Power Point: Appreciate the ordinary

“I find the most ordinary day in regular life much more interesting than the most stimulating day on a vacation. I go to a supermarket, I’m having a great time. I go down the street, I say, ‘Look at this, look at that,’ I’m fascinated. I don’t know why I would go to someplace to have a good time, when the pressure of having to have one because I went to all that trouble to get there would just make me nuts.”

– Jerry Seinfeld said this to Entertainment Weekly in 1993. But it’s sound advice for these frugal times, don’t you think? I saw Seinfeld this morning in Starbucks, looking oh-so-ordinary (sneakers, jeans, baseball cap, backpack) and barely a day older than he was when Seinfeld ended a decade ago. He was sitting on a stool behind me, talking to a friend about creating his own website. I was loathe to eavesdrop, but honestly, I couldn’t resist. “Jerryseinfeld.com,” he said to his pal, explaining that he wants his own platform to promote his stand-up comedy. “I’m just building it. Check out the picture I have on the the site.”

So I did. It’s a a grainy black-and-white photo of five guys in a garage, tinkering with vintage cars. Seinfeld’s idea of heaven, perhaps? He’s known to have his own vast collection of Porsches and now, at age 54, a wife and kids too. That probably makes being happy at home even easier.