Why Thinking Things Through Is Never A Bad Idea

I did something...kind of silly yesterday. I'm now experiencing a little bit of what you might call, buyer's remorse. Mm.

So this woman I follow on the twitter, tweeted about thsis photographer on a website called kickstart. I guess you can create a sort of project venture idea ont he website, and ask for financial backers. If people like your idea, they donate money, and you can often even elect to have a sort of special "prize" that correlates to the amount you donated.

I watched the video this photographer put together, and thought, "Hey, that sounds cool!" And realized I could help support a fellow photographer! Well, alright, so I'm not yet a photographer, but the keyword here is "yet."

It excited me. The photographer's intended focus was on Lucha Libre wrestlers in Mexico. Again I thought, "That sounds neat!" And it does sound neat. However, I am less sure today that it is $20 worth of neat, as I was convinced it was yesterday. I'm one month behind on paying rent (yes, I live at home and pay rent - the glamour of my life isn't lost on me), and, hey, that's 20 bucks.

Granted, my donation will win me a small baseball card type of photo, and an original 4x5 print. I don't own any original photography prints, so I thought, "What a great way to start!" And the photographer in question is trying to raise $8,000 by next month. That's not a lot of time, and in the scheme of $8,000, $20 isn't really all that much. And he only had 3 backers when I saw the page. Of course, two of the three backers had donated a thousand dollars each. The third had donated a mere $20 like myself. So I felt like I was doing good in supporting art! But now...now I kind of wish I had either waited, when, say, I had finally paid rent (and my car insurance, and both of my student loans), or just donated, like, $5...because you could donate any amount down to $1.

Apparently, sometimes my heart gets a tad bit more generous than my brain and bullies it into submission. And then my poor wallet pretty much gets the shaft out of the deal.

I think I am going to have to instate a new shopping policy going forward: Wait a day, and if it still seems like a good idea tomorrow, then spend your hard earned money on whatever foolish thing has tickled your fancy.

I promise, waiting won't actually kill you. It might actually help you gain some perspective, and maybe even be the trick to remind you, "Oh, right, I'm saving up to buy my own dSLR, maybe I should redirect that twenty to my camera fund. Huh. Glad I thought of that!" 

BEFORE you spend it on photos of Mexican wrestlers*.


*Which, I am sure, will be awesome. But...still. Mexican Wrestlers? Or my very own dSLR? I know, very difficult decision. *cough*

Monkey On My Back

My new work schedule/duties and seriously cramping my style. And by style, I really mean procrastination. I figured I should be honest and not mince words, here. We're all friends, right?? Right. Now that that's settled...

Instead of working til 4:30pm as I usually do, I must now stay til 5pm. Waah, waaah, Sarah. Cry us a river! Alright, alright let's not get testy! I was somewhat spoiled, yes. I can admit it. And yes, it is only a half hour. But it really makes a difference in my after-work goings on. I miss 4:30! Instead, now, I sit at my desk and watch it fly by, like an all first class jet to paradise. And let's not discuss the rush hour traffic. I never realized just how important those 30 minutes are in beating home all of the crazy whack-o's out on the road! Driving home at 5pm literally feels like someone just dropped me into a den of starved lions. Needless to say, I am not a fan.

Otherwise, the amount of work I have? Leaves me pretty much feeling like this (yes, I WAS going to post it in here properly, but, alas, my browser here at work is SO out of date that nothing works properly, including blogger. So...enjoy that link! Sigh. I'll try and remember to fix it when I get home!) :

http://www.myeasytlcsystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/buried-under-pile-of-paper-original1.jpg


In other news, I attended my friend from high school's wedding on Saturday, and it was absolutely lovely! It was at this botanic gardens, in their orangery, which was completely made of glass and just dang gorgeous!

Highlights:
- Having my mom as my date (the only other girl I knew going was bringing hers as well so it seemed like a good choice!). We had a blast!
- Jumping onto a turtle statue in the middle of a long (and fairly deep) rectangular fountain for an impromptu photo shoot. (I was not the only one, and no, none of us got kicked out. phew!)
- The first song signalling everyone was allowed on the dance floor was Sir Mixalot's  Baby Got Back, and the bride's mother ran out and dropped it like it was HOT. And it was. EPIC.
- The bride's father could get lower on the dance floor than me (maybe that was less highlight and more saddening when I realized older people are more limber than me? Sigh.)

I s'pose that's it for now? I feel it's been forever since I posted. Which is probably more like a week. But...you know, close enough. Maybe tomorrow I'll get caught up on reading my favorite blogs! Where there's a will there's a...pile of reports to file...probably...

Struck Me Just Right Today

“I feel that you should probably work for a couple years and figure out what you want to do [before college]. Like, if you were to go to college when you’re in your mid‑20s, after you’ve worked and things like that, you’ll put a lot more effort into the studies and things that you’re doing, because you’ll be focused on, ‘These are the things I want to do’ not, ‘These are the things I have to do,’” he says. “And if I wasn’t good at [flying], then I’d do something else. But I knew that this was something that I wanted to pursue, so I knew that I was going to put every effort into it.”


- "Joel Smith" from 100 Interviews

Yes! Yes exactly!
 
Don't get me wrong, I loved college. I made out like a bandit socially (seriously, not to brag, but I have great friends! I mean, they put up with me, and I don't know how they do that when I can't even put up with me sometimes), and the education was great, but...my drive was not. Which is a shame, at the price it cost me (and the resources available to me, had I taken more advantage of them). I absolutely approached it as something I had to do. I was away from home, with all these other young people, drinking for the first time ever, and just having a blast! The academics had to get done, but they weren't really what I'd prefer to be doing on any given day. And maybe that's typical...but I'm not so sure. Some of my friends were very driven in college. Or at least they appeared to be.
 
I really wish I could, academically, have a college "do-over!" now. Two years out, having a better idea of what I actually want to be doing. And putting all my effort into it. All my focus. I feel like I'd learn, and take away, so much more.
 
I suppose one could argue, "Well, that's what grad school is for!" But...I don't think I am on that level yet. I want a more solid foundation and base in what I am interested in now, before going off and trying to specialize in it. It's like skipping the training wheels and going right to the big, adult bike. At any rate, I'm not comfortable with that. Not when it costs so durn much.
 
So I'll make my way to what I'd like to be doing in my own way, and in my own time.
 
But, I absolutely agree with "Joel Smith's" sentiment. College would be much more fruitful, if not for everyone than for many, if we didn't go into it right after high school. If we had some time to think, and mature, and discover.
 
I would have approached my academic subject matter so very differently.