Hi there. I've completely lost my mind. All gone.
I decided (and not while under the influence), to go to Key West, FL. And I'm going to drive. With the kids, some of the nieces, a whole crowd.
For anyone who might be considering a similar venture at any point in the future, I offer the following as a service. I will Mobile Blog over at www.stupidontherun.com and let you know how it goes.
Hi there. I found the following in a comment from a previous entry:
This nonsense is apparent everywhere. It sucks. But I have an assignment for you...should you decide to accept it.
Take a week...and only look for (take notice of) all the nice gestures. All that's good and right in the world (outside of your family). It might be hard, but I wonder what the results might be.
I'm not being sarcastic, or trite...I'm simply suggesting a task for my Lipster friend.
Do you accept this challenge?
I'm not sure what that was about. Anyone who knows me, knows that my act here is being silly and sarcastic when I make my observations on society. I like trying to be funny when I get in that mood because I think satire and idiotic humor make the bad things in life a little more palatable. Or at least not as bad. I don't write about the heinous crimes or other atrocities that take place in the world. I try to avoid politics and religion because those topics bring out the worst in people. There are a whole lot of people who believe in freedom of speech, as long as what you say is agreeable to them.
I fancy myself a social satirist. I also know I'm a wiseass.
I had the pleasure, once, of meeting George Carlin. The man was one of my favorite comedians, and he made a career of roasting society. He called people on their B.S. and had a hard time with the Self-Important, The Rude and the Inconsiderate. His humor, in my opinion, was peerless. But at the same time, meeting him was a great experience because he was a delightful, social man. He wasn't a sour monster, in fact, he was a very pleasant man.
Point is, when he was being humorous, he knew what to be funny about. How long would his comedy career have lasted if he spent his time pointing out how wonderful the world can be?
Now I in no way compare myself to George Carlin. I wouldn't be able to carry his microphone. But his style, along with some other satirists, inspires me. I don't think George would have been so gracious, however, had I deemed it necessary to offer advice on how to revamp his brand of silliness.
I am very well aware of all the good in the world. I've been the recipient of many acts of kindness, particularly in the more recent years. I love my children and take great joy from my doings with them. I love my friends, who have carried me through some tough times. I have shared some of the joys in my life in this very blog over the years.
But, it's all about creativity for me. Some of my favorite blogs have had themes: some tremendous photographers, people who paint or sculpt, people who produce crafts; Moms who share their kid stories, folks who share their career adventures. My creative muse wants me to be silly, and funny. "Write about what you know" is the advice I was always given.
Let's face it though, it's nice to be nice. The world is a good balance of good and evil. But, if I were trying to attract an audience by making fun of nice things, kind people and happy souls, it wouldn't be a long relationship. It's more fun to make light of the Self-Important, The Rude and The Inconsiderate. Kind of let them know that they're not as great as they would have you believe. I rarely name actual names, so I think I'm fairly harmless. I don't post photos of my targets, so I'm really not hurting anyone, right?
I don't consider what I do an "art", but it is something that I produce. I don't take myself too seriously, which is why I usually add the tags "Moral Outrage" or "My Personal Dumbness" to those particular articles.
Just as photography, or music, or painting doesn't define the person who creates it, my satire doesn't define me. I like being a people watcher, and that brings a lot of joy and happiness to my life, but it's also a great source for my idiotic humor. I like the World because I do believe people are inherently good, I just think we always have room for improvement. I wouldn't tell people what to change so much as I enjoy picking on them. I don't view the world through rose-colored lenses, but neither do I look through black glasses. I just like to have some fun.
Challenge met?
I wouldn't normally think of driving on the highway in the same frame as going to Church. Although with all the busy people out there leading such busy lives these days, can Drive-Thru Mass be next?
I digress.
I've come to realize that Sunday Mass and a Sunday Drive are opportunities to see a lot of what's gone wrong with us. Really!
