people who know me say that I stopped growing emotionally at around 13 (as most of us guys do). As for the other areas, I don't think we ever stop evolving and growing,

I think it is my inner blueprint, my soft reset point.  I think we all need a reference point for who we are in life, and as the amount of influences on us increases exponentially every day,  having something a simple as an arbitrary age to use as a starting point is not such a terrible thing.

So, how old are you?

Blank Page Syndrome

The blinking cursor in the upper left of the screen.  There are as few things in life as daunting as the start of a thought or an idea...if you are TRYING to have an idea.   Unlike many other tasks, like sweeping a floor, painting a wall or making a sandwich, creation of an idea is, well , hard.

The kernel of an idea, the center essence of creativity is something that, at least for me, has to just happen.  I can't 'will' an idea out of thin air.  Once the spark is there, I revel in the experience of building and creating, of nurturing and expanding the concept.  One of my favorite quotes is from a  book by Neal Stepheson called Snow Crash:

“To condense fact from the vapor of nuance.”

I strive everyday to search for the great, and sometimes not sop great ideas.  The blank page is my nemesis...working on making it my trusted friend. 

Saturday...Check!

Today was one of those 'life is pretty good' days.  I'm gonna bask in the rest of it...

There's no surprise in life if you know where you're goin'

I was watching the Bud Greenspan Olympic documentary  "16 Days of Glory" about the the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. and the segment on Joan Benoit had few little nuggets of insight for me, buried in the overall arch of the story.

The big picture was that 1984 was the FIRST  time that women were allowed to compete in a race longer than 1500 meters. Joan had qualified for the Olympics 17 after having arthroscopic knee surgery with a time of 2:31:04, and won the inaugural Women's Olympic Marathon 3 months later with a time of 2:24:52. Amazing stuff.

The first little nugget was when Joan was talking about running the Boston Marathon in 1979.  As she was running, she asked a male runner where the infamous 'Heartbreak Hill' was on the course.  The guy gave her an incredulous look and said that she had finished it ...over 2 miles back.

The second nugget was during the Olympic Marathon segment itself.  There was a section of the race that took place on a closed section of the 110 freeway.  Joan said that when she was running this section,it reminded her of the solitude of her training runs back in Maine.  She had heard other runners complaining about this stretch of the race. Joan then said that hadn't looked at the race course before she ran...in fact she NEVER looked at a race route.  She enjoys the sense of discovery, the 'let's see what's around the next corner' feeling.

It really struck me.  We spend so much time and effort planning and researching, that sometimes we forget to just discover.  Don't get me wrong...Joan had done a MASSIVE amount training for this run.  She didn't just show up that day and start  running.  The race for her, was in her, not the course.

This is a song that pops up on my iPod when I'm running..it always makes me smile.  Now I have a better understanding of why.

Here are some great links about Joan Benoit Samuelson and the Bud Greenspan documentary 16 Days of Glory
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Benoit
http://www.marathonguide.com/history/olympicmarathons/chapter26.cfm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090559/

When 'Network' was just a movie

In 1976,  I was 11 and we moved to a small desert community called Blythe. Located about 100 miles east of  Palm Springs, on the California /Arizona Border,  was my Mon's home town and we had just bought the Sizzler restaurant.

I had spent the first 5 years of school - 6 if you count kindergarten - at small Christian school in Covina.  Current evidence not withstanding, I was a pretty well adjusted, social, bright kid and did well in school. the transition to the new school was a bit bumpy, but I got thru it pretty unscathed.

Jumping into a new environment when you are a kid is so much easier than when you are an adult.  Perhaps I am romanticizing the process from when I was younger, but it seems like, as an adult, getting to know new people is a bit more challenging.

We no longer 'meet' people. Now we 'connect' and 'network'. 

I still consider myself a 'pretty well adjusted, social, bright adult' and  I've done well in my professional life. But now, as I go about meeting new people, there is this subtle undercurrent of caution.  I know it's always been there, but I'm much more aware of it now.

'What does this person want?' 'Why should I spend my time/give my attention to this person?' 'What is the upside of me knowing this person?'

It's all games.  Everything we do in life is a game.  It's all about strategy, about gathering and processing information, looking to see what is the benefit of all of our actions and  interactions

I'm as guilty as the next person when it comes to this gamesmanship.  I think we all are.  I don't know if my acknowledgment of this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Am I just pointing out the obvious to the rest of the world by writing this, thus exposing me as a slow to evolve dolt? Or have I stumbled onto one of life's great truths?

Maybe both.

Isn't Ironic?

For the half a dozen of my faithful readers (o.k. the hand full of you that have acknowledged this blog - thanks btw), it is not lost on me that the day after I make the bold statement of  'a post a day' , I fail to post. 

No excuses.  I plain and simple dropped the ball.

Mea maxima culpa.