I ordered a wake-up call the other day. The phone rang and a woman’s voice said: “What the hell are you doing with your life?
-Demetri Martin
The airplane you see in the header image of this blog is a Cessna 152. It’s a classic single-engine trainer, a little gem of an airplane that has made the dream of flying come true for many a pilot, including myself. The reason I put that image in the header is to remind me often about the wonderful things that life has to offer outside of work. We domainers are a hard-working bunch; it’s easy to get completely immersed in building one’s online presence and domain portfolio. Many of us, like me, have day jobs. For us, between the day job, domaining, and family, there is little time left for pursuing our personal dreams.
I wanted to post something completely different today, and write just a really personal post - share with you some private thoughts.
The title of this post is a quote from the book “Jonathan Livigston Seagull” by Richard Bach. I first read it when I was just a child, my mother bought it for me. I was completely entranced by this book; I read it over and over again, and all I wanted to do was fly. I wanted to be Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I think the book definitely had a lasting effect on my outlook on life. I’ve always been something of an individualist, wanting to do things my way with little regard for what other people might say. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is probably something with which most domainers will identify.
Flying and aviation is a tough subject for me, because while it is a passion I’ve had throughout my life, it is at the same time my biggest regret. I say so because I always regret that I did not dedicate myself enough to become truly proficient in any of my aerial activities. It is like the intro to a theme song that has been playing quietly in the background, without ever really growing into a proper tune. I first flew on a small airplane when I was just 5 years old. My estranged father was a paratrooper, and a pioneering parachutist in the 60’s. Like him, I did my military service in the airborne troops, and looking back that always seems like it was the best time of my life, though it certainly didn’t feel that way at the time - not all the time, anyway. We flew on various aircraft, fixed wing and helicopters, and jumped from them - day and night, into swamps, lakes, tundra, and always there was excitement and dangerous situations and camaraderie.
Well, that was a long time ago. When I was in college I did spend some time at the local skydiving club, and while I enjoyed it immensely, it was too time consuming and mostly we just hung out at the airport waiting for the sky to clear - the weather is generally lousy here - and medical school demanded some attention, too.
And then, when I finally returned to the skies on that Cessna, life had already become so complicated. It’s not the simple life of a 20-something anymore. Work, kids, mortgage (sound familiar?)… and then I started domaining and went and created Estibot, as if there wasn’t already enough on my plate. The result? I have not piloted an airplane in more than a year. Now I’m so out of touch that I don’t know if I could trust myself with the controls. And, to make things worse, I missed my biennial flight review, and so my pilot’s privileges expired today. So now you know what inspired me to write this post: I did not remember to live life, not even enough to renew my pilot’s licence.
When you’re a battery, you’re either working or you’re dead. It’s a shit life.
-Demetri Martin
Let that be a lesson to everyone: Remember to live life - pursue your dreams. Don’t be a battery. Don’t get too distracted by work, money, power, and the rest of it. Life happens now, and could end any second. This was surely a wake-up call for me. I’m going to renew that licence, promise. I’m going to take time to focus on the important things in life. Will you do the same?