First off, where is the hell is everyone going in such a friggin hurry? Speed limits are a thing of the past, I know that, but why the hell does everyone need to drive like they're escaping a tidal wave?
And if you want to see where courtesy has gone, just watch roadway etiquette these days. I've seen people who'd rather die than let someone merge in ahead of them. It might hold them up 15 seconds to let the guy in, but then what would one do to make up that lost quarter-minute. Good god no!
Used to be, if you were one of those idiots who insisted on latching on to the left lane like Bin Laden to a cave, you were open to tailgating and flashing lights. Now all you have to do is be on the road. HEY, GET OUT OF MY WAY! I'M A BUSY GUY YA KNOW!
Being a rude, idiot driver makes no logical sense. But yet...
And Church...Sitting through a service these days is a test of human endurance. I watched a woman come into Mass recently, carrying a Starbucks bag. She proceeded to unwrap a coffee and I what I believe was a blueberry muffin and eat it during the Mass. And seeing a moron on a cellphone during a Mass is so commonplace these days that it's barely worth mentioning.
People show up dressed in their Sunday Worst; they show up whenever they want. At Sunday's Mass, the priest was wrapping up after Communion and there were still nitwits showing up. My friend, the Future Criminal, was there today, tormenting his parents. I'm not sure what the fuss is, though, because he was no more disruptive than a typhoon. But people don't remove obnoxious children anymore because people assume it's their right to inflict their little Plagues on the rest of society unimpeded.
And I think nothing says it better than what I experience first-hand these days. While I'm hardly a helpless cripple, I am sufficiently handicapped to the point that I must walk a bit slowly, and with a cane. More than once, recently, I've been shoved past by someone on their way into Church. I can't walk too quickly, but I can still fight, and my handicaps provide me with a nice heavy weapon. But my Christian upbringing was at least good enough that I know it's not a good thing to club someone on the Church steps. Even ignorant morons who don't realize how lucky they are that we are, in fact, on hallowed ground.
Anyway, I'm finished with my amateur pyscho-babble.
What's your take?
It's something I hear all the time: people demanding respect. Oh they want it, demand it, do everything but earn it.
Somehow, in this society we've been transformed into thinking that we can get pretty much anything we want if we yell loud enough, or are obnoxious enough or just plan anti-social, "Squeaky wheel gets the grease" type of thinking. But it's our own fault now, that we have to deal with these loud, annoying, half-witted morons. We've glorified them, made celebrities of imbeciles who should better be slapped and sent back home. We've allowed them to equate "attention" with "respect".
I think that's part of the reason we have so many people on medications. They're raised to believe they're entitled to anything they want, and when the real world catches up with that illusion, they need to medicate. It's not depression, or anxiety, it's "slap in the face". Let's face it folks, we have as many commercials encouraging self-medication as we do for laundry detergent.
And the same goes with the whole respect thing. There are so very few people I know who've actually earned my respect. There are a lot of people who have my attention, or get it; there are a lot of people I might even like, but not a whole lot on my list for those I respect.
I don't equate respect with power, either. Powerful people in this country seldom earn their positions anymore. Power is bought and sold (particularly in NJ) like a cheap commodity these days; respect is like platinum in my view. In fact, the people I respect the very most are not what we'd typically consider people of "power". They've gained respect by acting respectful and being respectable.
Being respectable: it's a pretty simple concept. It's the best way to earn respect.
Just some thoughts that passed through my head the last few days.
Should safe packaging be so safe that you injure yourself opening it? What do they make those seals out of, anyway?
I know that money is tight these days. In fact, they tell us here in NJ that there are so many things that there are "no money for", I wonder what they do spend it on besides graft. But isn't it a reasonable thing to expect that the roads in a US State at least be passable? These roads EAT cars now. Not just tires, axles, hubcaps, I mean entire cars. Friends of mine have disappeared forever on the Garden State Parkway and Jersey Turnpike. At least some gravel or something, ya know?
