Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about too much, mornings, and keeping to self.

30DBC PROMPT: "When is too much of something not a good thing?"

What up blog fam? I love having me some extra free time to myself, so I'm goin' all out like I used to do back in the day (which wasn't that long ago, actually) with three prompts and three responses. Clear your schedules and make some time, because this entry promises to be worth your while (and if not, save your receipt and you'll get a refund within thirty days*).

*Restrictions apply...as in, there are no refunds.

When is too much of something not a good thing? I'll tell you when...but first indulge me a little subtraction (not the word I really wanna use) from the point. Take, for instance, this: the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" . It's the longest-running blogging group of any kind on WDC, and it's a great experience for many reasons. I've lost track of the amount of times I've been involved in it (either as a participant, a judge, an unofficial round leader, or now as the ombudsman). It's mad wicked fun if you're into blogging, and I've had the good fortune of getting to know so many people through the sharing of experiences. I've been asked on more than one occasion to overtake the whole thing...overseeing it, running it, however you wanna phrase it. I can see people's points; along with Lyn's a sly fox I've been in charge in August and this month, with 30DBC Creator/Founder our fall-back de facto 30DBC guru and founder. And while that's been fun and all, I enjoy competing in it a lot more than I would from the other side of the keyboard. I don't want that responsibility full-time. Among other reasons, it wouldn't be fun anymore. It would feel like an obligation, and I have commitment issues in that regard. As a participant, I still retain control if I decided in any given month that I'd want to bow out. When you're a leader, you don't quite get that opportunity. I won't go into further detail...but that's one example of how this could eventually become, for me at least, too much of a good thing.

Now...here's 14 more sentence fragments that'll illustrate my response to this prompt.

1) Too much socks and not enough shorts
2) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (yes, I've discovered I have a limit as to how many I can eat at one sitting, and it's not a good feeling)
3) Ranch salad dressing (see #2)
4) I need alone time, away from even my most favorite people...I tend to have short nerves
5) I can only listen to The Beatles for so long before I need to switch it up
6) Not every day can be 80 degrees and sunny
7) Can't dress each morning like it's a night on the town
8) Eating your favorite food every day is a surefire way to ensure it won't be your favorite food for long
9) The hot water eventually will run out if you shower too long
10) Blondes don't have to be your downfall
11) Neither does vodka
12) Money can only buy so much happiness before either the money or the happiness (or both) needs replacing
13) Sometimes I like a lot of hot sauce, and sometimes I wanna taste my food and have a normal digestive process
14) Satisfaction, like pain, should only be temporary

I'll tie this portion of the entry up with a few anecdotal bits of wisdom..."Life is not joy; it is motion" (Mario Cuomo); "You want it all but you can't have it" (Faith No More); and "I just wanna be a cool breeze on a warm day" (DMFM).

BCF PROMPT: "We are all creatures of habit... what is your morning ritual? Tell us the first five things of a typical day (let's skip the morning necessity )."

Guess that depends on what you consider a "morning necessity"...especially when you're of the gender where some parts of your body wake up before others. But I'll skip that detail, I suppose, and quote our friend Lyn's a sly fox ..."I'm <insert an age here>, I'm not dead yet!"

I'm a night owl...what that means is that I don't do mornings very well at all. In fact, I'm quite a righteous prick before I've had coffee or an energy drink and have fully waken up. I'm irritable, snappy, and by golly don't piss me off, because I'll act out first and apologize (maybe) later. Suffice to say, I don't have much of a morning routine...I wanna milk every last second of sleep I can get, because it's hard enough for me to come by and waking up to an alarm is not in my DNA willingly. I try to take care of as much as I can before I go to sleep (showering, lunch packed, clothes laid out) so I can get up and go. There's nothing worse (for me) than waking up with enough time to have too much time to get ready, but not enough time to get into anything else.

That said, here's my morning routine list...

Gotta use this image every chance I get!

