Quit making excuses!

We've all heard it before; we've all SAID it before: "I don't have time for (insert any activity here)".  I'll be honest, while I used to be immune to assertions like that, I have found myself uttering those words in my old age.

Back in the day I quit my job, dropped out of school, and bought a one-way ticket to Europe just because I wanted to go there and I was sick of all the excuses I would come up with for NOT doing it.  I remember telling my friends what I was doing and they would always reply "That's awesome! I've always wanted to do that!", but when I invited them they would invariably decline with several reasons why they couldn't; "my job..." or "my car...." or "but school...". 

Now while I don't think that everyone should drop out of society to go on a European escapade, I do think that people in general get so tied down with all their responsibilities and possessions that they miss out on a lot of things that they always wanted to do.  We use our job, our bill, our payments, or family as excuses not to do anything fun and exciting.  Do you really want to be that old person that has a whole list of things they WISH they would have done?!

So back to me and my old age.  I'm NOT old, but sometimes I feel it.  It is really hard not to get caught up in the complexities of life.  How hard is it to call a company and make reservations to go skydiving?  NOT hard (skydiving is amazing, by the way; I highly recommend it. Even for those of you that are scared of heights).  How hard is it to make a trip to a coast and go SCUBA diving?  NOT hard (although a little costly, it is a LOT of fun; more fun than skydiving, in my opinion).  They don't have to be that extravagant, either.  How about camping in the rockies?  Or going rafting?  Learning another language?  The list could go on and on, but the excuses are the same.  We all have our reasons for NOT doing what we really want to.  If we do it and then decide that it's not for us; that's OK.  At least we tried it and we KNOW that we don't like it.  

I used to do all sorts of crazy things; I would do some of them on a whim, too.  I still have a huge list of things I want to do, but I've started spewing those same excuses.  I like living life, and I want to experience as much as I can before I really do get old.  

If you find yourself putting off things you really want to do, I challenge you to pick at least one thing and make an effort to do it.  Put work, your car, and all the boring day to day routines aside and go try something new!  Who knows, you might surprise yourself and find something you really enjoy!

Sabbatical

This post will be very short, but after a four year sabbatical I think I'm ready to start writing again.  I've always enjoyed writing; even going as far as starting my own novel, but I never seem to make the time to really get into it.  I was recently pointed to a blog about online dating gone wrong and have decided to fire up the short bus again and see if it still runs.  As for the other two short bus riders: I doubt they even remember this blog, so I doubt they'll make an appearance.
Sexgrinchsadventures is a rather humorous account of some really awful experiences.  For those of you who are sensitive to language, there is a few choice words dropped here and there, but overall is worth the read.  You will find yourself laughing and thinking to yourself "there's no way that there are people out there like this!"  Like I said, it's definitely worth a read.
While there are several ideas rolling around in the vast caverns of my cranium I'm keeping this post to a minimum; a post to signify to myself (cuz let's be honest, who else really reads this...) that I'm serious about writing again and to alert any possible readers that the short bus is running once again!

What do I mean? I surely don't know!

I have felt very strange lately. I feel as if something very big is about to happen. Lately I have been feeling... emotions. While at work I see cute little girls run around the movie theater like little angels and I feel emotions. I watch a SPECTACULAR film and afterwards am speechless, and I feel emotions. I want something. I'm not even sure what it is, but I want it with everything that I am.

Is it childish to want to grow up and marry a princess? A beautiful and wild princess with an untamed and indomitable spirit? I want that anyway.

Is it selfish to want to do something big and important with my life? To do something that will make people see me as a man who matters? A man who is somebody? I want that too.

Is is wrong to want to love and be loved by everyone I meet? To be bound to comrades in a common sense of trial and accomplishment? I want that.

Yesterday I wrote. When I was asked a simple question many times answered, I did not write the answer. I wrote how I felt. The poor person on the other side of the chat most likely gained nothing from the seemingly unending ramblings of the mind of Caleb. Not so on my end. There is something big coming, and I'm not going to be ready.

When will my princess come? Would she notice me if she came soon? I hope so.

When will I be given an extra-ordinary task to accomplish? Will I be found wanting when it does come? I hope not.

I feel. I like it... and I don't.

I'm still a guy

I never thought out of all the people in the world I would be the one saying "there's a country song about that!" but in this case I just can't help it. As you may or may not know, I go country swing dancing once a week, so I hear my fair share of country music, and Brad Paisley's got a winner here. If you haven't heard his song, I'm still a guy, it's definitely worth a listen hear...
The reason I bring up this particular song, is because I've found that guys now days are pretty pathetic. The traditional roles in relationships are being reversed, so the guys are now the emotional, fragile, and lonley half of the relationship. Now before you get your panties in a wad, ladies, I mean no disrespect by this comment. I merely wish to convey the traditional views and to point out the inherent differences between men and women. The problem with this line of thought though, is that the world is changing. It is becoming harder and harder to define the female race as the emotional one, because men have somehow managed to emasculate themselves.
Now, why do I bring this up? How does it effect me? Directly, it really doesn't. But it's EMBARRASSING!!!! Men, acting like women! That's just not right... I don't anticipate that women will stop liking manly men, but it could happen. Then what will I do?
So to all those men out there who let the women wear the pants: Grow a pair! Quit being such a pantywaist, embrace the testosterone running through your veins and be a man!