And I've come to understand that expiration dates are important on packaging. I get it. So if they are so important, could these people please MAKE THEM READABLE! And what about the occasional package that has no date whatsoever? Can we assume that the stuff in there is good forever?
Note to FOX-5 NY: I can no longer watch your news at 10. You guys have so many computer graphics spinning, circling and flashing on the screen that I seize up after mere seconds. Could we make the news about the news again someday and stop dressing it up like a Sesame Street skit?
And how sad is it that the news promos now feature stories that we used to only be able to read in such gems as The Star or The National Enquirer. I fully expect Maury Povich to move back into the Anchor desk any day now.
I still don't get these TV ads that feature people so close to the camera that we can see their nose-hairs. Sorry.
I got a message that said, "Your not gonna believe this, you're life will definately never be the same..."
That made my brain hurt.
Hi folks. I've been working my tail off. It's still there (kinda still large too) so I need to keep working.
I'm not knocking the cover off the ball, so to speak, and part of my problem is that I'm part of an industry that doesn't always encourage honesty, or the benefit of the client. I'm really, really trying to do my business in an honest fashion, where I put the needs of the client first. But I'm fighting that less-than-stellar reputation on a daily basis.
When did American Business become all about exploitation? I think that paying people less than their efforts are worth encourages short-cuts, dishonesty and outright deception. The SubPrime mess speaks volumes in that area. Anything that makes the Company money is ok. No matter what.
I just keep wondering, is it possible for one to market products and services honestly, with the best interest of the client at heart, and be successful? For me, at this point, just winning people's trust feels like a major victory. I've met with people who've been scammed and lied to, so why should they trust me?
I've been told to remind my clients that the recommended amount of life insurance is 8 to 10 times their current income. See, I have a hard time with that because the recommendation comes from the Insurance Industry. To me it's like McDonalds telling people that the recommended amount of hamburgers is 2 a day.
Part of my training included what not to say to people. The "Not To Says" were things that I would just consider being honest.
My approach to my service business is identifying need and offering to fill that need in a means to the client's benefit. I do believe that people should carry life insurance. People need to pay for funerals, medical expenses, and provide income to help the survivors get through the difficult times after someone passes early and unexpectedly. The way I approach the situation is to go over what the financial needs would be, and design an insurance program to meet those needs, and nothing more. A young father with a wife, 3 kids, a mortgage and some extra debt needs more coverage than a woman in her 40's with a husband and an apartment and an 18 year old child. I want to match them to the right amount.
Same goes for retirement savings. People can't save more than they're comfortable putting aside. And not every financial instrument is a suitable investment for every client. Mutual funds are great. Individual stock investments can bear an enormous amount of risk (Enron, Lehman Bros. anyone?) and annuities are good for people who are looking for supplements to their retirement savings.
I believe I have the means to sit down with clients, analyze their needs and design programs and services to meet those needs in a way that benefits them, while also benefitting me by compensating me for my time and efforts. I think this can be a mutually beneficial situation and try to act accordingly.
But I get a lot of flack. If I meet clients who have adequate insurance coverage, I tell them so, and leave it alone. If they're saving enough for retirement, I back off.
I refuse to engage in subterfuge, and I refuse to pull out the smoke and mirrors. I try to deal honestly and fairly. If I can't improve one's situation, I don't do business. If I can, I show how I can and let the clients make up their minds. I refuse to be a door-to-door snake oil salesman.
I have a lot to learn I guess.
But wouldn't it be easier to offer products and services at a price people can afford and without trying to "sell" them? I have those means at my disposal. I just don't get a lot of encouragement to use them.
It's hard.
With all the potential, the incredible promise, offered by the new Information Age, it blows my mind that the only thing coming from the Internet is a major increase in national stupidity.
We can now exchange volumes of written information in seconds. Sentences, paragraphs, pages in mere micro-seconds. We could theoretically share our life stories with the world in moments.
Yet we have such things as "LOL". "BRB" We're in possession of the fastest communication devices in Human History, and we want to make it faster. We equate "incorrect" with "fast" so we get such moronic blurbs as "Your my hero".
Some moron was explaining the other day how we shouldn't be teaching our kids how to write (with a pen or pencil, numbskulls)anymore. This Genuis decided we won't have to write manually anymore, we can just type it up on a computer. Personal touch. Class. Integrity. Manners. None of that matters anymore, so yeah, maybe he's right.
We've just about destroyed the English Language because the so-called "Educators" in this country think it's more important for our students to learn other languages, or design curricula that don't require the lazy to bother learning English.
I think my own problem here is that we have been given access to something that could have raised the learning curve in this country immensely by giving equal access to incredible amounts of information that could have leveled the playing field.
Instead we spend hours watching Morons On Video taking stupidity to new heights. We encourage idiots to become stars, we applaud morons who break the law by calling it entertainment. We condone the most ridiculous behavior as long as we can watch. That's partly why we have Reality TV. This crap wouldn't have sold 20 years ago because people were to smart to waste time on stuff like this.
We have one of the most powerful learning tools ever, right here at our disposal, at what do we get? YouTube, PerezHilton and MySpace.
Do you think the guys who invented computers ever envisioned that?
Hi guys, still me!
I'm really curious about something. When a "help" section of a website is designed, it's like anything else: "let's start at the very beginning...".
When these web companies design their help sections, they offer something called "FAQ's". What they forget to include is "NAQ's" (Never Answered Questions) where most of us would probably find the actual answers we're looking for.
I mean, if I were going to run a Cooking website, I'd have listings for such things as "How to bread cutlets" or "how to roast a chicken"; I'd be doing most people a favor by not including instructions for "how to change a motorcycle tire", ya know?
I was on a site called Linked-In today, and found my inbox stuffed with the usual SPAM messages, only there's no obvious way to report SPAM or violators and the like. So off I went to the HELP Section. I typed in SPAM REPORTING and SPAM VIOLATIONS and the closest thing I found to an answer to that was:
Maybe, again, it's a matter of expectations. Maybe these guys set out to design the HELP SECTION to specifically NOT be of any help. I mean, after all, In 15 years of computing experience, I have never, EVER gotten actual useful information from Microsoft's Help site.
And of course, those Web "Forums" where any idiot with a keyboard can deem himself an "expert" and clog up the space with completely useless, inaccurate information.
Or the morons who respond to a posted question with such gems as "I have no idea"
Then why offer a response, Imbecile?"
Anyway, I was just curious why HELP sections offer everything but help?
I'm just curious about something.
We've all become too familiar with Internet advertising. In particular, the ads that pop "under" the page you're currently viewing, rather than pop "up". I see ads for Screen Savers and the like, whenever those pop "under".
What I'm curious is, has anyone ever actually made a purchase in response to an unsolicited ad that appeared on your screen? Not just screen savers, but any product at all?
Hi folks. I'm not dead. At least not at the moment.
I was gonna title this "Rambling", but I don't ramble. I stumble. And usually crash into something.
But I have been doing things. Some things here and there.
I've managed to stay out of prison. I've managed not to insult too many people. I did make a few people mad because I really have a hard time multi-tasking (when it involves juggling 23,456 different tasks).
I remembered that I like Hostess Cupcakes. The chocolate one. I don't care if you don't know what they are, or if you don't like them, or can't get them because that simply means more cupcakes for me.
I also eat a lot of fast food with this business I'm working on. You can't do too well eating a Quiznos if you're driving, unless you like sharing your food with your pants. White Castle burgers are pretty ok, but they do tend to leak ketchup when you bite 'em, which is something the pants aren't happy with. I went to a Boston Market for chicken. They didn't happen. That's like a pizzeria not having pizza, ya know?
