So it's been a couple of months since I added anything on here. What have I been up to? Taking pictures. Mostly car pictures. Some of you know I have a Flickr gallery. It was a miserable spring here and now that's it's summer, it still feels like spring. All my vegetables are a couple of months late this year. It's mid June and the furnace still comes on. Who said anything about global warming? If you find my picture gallery, you'll also find lots of pictures of the flowers that came out in my garden this year. Most of them I didn't plant. They're from other people, or birds, or insects or whatever drops by and plants a seed.

Spring also meant the start of another motoring season. Driving a MINI sure is fun, and with the increase in gas prices, it hurt but not half as much as if I had owned a Corvette, or GTO or Hummer (???) or any of those V8 monsters.  I also had the Fiero (yes...it's old and I still have it after owning it for 24 years) out for the annual Pacific Performance Pontiac Car Club Show n Shine.  Every weekend the last couple of months, there's been a car event to attend.  Even the weekly Size club badminton games.  Seems a few of us still play badminton. 

We've also been car shopping. Good grief! Those who have been following this site for awhile know how long we've been looking around.  It looks like we're going to settle in on a slightly used BMW 5 series.  But we haven't traded the Buick in yet.  There's the matter of paying off the mortgage at the end of this month first (YAYYYY!!!).   Those of you younger folk staring at the price of housing and thinking there's no way you can afford a house, my advice is to look at a longterm plan and start small. Don't go out and buy a $800,000 house as your first house. The mortgage payments will kill you. Start with a $300,000 (or less) condo, pay it off as agressively as possible and then take that equity and upgrade.  To get to the house of your dreams might take 20 years or more, but if you really want it, 20 years goes by really fast. Believe me, I've been married 19 years this year and even though it's been bumpy at times, I wouldn't trade the time I've had with my wife for anything in the world.  That's gone by really fast and I can say I love my wife more than I did when I married her. It's also amazing how the definition of love changes (away from the hollywood definition...and that's a good thing) as one gets older.  Which brings me to another issue I've noticed.  A lot of my friends have run into marital problems and many have given up. It hurts me a lot to see good friends not find happiness in their marriages. You know, the fights and arguments always happen. But there's always good things too. Don't let all the arguments and judgemental things hide all the good things that have happened. Don't let your hopes and dreams become expectations in such a hurry. I think a big part of building love is working together to get to those hopes and dreams. You've got to share those hopes and dreams together and not let them become expectations.  Even 20 years into your marriage.  Certainly marriage is not what most of use expected when we said "I will". But you and your husband (or wife) need to continually work together to get there. In the midst of my midlife crisis, I find it difficult to set my next set of life goals. I've been blessed to have been able to achieve the goals I've set for myself career wise. What next?  There's a lot of uncertainty as to what's happening in the world, so what next and where to? Should I consider a career totally outside of what I've been doing? To tell you the truth, my career life is only about 10 more years. What next? Retire and do what? Would I be able to quit work and just loaf around, living off the small fortune I've set aside? Well, my wife wants to travel.  The small fortune won't last very long either...maybe I should just give it away. This much I do know. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I know my needs are met. In my lifetime, I have scraped bottom a few times, but have never been without. My needs have always been met. The money has aways been there when needed.....and not there when not needed. So when I found myself buying expensive things....like an expensive car, I do know that there is a reason that I am able to acquire such an extravagant item and pray they do not become my idols, but that they are used for God's will. Favorite song I'm listening to right now, "Lose my Soul" by TobyMac.  (Matt 16:26)  I did not download this song illegally. I bought the CD. But I'll share some thoughts on that issue at another time.

Thanks for reading....