Who I am

Today’s Music: Eels – Shootenanny!

Well, the answer changes often, doesn’t it?
I’m an adult white mail. I’m a son. I’m a brother. I’m a friend. I’m a husband.
When I was in my last years of high school, through most of college, I identified myself as a lacrosse player and a drunk.
In fact, for a long time the only jewelry I wore was a gold lacrosse stick on a chain.
And when people asked for my number, I’d give them my home number, then say “But if you want to get a hold of me, here’s the number for the bar I’ll be in.”

I’ve played the guitar on and off for the last 25 years. I now own 5 of them, though whether or not I can play any of them is open to debate.
I have a pair of skis (down from 4 pairs at its worst), but I haven’t used them in years. When I make it out for my one or two days a year, I rent. But I’m still a skier.
I know how to use a kayak, and I enjoy it (a lot). So I’m a kayaker too.

Our house has well over a thousand books – scifi, fantasy, mystery, memoirs, biographies, histories, science… probably a decent fraction of the categories in the Dewey Decimal system. You could say I’m a reader.
I enjoy video games and television (more than is probably healthy), and I love movies. And please, don’t forget picnics. Love picnics.
Oh, and I enjoy writing too. Wrote a bunch of short stories I may or may not post. But no, Writer probably isn’t a good description of who I am…

I still have my flippers, snorkel and mask from when I used to scuba dive. I haven’t gone in a while, because it’s very hard to get to the rental place on Friday, then back to return the gear on Sunday. But I put in work to get my open diver card, and I’m prouder of if than I am of my drivers license.

I’ve jumped out of a plane a few times, so add that to the list.
Oh, and I have a surfboard now, that I fully intend to use, so there’s that too.
A blanket description of “Adventurer” might work. But they are small adventures – a day here, a weekend there. There are probably no backpack treks through the Himalayas in my future (like a guy I used to rock climb with did).
But Adventurer doesn’t cover it. It doesn’t come near the day to day responsibilities I have, or the fact that I’m not a bad cook.
Music Snob also works, but again, that’s just a fraction of who I am…

I guess in the end, any description is just a fraction of who I am. Even saying “El Guapo” is just a small part of the picture.
Today I’d go with “I’m a devoted loving husband and a surfer”. Tomorrow maybe “Blues Guitarist”. Or something else I can’t imagine yet.

I have no idea who I am, even as my time to figure it out gets shorter by the day. But maybe the fun of that question is making my own answer.

But it also makes me wonder – Who are you?

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