A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

happiness

It is a number and only a number

Today seemed like a good day to write this post.

As more applications go out from me to potential/hopeful employers — some realistic, some not so much — I have been wondering when this bad trip will end. I keep hoping I’m going to wake up and know it’s a bad dream. Alas, I know it’s reality. But, I’ve been sending things out to hopefully good matches and something might come of it.

Right?

It’s likely hitting me harder knowing a few things — I recently found out a friend I hadn’t talked to in a while has been out of work nearly as long as I have, and that my unemployment will be ending by the end of the year.

That last part socks you in the face because it’s nearly impossible to get by now with that coming in. I can’t imagine continuing this job search without it. Alas, if it comes to that, I will do what I need to do to get by.

I’ll keep fighting.

Last week, I visited a trade school of sorts. Friends know what I’ve been looking at, but I’m not ready to share it all here. I’m going to fill out the financial aid forms and see what can come out of it. But this would be to fully change careers. And when I say change, I mean change.

But that could be a good thing.

A number doesn’t define some of the great things in life.

Today, I creep closer to the big four-oh. Well, I creep closer to that every day. But today puts me even closer. I’ve always said age is just a number and I firmly believe that. I’ve never been big into birthdays, so this day really doesn’t mean much. The only thing I’m figuring comes with age is it hurts more the day after a softball game, a couple rounds of disc golf, a long paddle or a day of hiking.

I can deal with that.

On the flip side, I also watch friends — younger and older — doing well in this world. As they march through life, they have good jobs, families and whatever else. It’s not that I’m jealous. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. I smile knowing what people are doing.

At the same time, I think about years down the road and retirement and know so many others are successfully building toward that and I’m still trying to figure out what retirement plans are!

I look back at what happened to me when my position was cut an I do think, in the long run, I’ll be better off. Let’s face it, newspapers are hurting and it isn’t going to get better. Major papers are cutting back to three days per week. It’s an online world and many newspapers are doing that. Unfortunately, some places won’t survive that. I see companies going to universal hubs, cutting people, cutting publications and more. There’s no way I would have survived in newspapers for the rest of my career.

Still, I’m finding many people are coming out of college with these degrees. And it’s made it a tougher job market. Public relations jobs and writing jobs are getting hundreds of applications. It’s a buyer’s market, that’s for sure.

Guess that Master’s degree is looking like a waste of money right now, eh?

So now it’s getting drastic in my eyes.

I’m hoping something comes along soon. And, if not, maybe the career change might be a good thing. It would be exciting. The program takes about eight months, so I’m trying to figure out how I would afford it with finding part-time work, paying for school and all that.

Who knows.

But I’ve also realized life’s short. And with that in mind, I’m trying to start doing other things better and taking a better look on life. Recently, as I’ve  stepped on the scales, my weight is the lowest it’s been in a couple of years. My pants don’t fit well. My sweatshirts and such are fitting better. So I need to continue down that path.

In the end, something good will hopefully happen.

Simple things in life are what make you happy. A sunset. A stroll on a quiet evening. A little pro rasslin’ on the tube or the excitement of September baseball.

Simple.

This day is about some number increasing by one. But it’s just a number. Age really isn’t much when thinking about the big picture. Some people reach big numbers, some, unfortunately, don’t.

It’s just a number.

And for me, the number is only part of the big picture. One I hope has a bright look to it for the future.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

50 questions that free your mind: No. 16

As part of my Day Zero Project, I will be answering the 50 Questions That Free Your Mind. For each of these, I will blog an answer and then it will be linked here as well. Some of these will have longer responses, some will be extremely short. But by the end of the Day Zero Project, I will have answered all of these.

No. 16: How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?

This might be one of the easier questions so far with this project.

The simple answer? Because we’re all human.

To go a bit more in-depth, let’s think about this for a minute. Every person on this planet is different. A different mind. A different soul, outlook and everything else. It’s true. We’re all different. (I know, that’s not Earth-shattering news).

I have no issues waiting 30 or more minutes for the photo I want to take... others not so much. (I only had to wait 15 minutes for this one to unfold!)

But it’s the reason.

Everyone’s mind works different toward what is happy. Simple things, anymore, make me happy. A round of disc golf. Searching for a geocache or a letterbox. Going out and taking photos.

For other people, it’s a more expensive taste. Expensive cars. Going out to eat at posh places. Things like that.

Still, for others, it’s sitting down to read a good book for a few hours.

Everyone has a different threshold of happiness. I can sit down and watch a baseball game for 22 innings and not have any issues. I know many people who wouldn’t watch an inning. To each their own.

I’ll sit around for 30 minutes to wait for the perfect photo, if I think it’s going to happen. Other people would balk at that idea. But in the end, it makes me happy.

I have friends who think geocaching might be one of the silliest things ever done. I have other friends who think it’s OK and will tag along — in perfect weather, of course — and go find a few with me. But through this game, I’ve found many friends who are as into it as me. So I can understand where they are coming from.

Here’s another example.

I have many friends who are massive golfers. They can go out, play 18 holes, have a few drinks and call it a perfect day. Though I like golf (I haven’t actually played a round of regular golf in a few years), I look at it different. It costs way too much (many places can range from 25-50 bucks for a round, if you get a cart etc.), and takes too long (3.5-4 hours for 18, if not a bit too long).

I can spend my time doing a lot of other things with that money and time.

Now, I do play disc golf. But the rounds don’t take nearly as long, it usually doesn’t cost anything (and most pay-to-play courses are only a few bucks, anyway), new equipment doesn’t rip your wallet loose and I can play a round as well as do some hiking, find a few geocaches/letterboxes and take some photos and probably have a full lunch in the amount of time it takes for a regular round of ball golf.

Again, to each their own.

Everyone has their one personal happy place. And I don’t have any issue with people who like to spend it on the golf course. It’s a quiet place and if you treat golf as just a game, it’s a nice way to spend a day.

It all goes back to us being human.

We all work in different ways, so what makes me happy, won’t make the next person happy. In the end, as long as each person can find their own happiness, and not at the expense of screwing up somebody else’s happiness, we should all be fine.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!