My New Attitude or How to Find the Silver Lining in a Fused Motor
So it certainly could have been much worse. My $1000 1984 Ford Bronco almost completed a 2500 mile round trip today. Unfortunately, it is now essentially totaled and I'm typing this at the only Starbucks in Hermiston, Or waiting for a ride. Fortunately, I'm close enough to home that a ride is an option, and I don't need a car for the next 10 weeks. This gives me time to figure out what I'm going to do about this issue...and I have no doubt that a very viable solution is out there.
You see, a few years ago this experience would elicit a tirade from me including the words "Why" "Me" and "Unfair". Now, I have gained enough perspective to understand how much worse it could be, to let myself off the hook for not preventing a problem I didn't know existed, and to let the past be the past as I work towards solutions for the future. I used to dwell on how much better things could be going for me, on how many more breaks I could be getting instead of letting them get me. Life just doesn't work that way. I can live in the mistakes I've made in the past, or I can decide to learn from what has happened and move forward with life, thankful that Max and I are safe, warm, and not down for the count. Not by a long shot.
Keeping up with the family...
So, here it is, the long-awaited third foray by the Chambers Family into the world of blogging. I decided that it just wasn't fair for Liz and Dad to get all the glory - not to mention the fact that it might just be fun for the familial readers to get a feel for the different path that Liz and I have taken, as it is a fully functional representation of how we were raised to make our own choices. This "blog" will also be representative of another facet of the Chambers experience - competitive drive - as I'm a big believer that excellent people push each other to further excellence. That said, I'm out to prove that Dad and Liz aren't the only wordsmiths in the family.
I chose today to begin because I am starting what is hopefully a new phase in my life. My path thus far has been an interesting one, to say the least, as it has lead me through many different people, places, and understandings of the world around me. I guess the best and shortest way to explain it is that I left home at 18 seeking a true Liberal Arts education, and unlike many I've come across, that education merely began with graduation from college. While I won't take the time or space to break down all the winding turns I've made to get here, it's only fair to let you know that I sit before you with the body of a 35 year old ex-athlete, the mentality of someone who was more "mature" at 16 than at 26, and a wallet that only holds value as a paperweight.
Today is the day that begins the change. Having completed what amounts to a six month "apprenticeship", I am finally set up to begin work as the second man in a two-man software operation. I'll be leaving Denver in ten days for Oregon to watch Vickie graduate, and from there on to Las Vegas for 6 weeks of chasing the almighty $. This is significant as I have spent the last three years basically avoiding that same $ like the plague...some call it being irresponsible (and they're right), but I like to think of it as giving my peers a head start so that I don't feel guilty when I take over in the end.
Thanks for reading, feel free to comment, keeping in mind that as the oldest I've learned to embrace criticism as exceptionally valuable feedback. That's it for now.
