r0dman.com

While I’m not really that different to most people out there, I suppose I have some fairly different ideals. It’s empowering (and once again, this sounds arrogant, but it’s not intended that way) to think that since I’ve actually given it some thought, I may well know a better way to live my life.

The problem is, it’s hard to have a plan that you should stick to, when it doesn’t really align with your current goals. I’m currently working a job that I don’t really enjoy, while my fiancee works a job that means she has no time to spend with me, surrounded by people that shoot my ideas down as soon as they hear them. Not a very constructive environment!

So I’ve come to the conclusion that to keep my sanity I just need to switch my brain off for a few months. Next year the changes begin. I’ll have time with my partner and we will travel the world and just see where it takes us. I still very much want to be financially independant, but that doesn’t mean rich. Next year will hopefully lead me towards the life that I truly want – Lots of bike riding, lots of time spent outdoors, healthy food, and most importantly lots of quality time with my fiancee.

It sounds like a lot of “me, me, me” doesn’t it? I’ve spoken with my partner a lot about this now – both of us have come to the conclusion that the best way to support eachother is to be happy in our lives. Both of us need to chase our dreams, we just need to make them work together.

For now though, I’ll keep drinking on the weekends, I’ll keep going to barbeques, and I’ll try to keep my mouth shut when I speak to another 21 year old who wants to buy an investment property.

You know how kids just can’t do anything wrong in their parents’ eyes?

While my dad was never very successful, he grew up as a typical Aussie male.. He bought a few Holdens, got a trade, bought a boat, got married then divorced, then met my mother and sold the boat and had a family. He’d always told me how the choices that he made in life were never good enough for his dad and how he never had any support from him. On mum’s side, her mum was sick and her dad was pretty much a no show after her early teens, so she had to fend for herself from a young age with little support once again. Her dad has always given her a hard time about the choices that she has made in life too.

This seems quite common talking to a lot of  mates’ parents. Their parents would always be disappointed by them – things like what career they chose, that they didn’t buy a house early enough, got married too late and so on.

Turn it around though, and things appear to be completely different now. A considerable portion of my friends since leaving school have either travelled, and blown their cash in sacrifice of life experience, or bummed around at uni and not really achieved much, and with the full support of their parents! It’s like the Baby Boomers have learned that the way that they did it was wrong. They are almost giving us approval, or consent to go out there and just live – not necessarily find a safe job or start a family – just enjoy life.

Maybe it’s the way that we portray our lives to our parents – I know that my parents are very proud of the way that my fiancee and I are living our lives. Working now – going overseas next year. My dad is extremely proud of the way that I can go out drinking with the boys without my fiancee, and she trusts me, and vice-versa.

All things considered, the Baby Boomers seem to have faith in their kids – the Gen Y’s, despite some pretty poor decisions on our behalf from time to time.

Maybe they are just learning that there is in fact more than one way to live your life? Or have they just had such a safe life by taking their parents’ advice and getting a safe job, buying a house early and starting a family young, that they are happy to see their kids out there experiencing new things and taking some risks? Risks that they never took and now regret it?

You know how as you grow up and spend time with your grandparents they just drop some wisdom on you? They have spent a lifetime collecting information, forming their opinions and belief from that information, and then pass it on to you.

My grandfather on dad’s side could pretty much tell me how to fix anything – while on my mum’s side, my pop would tell me about how important it is to plant native trees and shrubs across the country.

It made me think – I wonder what I’ll actually be like when I have grand kids one day. At the moment most of my beliefs and opinions are contracidtory to the norm. I wonder if I’ll just be the crazy nutter of a grandfather?

I’ve come to realise that while I need routine, I also like change in that routine too.

Contradictory, I know, but like all of the important things in my life they always end up conflicting.

This time however, it just works. For instance, I like to have a set time that I go to bed and wake up, usually have the same thing for breakfast every day, and so on. So my day to day routine is ideally as similar as possible to how it’s been for a long time.

With that said though, I just can’t understand how some people manage to do the same thing forever. Working for the government it’s no surprise that there are some “stagnant” people around the place. While I can see the temptation to stay in your comfort zone forever – with no room for failure, I just can’t understand how you can actually do it in practice.

I’m a pretty lazy person, but I just need the challenge. I need the change to mix it all up and force myself to try new things.

While certain situations can be a challenge at the time, most people will find that after making it through that challenge, they are so much more confident and happy, because of what they have achieved. Change is the ideal way to kick start your life again.

Throughout my career I have had a new job about once every year and a half to two years. Up until my current job I have had no scope to “move up the ladder” in those workplaces, so I had the option of sitting stagnant in the same job for quite some time, or moving on.

In each situation, I have chosen to move on once I feel that I have mastered the job, and that I have contributed to my team and employer.

Each move challenges me, and forces me to learn new skills and information – something that I would not have learned in my previous employment.

This is why I believe that change is good.

It might be change of job, or something major like moving interstate or overseas, or even just picking up a new hobby. Regardless of what the actual change is, it provides the opportunity to continue to grow as a person, and stay fresh.

Misinterpretation is hilarious at times. Yet an absolute prick at other times.

I tend to disregard a lot of things that people say. To me it’s my way of dealing with things, but to others they really take offense.

Take for instance my views on the world. In the past I’ve written about how I don’t really care too much about being cut off by a car while I’m riding my bike (so long as I’m not getting hit). I’m able to brush it off and turn it around on the driver – they are so caught up in their lives that they don’t have time to care about a human life. I see that as a really positive thing – rather than get agitated by it and let it consume my life, I’ve learned to laugh at them and their life.

I can see how it could be interpreted in a number of different ways. It could be arrogant, a bit sympathetic, or pity. Many people see me as a jerk, just out to belittle people, but in all honesty, I’m only trying to justify my life.

I feel so damn alone sometimes in my views and beliefs. Not that I mind – I’m a fairly solitary person being an introvert and all, but sometimes you just want to be able to talk with people and not have to have an opposing view. This is what has made my form my views on life, and helps me to interpret what others do or say. I guess with a lot of negativity in my life as I was growing up, it’s been a sink or swim situation. I went through the troubled little ratbag stage, and came out of it realising that if I didn’t look on the bright side of life I’d probably just end up wearing a black trench-coat listening to The Smashing Pumpkins. I very rarely misinterpret comments and turn them into a negative comment, attacking myself. I always look for positives before taking offense.

Misinterpretation of comments or words can completely change the meaning of a comment or a conversation. The medium by which the communication takes place complicates this issue even further. In person, things like tone or body language can help each party to interpret what the other party is saying. Via text or the internet we don’t have this luxury. It’s all up to the writer to be obvious and the reader to really think about it – often an impossible task.

It’s an interesting one – how does one effectively communicate to a point where there is no scope for misinterpretation? Maybe I’ll read up on that too…