Monday, January 28, 2008

Jump, Damn It!

Some of you may have noticed that I've changed the look of my blog. For whatever reason I opened the page up the other day and was just completely put off by all that white. It was so boring...so plain...so reminiscent of cold, harsh, unyielding snow. I like the new greener, more organic, natural look of this new page. Okay, that's a load of bull--I like it because it's pretty. So there.

I also added a description, took it down, put it back up, and am now taking it down again. I've tried to come up with a catchy subtitle, but to be honest, titles just aren't my thing. Even the name of this blog wasn't my doing. It came from my good friend, Sandra who used to say I'd have a "Nicki moment" when I did something truly crazy, stupid or out of character. I try, really I do, but there is just so much pressure in coming up with a three to five word phrase that will be accurately descriptive of the piece AND entice people to actually take the time and read the damn thing. Got an idea for a description? Then pony up in the comments box and give me one. You'll save me a lot of time tossing and turning tonight trying like hell to come up with one on my own.

I went out to dinner with my friend Lauren last night to celebrate. She's taken the plunge and decided to move to Portland, OR. I'm so excited for her, and also impressed. I just met her a few weeks ago and she was thinking about going west but hadn't committed to doing it or anything. So many people talk about what they want to do but never do it, and here Lauren is packing up her stuff and leaving town. It's awesome. That kind of strong decision making and chutzpah makes me think of that jumping rock on the McKenzie river. As a raft guide I would stop at this one beach so that my clients could climb up on this big rock and jump off into the river. Sometimes kids, and adults alike, would get up there and just freeze. They'd stand on the end of this rock and peer cautiously over the edge, back off, go back up, scream that they couldn't do it, look nervously at their parents/partners/coworkers/friends/kids for help and then eventually do a bold, yet timid leap off the end into the frigid water below. Hardly anyone ever got all the way up there just to turn around and walk back to the boat. Nearly all jumped. And they always had that same look of astonishment on their faces when they bobbed back up to the surface. It was like, "hey! I did it! And I didn't die! Wow!" quickly followed by, "Shit, this is cold!" and then a scramble for the beach.

Even now when I'm waiting for someone to make a decisions, or when I'm trying to make a decision, I just think to myself, jump off that damn rock! Go! You're just wasting time up there. We both know you're not backing down and you will eventually jump. So do it--GO. What are you waiting for? Just jump!

So yes, my friend, Lauren jumped off the rock, and in record time. How cool would it be if we could all be so brave?

Cheers,
NC

Song of the Day: Have You Ever by Bradi Carlile (And by the way, this is the best CD I've heard since I became obsessed with Regina Spektor last spring. There isn't a single song on the entire album that I don't love. Buy it--it's so worth it).


No comments: