Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am

This one's about thrills, a package, and a house or a boat.

"Being spontaneous is being able to respond with confidence; calmly trusting that, whatever the outcome, you will have a positive if challenging experience that will lead to greater self-awareness and success.” ~Sylvia Clare

“I may be going nowhere, but what a ride.” ~Shaun Hick

“Plans are invitation to disappointment.” Derek Landy

"Do you believe spontaneity leads to a richer, fuller life? Or do you believe that planning every intricate detail is the only way to have a fuller, successful life? I've given you three different quotes about spontaneity; which one describes your life?"

Hey y'all! Happy Friday! Just think...in a week from now you'll be returning all the crap you didn't want for Christmas! Isn't that exciting? Yeah, I didn't think so. Anyway...I think this Blog City prompt might be the longest prompt in the history of prompts. Maybe Lyn's a sly fox should get some sort of statistician for this kind of stuff on her staff so we can verify this.

Anyway, I'm all for spontaneity if it's fun and it works...which I think is a shitty, around-the-bend way of saying I most likely prefer having things planned out, or at least having a general idea in advance. And I'm not even talking about a successful life...when someone spits a cliche like "write what you know", one of those things for me is not "a fuller, successful life".

But I digress...yes, there's a certain bit of romance that accompanies spontaneity. It's a rush, this "doing something on a whim". The mix of excitement and suspense and the feeling like you're doing something a little dangerous or naughty, or that you're going against the grain while telling the world IDGAF with your middle fingers blazin', is most certainly a buzz unlike chemically-induced mayhem. It's fun when you're young, and/or rich, and/or just don't care about anything anymore. Being beautiful is an extra plus because no one likes an ugly thrill-seeker...it ruins the mood.

However, for me, right now, I need some semblance of structure and direction. One of my biggest pet peeves has always been people showing up at my place unannounced or uninvited. I don't like doing that to people, and not every day needs to be an adventure of the social variety. I need some kind of warning...not just for physical preparation purposes, but for mental prep too. This way I can plan out in my head what I expect of any situation at the bare minimum to avoid letdowns, mistakes or faux pas, and forgetting anything important. Nothing sucks more than trying to do something spur-of-the-moment and it going to shit because of the multitude of things that can go wrong when life moves immediately from "status quo" to "high speed chase". Good on you if and when you can be spontaneous and pull it off without some sort of hassle...rarely have I ever been so lucky.

To sum it up though, I don't think any of the quotes necessarily apply to the concept of "a fuller, more successful life". I'm having a hard time trying to reconcile spontaneity with success, if I'm being honest...the idea of that nearly goes against everything I've ever heard and learned about being successful. Then again, like I said, you write what you know, and of success I know very little. Take it as you will.

"There's a very large package on your door step. It's not addressed to anyone. Do you call the post office? The police? Or does curiosity get the better of you and you open it? If you opened it what was it? If you didn't what were the results of your reaching out?"

And that's a lot of questions!

Funny story (well, to me it's funny)...the other day someone left a phone book outside my door. And it wasn't the "here's the yearly Yellow Pages delivery" either...it was a beat up, terrible lookin, wrinkly local directory that had to be at least three years old and had been thumbed through six times a day. I'm not sure about the dates, because I didn't actually pick the thing up. I just sorta kicked it down the hall until it was almost in front of my neighbor's door. Because screw that...it's someone else's problem now, since it never should've been mine in the first place.

But a package? If it's not addressed and doesn't have any tracking info then I don't see the need to contact the post office. And cops? I don't care to call them for much of anything...the less I bother them, the better. As long as the box isn't ticking or hissing, and it looks plain and not like someone took a dump in it  , I'm nabbing it and opening it. What do I have to lose? If it's something cool, then score. If it's something that sucks, I'll throw it out or leave it in a common area of my building for someone else who may value it more to steal take at will.

I don't know what'd be in the box and I won't speculate because that seems a little...strange, and then I'm diving into the realm of fiction blogging and y'all know I don't have no time for that. But I'll tell you what...I won't feel bad for one minute opening that package. Not at all. I've had too many valuable things stolen from me in my lifetime by heartless fools to think about caring that someone else dropped their crap off in front of my door. Maybe that makes me an a-hole, but whatever...don't lose your stuff and I won't take it. Pretty easy, how that works.

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And now for my favorite part of today's entry...my eleventh song for the "12 Days of "Christmas"" , and it's "A House Or Maybe A Boat" by the only man I'll ever refer to as the sexiest man alive, Canada's own Hawksley Workman.

It's hard to believe I made it all the way to Day 11 without including a song from his album, Almost A Full Moon  ...a record described as "celebrating Christmas, community, family, food and singing". There are definitely a couple of corny songs, and a song or two that don't seem very hoiday-esque ("Claire Fontaine"   is a long-time favorite any time of the year), and it isn't his best work, but the originals provide an updated perspective on the holidays sorely lacking from the stale classics heard year in and year out.

"So bring your kisses and a carton of clementines
to go with the wine, and well keep the rind
'cuz the smell is just right at Christmastime."
Lyrics.  

And if you'd like yourself some Hawksley Workman, may I suggest Hawksley Burns For Isadora  , a collection of prose and other writings that were originally published as personal ads in (I believe) The Toronto Sun. Beautiful and romantic; I've given several copies of this book as gifts throughout the years. and it makes an excellent companion to some of his earlier musical works.

Everyone wants to start the new year off right, am I correct? With that in mind for 2015, I'd like to introduce a new, random feature to this here blog called Men's Health And Wellness And Other Problems. Today's article focuses on 15 facts about boners  ...the power of education behooves you to read this because the more you know, the more you, uhhhh, grow. (See what I did there?)

We can't let the terrorists win, and this whole North Korea/censorship thing with theaters cancelling the release of "The Interview" is straight-up bullshit as far as I'm concerned. But thanks to apparently the same terrorists who lobbied for the film's non-release, parts of it have been leaked...including the Kim Jong-Un death scene, which you can watch here  . Stupid censorship and the spineless Sony Corporation...ugh .

Alright, well, my work is done here...y'all have a bomb-ass weekend and we'll do this again tomorrow. Peace, we'll kiss for the rest of the year, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!