Future

I've been running this blog and advancing my photography for a few months. It hasn't always been a joyful experience, but overall, I still get a kick out of repeatedly placing subjects in my viewfinder and hitting the shutter button. I'd love to keep doing this for the rest of my life; I even hope to do it on an international scale (God-willing, of course). However, before I dive headfirst into my plan for world domination, there are a few realities and shortcomings I'll have to deal with.

1. I don't have a valid passport.

My last passport expired many years ago; I don't even remember what the expiry date was. It's stupid of me to say this in light of the expenditures I've already undertaken, but passports aren't exactly cheap. Having said that, I do believe in short-term pain if it leads to long-term gain. Now, once I fix that minor problem, I have to deal with this:

2. Right now, I'm afraid to fly.

This is only something I've dealt with since 9/11. There is always the possibility of fatal catastrophe in life; I sometimes joke that birth increases your chances of dying by 100%. However, the prospect of falling thousands of feet or being blown to smithereens right before meeting the Creator doesn't appeal to me.

3. I can't drive.

I'm almost in my thirties, yet I still don't have a driving license. How ridiculous is that?

I can get away with that here in Toronto, where public transit runs consistently enough that I don't feel the lack of a license so much. However, if I ever travel to a city where public transit is scant at best or non-existent at worse, I'll need my own wheels.

I was going to write a line about needing a car in case I entered a serious relationship, but that's ultimately ridiculous. If a woman is so myopic that she can't accept me without a car, it's a waste of time to think that a vehicular acquisition will change her mind.

4. Money!!!

Ecclesiastes 10:19 says that money answers all things. As much as I'd like to think that love and passion is going to keep going, let's face it: this gig is expensive. I already stated my total expenditure in a previous post; that number is not going to decrease anytime soon. To put it in no uncertain terms: either I'm earning a steady income by mid-2010 or I'm in deep trouble.

Having said that, I keep track of my finances using an Excel spreadsheet; to say that it's been a godsend is an understatement. Also, while I don't read financial blogs as often as I used to, Get Rich Slowly and The Simple Dollar have been very helpful in keeping me afloat.

This probably isn't a complete list of my obstacles, but it serves as a starting point. As I like to say, onward and upward!