A Day of Lethargy

Today mobility has been limited to short movements between the couch, the refrigerator, and the jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table. 
No car required.
Not the kind of day that will cause me to WISH a car was still waiting for me at the curb.  But those days are surely out there on the horizon. The kind of days that will make reaching goals hard to do.

Which brings us to GOALS and expectations.  As in - why am I doing this? Why AM I doing this? The reasons came first - then the goals and expectations.

Several reasons all seem so reasonable that it's impossible to make a list - put one above the other.  I prefer to see them as floating around - like the vacuum tank thing that holds the KENO balls.  They're all just swirling around.  Since I can't do that on a blog, I'll list them in no particular order.

Sick of paying for gasoline. sick of pumping gasoline.  sick of smelling gasoline. sick of contributing to whatever I'm contributing to when I purchase gasoline.

Tired of isolating myself when I travel.  Tired of exhalting myself when I travel. Tired of being in a box when I travel. 

Weary of feeling like an accomplice.  A willing and mindful participant in stuff ranging from ephemeral minor traffic congestion to global hegemonic oppression.

Can't think of a good reason why I actually NEED a car that doesn't center on all those traits we try to keep at bay - laziness, lethargy (today's theme), self-centeredness, self-importance, and all that...

Those reasons move me away from the negative and they all have a flip side of positivity.  A consequence that will move me toward the light - toward a better way...

imagine doing any of the following:
...walking - farther than to the parking lot, or the kitchen, or an upstairs office.
...speaking to others - things like saying, "Hello," or "How are you?" or "Excuse me," etc.
...day dreaming
...thinking
...writing
...noticing the world around you
...not making a car payment
...not making an insurance payment

These reasons and more are helping me define some specific goals. Longer story than my lethargic mien will allow at this time.

In the meantime my preparation to become a NON-DRIVER continues.  I have begun perusing implements to help me carry my stuff around - fanny pack, backpacks, messenger bags, et al.  Some with wheels, some with straps, some you can even sit on.  Also checked out technological devices to help me become a BLOGGING FOOL. Those iPads are pretty nifty.  Lots of money....about the same as a couple of car payments.  We shall see.

Hail lethargy. Taken in small doses, it's actually an elixir.

Countdown: ND-Day minus 7

The BLOGGING begins.  I have no clue how to do this but I'm determined to figure it out.  This is post #1 of "The Diary of a Non-Driver."  One week from tomorrow I will give up my car and become a non-driver.  For 365 days I will maintain that status....Non-driver.  No car.  No gasoline. No insurance.  No parking. No searching for parking spots. No parking tickets, etc. etc.

I reached this decision quite a few weeks ago - several months maybe. It came to me slowly but I was pumping gas into my car - my small car - when it really hit me and I came up with this fabulous idea.  GIVE UP THE CAR, STUPID.

Since that time I've announced my intentions to myriad people - friends, family, random folks in line at the grocery - and the enthusiasm is reassuring and comforting.  I have encountered a Doubting Debbie here and there.  "No way you'll last a year," and "You'll change your mind the first time it rains," are typical downer/doubter comments.  That's ok.  We'll just see how it goes.

For the next seven days I'll explore my feelings as I near ND-Day.  June 7 (strangely close to D-Day of days gone by) at 7:30 am is the exact time I will surrender my personal pod, my gas-slurping, air-polluting, money-draining potential killing machine.  In exchange I will reclaim my feet and my physical mobility.  I will quit the rat race and affirm my spot in that other race - the human race.

Goals and expectations to follow.