passion, adventure, a homeless man on friday [1104.1999]

Hypothesis: the world is precisely as exciting and magical as we make it. I remember walking alone down an ordinary street in Chicago, making believe I was in an adventure game. I'd walked past these same apartment buildings I don't know how many times during my visit, but on that day, I finally saw them. No longer were they scenery... Just a backdrop.. They became a whole new world to explore.

Try it yourself: look around the room you're in. What objects could be useful? What mysteries await outside your door?

Lately, in my passion for chasing one idea after another, I lost site of the real world there for a while. How refreshing to wake up and take another look with new eyes!

Do you realize that I've not kissed a girl or been on a real date in over a year? That this was self imposed? I've been trying to cram so many things into every moment that I've barely done anything at all. This weekend, all that changed, and suddenly I feel... Liberated.

Friday I went out with my dear friend and business partner, and met up with a friend of his, and her sister. Both of them are stunningly beautiful, and I had the privilege of spending most of the evening getting to know the sister, who I found to be absolutely charming. (We've not spoken since, but that's another story.)

The point is I had a tremendous amount of fun, and I realize that now that I work for myself, I've got a tremendous amount of room in my life for other people, and it's time I welcomed some people in.

I do value my net-friends. But as much as I like you (I imagine some of you read my little rants).. There's a certain value in being able to hear a person's voice and shake a person's hand. As excited as I am about Zebra and all nineteen (I counted) other web projects I'm working on, it's the "real" world that matters. That's where the passion is.

Today in speech, my group gave our presentation on the status of women around the world. We focused mainly on Islamic cultures and China. Boy, did that get a rise out of the lady from China. We uncovered some pretty horrific stuff. On the one hand, it renewed my enthusiasm for DOING something about all the crap going on in the world (one of these days, I'll talk about Liberia).. But on the other hand.. It was kind of fun to shock some people.

Friday night, while I was talking to that girl, we went outside to get some air, and this panhandler came up, asking me to give him money for a sandwhich. Now I hate panhandlers more than just about anything. For the most part, they're con artists and they make a ton of money off too-nice people. I sized him up to see if I could take him in a fight, should it come to that, and politely tried to shoo him off. I didn't want to be too rude, in front of this girl... Now I wish I'd gone off.

I hate violence. I'm a pacifist (almost) to the core, and yet I'm willing to fight with my fists if it comes to that point. But along the way? All too often, I forget to take a stand when I need to, to give a compliment when someone impresses me, to say no when something's wrong.

I'm going to have some fun being a little bolder. A little more aggressive. A little more alive. To start looking for adventure.

Odd. Tonight I got emailed a peronsal ad that matched my criteria, and.. Well, I emailed her. What do you know? She's my age, has travelled the world, and seems to be filled with a passion for life that has already begun to spark the imagination.

I think these are just the first hints of a bold new life for me. I can't really explain it. I just feel great. Like the wheels of some big machine are finally a'turnin, and a whole new world is opening up.

I'll let you know how it goes.