Another day for you and me in paradise

Lately I've been indulging in the past. I wish I could say that it's not like me at all to do that, but it totally is. As evidence of this I've been listening to E.L.O pretty much exclusively. Also, I have been reminiscing about my time in the states. One memory in particular:

I never had a Stag Night!

This is largely for the reason that anyone who would have attended was on a different continent. As it stands my stag night consisted of looking at boats and watching people fish with my Father-In-Law and my wife's uncle. After an exhilarating afternoon looking at boats, we headed to a local bar where we proceeded to drink one beer each before heading back to the homestead to sit around and watch Home Improvement.

I didn't have any strippers attend, nor did I get chained to a lamppost or get put on the night train to Edinburgh. Part of me is still disappointed that I missed this important rite of passage the other part of me wishes I could have just flown home and gone to The Crown for a couple of shandy's followed by a kebab.

The thing is, even though I have been thinking about the past, I still really look forward to the future. I've been reading a lot about the next generation of hybrid cars. They can run up to 50 miles on electric power. Which is great for driving about town. If the battery runs out, the petrol engine kicks in and you have about a 400 mile range before having to either refuel or recharge. Great! and most of the cars (Chevrolet Volt) don't look like a piece of cheese on wheels.

The only downside about attempting to get myself psyched about the future is the waiting. Whilst I think about the potential of hybrid vehicles, it's all too easy to think about my old cars, never driving in England, the English countryside, English pubs, my friends, things I miss/missed out on. And so the cycle is complete.

Stupid forward thinking!

This is the new year

I resolve to be the best person I can be.

I have already fudged this up. As I write this I am on my work's time. So if I were being the best person I could be, I'd be hard at it. Nose to the grindstone, and I'd do this when I got home.

As it is I am almost being the best person I can be. It's a start!

I decided to pull my finger out and finish up some electronics projects. And I did! and I have more to come. That's all part of my action plan to be a better person. I have previously promised a lot of projects to a lot of people and yet I always seem to forget/something eats the project/I run out of time/get made homeless etc. This year is different! so if I promised you something, remind me of that.

I read in another blog somewhere that from the time we are born we make these synapsial connections in the brain that guide what we do. Every time we repeat a specific task these connection form bonds that tell us something. Unfortunately the same theory is true of negative thinking. If you think doom and gloom all the time your brain makes the connections and rather than these thoughts being random, they get to become the way you are hardwired to deal with situations.

This has affected me in a number of ways:
I dont like to order food over the phone
I dont like to drive long distances
I'm very lazy

Part of being the best person I can be this year involves a little re-wiring. Both on the work bench and in my head. Hopefully all the years of not feeling good enough or not feeling like I am producing a high standard of work (or effectively ordering take away food) can be undone with a little positive thinking.

My inspiration is this guy: [url]http://45daystoanewme.blogspot.com/[url/] he has suffered from depression for most of his adult life and I have been privvy to some of the end results of his state of mind through various blogs and message boards. Reading the above blog has inspired me to 'Get Confident' also. Just seeing what a difference I can see that it has made in his life has charged me up. Not that I have depression, but I do have a history of lazyness and negative thought patterns.

Say it with me:

I WANT TO CHANGE!!
(i really do)