joe randel's art dump

I don’t care for them.  I know the Halloween season is the time to take in a good fright, but I’ve never been one for them.  I know others that just love them.  I just do see the draw to be honest.  Have seen some.  The first one I ever saw was Alien.  I know it’s not a scary flick.  It’s more of a sci-fi thriller, but it had the tense moments and gory scenes that put it in that sort of genera for me.  Later in to my teen years, I had to watch Nightmare on Elm st and Halloween for film studies class.  I didn’t really find them overly scary, but they where way past their prime when I finally watched them.  Oh, and I took in The Ring when it was in theaters too.  I wanted to see that because I really liked the concept and yeah… it scared me.  The difference between those three and Aliens, is that I eventually learned to love the Aliens series.  They’re probably some of my favorite movies.  With that being said, you still wouldn’t catch me watching slasher or horror movies today.  I get scared enough watching The Walking Dead.

Do you enjoy scary/horror movies?  What’s your favorite one?

Since we’re getting close to Halloween lets talk about what scares us.  Don’t hold back.  It can be something very serious or something totally absurd.

For me, I’m totally afraid of spiders.  It started when I was little and I saw a zoomed in photo of a spider head.  I screamed and threw the magazine and was terrified of them ever since (I’m getting better though).  I’m afraid of confrontations and I usually try to avoid them when ever possible.

Larger fears I have are, I’m afraid of losing my family to any sort of accident.  I watched my Dad as he went through the loss of his girlfriend at the time.  It was very rough on him.  I’m also very terrified to die.  I’ll sometimes keep myself awake at night worrying and thinking about my last moments and when they might be.

Crazy fears are… I’m afraid of waking up one day to realize something it different.  Could be something like, someone doesn’t exist and never did or my job is something different or I don’t have any kids so something like that.  The kicker is, I’m the only one that knows that something is different.  I know, I know… it’s crazy and very twilight zone.  Also, thanks to The Walking Dead, I’m afraid of zombie outbreaks.  I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t last long so it’s not very comforting to think I’m could be devoured by the undead.  *shudder*

What scares you?

Today I tried something new.  I’m out at an all day breakfast place and I see poached eggs with hollandaise sauce.  I’ve never had this before so I thought, why not.  Now, not only was this just eggs and yellow sauce, it was steak, mushrooms, swiss cheese, eggs and yellow sauce… on an english muffin and man, it was damn tasty.  Oh there was potatoes and fruit there too.  Don’t get me wrong they where good too, but they weren’t the stars of the show.  Now the real question.  Would I order this again?  Hell yeah I would!  Too bad this was a limited time dish. >_<

When was the last time you tried a new food?  Did you like it?

Today, when I was out getting my lunch I stopped and thought for a moment.  I don’t recalled the last time I used cash to buy something.  I debit or credit for pretty much all my purchases, and online banking for the rest of it.  Physical money rarely ever in my wallet any more.  I’m sure banks just love this though, as they make tons of money off the card fees.  But it’s kind of scary when you think about it. If all my money is digital, do I have any money at all?  If society where to collapse, I’d be screwed with no real money.  That is, assuming money still has any value in a fallen society.

I remember the first time I used my debit to buy a bag of chips.  I felt like such a fool for using it for a buck something.  It was like “I didn’t have a dollar, but you can take a dollar from my magic money card”.  Now I use it for stuff like that and I don’t even think.  I probably should carry some cash on me in case of an emergency.  Not sure what kind of emergency, but I wouldn’t want to be wishing I had money when all I have is a card that say I have numbers in a computer.

Do you carry cash at all any more or have a jar of money buried in the backyard?

Also… I do remember when I last used cash.  About 3 weeks ago I used 5 bucks at the local bulk store to buy pretzels and Big Foot candy.  I can’t remember where I got the $5 bucks though. o_O

If you could pick a new talent, what would it be?  Something that you’ve always wished you where able to do.  Not a super power or anything.  A real, skill that could be practical or maybe just for fun.  I know some people would like to know how to play a musical instrument.  Others might want to know a new language, have skills to build/fix things or become an artist.  If you could pick one, what would you want to know?  My Dad is a carpenter by trade and as I get older, I have a greater appreciation for the artistry of what he does.  My choice would be to be able to be a better handyman or woodworker.  To be able to build things for my house would be fantastic!  I’m not looking to build a new house, but the skills needed to make and finish tables and cabinets.

Then needs to ask yourself.  Why don’t I have this skill?  Mostly, it would take time and money.  Sometimes we lack one or both of those to get a new talent started.  You almost have to look at it like an investment.  Maybe I could start with something small.  Like a stand for my dog’s water bowl.  I think I could handle that.

What talent would you like to have?

Do you believe in destiny or are you in control of your own future?  I’m not religious (well, I do lean towards Buddhist teachings)  so I don’t see a divine being pulling my strings, but I do think that the universe (for lack of better term) puts choices in front of you and it’s up to you to decide which path you go down.  I do believe that there are places we ought to be in life and people we should meet, but it’s through our choices whether we get there or not.  I also don’t think there is such thing as a wrong choice.  Through our mistakes or poorer choices, we can see how we got to this point in our lives and maybe how to get back to where we should be.

So I guess I see it sort of half and half.  My life may not be written in an all-knowing book with me unable to deviate from the story.  Maybe it’s more like a Choose Your Own Adventure book.  Where there is a one path that’s the best one for me, but I can make my decisions, and mistakes, to reach one of any number of endings.  Including the best one in my own roundabout way.

Are you in control of your destiny or is yours already written out?