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Post by insaneh on Aug 1, 2021 16:01:06 GMT -7
So I say. My definition of vague and others may be different. Still married to my future ex wife. We tried counseling just before covid hit. There's a couple of entertaining stories that I'll tell at a later time if there's interest. Still machinist. Did I share "Death" with you folks? I don't remember. Changed jobs once since closing the shop. Ready to do so again. Got an interview tomorrow in fact. Anyone curios as to seeing a bit into my minds workings, check out "The Box" on linkedin. I'll post it here if anyones having difficulty finding it. As always, I enjoy honest opinions.
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Post by crashdive123 on Aug 2, 2021 3:13:18 GMT -7
Wishing the best for you. I've never been on linkedin and wouldn't know how to use it.
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Post by cowgirlup on Aug 2, 2021 18:09:47 GMT -7
I'm so glad you checked in! You were on my mind last week and I was wondering how things were going. Apparently I'm not that great at LinkedIn. I did a search for The Box and found something in possibly Spanish? So post a link please!
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Post by insaneh on Aug 3, 2021 18:00:37 GMT -7
I'm so glad you checked in! You were on my mind last week and I was wondering how things were going. Apparently I'm not that great at LinkedIn. I did a search for The Box and found something in possibly Spanish? So post a link please! I'll just post the whole thing here then nobody has to struggle with it. It's lengthy and a little pseudo psychological logical but I was fairly proud of it.
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Post by insaneh on Aug 3, 2021 18:03:29 GMT -7
The box An observation. "Think outside of the box" This phrase has been tossed about for what seems to be forever. So long that it's magical aura has diminished for many of us. making it ordinary rather than extraordinary. Having originated in the late 60's early 70's according to the all knowing internetlazysearch, it certainly feels like forever to me having been around for a bit longer than that. If we are to refresh the concept of thinking outside the box then we should ask ourselves, what exactly is "The Box" According to Merriam-Webster "to explore ideas that are creative and unusual and that are not limited or controlled by rules or traditionTo solve this puzzle, you'll have to think out" That defines the phrase, but not the box. My interpretation of "The Box" is an imaginary boundary of our own construction. Many of us build our box. Decorate it to our liking. Make it all comfy and cozy, then settle in with a hot cup of coffee like it's a frigid New England morning outside. Never wanting to travel outside of it's imaginary walls. It's a difficult trap to wiggle out of. Most of us dislike venturing outside of our comfort zone. The good news is that with a little practice, a measure of desire and a large serving of willpower, it can be done. Take me for instance. I'm not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. I'm certain many of the more articulate folks reading this are saying "no kidding bub". Yet here I am, the words flowing out of me with surprising ease. Hence this "observation " for lack of a better term. This is my attempt at pushing at an unexplored wall of mine. I've seldom shied away from a challenge. In the rare instances that I have, it usually becomes a festering regret. A feeling that I've allowed something to get away. A lesson, an opportunity or something intangible that I can't pin down. Never having considered myself anything special, I plodded through life, never really thinking about life itself. Head down, grinding through whatever obstacle that currently stood in my path. This is a type of box itself. I believe that in order to define and refresh the concept, we need to determine if "The Box" is a singular, multifaceted box or a series of different boxes. Each having it's own set of challenges needing to be met before they can escaped. It's on an individual basis is my opinion. Everyone needs to see it on their own terms metaphorically speaking in order to decide how to proceed. I see a multifaceted box with many walls. All interconnected on many different levels. To push one wall too far strains the delicate fibers on another wall that may not need to be pushed. "The Box" needn't be just a thought or idea. It can be made up of emotional, social, professional cultural ect walls. Each individual decides when and where the boundaries stop growing. I'm more than a little ashamed to admit that for an exceptionally large portion of my life, I didn't think about, strive towards or even consider expanding any other boundaries other than my craft. Machining. Everything else became secondary. It took a series of personal tragedies in a very short amount of time to shake my box hard enough to make me lift my head and look around. I see now with a little more clarity that it's not neccesarily to think outside of the box but to expand the box to encompass more knowledge and expand the mind into more and more unfamiliar territory. Equally as important is to keep the proportional. To expand one boundary too far makes the box disproportionate and makes other things more difficult. I.E. I could be the most competent revolutionary machinist in the world but there would be doors that would never open for me if I lacked the social skills to deal my peers, or if my personal life were in a constant state of turmoil, I'd lack the focus to do my work efficiently. I'd never learn from others if I lacked any sort of humility and was viewed as arrogant as few want to deal with someone like that. A former customer of mine pointed out one day as I was presented with a problem to solve. My internal gears started moving as my mind bent towards the problem. The familiar hunger began to stir as the prospect of a meal was within it's grasp. He said " That's what gets your blood pumping isn't it?" A slight pause from me as the gears slowed and changed direction slightly. A hiss from the hunger as it's meal was pulled away for a bit. "Hmm?" with a raised eyebrow. "Building something, fixing or figuring something out. That's your passion." I imagine a slight smile and a nod as the gears clicked back on track and the hunger once more reached towards it's prize. Many things get blurry during these times. I might lose a day or two depending on the complexity and urgency of the problem. My wife calls it the "tick tick tick". Her box comparing my mind to workings of a wind up clock. I had not up to that point actually thought about what my passion was. I did what I did and was what I was. It wasn't until after I closed my company and went to work for someone else, having my creativity shackled and restrained out ignorance and unwillingness or inability to see what I was trying to explain, did I realize that it wasn't just machining that was my passion but the act of creating, designing, problem solving that fueled my passion. The media didn't matter. Working on my porch, I made things more difficult for myself out of sheer boredom just to have a problem to solve. I craved to learn and grow. To push my boxes boundaries. I would much rather be a small box in a warehouse of larger boxes so that my ideas might have other ideas to leap off of to the next level and vice versa. I was recently turned down from a prominent R+D company without any tangible reason other than the standard cookie cutter letter that they use for legal purposes. I thought a creative mind that sought to grow and expand would be a highly sought after commodity. It seems that even though the owner may have that mindset, when the decisions are left to people who's own boxes are a little too comfy, then potential candidates slip through the cracks. It's discouraging to think of how many ideas are lost due to this type of thinking. It may not be that person themselves that comes up with the solution needed but it may be one of their ideas that someone else's idea springs off of that does. One or many boxes expanding because of another. In summary, whether or not you believe it's one box, many boxes or the need to think outside of them, I believe the key is to push them equally. Our ability to grow is only bound by our own desires and inner shackles. Expand your boundries, grow your box. Be humble, be gracious, be willing to listen, learn and change. The horizon may take a sharp turn for you or many others around you. "Think outside the box" should be refreshed to "Expand your box to new ideas" I like to think of it as "Bending my mind towards something" This may just the rambling thoughts of an old machinist, or are they?
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Post by insaneh on Aug 3, 2021 18:16:25 GMT -7
I'm so glad you checked in! You were on my mind last week and I was wondering how things were going. And I am quite moved at yours and anyone else's oncern for my well being. Especially as its continued longevity has been in questionable situations in the past couple of years. I thank you for that. I believe you still owe me a jar of jam. For which I have something of that I think you might like in return.
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Post by thywar on Aug 4, 2021 8:54:09 GMT -7
Well written. Enjoyed it. I too get out of or expand my box. But not in the same way. I get excited from the creative side of what can I turn this piece of wood into and how can I shape it so it’s not like every other bowl, vase or candlestick. Sure wood type can do this but I need to see if I can make it different enough it attracts someone to buy it. I just bought an 8/4, 14” wide 48” long piece of Purple Heart. I’m thinking cheese platter, a lazy susan, a large bowl and then maybe platter on a pedestal. 🤷🏽♂️ The other way I’ve changed some is I let people challenge my thought process (for those few times I have one). That’s much harder for me to do apparently. But it is interesting.
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Post by insaneh on Aug 4, 2021 12:08:04 GMT -7
Thanks TW. Like I stated, the media just doesn't matter to me anymore. I could be molding clay, carving or laying brick. Just creating puts me in my happy place. I've always tried to listen to others ideas, compare and either use theirs or adapt mine. I believe it's one of the things that's kept me apart from the herd.
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Post by marc on Aug 4, 2021 17:17:22 GMT -7
Very expressive piece. I enjoyed the introspection and analysis so clearly presented. Your writing gives me cause to ponder.
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Post by cowgirlup on Aug 12, 2021 22:51:45 GMT -7
I liked that and am going to share the "expand your box" idea with a friend who will appreciate it. I made blueberry jam last year so it should still be good. if it's a good wild grape year ill make a batch in Sept.
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Post by insaneh on Aug 20, 2021 17:45:05 GMT -7
I liked that and am going to share the "expand your box" idea with a friend who will appreciate it. I made blueberry jam last year so it should still be good. if it's a good wild grape year ill make a batch in Sept. Wild grape sounds crazy good!
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Post by woodyz on Jul 13, 2022 16:26:38 GMT -7
I'm not sure exactly when but not too long ago, I was on the backdeck drinking my morning coffee and noticed birds fighting on the side fence. When I went to look they were fighting over ripe blackberries, some bigger then my thumb, I planted them there years ago but got out of using them. Picked 5 gallons there and another 3 off the back fence, That was just what the birds had left. Made a big cobbler which was great with ice cream.
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Post by xwing on Jul 21, 2022 13:45:38 GMT -7
Well how the hell are yall!😁 I also still kicking, doing the things and prepping my ASS OFF! Doing alot of firearms training and teaching. Moved out of town on to 10 acres where i grew up here in outback MS.😉 PLEASE SOUND OFF and let me know how all of you are doing my friends!
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Post by olebama on Jul 25, 2022 12:50:07 GMT -7
Still doing in Alabama. (I am originally from MS.) Retired. Planted a little more garden than usual, but just not getting much of anything out of it. Blossom end rot on tomatoes. SIGH. The wife is on board with all the prepping since COVID started.
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Post by crashdive123 on Jul 26, 2022 3:15:28 GMT -7
Ammend your soil with lime to prevent blossom end rot.
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