# I've been melancholy, of late **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 8, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188 "2004-05-08T16:23:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/21 "2004-05-09T15:49:32Z")
Thanks for all of the replies. I should say that I’m not moping about. It’s just that in spite of everything, I feel as if I’m stuck in a rut. > [@](#): > > Somebody out there is making movies As I said, I’m to the point where I’m ready to just _shoot!_ Sure, I’d wind up with a lot of film for which I’d have no good use; but it would be better than leaving it unexposed. Maybe if I carry one of my cameras with me everywhere I go, I’ll get some ideas. > [@](#): > > You’ve GOT dreams, and there’s no reason in the world that you shouldn’t go out and make them happen. You just need a little nudge. I definitely need a nudge. Losing my job was just the kick in the backside I needed to finally move to the PNW. (Although the timing _really_ could have been better. As you may remember, I was in the process of buying the house when I was laid off, and I was frantic that I wouldn’t get it.) > [@](#): > > Seriously, though: You still seem to be alive and kicking and doing stuff (Wreck diving sounds like fun!), I’ve always wanted to explore wrecks. (What twitches on the bottom of the ocean? A nervous wreck!) Hey, congratulations on your kayak, **Spiny**! **Shayna** told me about it yesterday. If you guys come up here sometime, the bay is just down the hill. If you don’t bring your 'yak, we can probably borrow one. > [@](#): > > Of course, if you’re really down, check and see if your insurance covers therapy. Huh? Anyone who’d go into therapy should have his head examined! 😉😛 I don’t have insurance. (This is one of the things that annoys me about this country. Even before I was laid off, I believed that a person should not lose medical coverage just because he loses his job.) Anyway, I have The Straight Dope! 😃 > [@](#): > > You don’t have to do everything. _Ich will Alles!_😃 > [@](#): > > What about putting a personal ad in the paper or on line? Nah. Not my style. I reckon that if it is to be, then someone will notice me doing something I like doing and we’ll meet that way. **calm kiwi** : That guy you met in the hostel sounds pretty cool. I noticed a lot of Australians when I was in Europe. It sounds as if Australia has a very generous tradition of giving employees a good amount of vacation time. I assume NZ is like that as well? Here in the States, most people only get two weeks per year. (Usually you get three weeks after five or ten years, depending on the employer.) At my new job, we don’t even get traditional holidays. I’m told the boss has said, “If you’ve been President, then you get President’s Day off. If someone has shot at you in a war, then you get Veteran’s Day off…” Two movie quotes come to mind. One was a Western, and a cowboy said he had three sets of clothes. “One on, one off, and one in the wash.” The other involved a sailor who said, “Never have any more possessions than will fit in a duffel bag.” Man, I’d love to go on walkabout! Part of my desire to unload most of my stuff comes from the desire to be less encumbered by too much baggage. My plan is to apply any money I garner from the sale of my stuff to the priciple on my home loan. (I got my [very small] tax refunds – the first in many years – and I will apply that to my loan.) Of course, I can always sell the house and just take off in two years. My friend made 50% in two years on this house when he sold it to me. I won’t sell it, of course. It’s good to have a base of operations. One thing that I’ve thought of would be to go walkabout in 2006 and let the place out for the Vancouver Olympic Games. (I’m four miles from the border.) Anyway, I think part of the problem is that I just need a vacation. I had been planning to go to Australia or England over Christmas, but they layoff put the stop to that. I’m hoping my car will be finished in a couple of months. (Hoping, but not hopeful.) When it’s done I can fly down to SoCal to pick it up, and have a nice drive back. It ain’t Australia, but at least I can play Mad Max through the desolation of the Central Valley. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/22 "2004-05-09T16:00:09Z")
Say “Hi!” to Fifi for me! Whatever happened to him anyways? I don’t remember any other mention of him in the other movies. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/23 "2004-05-09T16:10:02Z")
See, you’re already feeling better. People like you (and me, and many others on this thread) don’t know how lucky we’ve got it. We’ve got ambitions. Hopes. Abilities. Not that the rest of the population doesn’t—everyone does. But I’ve met too many people who are too scared to even start. To scared to even _believe_. But you—you have the opposite problem. You’ve started, you know all the things you want to do and CAN DO, but you don’t know which one to start first. Or, you can’t seem to get it in gear at this time. That’s a far cry from being too damned paralyzed to even contemplate having _permission_ to do it. Which is, alas, where many people are, and will remain. That’s so sad. So, as others have said, start a project. Any project. It will make you feel like a million bucks. One thing I’ve done several times when I’ve been in a slump is create a new website. About two years ago, I was bored. Very bored. Which is inexcusable, really, since there is so much to do. Anyway, in my boredom, I was prompted to create a new website, covering a topic that wasn’t explored well enough on the web. (I looked and couldn’t find anything decent on it.) I started to write and write and do research and create illustrations to accompany this website. I was so excited. And I started it because I was simply bored! The site’s a pretty big success (at least by my standards) and is even making some money for me. But it never would have come to be if I hadn’t been so tired of my intertia that I did it. Just because “it was something to do.” Now it’s become something I am very proud of and it has spurred me to do other things (like write a book!). So you never know. Just start a project and see where it takes you. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/24 "2004-05-09T16:58:34Z")
I think I would like to start a new religion. How about it - anyone want to join my new religion? We can make a compound in the wilderness and everything! Maybe your film should be like everyone says about writing a book - film what you know. Make a film about kayaking, or helicopter piloting. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/25 "2004-05-09T22:59:18Z")
Get into storm surfing. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/26 "2004-05-10T04:18:06Z")
you see? You should have gotten the Mini Cooper you were discussing once! Minis make everything all better. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/27 "2004-05-10T04:50:40Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Thanks for all of the replies. I should say that I’m not moping about. It’s just that in spite of everything, I feel as if I’m stuck in a rut. > > As I said, I’m to the point where I’m ready to just _shoot!_ Sure, I’d wind up with a lot of film for which I’d have no good use; but it would be better than leaving it unexposed. Maybe if I carry one of my cameras with me everywhere I go, I’ll get some ideas. I get to wear the bigfoot suit! ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/28 "2004-05-10T14:47:19Z")
Dude, you’re 40. Your head has wrinkles by now. The mohawk won’t look good on you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/29 "2004-05-10T14:55:37Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I think I would like to start a new religion. How about it - anyone want to join my new religion? We can make a compound in the wilderness and everything! I am intrigued by your views and wish to subscribe to your newsletter. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/30 "2004-05-10T16:32:13Z")
Johnny, Johnny… the solution is as simple as it is nearby. Get on the R1, and tear up the Seattle roads, dude. 🙂 And if you do decide to do the travel-the-world thing, there’s a place in Amsterdam you can crash. I have a feeling you’d like this city. As for relationships, I’ve always wondered why you’re single. Seeing as it’s not by choice, I don’t see why you would be. You’re a very bright guy with an extremely broad interest in life, knowledgable about many things and ignorant about few, and you’re not a bad looker, earrings and a bit of a gut be damned. 😉 Plus, you fly helicopters and ride motorbikes. If those aren’t chick magnets, I don’t know what are! What with you being new in town and all, d’ya think perhaps a dating agency/website might be in order? There’s no shame in it - everybody’s busy these days, and there’s little time to sample the fish in the sea one by one. Although it could sure be fun. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/31 "2004-05-11T01:01:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Johnny, Johnny… the solution is as simple as it is nearby. > > Get on the R1, and tear up the Seattle roads, dude. 🙂 Heh. Nail in the rear tyre. And I have yet to find a place that will plug and patch a motorcycle tire. I’ve been neglecting the XJ600 anyway (and it has brand-new rubber, too!). I should start using it to commute to work. (Although it would have been difficult carrying the 22 blocks I picked up today to make a fire pit with, had I been on the bike.) I appreciate the crash space offer. I just may take you up on it sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/32 "2004-05-11T04:38:03Z")
Step one for starting new religion: Make newsletter. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/33 "2004-05-11T04:55:06Z")
> [@scout1222](#): > > I am intrigued by your views and wish to subscribe to your newsletter. > > 😛 /Dogbert ON Can you chant? /OFF ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/34 "2004-05-11T08:26:20Z")
Don’t patch up that rear tire, get a new one! The last thing you want is a blow-out on an R1. :eek: Shame on you for neglecting the Divvy. Uh, I mean Seca. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/35 "2004-05-11T10:12:10Z")
Old punk eh? Sell some of your stuff that you no longer want. Raise 300 dollars. Buy old guitar and amp and “complete Guitar player” volumes one two and three. Learn to bash out some old punk favourites. Relax 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188/36 "2004-05-12T01:12:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Learn to bash out some old punk favourites. I was listening to the _Tank Girl_ soundtrack on the way to work today, and to T.S.O.L. and The Dickies on the way home. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-melancholy-of-late/244188.md?page=1)