Tag: education

There’s No Place Like Home

Home is a mindset; fixed vs. growth.

  • 1. A drunk, middle aged, uneducated redneck. Aimless and unknowingly lost.
  • 2. A sad mother. She tried, working middle of the road jobs, going nowhere.
  • 3. A whiskey drinker and business operator, at the end of his rope. Thrown into a world over his head. Living in a sink or skim environment, he is gasping for breath.
  • 1. An elder retiree. She once was the boss. Having spent 35 years in a cubicle, pleasing her mother. She is stiff as a board.
  • 2. Her sister. The big one thrives on chaos. As the younger ones surround her, she promotes, ill health, obesity and teenage pregnancy. She’s the family hero.

There was the great escape. It included domestic violence and poverty. A step out of family. A run down the road. A deep, internal instinct that things weren’t right.  Dodging adversity, with a never ending desire to change and elevate, the trot became a gallop. 

Who wants to be “poor white trash”.

At least get a two year degree. Read a book. 

Try a Faulkner novel.

Distant Paradise

IMG_1205This was my first painting. Actually, it’s what is termed mixed media. It is painting and drawing, some on the surface and some on cut paper. The class was Design 1. The teacher was Derby Ulloah. The school was Florida Junior College at Jacksonville, in Florida. The assignment was to paint a self-portrait.

Does it look like me?

I went to school as an adult. School was a strange, stressful and fascinating place. I always wanted an education. But instead of going to school, which I deemed impossible; something for other people, not me. Instead, I floundered around in the world, trying to make my way, working all kinds of jobs and never quite getting my feet on the ground.

Once I did start school, I dreamed of it being a means to a new life. I wanted to walk out of my life and into a world of sun, surf, peace and solitude.

And that’s what happened.

It wasn’t so much having the degree, as earning the degree. Such as, showing up and doing what I was supposed to, starting and finishing projects, dealing with beaurocracy and jumping through hoops. I had to meet and deal with new personalities . I had to learn to get along, even when I didn’t want to.

This might sound like every day life for most people, but for me it was a super- challenge.

The exception ~ was ~ I didn’t end up in solitude.

I met people and made friends. I have friends from all over the globe.

Paradise is no longer in the distance.

It’s the ground that I stand on.

Successful

I have been reflecting on my life. As I have always done~too much, according to some. But who are they anyway.

In the earlier years of my life I would try to go to work. But I always hated it. Jobs were always boring, grueling, and inconvenient.

Things might have been different if I had been able to get a higher education, but I had a problem completing the lower education.

As it turns out, I have been able to achieve success. Success in my eyes. When I gave up any thought of being competitive, or doing what people expected of me and started doing what was in my heart, and BELIEVING that I could do these things, my life took off.

When I was thirty people began to call me a late bloomer. But they still thought I should get a REAL job.

When people ask me the inevitable question, “What do you do?” My thoughts go flat, like east coast waves in June. It’s just too hard to explain. But I must be good at it, because I make it look easy; this thing that I do.

All things are possible~just do it~

Tick tock~time talk

My blog is approaching 1000 views. At the last peep it was 991, and the clock ticks. I created this blog, as a learning tool.

As you can tell from the nature of my post that surfing is an important aspect of my life. At one time, because of my love for the beach, sitting in the sun and swimming and surfing, I found it hard to get to school or do anything else. I found myself, not where I wanted to be. Time was getting away from me.

I’ve always been an artist, but I really wanted to be better. I went to the local, junior college and took a drawing class. After that class, I was awarded a half time, talent grant and went to school for four years on scholarship. I always took one art class and one academic class. You don’t HAVE to go to college to get ahead, but it sure does help.

If my life’s path had not turned in this direction I can’t imagine where I would be.

I learned to start things and finish things. I learned to use my time well.

These are a few drawings that I did very quickly to prove my art abilities, to someone here in Potrero. She thought I was lying about my academic credentials. I can’t say as I blame her. Lying is a favorite pastime of gringos in Costa Rica.

Anyway, I have a lot of time on my hands here, sometimes. We do not expect to have waves until next Friday.

I have created new goals for myself on my blog. I would like to create a better home page. Who am I?

Once I have done that to my satisfaction, I’m going to create a Facebook page for the Secondhand surfer.

I live my life one day at a time, one wave at a time, and now, one post at a time.

Why not, that’s all you can do, the same as, you can’t drive two cars at one time!

And the clock ticks, tick tock, time talk.