Jonesing for a new iPhone

... or as an alternate heading:

Now before you think this could possibly be about me, for shame. I would never shackle my wrists within the confines of an iPhone but, rather, I thought I would provide a little commentary on why my staunch iPhone-loving girlfriend has decided to turn toward the light and decide not to get a new Apple product. 

For those of you able to follow my train of thought so far, yes, you are correct; it's all about the Benjamins (yo). She presently owns a paleolithic iPhone 6 and wanted to move to the last model with a headphone jack, which turns out to be the iPhone 8. Note that said iPhone 8 is now two generations out-of-date and is already viewed by most as obsolete - and yet Apple still thinks that they should be charging around $700 for the privilege. Say what now? How does that compute? You would think that they would be doing a little more (considering a quickly receding market share through a complete lack of innovation or respect for their fanatical supporters) to retain your patronage. Retrospectively who thought it was a good idea to charge over a grand for the latest incarnation - and still think it would be successful?

Needless to say my GF's not in a position to throw down a gorilla on her replacement and so has been cajoled into giving android a go - all for $280 for kick-ass hardware (well, by Android standards) and she also gets to keep her old phone for things like facetime and (shudder) iTunes. I think I can make a case for her complete conversion such that perhaps she won't go back to overpriced hardware for her next upgrade.

I guess the conclusion that I really should put forward is not that she saved over $300 on a comparable smart phone experience but rather why she's paying almost $300 on a device which will inevitably be made obsolete. I sometimes long for a time when smart phones were not a thing; where we no longer chase the next iteration of what is basically the same dang thing. Honestly who needs a folding phone? All we are doing is simply moving the target - in the end we will never get to that finish line if we keep our focus on what isn't really all that important. Sometimes the best thing we can do is not play the game at all and be content in living our lives amongst our friends and family.

De-dumb your life

Now, before you think I've Americanized myself to such a point that I am comfortable with making up words, I have a point: How many times have you seen a poster with 'De-stress your life'? Does it make you more stressed just reading it? If so, I've got a helpful suggestion the next time you're responsible for writing a motivational poster.

For those of you hard-of-thinking, I'll give you the alternate and correctly-framed sentence: 

'Relax your life'

See? Isn't that so much nicer to read and, more importantly, sits nicely in your head? You're not thinking about stress but you're more focussed on how much nicer it would be to relax a little more. Now, I've read a number of motivational books and, for the most part, they're a little too much like faith than practical advice - but I did have a few take-aways; namely that using positive words internally and externally will result in you being more positive and that using (what boils down to) a chakra each morning will start you off on the right foot. I think those elements do work and you will feel better if you avoid negative words and words which are not conducive to your well-being. On second thoughts, I can re-frame the sentence completely to be even more motivational:

'Aim for your best but remember to still enjoy the ride along the way'

Maybe it's not as pithy but I do think it's better, don't you?

Being accepted by the herd

The human race are a funny lot. On one hand, they promote acceptance (or, dare I say it, tolerance) of every race or creed but, on the other, there is an invisible language that every person perceives and conforms to with the hope of being accepted by society's unwritten laws.

Here I am sitting in a cafe watching an 'informal' interview process where a woman feigns interest and has obviously modified her diction and appearance to suit her possible employer's expectations.  It amuses me that we have to go through this masquerade for a few short hours just to revert back to our old selves. That's not to say that you can't remain professional; just that the interviewer doesn't really get a true sense of who you are - unless they are able to look past the slick facade before them. Wouldn't it be nice if you were chosen on what you bring to the table rather than how you choose to convey yourself?

