PROMPT: Personal Item

Daily writing prompt
Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).

I think it was a sword, back in the days when swordsmanship was among the subjects i studied. But I can say, with some measure of pride, that I really don’t know for sure because I don’t really put much value in owning things and have become ever less interested in possessing more stuff.

When you’re a traveler, they’re all just anchors, and not goods.

Anything expensive I buy better be absolutely essential, have multiple uses, or —ideally— both.

PROMPT: Subject in School

Daily writing prompt
What was your favorite subject in school?

Depends upon my age and phase [as in whether I wanted to be a cowboy, a doctor, a race car driver, Batman, or a misanthrope / rapscallion at that particular time.]

Generally speaking, I had the strange (not to mention unproductive) tendency for science to top of the list while mathematics was usually dead last.

PROMPT: Time

Do you need time?

I suppose I do. Without it, instead of life being one thing after the other, it would be everything all at once. The latter seems chaotic. But maybe one could get used to being timeless. I have no basis for comparison. I’ve always been just in time. Come to think of it, it would be nice not to have to conjugate verbs.

PROMPT: Magic Genie

Daily writing prompt
You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?

For any wish number one, wish number two always has to be that one suffer no adverse consequences of the law of unintended consequences (i.e. like Midas who turns his food and even his daughter into solid gold.) Wish number three should be that the receipt of wish number one does not rob one of any experience that makes one a better version of oneself in the long-run (e.g. like the lottery winner who had been chugging along through life just fine and then ends up broke and suicidal because of both the additional pressures and the lack of need to be frugal and satisfied with simple things.)

Personally, I don’t know that it’s worth it. The bill always comes due.

But, if forced:

1.) To be contented with what is.

2.) Healthfulness all around.

3.) To die a good death (in due time.)

PROMPT: Moon

Daily writing prompt
How much would you pay to go to the moon?

Nothing. My philosophy is that if I need technology to function flawlessly every second to keep me alive, I don’t need to be in that place.

PROMPT: Alternative Career Path

What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in?

At this point, it would need to be something AI / robots won’t possibly be able to do better, faster, cheaper in the near term. This leaves jobs for which one’s humanity is a central part of the job. Unfortunately, I suck at many aspects of being a human. Maybe I’ll become a robot and beat them at their own game.

PROMPT: Historical Events

What major historical events do you remember?

Alexander takes Egypt, the death of Kublai Khan, the War of 1812, the Teapot Dome Scandal… You know, the biggies.

PROMPT: Lazy Days

Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

Rested. Like Mondays, they never get me down. [Or is that “rainy days?”]

PROMPT: First Time

What could you try for the first time?

My problem is that I’m old enough that all the low hanging fruit has been consumed, meaning most “first times” involve a serious time investment. For example, I’d love to go skydiving, but you can’t just jump out of a plane, you have to either watch a safety video or sabotage a plane. All for a five-minute experience. And if you don’t want to do it with a stranger strapped intimately close to you, you need to do probably watch several safety videos and practice pulling a cord over and over again. [Question: They sometimes ask if you’d like a male or female massage therapist when you get a massage, but I’ve never heard of being given the option when tandem skydiving. How come it’s ok to be homophobic, or hetero-phobic, in one instance, but not the other? Just asking.]

PROMPT: Putting Off

What have you been putting off doing? Why?

I’m putting off death for as long as I can remain healthy (by and large.) Because I like living.