Sunny and Raining

An interesting phenomena occured today on the way to work that reminded me of how one’s attitude from day to day can be crucial in living a life of happiness or despair. Today on the way to work, it was sunny and raining at the same time. I needed sunglasses and a waterproof jacket to be comfortable.

I’ve witnessed this in Vermont, where the changing weather of Fall is quite similar to that of Portland, all the time. I remember stopping several times on a motorcycle ride to change into and out of my rain suit and put on and off my sunglasses. After a few stops, I decided to just leave both on and realized there’s nothing you can do about crazy weather, except be prepared and ride through it.

I’ve realized that during almost all of my life, it’s been sunny and raining almost the whole time. In fact, it’s probably been sunny more often than raining, but inevitably, it rains. A little or a lot, the rain is inevitable, and essential. Without the rain, we would not be able to live, nor would we appreciate the sunny days as much as we do. I’ve accepted the rain, and driven through it so that I could appreciate the sunny days ahead.

Even on the sunny days, it’s hard to escape the memories of the cloudy, wet ones. You know they’re coming, you know they could come at any time. In fact, always in the back of my mind is the thought that a serious storm is on the horizon, more than one storm, actually. And the more I learn about the earth and human existence, the more storms loom on our personal horizon.

With all of the rainy days, rainy memories and looming storms we know are coming, how can we even enjoy the few breaks of sun we get here?

I’ve decided to not only make the most of the bright sunny days, but screw the storms, the wet weather, and ignore the looming rain to live as consistently content as possible through it all. The hard part is that other people’s attitudes frequently get in the way. See, not everyone feels the same way. Not everyone driving the same roads as me is feeling the sun through the clouds.

So the trick is to manage not only my own attitude towards the constantly changing weather, but to manage my interactions with other people to either avoid the negative or take advantage of the positive ways they live through the sun and rain. One hard part is that we never really know what’s the right way to look at things and what’s the wrong way. And the parameters we set for ourselves are constantly morphing. What we know about the causes of weather, good and bad, is always changing, and threatens to trash the old laws with new insights. Are we ready to learn and accept?

Obviously, the more we can understand about what makes good and bad weather happen, the better we can live with it over time. But this also means having the presence and willingness of mind to understand and accept the insights that come from experience and science. It also means being open to change and adapting to the new laws of the weather. There may be more sunny days ahead, but there may be some serious storms to get through as well. The one constant in the weather here is change, and as we all know, it’s impossible to predict the weather every time, so another constant is the unknown. Fear of change and fear of the unknown are two major mind-lockers.

We’ve chosen to live in a place where the weather is wet most of the year. We’ve been warned, and we’ve felt it’s wrath. It takes a special person to live through this weather. It takes a person who looks ahead for brighter days. It takes a person who accepts the unknown and looks forward to adapting to whatever wetness lies ahead. What it takes is knowing that when it’s sunny, be happy its not raining. And when it’s raining, look forward sunnier days ahead. But when it’s sunny and raining at the same time, that’s when you realize all you can do is grab some sunglasses, don your rain suit, grin and share it.

Dating with Games

My introduction to video games came with the aquisition of an Odyssey game console, which came complete with 3 built-in games and two sets of three knobs fixed to the console itself. I remember it being off-white, very dirty and unreliable. One of the three games available was Pong, which was fun for 20 minutes every couple of months. I remember busting it out of Mikey’s closet in years past, only to boot it up and play but eventually, it got tossed out with some old tennis sneakers and/or football equipment.

Here’s a chronological list of video game memories. I know you have yours, and our kids memories will include much more than this, with more detail.

In the 80’s I played video games:

• Intellivision: Pitfall, Auto Racing, Space Armada, Donkey Kong, Blackjack. Got good at Blackjack, would come in handy later in Vegas. At the time, other people had Atari or Colecovision.
  
• Nintendo: Mike Tyson’s Punchout was the favorite. Played before and after school almost every day. Finished it after months of trying. Russian dude with master fast punches was difficult, but not impossible as once thought.
• Zaxxon full size arcade video game. My dad won this full arcade size game, which we kept in the basement. It was a bootleg, actually titled “Jackson”. We finished this game many times, on the same quarter, and rumbled the basement for months.

