Trying Something A Bit Different…

[DeeAnn Hopings]

Every now and then I need to do something different; experience something different or be in places where I have not been before. Sometimes it is related to places where I have traveled for work. Other times it is personal travel and still other times it is close to home. As they say: “It Depends”. So, like what things?

1981 – 1st 500 mile Indy Car race at Michigan International Speedway
1988 – Top of the CN Tower
1989 – Toured Frank Lloyd Wright home and other projects, Oak Park, IL
1994 – Toured Underground Seattle
1995 – 1st NASCAR Truck Series race at Phoenix International Speedway
1995 – Top of the Seoul Tower
1997 – Drove a NASCAR Busch Series car at Walt Disney World Speedway
2004 – Drove a NASCAR Pavement Modified at Thompson Speedway
2007 – Roof Walk – Top of the Sydney Tower
2015 – Attended the 1st Michael R. Argetsinger Symposium for Int’l Motor Racing History
2018 – MINI Takes The States Cross Country Tour + Top of Pikes Peak
2019 – Toured FLW designed homes in the Bay Area, stayed in a Tiny House
2019 – Long Beach Grand Prix weekend
2021 – Built my 2nd Hackintosh

There are a number of other things that I could have included, but I think it is enough to get the idea. These are all things that I find interesting and stimulating to do. So, what is the latest?

A friend of mine and her partner are here for an extended visit with the distinct possibility of relocating to the Palm Springs area from New York City. She is a retired teacher and has done stand-up for many years in a number of countries. She arranged to do a weekly class through the LGBT Center of the Desert and I decided to sign up. There were 6 sessions with the final one being yesterday. The 7 of us did a live comedy show on ZOOM consisting of the material that we had worked on for the previous 5 sessions. So, this is why I have been a bit scarce over the last several days.

As Oliver Hardy said at the end of one of the the Laurel & Hardy movies:

And what have you learned from this Stanley?

Being funny in a prepared way is very different from being spontaneously funny. When you write and prepare there can be a fine line between just enough and overdoing the writing and editing.

It is also possible to over think what you are doing. While humor does sometimes have some complication to it, if a little is good, more is probably not better.

We must be careful not to take ourselves too seriously. Too much seriousness defeats the purpose of humor.

ZOOM (actually any teleconferencing software) is a hard taskmaster in terms of camera placement and lighting.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable experience and I might just have to do it again…

[Michelle Lawson]

DeeAnn, love it. So many gems in one place. I never knew you were so much involved in car racing. I mean I heard bits and pieces, and your wallpaper, but…. And being spontaneous, and not contrived. So many times when we are in a tense situation, often of our own making, we ‘contrive’ our behavior to fit what we ‘perceive’ is the acceptable environment. And then the laugh at yourself, and not take ourselves so serious. We would all do much better, if we took a step back sometimes, took a deep breath, let it out, relax, and just act happy. Not a contrived happiness, but a truly genuine happiness. Thank you for this, because it made my day batter. Michelle

[DeeAnn Hopings]

Thanks!

I think it is a healthy thing to challenge ourselves sometimes. It is very easy to fall into a rut. Sometimes it is so subtle that it almost goes unnoticed, particularly in these times. The phrase that comes to mind is “Man is not made for safe harbors.”. Why else would we climb Everest or swim the English Channel? Certainly the things that I’ve done are not in that league, but the concept is the same.

What’s next? I don’t know, but I guarantee that it will something that gets my attention…

[Author]

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