The Moirae and Me

That’s right folks! We are moving to Texas!

“What the hell!” you say? Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

As you all know, well, Keeme knows, I’ve spent the last 6 or 7 months exploring other work-type options. Having discovered that not all employers are as WAY COOL as my previous employer and that being a small business owner is not for me, I’ve taken a new position with my previous employer. Part of the negotiation was that I MOVE TO TEXAS. Sigh. Sigh again.

Let me split into two topics here: 1. Texas 2. SCUBA

1. I know what you’re thinking, “Abbott has always talked trash about Texas and the fact that he’s moving there just goes to show he is a schmuck.” Hey, don’t call me that! Seriously, while I’m not keen on Texas, I am keen on my employer and my paycheck so this is the option I’ve chosen and I intend to make the best of it. I already have the boots, just need the hat, truck, and shotgun.

2. D00d! I thought having a dive shop meant I would get to dive all the time! NOT SO! Owners of dive shops do not get to dive all the time. They do dive, but they also spend most 7 days a week working their asses off so that when it comes time to dive, you don’t really enjoy it. They also don’t make much money.

So, give me the paycheck, even if it comes from Texas so I can go dive in exciting places during my fat share of PTO days. Sheesh, I’m going to the Philippines for free!

Hope all is well with you all. Updates will follow.

-Abbott

It’s been a long few months. Suffice it to say, I am back online and happy to be back.

Talk to you soon.

I am very proud to announce that I am now a NAUI scuba instructor. This has been a long and tough road and of course it is only beginning. Thanks to all who have supported me in my diving career so far, especially Ana, Amy Lignoski, Dean Smith and the Keeme. “Black Belt” feels like a real accomplishment.

Next step: HSA Instructor.

A lot of people have been saying some really boring and stupid things lately. Instead of ranting about each one and being really boring myself, I offer this quick guide people can use to help them stop putting their feet in their mouths about two major issues:

Stupid Arguments -> “Guns are bad!” or “Guns are good!”

Better Arguments -> “Why do we want/need so many guns?” “Why are people’s lives so worthless or boring or horrible that they want to use guns to do bad things (and is there anything we can do about it?)”

Stupid Arguments -> “This political party is bad!” or “That political party is good!”

Better Arguments -> “Why do we only have two major parties?” or “That specific politician is bad! ” or “That specific politician is good!”

There. Concise and not too boring. Talk amongst yourselves.

A few days ago, Omni was all like “Does intelligence work against happiness?” I’d like to throw in a couple of thoughts.

Myth: Mensa members are a good representation of smart people. Fact: While Mensa members are all pretty smart, they do also tend to be social losers. This does not mean that there are not plenty of other smart folks who are not social losers/Mensa members.

Society doesn’t value us smart folks/we end up being social misfits because of our upbringing/etc. These are some fairly weak arguments. There are plenty of unhappy smart people who are well adjusted and financially successful. These folks tend to be more unhappy than their less intelligent peers for a couple of reasons:

1. Boredom at work. Being smart doesn’t necessarily save you from a boring job. Rather, it often drives you toward one. Being smart often has little to do with having wisdom - which is really what you need to make the life choices that are best for you.

2. Seeing the man behind the curtain. Being smart helps you figure out why things work the way they do. This includes social systems, the economy, bureaucracies, etc. This does not necessarily also confer the power or knowledge you might need to do anything about problems with these things. It just makes the problems and one’s own impotence painfully obvious.

Being smart hurts a lot sometimes. But…I think I prefer it to the alternative. Most days, anyway.

We went to Puerto Peñasco this weekend to do some diving with the Oasis crew. Diving down there is not great - marginal visibility, etc. but it’s close and we were with friends. Did a night dive with Rick Hammer who I like quite a lot. Made some plans to go spear fishing with him later in the year. But on the way back….

I got stopped just north of the border by a sheriff’s deputy who wanted to let me know my break lights were out. I was glad since it isn’t a good idea to be driving wround with no break lights, however…she also let me know that my driver’s license was canceled and had been so since 2002.

Let’s go back a few years. I was in college in New Mexico driving home from some boring party and got stopped at a DUI check point. Those kind fellas cited me for driving without proof of insurance (the card was sitting in a pile of unopened mail on my kitchen table). Being the fella I was in college, I promptly forgot all about it.

A couple of years later, I remembered the incident and made things right by paying the hundred dollar fine right before I moved to AZ. When I got to AZ, I was issued an AZ license with no problems. It was only when I went to change my address a couple of years after that that they told me there was an unpaid ticket from NM and they were going to suspend my license until I could prove the problem was resolved.

Well, after several hours of phone calls to NM, I finally talked to someone without there head in their excrement hole who acknowledged there had been an error and that they would fix it. I guess they didn’t fix it.

I have a hard time even being angry about it. I know how these things go but JESUS!!! Can I get a break???

The saga continues this week. I’ll let you know what the DMV has to say when I talk to them.

Thanks for listening to my stupid story.

For those of you that are still listening/reading, I’ll tell you another one.

I was a teenager. I was driving a car that could not rightfully be said to belong to me. I was driving from Pennsylvania to Michigan without my parent’s knowledge. (I think I told them I was sleeping over at a friend’s house.) It was in the early hours of the morning. I was doing better than 85mph. I was suddenly roused from my mid-teen-I-hate-everything revelry by a spot light that was so bright I thought someone was shining the SUN at me. It was coming from a cop car in the opposing lane. They were on me in what seemed like seconds. I stopped and was subsequently tortured by a couple of backwoods schmucks with badges who eventually shook me down for $50 on the threat that I’d be headed for the clink if I didn’t cough it up. Funny how that never showed up on my record.

I’m not really a F*&K THE POLICE kind of guy but I really understand those folks that are.

Moral: Don’t get caught. Keep your lights in working order and vote well. Sheesh.

I like Stride gum. The packet is well designed, the flavor lasts a long time, the piece is exactly the right size.

I like the company a lot too. Mostly because of this:

www.wherethehellismatt.com

I’ve been told y’all want to hear what I’m thinking more often. Very well. Here’s what I’m thinking right now:

I got a big raise this year. I mean a BIG raise. I was happy to feel “appreciated” and called the Girl to tell her the good news. Her response?

“That doesn’t pay for me missing you.”

If there was any question before about how wonderful, wise, smart and savvy the Girl is, I present this as further proof that I am the luckiest man ever. She’s right. I’ve missed nearly a year of her and our son and no amount of money will buy that time back. I am a fool, making it up as I go along as usual and f***ing things up when I think I’m doing the right thing.

Don’t get me wrong, money is a good thing to have and the experience (work and otherwise) I’ve gained this last year will likely be…whatever - everything I do enriches what happens next. But still.

I need to be with my family and I command the three ladies (ya know, the ones in the title of this Blog?) to make that happen!

And No Keeme, I’m not just saying. I am doing.

Abbott update:

I’m in Panama!

So far, I like it very much. It reminds me a lot of Mexico City. I’m excited for my next trip here as I’ll have time to do some exploring.