1) Take my meds, usually with a Mountain Dew Kickstart (although I'm gonna have to find something else, because I'm ready for a solid nap like two hours later)
2) Get ready for class (get dressed, get the morning essentials out of the way, make sure I've got all my shit together again)
3) Catch the bus to class (I have a 20-25 minute ride, so I usually do some leisure reading to alleviate stress and anxiety)
4) Check my school email, Facebook, and WDC email before my first class (except for Mondays and Fridays, where I barely have enough time to get to my first class once I get off the bus)
5) Do that learnin' thing

Lately though, there's been this, ummm, interruption, if you will, in my morning routine. I catch the bus at Cortland's hub, where all the buses start their runs. Lately there's been a woman waiting for the bus with her mother and a small, rambunctious child. This kid, like every boy about his age (approximately three or four), knows every kung-fu move there is to know, and isn't afraid to step out in front of you and challenge you to a battle. I would see him on my walk-up, and start to veer toward the farther end of the sidewalk to avoid him (because I don't like to be fucked with by anyone first thing in the morning)...but little homie sees me (I'm not hard to miss with my limp and ginormous beard) and will walk just as far out of his way to get all up in my kneecaps with his Pre-K Mutant Ninja/Power Ranger combo stance to wage war on my nutsac if I'm not paying attention. I've given up trying to avoid him; because these little people don't know any better. I've found a way to put him in his place (hopefully it's not temporary and it works as long as him and I are destined to be waiting at the bus stop at the same time)...I do a stop/stutter-step thing and then flex out like I'm gonna lunge at him with my fists clenched, head-faking him while jerking my shoulders. Scares the everlovin' outta him; he booked over to the little shelter by his mom, and his grandmother laughed at him. Norb: 1, Li'l Bastard: 0.

MUSICAL BREAK!!

Someday, these kids are gonna learn not to toy with me first thing in the morning. I'm not a violent person usually, even if I may come across that way from time to time. I wouldn't actually tackle an otherwise-defenseless child who's steppin' toward me in a threatening manner, but I'm also not gonna let some punk push me around either.

"You want it all but you can't have it.
It's in your face but you can't grab it."
Lyrics and interpretations.  

THE DAILY BOX SCORE:

"When was the last time you dedicated a day to yourself? If you have, share the details and their effects on you at the end of the day. If you haven't, why not, and would you if given the chance?"

Yo, when haven't I dedicated a day to myself in the last two years? That's the beauty of being forever single...you're not directly responsible for someone else's feelings. I can wake up and do my own thing and not have to worry about how that's gonna impact someone else. It's liberating, especially when you tend to get into long-term relationships like I find myself in (and really, who gets into a thing with someone and is like "This is cool and I'm totally happy, but we're gonna break it off after 32.8 months because anything after that is too long for my liking"?). I can be me, and I don't have to worry if I've gone over the "fucks I still have to give" budget...basically, because I no longer have to give so many. Nobody to impress, no worries if dinner isn't on time or to someone else's liking, and if I wanna lounge around in my boxer briefs eating Cheetos, the orange dust that collects in my beard will wait until I'm damn good and ready to get 'em outta there. Oh, did I say "beard"? Yes, because I can have one without having to deal with the "Ugh, I can't kiss you because your beard hurts my face when I try to" nonsense some women like to pull because they think since you're with them, they have full authority to remake you into their physical image of what suits them in a creature who walks on two legs and owns a penis.

And wow, I'm now so off-topic that it's gonna take a miracle to get me back. Luckily, I have miracles stocked up because I don't have to pull any off to satisfy a woman or her parents right now.

This is hard, because I'm a minimalist...mainly out of necessity, but also because I'm fairly easy to satisfy under almost any circumstance. I do what I can with what I've got. I try to stay drama-free and prefer not to stick my nose in anyone's business. I don't say much; so when I do it's because I've got something important or meaningful to add to a discussion. I don't like wasting anything- words, steps, actions- if anything is worth doing, it's worth doing well, and getting it right the first time. It's a blessing and a curse, but it's better than the alternatives.

So that's why I try to dedicate every day to me. I'm the only one I know who I can count on to take care of me. I can't/won't allow myself to trust that others have my best interests in mind, especially in situations where I might need them to. Sounds egotistical, but it's not. Not at all. If I can minimize the opportunities for others to let me down, I'll be better off in the long run...less setbacks, a straighter shot to where I need to be, and fewer headaches and heartaches. Gnothi seauton; the Greek aphorism for "know thyself"...no matter what situation you find yourself in, you'll be able to trust yourself enough to get through it or get out of it. If I don't look after #1 in a world where everyone else is doing the same, who else will?