I was kinda disappointed with American Idol this season. I didn't even keep up my Idol blog too well. Now they say the voting was rigged. I didn't care too much.
Ever hang around someone who is non-stop cynical? Everything is a government plot, or corporate corruption, or a rip-off...you know the type. You tend to non-talk around 'em, don't ya? One guy told me he won't use E-Z Pass. Says he doesn't want the government tracking him. I told him, "Dude, you're not that interesting. The government has better things to do than falling asleep tracking your progress."
I found a new way to deal with another kind of people...the ones who somehow find a reason to interrupt everyone else who might be talking because their stories are so much more interesting. I deal with them now by saying, "Shut up, so-and-so was talking you blithering ignoramus."
It works. Go figure.
I love those ever-decreasing minutes I have with my kids. They like me and I like them back. We have fun together.
I'm officially not a crutches user now. I have a very cool cane that my kids bought for my birthday. I'm hottt.
Someone told me I'm crazy not to have surgery. I asked him if he'd be willing to pay for it. End of conversation.
I've driven way too much lately. Not good. I promised not to rant and rave about all the bad drivers anymore. That puts a lot of pressure on me.
There's a good reason not to drink spoiled milk. It tastes yucky. And it makes you feel ungood. If it stinks, don't drink it.
Which reminds me of the best medical advice I've heard in years: A commercial on TV said, "If you're allergic to AstePro, don't use it." That's beyond awesome, right?
I'm on Twitter. It's over there on the right. Foller me! I'll foller ya back.
I'm determined to visit your blogs soon. Really soon. So write up! I'll need cool things to read.
Love you all.
Hi again. I was wondering if I could ask something.
Folks, my life is a friggin' disaster right now. It's worse than I thought, but that just means I have to be smarter than I thought.
I just realized that, for all intents and purposes, 30 years of my life are gone...gone as if they never happened. Essentially, I have nothing to show for the career I spent my adult life performing. I won't go into the details of why it's all gone. Most of you probably know anyway.
I have my kids. I have my brain.I have to work with my brain to take care of my kids.
What I'd like to do here is share the situation. It's pretty awful. But I want it here to look back on when things are good again. It might take months, it might take years. But it's going to get better. I'm just hoping I can contain the mess long enough that my kids don't have to feel it too badly.
I'm working two businesses. Network marketing is one option I have. I am working for an old friend, Danielle, whom I was partners with 15 years ago. She found me and extended a hand. We work for a company called Arbonne. I do it because she's smart, she has made it work for her and she wants me to do well with her. Remember that name Danielle. She has made a major, major difference in my life simply by thinking enough of me to find me and offer me a chance to join her in business again. My site is here for Arbonne, if you'd like to shop online or maybe learn more about the business opportunity.
I'm also still involved pretty heavily in the financial consulting business as well. That's a tough one because I'm trying to build client relationships in a time when there is little faith in the industry. It still works. It will get better in that part of the world. I want to do what's right for people. It takes a while to find people who are willing to trust me, and it takes a while to earn that trust. If there's one thing I do know, it's service. Hearing what people want, and filling their needs to the best of my abilities. It served me well for 30 years in my previous career. I like winning trust before anything else. And that takes time.
The smartest people I know wrote books that all had one message in common: to do well financially, you must have multiple streams of income.
And so it begins. I hope that you might take a minute now and then to come by and give me a little pat on the back or a kick in the ass, as the case may be. I'm so scared right now I can't tell you. But there isn't time for that. I have to do what's right. So I'm going to try my best.
I'd sure love to have you guys with me, and me with you because I know that there are a lot of folks out there in the same boat. Let's keep it afloat together, ok?
I often get teased by my friends about the silly and dumb things I do...I've been called "Skirt", "Loser", "Lippy", all very endearingly I might add.
It's no secret that I'll sit and watch a "chick flick" with ya. Really. No big.
