I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.
Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country
And so i start a new phase of my life. Aimless. Reasonably happy. Healthy, for the most part. Children grown and on their way, mostly. Single, with the love and companionship of a fine dog. Employed, doing something i mostly enjoy, for a good wage*.
No long term plans. Some vague notions of upcoming holidays – skiing in Utah this winter. Greece next summer. Another SCUBA trip. Somewhere. Some time… Continued mucking around with the homestead. Paint this. Replace that. Hang a tapestry. Launder the sheets**.
Volunteering? Nope. Been there, done that. Have developed a mild distaste for it – indicative of my cynical state. Not so much the act of volunteering, but the bleatings of “Look at me! Look at me! I helped some poor people!” have begun to grate on me… It’s other volunteers who drove me underground. Having devoted thousands of hours to various activities over the years, i’m pretty burnt out.
So i ride my bike. Do crunches and push ups and squats and stretches. Walk the dog and pick up his turds in a plastic bag. Re-learn how to run on my recovered knee. Pick through the dusty stack of books on my night stand and choose the first victim. Visit the kitchen and get reacquainted with the strange equipment that lives there….
Watch people. Listen in on the conversations of strangers. Make goofy comments to waiters and store clerks. And enjoy a whole lot of nothing…. Farting around? Highly underrated…
not really mr. pickles, but it could be....
* That last item is somewhat remarkable considering that i was voted “Most Likely to be Found Dead in a Gutter” in the unofficial high school poll… timing and luck have been good to me.
** i flip them periodically… sheesh….
Trailer Park Refugee 
Farting around is my favorite thing to do. Like all day everyday. Plus, Mr. Fine is a SCUBA guy and I think he would like me to learn, so maybe that kind of farting around under water is in my future.
P.S. Glad you are not in a gutter. Lots of great things in store for you, I can feel it!
‘Hang a tapestry.’
Whoa whoa whoa, daisy slow down there, you don’t want to plan to much now. 😉
Ditto, putzing. Both activities in which I wish to indulge at much more length.
yeah… flipping counts as laundry
The sound of one hand clapping! Some people never get to hear it but you do. Embrace it. It’s often ephemeral.
Mr. Vonnegut was a brilliant man, i thinks you should check out the Importance of Being Idle by Tom Hodgkinson, one of Rassles favorite books, practically a bible for the farting around set.
I see nothing wrong with anything you’re doing… sounds like you’re having a good go at it.
I’ve always found that I enjoy my life the most when I’m not worried about getting somewhere.
Why, that sounds like a confirmation to us; how nifty! I can see the post now: “So here I was, ripping down the 2002 Women’s downhill , when….”
If you we’re voted Most Likely to be Found Dead in a Gutter, I’d say you’ve come a long way, baby. I can’t wait until the point in my life I get to fart around. It will be awesome.
for someone who is just ‘farting around’, you sure do seem like you have a lot of plans. but, yeah, it’s not having follow through unless you’re damn good and ready that makes it truly putzing. enjoy! looking forward to it myself.
fragrant liar – you’d love scuba! very relaxing… neat combination of adventure, exotic location and farting around! perfect vacation!
alex – yeah. gotta pace myself. january at the earliest…
tigereyesal – it wasn’t an option when i had little sprogs. gets easier when they get older…
nursemyra – i even go so far as to scrape them for company!
unbearable banishment – it’s only for now. it’ll get goofy again… i’m trying very hard to just roll in it, like a dog on a dead fish…
kono – might have to add that to the book pile! after my nap…
stephanie – it’s a breather, most likely. i am far too restless most of the time to ever get comfortable in a given situation… but it’s nice…
chris – truth in that statement… not being in a hurry? allows so much more time for…. whatever….
utah daddy – yep! we’ll coordinate the schedules, but are very much looking forward to playing in utah! woo hoo!
love – welcome to The Park! we can always use more love here… i was a very lucky, very self-destructive young ‘un… was really on a fairly dark path for a bit… you never know where you’ll end up, do you?
gnukid – yeah. there was more on that list than i thought. guess the sheets can wait a few more months…
“Make goofy comments to waiters”
we live for that stuff……
Well, now you’ve got plenty of time to go through the entire Renal archives, from late December 2005 to today.
manuel – yeah, and the best part? i can re-use funny lines if they work, since i rarely get the same server twice!
renalfailure – that’s not a bad plan… something i can do in bed, feet up, with a cup of coffee/beer depending on the time of day! napping as needed… life is good.
Aimless and reasonably happy. I feel the same way. Mr Match asked me what I’m passionate about – what are my plans for the future. I was embarrassed to say, “I don’t have any”. But that’s okay, because I LIKE living each day exactly as it is. And when something arises that I want to do, I’ll do it.
Btw – I noticed no upcoming visits to New England… harumph.
amber – turns out, just about a week later, i’m pretty restless again. so much for that plan. gotta do something to push myself i think… just don’t know what yet. there IS a trip to the northeast (Lexington, MA) in the works! will let you know!