Never good enough...

No, I'm not talking about girls, I'm actually talking about myself (I know, that's hard to believe...). I just finished taking a PT test for ROTC which consists of how many pushups you can do in 2 min, situps in 2 min, and a 2 mile run. now, I do ok, I finished my 2 mile run in 2nd place and managed to get 65 pushups and 66 situps, but for some reason, for me that's just not good enough. I never thought of myself as a perfectionist, and for most things I'm not. Take schoolwork for instance, I could car less about alot of it, I'll write a paper in red crayon if I have to. Other areas of my life however I have found that I am quite obsessive about getting everything done right. Working out is one of those areas, no matter what I do, I always want to do better. Sure I ran 2 miles in 14:32, a personal best for me, but I'm still not happy with that. It's too bad really, that I can't be happy with mediocrity... So despite my reasonably good score on my PT test I am currently formulating ways to improve my score and get in better shape. So until I stop feeling like this:
and start feeling more like this:
I plan on pretty much killing myself to get in shape. My own personal goal is to become my own version of leonidis. "Never retreat, never surrender"

Getting old...

I just know that I'm going to be rebuked by everyone over the age of 25 for this post, but since speaking my mind is one of my horribly annoying skills, here it goes. I used to make fun of all my older siblings when they would tell me not to call past 9, because that was when they went beddie bye, but I find myself now turning in earlier and earlier. My standing self imposed curfew this semester has been 10:30. Now while that might not sound incredibly early for some of you fogies, it sounds early to me: a spry young college student running amuck amidst the plethora of college activities and fun seeking peers...
As if going to bed early wasn't bad enough, I have somehow managed to commit social suicide and ceased to function outside of school, work and homework. I still manage to find a few minutes here and there to veg in front of the TV now and then, the key word being 'veg' (veg: to assume a posture where no muscles are utilized and the brain enters a vegetative state.). I recently talked to a former friend who has also commited social suicide, her removal from the social pool is due to her aquirement of a semi-posessive boy toy who now occupies ALL her time. Although she has severed all former social connections, she, at least has a significant other to spend her anti-social time with. I, on the other hand have seen fit to fill my social sobatical with copious amounts of work. I have no witness to my madness, just a variety of textbooks and a never ending list of assignments formulated to waste my time while teaching me absolutely nothing. Isn't school great?
Now I did point out that this was all self imposed, and I will admit to that, but really how much of a choice do I really have? I spend all my active brain power on improving my grades yet still manage to secure 3 C's. Is this because I'm not really as smart as I think I am? Probably. Or it could have something to do with all the asinine assignments systematically designed to drive me out of my mind.
I no longer have any fun, I find it harder and harder to find energy to actually get out and do stuff and I have commited social suicide. If those aren't signs of getting old I don't know what is. I turn 26 in a month and a half. It's not so much the number that bothers me, but the knowledge that the older I get, the more responsibility I get and the less energy and time I'll have to accomplish it all.
As I write this, I am watching the clock get closer and closer to 10:30 and I know that if I don't finish up quick, I'm going to regret it tomorow morning at 5:30 when I get up. Maybe one of these days I'll try and get my life back, but I suppose it'll have to wait till I get out of this hellish nightmare called college. In the meantime I guess I just have to sacrifice my youth and sanity for a few good grades and the hope of a future career in my chosen field. Getting old sucks.

...Close your eyes and sleep my child...

I, after many failures, finally managed to get to bed on time last night. This is no easy task to be sure; However I feel so much better and more productive that it may just be worth it. I hereby proclaim that 12:00 midnight will be my new bedtime on the weekdays, Saturday, and Sunday (basically everyday except Friday. Which then begs the question, "does that mean I don't have to go to bed on time on Thursdays too?" I have no classes on Friday, thus upgrading my Thursday into a Friday, and my Friday into a Saturday, gifting me with 2 blessed Saturdays). If that is the case then Maybe I shouldn't have to go to bed on time on Sunday or Tuesday either since I don't have classes those days until 1700 hours. I know, I know. I'm really trying to get a job. I now have 10 applications in and will call every last one of them tomorrow to demand to know why on earth they haven't hired me yet. In the mean time though, I am up to level 41 on Call of Duty and recently played some of my best games receiving scores such as: 23/7 (kills/deaths), 22/12, and 18/10*. Maybe I could put some of those on my resume, just to show them that I mean business. So, in summary: I will go to bed on time every single day, except Tuesday, Thursday (my Friday), Friday (my first Saturday) and Sunday. I feel so much better about myself now.
Speaking of Myself... I am now in the market for a new pair of spectacles. I have gone for quite a while with only contacts and find myself wearing them to bed more often than not. This causes my eyes to be quite dry in the mornings and I can't imagine it is good for them either. So the decision was made to purchase some glasses to wear while I'm just Chillaxin in the mornings and Evenings, and also on Tuesday, My Friday, My first Saturday, and Sunday. I prognosticate that this will greatly increase the overall happiness of my eyeballs. Maybe even allowing me to get such scores as 30/5, or 22/2. *sigh* oh college... what a horrible and unhealthy existence.

*Only the first mentioned score is confirmed- other scores are not exact numbers and in fact may or may not be complete lies...