One of those that I felt a connection to was "Pretty Woman." And that was really because of one scene in particular, where the lead guy takes his Lady on a really extravagant date: private jet, fancy clothes, jewels and a night at the opera. It was just a beautiful few minutes in a really enjoyable film.
There was a time where I had the means to share a date like that with someone. It's always been kind of a dream of mine to have moments like that, and be with someone special enough to enjoy them with me. Someone who would indulge my wish to just treat someone as beautifully as I can.
I had the means, yes, but I didn't have the "Lady". A few years back, some very close friends from around the country came to visit and sort of indulge my desire to do a little pampering and spoiling, to feel "like that guy", but it wasn't a romantic situation.
I've had a major change in my life, in my style of life, and in what I can do. Typically, one would meet someone who he could share that little dream with at the time when he can no longer do it.
I'm going to elaborate more later on, but no matter what happens, I am going to have that "Pretty Woman" moment one day soon. I know it's probably not something you're glad you spent time reading about, but anyone who knows me knows how important this is to me. I have so much to fix, to work out, but there's nothing wrong with a little extra incentive, right?
My heart kinda needs that.
Here's a quick example of a conversation with Family Guy:
He broke his computer, for lack of a better word. He had more garbage on that hard drive than I'd seen in a major landfill. It was beyond "fixing" so he asked me to try and restore it. It was so bad that I basically had no choice other than to reformat the hard drive. I reinstalled Vista, got it running, but didn't have time to re-install Microsoft Office or his Verizon Suite. He came in the next day, and I gave him the report. ME:"OK man, I got the system up and running, Vista is installed and everything is ok. I didn't have time to re-install Office or Verizon, but you can handle that." FAMILY:"You didn't install Office?" ME: "No, you can put that back in. Or leave it here and I put it in tonight and you can have it tomorrow." FAMILY:"You didn't put the Verizon Suite in?" ME:"Nah, didn't get that in either" FAMILY:"So those programs aren't installed?" ME:"Still no." FAMILY:"So when I go home, I have to put them in?" ME:"You like asking the same question a lot of times, huh?"
Makes every day interesting.
Typically, with the Easter holiday, "freedom" isn't the theme for the day. But I had an experience Sunday that really brought that to mind.
It was all seemingly unimportant, but when I thought about things, it really became significant.
Case in point: There was a couple seated in front of me in Church, probably in their early 30's. They had with them a little boy, my guess is about 3 or 4 years old. From the moment the three of them settled in the pew, the show began. The boy immediately cut loose. He grabbed at the songbooks, then the missals, each grab was met with some resistance by the parents. He was climbing up on the bench. then down under the bench. They would pick him up to restrain him, he'd squirm, they'd put him down, he'd continue. He got a good hold of one of the songbooks, and immediately began tearing the pages out; Mom grabbed the book, then Dad picked him up, he squirmed and cried. Dad put him down, he made for the aisle.
You get the point.
All I could think about was what life was like the rest of the week with this little Tyrant. From the minute his eyes open, he dominates the lives of everyone around him. This future criminal had no boundaries, no restraint. I could only see life with this kid, every waking moment of the parents' lives dedicated to either fulfilling his wants, or meekly resisting behavior they don't approve of. I know that throughout history, people have struggled, sometimes in vain, against tyranny. The worst of it had to be when the invaders reached the home front, which is what these people dealt with the entire 60 minutes of the Church service.
I'm not a perfect parent, but at least in my life, the hierarchy is established. That's the case, in part, because I know that the world requires some restraint and decorum, (although these days, good manners and behavior might be a detriment to them) but my brain would never allow a 4 year old to dictate my life to me.
Parenting is hard. That's an understatement. But it requires the proper efforts from day one of the child's life, or one can be prepared to battle it out for freedom for a long time to come.
Not exactly an Easter thought, but it did become very important to me.
And man, it was exhausting to watch.