I could almost say the same thing when it comes to buying cars. I've recently been on the hunt for a manual (that is, 'stick shift') mode of transport and was amused that the main factor that governs the price of used vehicles is mileage. Yes, it is true that vehicles that have covered large numbers of miles are probably going to break down a little more regularly than a less-travelled version of the same car but surely that's not all that should be taken into account. A car that has been maintained and driven nicely (and is from a solid manufacturer) will fare far better than a car with half the miles that has been thrashed or is from an unreliable manufacturer. The car I finally decided to purchase was neither the prettiest car nor the one with the fewest miles. It was dirty, had a healthy collection of dust ... and yet started first time, the transmission worked great and it ran perfectly. When I came by for final settlement - I had a fairy-tale moment - for what once had been merely perfunctory, had now turned into a (relatively) beautiful swan after some detailing and minor touch-ups. I honestly did a double-take when I first saw it ... and yet it was still the same car under all that new-found prettiness. What I saw now simply solidified my view that I had made the right choice all along - not that it might still prove to be a lemon in the near future; but I digress ...

And so, as with most things, not everything can be measured by looking at the cold hard numbers, so don't just rely upon the facts presented before you to measure your future employee's worth ...  or your possible mode of transport.

Tipping the balance

I am progressing nicely through the next book. I think the pacing and writing is comparable and, now that the mythos of my world has been established, I can focus more on character development and the trials and tribulations of what Zed goes through to avoid unrest-threatening situations.

I have the plot worked out and it's just a matter of painting by the numbers and hopefully injecting the same level of fun dialogue and neurotic musings that the first one did. I think if I had to put the first as a basis of five for the litmus test, I would say this next book would be a seven. There are more characters, more perspectives, more story arcs and more is seen of the world. Of course, I don't want to go all Michael Bay on this book and think, naturally, that more is always better but I do think that the story will benefit from this broader scope.

Random musing:
Feel free (for those who have read my book) to give me suggestions or ideas for what you would like Mr Zed (or Chase) to do next. You never know; I might just add it to the story (and credit you in the book) :) Alternatively, if I'm 100% enamored by your idea, you might even become one of the characters in my story!

Been there done that

At what point does life become an exercise in monotony? I've seen a million babies, I've seen a million sunsets, I've seen a million beautiful vistas, I've tasted a million nice things. 

Sure, there are still differences, but the differences are negligible. I find that there is little new to experience outside of minor revisions to existing things. To me the world has become one of repetition rather than wonderment.

I guess I can still find sources of entertainment, like learning to administer the heimlich or learning the piano or changing a car tyre in one-minute flat, but really, who am I doing this for? I certainly don't need to affirm my ability to learn - I've done that my whole life. I know I am capable of learning the piano (given enough time). I might not be a virtuoso in the end but I won't be terrible, either.

I constantly strive to experience something different, but it is getting a little harder to find something I haven't tried or that doesn't remind me of a combination of things I've already experienced. Any suggestions on where to go for something uniquely different, let me know - I am all ears :) So, what things keep you going?  What things motivate you to wake up in the morning?

The curse of an easy life

I personally feel that I would have succeeded far more if there were more hurdles in place to my success. I sometimes think my life is too easy. I know a good number of examples where people have succeeded from a less-than-ideal starting point.

Take Kyle Sandilands: an absolute tool but a successful one. He started as a street kid and is now a multi-millionaire, despite the general public's abhorrence towards him. Lil Wayne, Richard Pryor, Katt Williams - all revered in their field of choice but all with terrible lives growing up. I think those troubles in early life motivated them to push themselves. To ensure that they would never have to feel that pain or maybe to gloss over the loss in their early lives.

It seems that even with success it sometimes isn't enough, with self-destructive tendencies rearing its ugly head at the least opportune moment. A lot of theses successful people realise too late that success doesn't necessarily equal happiness; but I would rather be successful and unhappy than unsuccessful and unhappy.

As the great Charlie Sheen once said about success:

"People say it's lonely at the top, but I sure like the view"

..not that anyone should try to emulate the life or lifestyle of Charlie Sheen.

Since my life has been pretty charmed, it does nothing to motivate me to get out of such a 'bad' situation. I think the only way that I keep pushing forwards is by tricking my mind into believing my current situation is not enough. I strive because I want more. I want success, I want financial freedom. All quite admirable but I think even if I weren't able to reach this, my life would still be pretty darn good. Hopefully I'm the only one that has such a distorted view of happiness and success. But darned if I don't want a less-easy life.