on making a decision...

i have been accused at times of making decisions quickly. some may think too quickly. but what people don't understand is that into the decisions i make go weeks and months and years of internal contemplation.

seriously. my friends and family joke that i change cars like most change socks. and yes - i've gone through some vehicles in the last few years. but an auto loan is an auto loan - and the likelihood of me hanging on to a particular car for the term of a loan is, in a word, unlikely. so changing cars is not a life-changing decision. and recently it has been a checkbook-saving decision. but people don't get that.

i'll admit. i do tend to make decisions seemingly - what's the best word for this - abruptly. but that's because most of the things i have to decide upon these days are things that impact me and me alone. i'll buy a couch on what seems like a whim to some. but these decisions are hardly made on a whim. because i think about things for a long time before i even realize that i'm thinking about them. i weigh the big decisions - whether or not to spend the money, the time, or the effort - for a long time and almost completely internally. because at this point in my life, these are internal decisions...

and then when i've decided to do something, i do it quick. i know what i like, and it isn't hard for me to choose from the options. and to some, this may seem frivolous. but i am not frivolous. i am deliberate and contemplative. and i am responsible...

and in the spirit of frivolity and deliberateness and contemplation - i've signed up for the vancouver triathlon on september 3. yes, i made the decision quickly. but i've been needing a vacation for a long time. this one's for me...