Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 10:31:31 -0700
Reply-To: Martha <busgirl@NETCOM.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Martha <busgirl@NETCOM.COM>
Subject: Re: demographics
I'm 29 for the 14th time and drive a Passat TDI kombi/variant.
My '74 Thing is nearly done with restoration. Previously
owned VW's include '65 notchback, '78 rabbit, '79 bug 'vert,
and '81 westy. My dream car is a Eurovan MV syncro TDI, or
for that matter, any reasonably mechanically reliable vehicle
in which I can sleep, gets 35+ mpg, has a 700+ cruise range,
and never needs to be tuned or smogged. I'm no screaming speedster;
most of the time I'd be happy with less power and better fuel
economy (ducking from power-crazed types) = I'm cheap. I'm not very
mechanical, but I don't mind working lots to earn money to pay
someone who is (to make sure I don't get stranded). I admire
machinery which I'm told has precise tolerances, and therefore
tends to run well, be it cars, sewing machines, coffee grinders, etc.
I'm a musician (classical), and no I didn't know your niece
played the flute, and no it's definitely not a good profession
to go in to in this country (U.S.) during this part of the century.
I also teach (too much at present, but I intend to
cut back). I have a number of odd hobbies and interests, which
would be considered freaky by most. Like many of you, I occasionally
dream of doing things to make a living which I don't already
have to do. Contrary to rumors, I own very little flannel.
At 20, I was convinced I'd become what I was to become and that
I would never change. By 40, I was a completely different
person, but again believed I'd landed and wouldn't stray. At
43, I concluded that was all a bunch of b.s. So my goals in life change as
I enter different decades, encounter different experiences,
people, etc. But at present they are: to help make
the world/universe/whatever a better place, to always try and
remember to contribute to, rather than to detract from. Beyond that,
I've personally observed that people in general don't much
like to be critized, nor told what to do, so I'm trying to learn
how not to. I've come to understand that impulse control
and biting one's tongue can be regarded as benevolent activities.
I try to live more and more by these ideas as I age, but I have
lots of room for improvement. I've also found it helpful to
learn to think before speaking, writing, doing, etc., - that in the
long run, objective thinking is probably more useful than subjective.
I've learned it's OK to choose new paths when old ones aren't productive.
I've discovered not all good intentions have the same goal, and that
some common goals get arrived at by conflicting intentions - strange
how paradoxical life can be. Unless they come up with something to dramatically lengthen human lifespan, I'll probably never learn
everything I ever wanted to know.
Right off the bat to clear the air, I confess to having
killed a number of innocent insects on my windshield
over the years. I never dumped something I wasn't supposed
to in any kind of drain, but when I was 4, I stuck a pebble
up my nose, and I have never told anyone...until now: does
anyone know if any of the vanagon tools are good at grabbing
these kinds of things?
When I was 9, I got lost alone on Mt. Ranier, had to slide
down the side of a cliff to find my way back to base camp,
whereupon I discovered no one had missed me. I contemplated
the meaning of this for the next 10 years, decided self-
focusedness was fun but lead to places not very interesting,
and so I instead opted to start a naugahyde petting zoo
(the government was testing and slaughtering them, and it
made me *very* irate). My contribution to humanity is to have
preserved them for eternity by covering some furniture
with the lovely creatures in memorium.
As a young adult, I was learned more about animal rights, did
a little research and discovered that something like 96% of
all animal species ever to live on this planet were killed
off before "man" evolved. I feared probably one day
we would be too, but hope some one of our species end up
stuffed by a taxidermist on some deer's wall.
I heard a shark call me a sushi once when I was swimming in
the ocean, and I'm now considerably more careful about where I swim.
All Rights Reserved
...and all rights reserved for any past posts I've made, please.
/martha
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