I'm preparing myself for a month without driving privileges. I feel like I should take a long drive somewhere this weekend just for the sake of driving. Sunday will be the last day that I can "legally" drive. It didn't hit me how this would affect me initially. Now that I think about not being able to jump in the car and go whenever I want I feel crippled. I might have to hire a driver! Driving is another one of life's "luxuries" that we take for granted.

This whole DUI thing is really a nuisance. It's also expensive. Every step of the way it's another $75 here and a $100 there. The legal system has created an entire industry based on the legal blood alcohol limit of .08. The state gets fine money, the attorney gets their fee, the evaluation service gets their fee, the rehab center gets their fee and of course the insurance company gets their piece of the action. Think of all the people who would be unemployed if they raised the legal blood alcohol limit to .15 (the actual amount considered to impair a driver). The economy is bad enough, I guess we don't need more people out of work, HA!

I'm not a very good passenger, I almost never ride with someone else. I prefer to drive. The next 30 days might make me a better passenger. It might make me a better person. I have always been very independent...to a fault at times. I guess you could say that I've never been a very good "passenger" in life. I always want to drive! I like to be in control. I don't consider myself a control freak, well, not really. I don't try to control others, I just like to be in control of my happenings. Yet, I think at times I have indirectly controlled someone else. That is wrong. I have to think about this more. This is what I love about writing my rambling thoughts down, it makes me look at myself objectively. Can you look at yourself objectively? It seems like an oxymoron to be objective about yourself. I'm going to give it a go.

Well, now I'm going to be very dependent on someone to get around to do my thing. I can salvage my independence to a degree by walking or riding my bicycle. I'm sure I'll be doing some of that over the next few weeks. Oh well, it's only a month... that is if the courts grant my request for a work permit to drive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It's interesting how people interpret things. I wrote in my blog yesterday about a business trip I took to Rochester, Minnesota. Today there were 2 comments, which is more than I normally receive to a blog. Somehow, the people responding to my blog thought I was talking about moving to Rochester, or away from Sioux Town. They suggest that I'm looking for "greener grass". Now, anyone who has read my blog knows that I'm disappointed with the attitudes of my fellow Siouxcitians in relationship to my business/cultural promotion efforts. That being said, I still can't see how someone read into yesterday's blog that I'm ready to leave everything behind and move to the north country.

I think it's possible that the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence", but I don't believe it's a given. I believe you can make the "grass" what you want. Our son says the "grass is greener where you water it". Wow, is that a great saying or what? So, it comes down to which side of the fence you water?? I think it is human nature to peek over the fence and see what the "grass" is like. At times we put the wrong treatment on our "grass" and burn the lawn. But as we all know, with enough T.L.C., even the worst lawn can become YARD OF THE MONTH!

Well, I've been out of town for a few days, I spent some time in Rochester, Minnesota. I went there for some graphics software training. There was a time several years ago that I lapped that stuff up like a thirsty dog, but now, I could barely stand to sit in the training room for more than an hour at a time. I don't work hands-on with the Mac much anymore so I guess I just don't have the interest. Still, the advancements in the technology are pretty damn amazing. However, I think I could get back into the electronic world fairly easily still. I've been playing with that idea lately, do I dive in again and start designing, or just walk away from the madness that has cursed the design world as much as it has many other skilled trades. It's a tough decision. Graphic design and print is all I've known for over 27 years, so I might have to give it another chance.

I really like Rochester. It's so cool for a small town. Hell, it's smaller than Sioux Town, but way more happening. I think the international influence as a result of the Mayo Clinic gives the city a real metropolitan feel. It's full of hip bars and restaurants, a very active downtown and a couple of cool live music venues. Of course the music appeals to me. We went to one of my favorite watering holes, the Redwood Room while we were in town. They generally have some kind of acoustic thing going on. The night we wandered in, a jazz based duo was performing. They had a very nice sound going on, and the martinis were sinfully good. A client of mine got me started on martinis while in Rochester, so it's the thing to do. You know, when in Rome...

Rochester has a weird side to it. As you know, it's home to the Mayo Clinic, one of the largest and most respected medical facilities in the world. This brings a number of unique elements to the community. Medical experts from around the world, as well as people battling a wide variety of illnesses, make up the majority of the population. A friend of mine who works at the Clinic told me they employ over 30,000 people!! So, you might be sitting in a very cool bar enjoying some great blues music and look around to see an East Indian man in scrubs and his scarf-wearing wife, and look across the room to see a guy in a wheel chair with IV hookups at the ready. It's weird, but I really like Rochester.

I have written posts before about my efforts to understand love. I have learned that love can be beautifully cruel. I have gained a new appreciation for the different types of love. Young, or new, love as opposed to committed love. I think someone should consider creating new words for these different types of love, instead of calling it all "love". It would make life less confusing. Apparently a person can love someone so much, they hate what the other person does. Apparently a person can actually love someone so much that they tell them to walk away. I believe love can change who you are. Love can change your very soul.

I think a person can change so much that you don't even know yourself. What a weird experience to come out of a walking coma and realize you don't know who you are, in reality you've been hiding. Sometimes we just get to know the reflection in the mirror, the voice we hear coming out of our mouth, the person everyone else talks about. Is that really me? It's hard to admit who we really are. But I think it's important. If you don't know who you really are, how can you become the person you want to be?

I've been slacking! Since my last post I've been on quite a ride. I spent a couple of nights away from home, one of them not by my choice. I've been to 2 weddings and had the worst stomach virus known to mankind. Not bad for 10 days out!

I was arrested for drunk driving, hence the night out involuntarily. The odds finally caught up with me. I started drinking over 30 years ago, so I guess I have flirted with the law long enough. As I layed on the concrete shelf in the jail cell I realized that I had driven over the limit well over 1,000 times in those 30 years. I'm not in favor of "drunk" driving. If you're driving down the sidewalk, running stop signs and slamming into parked cars, you should be arrested. But, I also don't believe that .08 (the legal blood alcohol limit) has any relationship to a persons ability to drive a vehicle. But, I have always believed that if you're going to dance you should be prepared to pay the fiddler. I managed to fall asleep briefly in my cell, and woke up with the Elton John song "Someone saved my life toinght..." playing in my head. Hmmm, is there a deep meaning to this, or was it more of my punishment to wake up to one of Elton's weakest efforts.

My son got married 1 hour after I got out of jail Friday morning. He has been living with this young lady for several years. I am very happy to have her as a legally bound part of our family. The service was in front of a magistrate, and only my wife, our daughter and I were there. And for some reason, I guess because it's been the four of us together through life for over 24 years, it seemed fitting that is how we welcomed the first newcomer into the clan, just the four of us. You could feel the love and it was beautiful.

We attended another wedding the next day between friends of ours who met at the Attic. It was very cool! The service was in their back yard in a very casual setting, I loved it. What a contrast in love, first 2 young people exchanging vows for the first time and then a couple in their 50's exchanging vows for the second time. I thought you could feel a difference between the two services. My son and his new bride cried with joy. My friends laughed and headed for the beer tank. Love is like art, it's beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Peace