Year Of The Ox

Monday January 26th, 2009 - Chicago, IL

Happy Chinese New Year! It sure doesn’t feel like it’s 4706 already, does it? It seems like just yesterday when life was so much simpler back in the 4600s. If only we could go back and revisit those days but alas they’re gone forever. The rickshaw of time rolls on.

It’s amazing what’s so real to some people and so totally unimportant to others. China probably has a rip roaring party going from coast to coast and their version of Dick Clark is in Tiananmen Square waiting for a gigantic wonton to drop at the stroke of midnight.

A billion people on the other side of the world are making resolutions to stop smoking and get to their next degree of black belt level in kung fu but to us it’s just a Monday. We have long broken our resolutions over here and are back to all our old nasty habits again.

The World Cup in soccer is a lot like that too. When Brazil is playing the whole country shuts down to watch and it’s the only thing anyone thinks about. If they lose people jump off of tall buildings but we couldn’t care less. In fact when is the World Cup? Who cares?

The Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday and it’s grown into a holiday over here but in China and Brazil they’ll be doing whatever they do on any given Sunday. In China I’ll bet a super bowl means getting a large egg roll added to your lunch order for a special price.

Apparently 4706 is classified as the ‘Year of the Ox’ in Chinese culture. Well, I grew up in Wisconsin where that would be EVERY year. There aren‘t a lot of anorexics in the old beer, brats and cheese state so I guess the Chinese culture still has a few places to expand.

I decided to use the Chinese new year to start reorganizing my room. I have a bookshelf packed with books I haven’t read in a while if ever so I sorted them all out and picked out the ones I really want to read this year. If I could I’d read them all but that’s just not going to happen. There isn’t enough time in six lifetimes to read every one so I have to choose.

I’ve built up a nice collection of mail order and business start up books and that will get me started but I like all kinds of other books too. I always say I’m going to stop acquiring more but I keep finding them cheap in thrift stores or someone gives them to me and it’s a constant struggle to get them read. If I don’t buy another book ever I’ll still be set for life.

I have about five or six full boxes of other books I won’t have time to get to either and that’s after purging myself of most of my worldly possessions just a couple of years ago. I have slowly built my inventory back up by stopping at book stores, flea markets and thrift stores while I’m on the road. It gives me something to do plus I like the thrill of the hunt.

Now I need to make starting the business the thrill of the hunt. How can I get it running and making a profit so I can make more free time to read all those books? It’s a problem I haven’t been able to solve yet but I’m working on it. I’m working on a lot of things. I just hope I can FINISH something. Maybe I’ll shoot for the Jewish new year whenever that is.