Day 366: 525,600 Minutes . . . Plus 1,440 More

How do you measure, measure a year?

It's rare for me to make a New Year's resolution that I stick to and keep all year long, and though deciding to do Project 366 has not been the traditional resolution, per se, I do feel a sense of satisfaction because I kept at it faithfully, even on days I was not up to it; because it (mercifully) comes to a close with today's post; and because I won't have to keep pestering you with daily posts about some inane thing or occurrence in my life - for the benefit of all three or so of you who have consistenly been with me on this journey through the year 2012.

I guess that's been one of the main things - knowing who my real friends are - that has kept me going throughout this endeavor. It's been encouraging to have your feedback about the project and to know that at least one person other than myself has been interested in its success.

Looking back at the past 366 days, I guess the prevailing question is: Where did the time go? And then I look back at the posts from Day 1 to Day 366, and I see - in my family alone - the addition of a new nephew, two sisters-in-law, three dogs, and a hamster; another cousin who got married; Mom and Dad finally moving out of their Bountiful home after 18+ years; four moves for yours truly, to different parts of Davis County, and (thankfully) mostly love and happiness, mixed with some sadness and tears - for into each life, a little rain must fall, too.

Going forward into 2013, there will still be a Disconcertingly Choppy, though I will not be posting as frequently.

As the future comes, one day at a time, I am again reminded of the words of the late Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: "Come what may, and love it."

Day 311: Jackson and the Blow Dryer

Today's photo is actually a short video. Why? Because dunderhead (that's me) had the camera set to the videorecording setting accidentally.

The other day, Grandma and Grandpa (i.e. my parents) and I took Jackson to McDonald's for lunch. While we there, I accompanied him to the bathroom. When he dried off his hands, he had so much joy using the blow dryer - four-year-olds have a tendency to find joy in those little things that we adults have long-since forgotten - that I attempted the photo and instead got the aforementioned video snippet.

When It Rains . . .

Do you ever have one of those days, or weeks, or months during which everything that could possibly goes wrong does go wrong, and then some?

Granted, we all do, I suppose. Lately, it's been one of those . . . oh, I'd say months.

The bills really began to pile up when the Aluminum Falcon (my car, for those not "in the know") decided one day in July that it didn't want to run anymore; you already know about my adventures with the chiropractor and oral surgeon; and a third, large set of payments suddenly became due because of something that I was not aware of (it would take me forever to go into the details; call it a "sin of omission") but ended up having to pay the government a large sum of money.


All of this added up, as you might imagine, to a great deal of stress during a very short period of time.

Figuring out exactly what's wrong with my car, let alone paying for it, has been a huge hassle. Two of my good friends, each well versed in auto mechanics, have now been over to look under the hood and have attempted to ascertain the problem. We first thought that my battery, which I replaced only two short years ago, needed to be replaced again. We took it out, cleaned off the gunk, put it back in, and tried to jump the Falcon, with no success. Then Richard began to look at the wiring and such.

It appears that I have some sort of electrical issue going on, so it seems I will need to have the thing towed to a car shop just to have that assessed and then repaired.


Fortunately, time and experience are great teachers and provide perspective. I'm finding myself able to take care of those aforementioned problems, even if it is one at a time. Next up is that car "thing." Though it's been collecting dust in my garage for the past two months, I've actually been able to get around through the use of a pretty decent loaner - my parents' old Dodge Stratus, which they hardly ever use - as long as I don't break anything (else!) and continue to put gas into it regularly.

A wise person once said that adversity not only teaches you a few things about yourself but about the kind of family and friends you have, too. I've learned, as I've watched people show their concern and lend helping hands, that I am, indeed, surrounded by loving and care family members and by the best kind of people I could possibly hope to call friends.

A Lesson from the Liberty Tax Dude

Most every time I drive past the intersection at 500 South and 500 West in Bountiful, I see the Liberty Tax Dude on the corner. If you've driven through there or have seen one of his many clones along another street corner somewhere else in America, then you know whom I'm talking about.

The guy may arguably have one of the worst or least-desired jobs out there, and I consider fast food work to be among them. (I speak from experience here.) I can't imagine that the pay is anything great, plus he has to wear a Statue of Liberty costume, hold a Liberty Tax sign, and dance and wave to people on the street corner all day long, no matter what the weather might be like.

Still, the guy at 5th and 5th has earned my respect. The man is always cheerful and happy and always waves at me. If I wave, he waves back; or if I flash the "peace" sign, then he flashes the "peace" sign back at me.

I am a firm believer in the mantra that "anything worth doing is worth doing well." I think that credo certainly applies to the Liberty Tax Dude, who always seems to do his job - whatever your perception of what that entails - to the best of his ability.