Be not the dreaded reason. Be your own best advocate. Be yourself, and be comfortable with that in a society that lives only to tear down anything that isn't like everything else. In the end, only you are in that grave...don't take others' hatred and disdain with you. Celebrate you every chance you get, even if you're the only one at the party! And if today wasn't working for you, most of the time tomorrow's another day...another chance to get things right. Don't listen to the bullshit the mainstream world wants you to believe in and conform to. You know what's best for you.

THE LISTICLE 9.16

In conjunction with "BLOG CITY presents: The LIST" , I present to you 14 songs that are all about you (or me) being the best you (or me) only you (or I) can be.

1) "You" by Atmosphere
2) "Stay" by The Tragically Hip
3) "One Man Army" by Our Lady Peace
4) "Don't Be Crushed" by Hawksley Workman
5) "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker
6) "You're My Heart" by LL Cool J
7) "Fall Semester" by The Get Up Kids
8) "You Can Do Magic" by America
9) "You Never Know" by The Goo Goo Dolls
10) "I Am...I Said" by Neil Diamond
11) "I Go To Work" by Kool Moe Dee
12) "Ironman" by Black Sabbath
13) "Hell Yeah" by Bloodhound Gang
14) "Who Said We're Wack?" by The Lonely Island

I trust that you all know how to use YouTube if you're interested enough in any of these songs.

And...if you're that intrigued by any of my list songs (except for the one list where I used cartoon characters instead of songs), I'm throwing it out there just for you...get at me via the comments section, email, or WDC IM, and I'll hook you up with a cd of the any day's list if you'd like to add it to your personal collection. I haven't figured out all the details yet, and production wouldn't likely happen until next month at the earliest anyway, but I love music and hey, I'm here for you because you're here too. I might even throw some personal touches in there as well. C'mon, let's make this an interactive thing! Sharing and whatnot...it's caring, or something. Perhaps I'll create a separate "List Only" static item with entry/songs and some sort of ordering system. That's how I ball in this era...throwin' back to the mail age with digital technologistics. Don't hate; appreciate.

I don't even know if I'm allowed to do this, or if you're allowed to do this either, but there is an open voting period for the best "lister" of all the listers that took part in "BLOG CITY presents: The LIST"  that runs through early Friday evening at 8pm. I'd appreciate it if you vote for me take a little time to check out everyone that's submitted 14 days' worth of eligible entries and pick your favorite. I was unaware that there would be a voting of favorites when I decided to throw my name into the fray, so I'm assuming there's a prize attached, but that's on me...I should probably pay a little more attention to this kinda stuff in case the only prize is me saying "I had the sweetest lists, as per the voters of these things". All I know is that I have people sponsoring me, and I don't even know how many, but there's a good lot as far as I know, and that's stellar...the proceeds go to "RAOK Upgrade Brigade Group"  and "Invalid Item" , so how could I not be a part of this? I need to thank my sponsors. I need to figure out who they are first!

I know this is off-topic, but this article/video is hilarious if you grew up in the 80's..."Where Are They Now?", Cartoon Character Edition.  

And hey, Soundtrackers and maybe-you-wanna-be-Soundtrackers, get down with lizco252's idea of a Halloween-ish activity now before it's too late! I don't know what my favorite Wytch has up her sleeve whatever wytches wear these days, but it's sure to be kick-ass. Get at her if you wanna be a part of the music-based fun and shenanigannery! (And I don't even care that "shenanigannery" is not a word...that's how awesome whatever Beth lays out for us is gonna be!)

I think I had more to add here, but I'm gonna close it off now anyway because a) it's a good place to; and b) I should consider my administrative duties in the 30DBC and make some time to get back into reading some entries while I still can without feeling overwhelmed by an entire month's worth of submissions (because I hate it when I'm judging a week and I let it go 'til the last minute). Peace, it's magic, it's tragic, it's a loss, it's a win, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!