The Pondering Absurdist

I don’t make resolutions. I think I tried it a few times in my 30s or 40s, but I could never keep them so I tossed out the whole idea. If I somehow find the willpower to do some of the things I really need to do (lose a little weight, stop or lower my alcohol intake, etc.), it’s not going to be because I made some stupid pact with myself at the coming of a new year. It will be because I think dating might be nice again and women may not be as attracted to the love handles as much as I apparently am, or because my liver has finally rebelled and turned my face and eyeballs yellow with jaundice (that said, I’m certain that liver disease is one of my possible ends if I don’t stop). I gave up eating meat (again) in September of 2024, isn’t that good enough?

So, what will 2025 bring for me?

I know that it will be something positive for me in one particular aspect, a very personal one that I have no (current) intention of talking about here (other than this brief mention) due to the shame and embarrassment it has caused me, but that will lessen slightly this year.

Last year (2024), I traded in a car that I’ve owned a few years, a 2013 model Mazda 3 that I bought used. It served me well during the time I owned it. It never broke down or needed anything other than an oil change every few thousand miles. But, I wanted something different… something that would help fulfill some of my other desires in 2025. I know, I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed for trading in a vehicle (depreciation much?), or for buying a brand new vehicle as I’m approaching (hey, I’m not there yet!) retirement. But, the heart wants what the heart wants, right? I did my research, and I even considered a few used cars again, but I finally decided that I wanted a new car, one that I would know the complete history of since driving it off the lot. I wanted an SUV, an all-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive, one that was big enough inside to sleep in if I needed to. Obviously fuel economy wasn’t at the top of my list, as most SUVs suck gasoline at a rate where you can almost watch the needle on the fuel gauge move. What was at the top of my list was ground clearance (height above the ground before something scrapes as you drive over it). After all my research I finally settled on a 2025 Subaru Outback Wilderness Edition. I found the exact one I wanted, down to the VIN, at a dealer within 10 miles of my house. I showed up at the dealership and needed to go inside and ask for the specific vehicle, because I didn’t see it on the lot. They told me that my particular car of choice was located on their spare lot, and I could wait a few minutes while the salesperson retrieved it. When I got inside the vehicle (ah, the new car smell) for the test drive, the odometer had a mere 6 miles on it. When I drove it off the lot a couple hours later, it had 10 miles on it, after the 4 miles of my test drive. I knew the MSRP going in, but after finally agreeing on the monthly payments the sticker shock was a little higher than I expected. It’s a good thing I’m frugal, employed in good standing, and have an IRA account that I can legally draw on now if absolutely necessary. So now I have a new baby that I’ve been treating with kid gloves for a few months (I use a car cover on it when it’s outside). The mileage does currently suck a bit, but I’m told by the dealer that it will improve as the engine “breaks in.” Of course the turbo on the engine doesn’t help with the mileage either, but it sure gives you a kick in the pants when you press on the accelerator pedal.

One of the things my parents did with us (me and my younger brother) when we were just wee tikes was go off-roading now and then. My parents had first, an early 1970s Ford Bronco, then a 1973 Toyota Land Cruiser. As a family we would explore some of the more accessible ghost towns and gem/rock hunting sites available in California and Nevada during the 1970s. We didn’t do it often, but I remember the times fondly. That is part of the reason for my SUV purchase, to re-visit my childhood, I guess. I even still have the paperback book, “California-Nevada, Ghost Town Atlas, Revised 1970 Edition” that my parents used on a couple of those trips. In addition, I’ve bought a few books on Amazon about some of the old ghost towns that might still exist out in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. During 2025 I hope to make a few trips myself to see (and potentially photograph) some of the more remote places that normal vehicles have a hard time reaching. That’s where my new SUV with high ground clearance will come in handy. I’ve already bought a self-inflating memory foam mattress to throw in the back, so I’ll have somewhere to sleep on those cold desert nights. If only to have a warm female body next to me on those cold nights, but it’s probably not meant to be (heavy sigh). Of course, I’ll take along all the essentials that I’ll need to make the trip(s) a success. I’ve even been wondering recently if I need to buy a dirt bike or ATV, to get me just that little bit farther than my SUV might be able to take me, but I’ll wait on that for now.

One of the hobbies I’ve had since I was in my 20s (also thanks to my parents’ influence) is gold prospecting. That kinda’ goes along with the ghost town thing, as most of the older ghost towns were erected (cue childish laugh in my head) around gold or silver mines, or mining areas. In 2025 I hope to go out and participate in this hobby a bit more. I’ve always done gold panning, or sluicing, and at one time even owned a small gold dredge, but I also bought a specialized metal detector for finding gold several years ago. I’ve only ever used it for finding coins on the beach, and I found a bunch of square nails in a gold mining area here in California, but I’ve never really used it to find gold nuggets. I plan to start up that aspect of the hobby as well, and again, the SUV will take me to areas less accessible by others, so maybe I’ll actually find something. If I do, I’ll share my experiences and photos here.

I could go on, and on, and on with potential things to do in 2025, but alas… my “staycation” for the 2024-2025 holiday season has come to a close and I need to return to the daily grind early tomorrow morning. So I think I’ll wrap it up for the night.

May 2025 bring happiness to all who stumble upon this humble blog. Namaste

PA