In the 90’s I played video games:

• Sega Hockey: When the Genesis came out Sega Hockey became an obsession in college. We had tournaments at the local bars. Boston and Detroit were by far the best team to have. Letterman ruled it for some time at St Mike’s.
• From there it was Playstation time and this is when my video gaming slowed to a halt. I had taken up fishing and between that, working and motorcycles, I had my activities dialed. There was little time for video games, and that’s what they really need to flourish, is time on your ass.

Into the 21st Century, video games have blown up and grown up. Second Life has taken the idea to a whole new level. You can live an entirely new life outside of reality in a human video game. You can live, buy, sell, move and collect money, they even have banks. In Second Life, you can even go to jail.

We’ve been talking about Second Life a lot lately, mostly related around advertising and marketing opportunities. But really, what’s bizarre is the opportunity to make real money in Second Life, and use it in your First Life. Mind-bender, I know. I have plans to open a string of pubs in Second Life (Justin knows the name) and franchise them all over the place. Let you know when we go live.

Lately, I’ve been playing a lot of two games for PS2: Socom and Splinter Cell. That’s all I play. I’ve tried other games, but none last more than 15 minutes before boredom sets in.

Don’t worry, I don’t yet play online, and I am not a complete gamer nerd. But the fact is, video games have played a large role in my life and in some respects haved helped define the times in my life.

Like movies for my parents, video games reflect people’s attitudes, desires, needs and frustrations. I believe the film industry and Hollywood system are doomed for failure without alternative distribution methods in the face of the gaming world.

People only have so much recreation time (IE: time to waste) on their hands. There are many choices, and crappy movies today just don’t cut it when you can log into Second Life and become the swinging Manhatten advertising executive you always wanted to be.

Actually, is there a bassmaster tour on Second Life? I wonder how the bass fishing is in there? I could earn my way up the ranks and fish to my heart’s content. In fact, I heard I can pay some Indian firm to play my character in Second Life for me, so I don’t even have to do anything to get ahead in there!

I had a thought today: What about creating a reality TV show about people playing Second Life. Like you’re just watching them sitting in front of the computer. And in their Second Life, those people are watching TV shows, like “The Office” on Tivo! Run that back through your mind for a bender. Talk about advertising on all levels…

The world is moving faster than we think. You need to think faster than ever to stay ahead of the game. That’s just the truth.

What Matters Today

My mom called. My two oldest friends called. My brother’s connected. My co-workers remembered with cake. Many friends sent wishes. A bunch of us are meeting tonight for sushi and beers in No. Po.

And this…

Dear Vincent:
I love you very very much.
I’m so happy to share my life with you.

Love, your wife.

