You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2007.
I’m not a massive YouTube browser… but a discovery like this might have be going back for a little more…
Derek Lind is a singer-songwriter from Auckland that I have been listening to since I was a teenager – having first seen him at a lunchtime gig at my high school and many church halls and small venues since… He’s one of those incredibly skilled players and writers who just, well, is. You might not find him on commercial radio, but then the listener is worse-off for it. A supreme talent. Inpsiring.
His last album was a stunner. Now I’m just eagerly waiting for another.
Top Gear has recently become a bit of an addiction. It’s a show I’ve never really watched at home in NZ despite having known about it for years. Perhaps it used to be broadcast on Sunday nights just as the current series does here in the UK – and I never really got to see it because of church. Anyway, I’m really enjoying it and because I have about 5 years to catch up on, it’s very helpful that the free-view channel Dave plays numerous repeats on a daily basis. All this leads me to what I sat down to write about; Richard ‘Hamster‘ Hammond’s book On The Edge:
After a little biographical background, it essentially tells the story of his famous 300 MPH crash in a jet-engine-powered dragster on a runway in September of 2006, the injury he sustained, mostly to his brain, and his, err, speedy recovery. It’s a remarkable story, one of incredible struggle and emotion – particularly of those family members and friends who had to go through it, and most of all, the incredible support and love of Richard’s wife (and the book’s co-author) Mindy. Incredible.
One thing I am left with after having read the book is simply the value of life and the experiences, and relationships, which make up our ‘every day’. And also that whole ‘go away to the country and relax’ thing; you know, spend time with yourself, your family and your thoughts. Get away from the busyness and the ’should do’s’ and relax with creation – absorbing some peace and quiet. And most of all, share whatever great space you get away to with your family and your friends – in conversation, laughter and play.
On one hand, I’m describing an escape from reality and work – so, strictly speaking, not really something for everyday life – but certainly something to do on a regular basis. I guess that could all be put down to ‘not taking life for granted’, and that’s always something to be wary of. And The Hamster has reminded me – at Christmas, when both family and rest are important (and needed!) – just what life is about; It’s about simply, thankfully, and graciously…
Living
I really want to have my cake and eat it too. And I have no idea what that all means. Just like I have no idea who James May and the hamster really are. I mean, where have they come from? Even Clarkson, why the heck is he the guy on Top Gear? What did he do to get there? Write, race, speak in loud tones?
Anyway, that’s all random rubbish. Truth is, I sat down to write some journal and discovered this cool ‘connect straight to my blog’ thing in Word 2007… so decided I wanted to write something.
Right now, I’m thinking; Write now, I’m thinking!
So what do you want to do in life? What lights your candle and floats your boat? It’s a pretty-cool experience when you discover that thing, or, if you’re really lucky*, those things. What-say you lost your job tomorrow, and on your way home from work and old friend gave you a call and said he’d come into a massive amount of money and he wanted to give you some? Enough for a couple of years of doing whatever you pleased? No need to work, no need to pay the bills either, what would it be?
I know it’s an often-asked question, and a little pie-in-the-sky stuff (and another saying I have no idea about). But, what?
For me it certainly isn’t what I am doing now. Well, actually, it is what I am doing right now. But it’s not what I am doing on Monday morning. And it’s a fairly innocuous question. The scary part, however, is when you think you have an answer. That’s the problem. It’s actually a much easier, safer place to not have a dream, even a calling, sitting there reminding you that your nine-to-five is simply the wrong place to be. And this is where the cake comes in.
I’m in a donut shop and all I want is cake. My suspicion, to add insult to injury (there’s another one) is that I don’t think this cake can be bought. It has to be made. So I’m on the hunt for a recipe. I suspect the ingredients will come along in time. But, first I need recipe. This is assuming, of course, that I’m in charge of the kitchen.
But I know that this donut shop is not the right place, so the taste of donuts, good as it has been for quite some time, is beginning to go a bit stale. I need something fresher. Sweeter.
I just need some cake.
*And there’s no such thing as luck.
I’m just watching the ‘Farewell to the World’ DVD Crowded House made on the steps of the Sydney Opera house. Thanks, Windows Media Player. And I’m writing a Christmas Letter to the world (no farewells, though); Thanks, Microsoft Word. And also, thanks to some interesting wizardry from the bods at Microsoft, this blog post should miraculously arrive on my WordPress Blog when I press that button up there…
