Side benefits

As a former dedicated (obsessed, really) landscape photographer I spend hours hiking up mountains to reach perfect locations where I could practice my art. A waterfall or a rushing stream littered with wildflowers on its banks might be the object of my desire. There I'd plant my tripod, mount the 8x10 view camera and spend the next 30 minutes composing the shot and then snap! it's captured. Once I got home I would develop the film, print the picture and if it's good enough hang it on the wall like a trophy. That part, the trophy hanging bit, or publishing it on a website. That was always anticlimactic for me until I figured something out. I enjoyed the taking of the photos more than the end result. I was reminded of this just yesterday in Music Room One. I haven't spent time in there recently and Joey, who works in our sales department and runs customers into Music Room One for tours, asked me to investigate a problem with the woofer towers of the IRSV. Seems these 30-year-old 350-pound beasts get cranky from time to time and they were making odd noises. To investigate, she and I fired up the system and I began playing the tracks I knew had the deepest bass notes, notes that I suspected would piss off the woofer if there was something wrong. Turns out whatever had gone awry was no longer there, but something else happened. I immediately began tapping my foot and swaying to the music. I was there on one mission but quickly got lost in being there on another. Enjoying the moment. It's often true that we lose sight of what's really important when we focus too hard on achieving specific goals.