11.10.73 Reflection

• We’ve been in Portland, Oregon for almost 7 months.
• I’ve been married for just over 2 months.
• I’ve been around Earth just about 33 years.
• I’ve been a Melvins fan about 10 years.
• I’ve wanted to play the drums for over 15 years.
• I’ve been overweight for 25 years. (Some might argue more…but it’s been about 40 for you, lard ass.)
• I’ve been in love for almost exactly 2 years.
• I’ve been a brother to 6 siblings for 33 years
• I’ve been a business owner for about 4 years.
• I’ve been a fisherman for 11 years.
• I’ve been a golfer for about 23 years.
• I’ve been a son for 33 years.
• I’ve been a writer for maybe 3 years.
• I’ve been a snowboarder about 20 years. (Some might argue less…since I ain’t riding much lately)
• I’ve been a Seton Hall Prep alum for almost 15 years.
• I’ve been a college grad for about 11 years.
• I’ve been a gamer for about 3.5 years.
• I’ve been a Mac nerd for around 4 years.
• I’ve been an indie rocker for about 14 years.
• I’ve been an ex-skateboarder for 16 years.
• I’ve been an ex-virgin for — years. (C’mon, that’s too sensitive…our family reads this shit!)
• I’ve been an ex-Burton guy for 5 years and 2 months.
• I’ve been a hater of numbers for 33 years.
• I’ve been a cell phone user for over 6 years.
• I’ve had a beard for about 15 years.
• I’ve had an appreciation for art for over 14 years.
• I’ve had visible gray hairs for over 5 years.
• I’ve been virtually zit-free for about 15 years.
• I’ve known how to swim for 27 years.
• I’ve known how to dive for about 25 years.
• I’ve had tan forearms and white upper arms for about 23 years.
• I’ve been best friends with Russ for 32 years
• I’ve been Nick’s older brother for 33 years.
• I’ve been next-to-youngest in the LaVecchias for almost 32 years.
• I’ve had amazing parents for 33 years.
• I’ve had a dog in the family for prolly 25 years. (Or more?)
• I’ve been in Glebelands for about 15 years.
• I’ve been heterosexual for 33 years.
• I’ve had pancake feet for 33 years.
• I’ve chewed my nails for about 22 years.
• I’ve been an ex-index-finger-sucker for 25 years.
• I’ve had back hair for maybe 18 years.
• I’ve been a thinker for prolly 23 years.
• I’ve been a reader for about 25 years.
• I’ve been an ex-motorcycle rider for 2 sad, sad years. (Not for long, baby!)
• I’ve been a bass fisherman for about 12 years.
• I’ve been best friends with Scott Illingworth for about 24 years. (Or more?)
• I’ve been an ex-lacrosse player for over 15 years.
• I’ve been an ex-Jeep Warngler owner for around 11 years.
• I’ve been a beer lover for 12 years.
• I’ve been a baseball and soccer hater for 33 years.
• I’ve been a wet-willy hater for 20 years.
• I’ve had knee problems for about 20 years.
• I’ve been an ex-boyfriend to Barbara for 16 years.
• I’ve been an ex-roomate to Letterman for about 8 years.
• I’ve been an ex-New Jersey resident for over 10 years.
• I’ve been an uncle for about 13 years.
• I’ve been funny for maybe 19 years.
• I’ve been a red lover for at least 25 years.
• I’ve generally been happy for 33 years.
• I’ve been a proficient sailor for maybe 19 years.
• I’ve enjoyed paddling canoes for over 20 years.
• I’ve been an ex-mountain biker for prolly 10 years.
• I’ve been an ex-Brakesqueal member for 10 years.
• I’ve been immortalized on a sticker for about 6 years.
• I’ve been an ice fisherman for about 10 years.
• I’ve been a dog owner for around a year.
• I’ve been bad about keeping in touch with friends for about 15 years.
• I’ve been a good driver for 20 years.
• I’ve had a business card with my name on it for 7 years.
• I’ve been proud to be a LaVecchia for over 20 years.
• I’ve disliked my first name for 27 years or so.
• I’ve had the initials VRL for 33 years. (It’s Robert, after my grandfather, I believe.)
• I’ve lived without meeting my grandfather(s) for 33 years.
• I’ve had size 11 feet for about 6 years.
• I’ve had about a 46 waist size for 7 years. (Fitting in is no fun.)
• I’ve had a ring on my finger for just over 2 months.
• I’ve been a watch-hater for 22 years.
• I’ve been a surprise-slap-on-the-back hater for 25 years.
• I’ve kept a very intermittent journal for about 12 years.
• I’ve been generally healthy for 33 years.
• I’ve had an inny for 33 years.
• I’ve been an ex-coffee-hater for about 1.5 years.
• I’ve been listening to Def Leppard and Rush for around 17 years.
• I’ve been a good communicator for over 19 years.
• I’ve been concerned about the environment for about 8 years.
• I’ve known what I want to do in life for about 4.5 years.
• I’ve been doing what I want to do in life for about 2 years.
• I’ve beleived I could do better in life for over 21 years.
• I’ve had an oral and aural fixation problem for 33 and 21 years, respectively.
• I’ve been an air-drummer for 20 years.
• I’ve been an ex-BMX champ for 23 years.
• I’ve been an on-and-off roomate to Nick for 33 years.
• I’ve had the same general steez for 23 years. (With the exception of the reverse-mullet years.)
• I’ve admired some people for over 20 years.
• I’ve had some priorities straight for 20 years.
• I’ve been younger than everyone else my age for 33 years.
• I’ve looked and listened more intently for about 19 years.
• I’ve been a blogster for just over 5 months.