Ch-ch-ch-changes

An interesting conversation about parallel universes and meeting another version of one's self (which I'm convinced would be disastrous - ever met someone of the same gender who you had everything in common with? How much did you hate them?), and another conversation about life choices have collided in my brain as I started thinking about all the things I wish I could have told younger me at different stages of my life. So here it is, the wisdom of my ages:

At 5'1 you cannot wear anything long or flowing unless you want to look like a frumpy Smurf

Shortcuts ALWAYS lead to more work

If someone truly loves and cares about you, they make you feel good about yourself. Someone who makes you nuts, self-conscious or insecure is doing so on purpose and out of self-interest (not yours)

Believe it or not, 50 lb weakling and last picked for "soccer baseball", you are going to be a black belt one day and a mighty force to be reckoned with

That haircut isn't going to work on you

What is the worst thing that can happen if you fail the test? You have to rewrite it. Yeah, that's it

If you are afraid of losing someone, you don't belong with them

Never stop playing

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does

Guard "Me Time" with your life

Don't worry, no one else has any idea either. Everyone is faking it

There is no such thing as a "grown up"

None of this is going to matter in 10 years

It really is NOT the end of the world. It's not a catastrophe or a disaster either. Open a dictionary or watch a documentary on earthquakes, tsunamis, avalanches, war...a little perspective, please

Fear of success is more common than fear of failure

Many of the people at countless wedding receptions asking "when is it going to be your turn?", "when are you finally going to settle down?" or "are you dating anyone?" will end up divorced

Most of the "successful" kids in high school, the one's you hate, are peaking in high school

If you are bored, do something about it

Being creative does not make you "moody" and "deep"; all those actors, guitar players and artists you find so attractive can be placed on the DSM-IV. Creativity is not an excuse for bad behaviour

If someone says to you, "I'm a bad person", listen to them and get the %^*& out of there!!!!

Potato Morality

One of the benefits of being a bicycle commuter and pedestrian is that you are more likely to come across the weird and the wonderful sights that get missed when your view of the world is through a windscreen. Sometimes I think I have an eye for the strange (see post "I Am the Ellis Island of Odd"), and other times I think the strange finds me. 

Last year, I believe it was Easter Weekend; actually, I took a train to visit family. I had hurried to catch the bus which got me to the station minutes after the train had left in a fine example of the excellence that is schedule coordination in my region. With an hour wait and hunger setting in, I went into the station store to find something to eat. It was an odd store with very little of the standard brands the usual variety store carry. I grabbed a bag of chips from a company I had never heard of before, paid and headed to the platform to sit out the hour in the sun. The chips were flaming hot (and I like it spicy) and slightly odd tasting. Out of boredom I turned over the bag and found a diary on the back: 

To think, all those years I spent training in Martial Arts when all I needed to do was  eat potato chips to learn about self-control

I later discovered that every flavour of Ray's chips tells a different story from his past. I can't tell if this is a clever marketing ploy or just plain goofy, but given that I've not been gripped with the urge to buy the other flavours in order to read Ray's entire life, I'll go with goofy.