Overnight Open Thread: Tuesday -- 8/6/2013

Hello, 'Rons & 'Ettes. It's me again -- the Damn Dirty RINO you've all come to know and dread. I'm filling in for Maet tonight as he attends to important matters, but try not to despair. I'll make my best effort to suppress my long-winded tendencies and just get on with the links you've grown accustomed to here on the ONT over the years.

Having notched another calendar year on the planet this week, I've been doing a bit of introspection. And, frankly, I don't usually enjoy doing that. For some reason, every time I allow myself to start re-examining some of my life choices hitherto, it culminates in me sitting alone in a drunken stupor at the local Waffle Hut with the inner workings of a western omelet running down the front of my Yngwie Malmsteen t-shirt.

But, this year is different. This year, I've decided seize the initiative.

Like a lot of people, I've got a whole passel of unreached aspirations that plague me in my darker moments. For example, I spent my teens dreaming of someday being a rock star. Unfortunately, I lacked the requisite talent -- and, absent that, the good fortune of living in southern California during the 80's-metal hair-band boom. I did have the mullet, though -- which is more than I can say for this girl.

So, rather than spend precious hours that I can never regain wallowing in the mire of self-recrimination and regret, I've concluded that this is the year to take action. I can choose to continue wasting my time focusing on the things I haven't yet achieved, or I can devote that energy to actually achieving them. And, as the eminent cob-logger tmi3rd recently informed me, in order to achieve those things, I'm just going to have to get over my fear of failure. After all, it's not like I'd be the first guy to fail spectacularly.

After all, when you get right down to it, failure is nothing but an opportunity to devise another path to success. When countless hours at the gym aren't enough to enable you to open a simple bottle, then perhaps it's time to take a different approach and come up with a more effective means.

Now, don't get me wrong; nobody likes to fail. I hate it as much as anyone else does. In fact, it's that crippling hatred of failure that has kept me from taking a lot of chances that could have paid off had I simply gotten over myself. It's entirely based on the notion that people will see me as a hapless, pathetic figure who made a fool of himself. But, the truth of the matter is, if you knew of often people really think about you, you'd care a whole lot less about what they think about you.

And, in the end, there are very few people in anyone's life whose opinions should carry any weight in their day-to-day decisions. And it's those people who stand to benefit the most when you give yourself a chance to succeed. After all, those people will continue to love you and believe in you, no matter how many times you fail. And when you finally allow yourself to repay them for that love and support by persevering through the tough times, you'll experience a level of joy you never thought possible.

And, having finally come around to this obvious bit of wisdom, I've decided to do what any self respecting RINO does: keep charging ahead. Also, impale anyone who gets too close.

First order of business: Learn to bake.

Tonight's ONT brought to you by 80's Hair Metal:

posted by Damn Dirty RINO at 10:00 PM

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