Losing

So after watching "Catch me if you can" (featuring Leo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks), and seeing how Frank Sr. lost everything in his life (his business, his wife), I was struck by how he kept soldiering on, despite his heavy losses.  I got to thinking about my life and how scared I was of losing.  Funny thing is, I don't have anything to lose anymore.  I can't lose my job because I don't have a job.  I can't lose my business because I haven't put it up yet.  I can't lose money because I have none.  My car is just another possession that can be replaced anyway.  In the end, I decided I actually have only 3 things in this life that I was really scared to lose: my son's respect, my fiancée, and time.  Since my previous marriage had been annulled, I see my son every now and then, and only when his mother brings him around.  Hopefully, when he's old enough, or mature enough, whichever comes first, I'll get the chance to speak with him about the circumstances of our relationship.  My fiancée, she who believes in me, she who gently pushes me forward while holding my hand, she who does not look down on me even though I'm penniless...  She's the reason I'm scared of losing time.  Time, once gone, cannot be regained.  It goes by without effort, without regard for anyone or anything.  I'm afraid of losing time because so much hinges on it, especially my prospects of a future life with her.  So help me, God, as I help myself, to make the most of the remaining time I have.

So do we need to rush?  Not really.  But we really need to define what we really want to achieve before we're gone, so we can focus our energies on those.  Once you've achieved those, everything else is just a bonus.

Good luck defining your fears.

Jack Lallane's Power Juicer: A Review.

So my dad bought a Jack Lallane's power juicer off the home tv shopping network for 10k or so.  The premise is good, you can juice fruits, vegetables, and use the leftovers for salsa or baby food.  Add to that, there's supposed to be less wasted juice, and is supposed to be easy to clean.  Let's get down to it: it does as advertised.  That is, it juices fruits and vegetables, and it does so with aplomb.  The catch?  Clean-up is a bi*ch!  The ad shows that very little is left in the pulp catcher, that's why you get more juice.  Well, while the power juicer does give you a lot of juice, the pulp catcher doesn't actually catch all the pulp.  Most of the pulp (and the fibers) get left behind inside the juicer!  What's more, the pulp is WET, not dry as advertised.  Truth to tell, if you wanted to trick your kids to drink fruit juice mixed with vegetables, this isn't a bad way to do it.  However, honestly, you're better off just eating the fruits and vegetables.  That way, you're sure to get EVERYTHING, not just the juice.  So, is it worth it?  Not to me.