time remaining to weld

["Tony Sims" <simstony@domain.elided>]

Just to prove how slow I learn, I'm going to jump back into this thread...  
Mark, I don't think Biba is looking for a fight, his core message is the 
same as yours, the same as Ralph's -- you need to try to find the place that 
makes you happy.  That place is different for everyone, but the benefit of 
finding it and the risks of not are the same for us all.

My personal journey took me down a lot of paths that I thought were right, 
only to learn that I was trying to find something on the outside when I 
should be looking on the inside.  In the last year, I lost a job I thought I 
couldn't live without, faced the mortality of my parents, decided I owed my 
wife something for the years she has put her dreams second to mine, and 
finally let go of trying to control the world.  For me, happiness came from 
giving up the familiar and taking a chance on the unknown.  Ever see that 
"Seinfeld" episode where George decides to do the exact opposite of his 
habitual behavior?  It's a lot like that.

My personal "happy place" is more like Mark's (although he's a few tools 
ahead of me), but I completely understand why that doesn't work for 
everyone.  Some people use Facom tools to repair their car, some use K-Mart, 
some use a checkbook or a credit card, and some don't bother -- they lease.  
Whatever works for you works for me, and if I have a tool you need to 
borrow, my toolboxa isa you toolboxa, compadre...  Whether I retire in a 
trailer park or on a golf course reamins to be seen, but at least I know 
that I now stand a much better chance of living long enough to find out.  
Ultimately it don't much matter, because now I have a life, I'm not just 
saving money for the one I want after I retire.

Tony
Portland, OR
74 GTV 2000
70 2800Cs


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