I Can Do Crazy

Last week’s craziness is behind me. I say craziness because I am not one who likes to have too many things crammed into one week. I like to take it easy, maybe have a meeting and a dinner out or a movie. That’s enough excitement for me. So to have THAT much to do, even though a lot of them were fun or at least fairly easy things, is just more than I can handle.

I get tense. I get that way without even recognizing it at first. I don’t sleep well, I’m tired, I’m cranky, and I just have a general feeling of dread. I kept looking forward to the end of the week, hoping somehow I could just sneak over to it and skip all the effort. Then I catch myself and realize what’s going on.

I remember once saying at work, as we often do, “arrgh! I can’t wait for this week to be over!”  A coworker quickly asked “Why? You in a hurry to be older?”   That was the first time someone had put it to me that way. And it made sense to me.  Since that time of course I’ve met Kelly and have tried to put into practice a lot of what I have learned through her blog and through osmosis. One such tidbit is to be present, to be “in the now”.  I have not read the book yet, and I know that my understanding barely scratches the surface of what there is to be learned. But it was still helpful to me last week.

Once I caught myself, I started to live moment by moment. I tried to stop worrying about “I hope it doesn’t snow on the way to London!” and “I hope the Autoshow is not too busy” and “I hope the traffic isn’t too bad going to the hockey game” I was worrying about things out of my control. And worst of all, I was not enjoying the moment I was in, too worried about what was going to happen a few days or a week later. Instead,  I forced myself to focus on today, right now.

As a result I was able to completely enjoy the events I attended. Sure there were little hitches, but so what. I was healthy, happy and there to enjoy it. I wish I could tell you I was completely stress free, but that would be a big fat lie. Despite my best efforts, I still subconsciously held onto some of the anxiety and a bit of the sense of dread. It was below the surface, and reared its head at the end of last week as the beginnings of my friend “Mr. Ulcer”  I haven’t had my ulcer act up in a very long time. Probably almost two years. Well, since the last time there was talk of downsizing at work. Oh yeah that. That was the icing on the cake last week. More on that in another post.

So, the events. The North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall in Detroit is always a good time. I get to go for work every year, and as a bonus I get to attend during Industry Preview days. This means it’s less crowded and almost all the cars are unlocked so you can crawl through them if you are so inclined.  One of my coworkers sat in every single Jaguar on the floor.  The Lamborghinis were off limits however, being guarded by these scary looking types:

Another favorite of mine was a concept Dodge Grand Caravan R/T. As you may know, I drive a converted Grand Caravan, but this one had a little more kick to it. Hood scoop, dual chrome exhaust tips, 20-inch wheels and Brembo brakes. Yessir, I like it. No word on the 0-60 times yet. But if I have to drive a minivan, this might be the one for me.

I also liked the Lexus LFA Roadster Concept. Just because.

Then of course there was the hockey game on Thursday. I have season tickets to the Red Wings, but I don’t go that often any more. Almost all of the tickets are sold well ahead of time to an acquaintance. I keep 4 or 5 games per year. This one was Vancouver vs. Detroit. One of my buddies is a Vancouver fan, so he came. Another buddy is a Detroit fan, so I had to bring him to balance things out. And the fourth guy, he’s a Toronto fan, so he wore a Canuck jersey, just to be a jerk. (SO like a maple leaf fan eh?). The game was a close one, tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. Overtime did not resolve anything, so we went on to a shoot-out. I’ve never been to game that ended this way. It was very exciting, with the whole crowd standing in anticipation. The Wings won it 3-2.

Afterwards the four of us and four more buddies who were also at the game came back to Windsor and met up downtown for a “boys night out” I assure you a good time was had by all. I did not roll into bed until 3am.  The next day however, my body wished to remind me that I am way too old to stay up that late and/or drink that much. But no matter, small price to pay for blowing off that kind of steam. And the guys are already looking forward to next time. And honestly, so am I.  Just not too soon. Let’s not get too crazy.