The Dumb

I really hate being one of those dumb people. I hate the fact that everyone has to tell me what to do, how to do it, or that I should or shouldn't do something.

My house is flooded thanks to the endless rains of the past 200 years. But see, all her friends told her that there's no way the house should be flooded because I have French drains and two sump pumps.

Now I can just ignore all that water. It just isn't supposed to be there. So I'll put away the boots, the hoses, the Shop Vac, etc and sit and watch TV the rest of the time. Isn't that great?

Yep, those friends who earn millions of dollars a year being Experts on Everything on Earth save me so much trouble. The same folks who told me I was way too young to have a cancer a few years ago saved me countless rounds of chemo. Who needs Doctors when I have EEE's.

Anyway, I'll be downstairs swimming in the mirage.

It's not really there.

I hate being dumb.

Lease?

What has happened to me over the last month is so cliché that I'm embarrassed to even write about it because I can't do it without sounding like a bad novelist. But I have to do it. I'll take the chance.

I have a new lease on life.

That does not mean that from this day on that I'm going to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. There isn't going to be some magical transformation into Pollyanna or something. I'm still me. Just different.

I almost died. That is not a statement I made of my own volition. I was told by a fully-qualified medical doctor that the person who brought me to the Emergency Room saved my life. I was officially stupid on Friday night, February 12th. On that night, I became one of those people who insisted I knew better, that I was in control of my senses. I was an idiot.

Thank God, she was not an idiot. The doctor told me that, with what I had wrong with me, I was lucky she won out, and I was lucky to be alive.

That's pretty strong language, right?

I don't much like the thought of being dead. I know I will be someday, but now would not be a good time. I have people who depend on me, who love me, who like me with air in my lungs and who are glad that I am on this side of the dirt.

I'm trying to be a little silly with this because otherwise it makes me want to cry. A doctor wouldn't say that if it weren't true. There was no audience. Only he and I were there.

I'm having those moments of cognition. I see my kids with clearer vision. And yeah, the food I'm able to eat tastes a little better. And the dog even gets a little more attention. The world isn't nearly as annoying lately.

I spent 8 days in a hospital bed, in a very good hospital. And anyone who is familiar with the way HMO's and insurance companies run the medical field these days knows that 8 days means I must have been really, really sick.

I was.

And I haven't smoked a single cigarette (though that wasn't the root of the problem) since that Friday. Almost a month.

So, I like things a little better these days. And I don't smell as badly as I must have when I was a human chimney.

I do still like boots though, so as I said, I'm still me.

I feel as though I was an episode of "House, MD". Not completely uncool.

And I feel as though my Blogging Muse has repossessed me.

Thanks for the time you spent reading this. I hope you'll be as glad I'm not a corpse as I am at the moment.

The Things...

After the next Academy Awards in March, we'll start seeing movies in contention for next year. I have not seen "Avatar" just yet, but I'd like to, because I'd be showing support for some quality filmmaking, as well as watching a good story. I saw "The Hurt Locker" and was definitely taken with it. Tough story, well done.

There are a few things I'd like to see changed in the movies going forward. Some tired, old items I could really do without, in theaters and TV.

Let's retire these things and see if we can keep the creativity flowing:

• Do we really need to have closeups of people drooling in their sleep?
• Stop with the ridiculous shots of guys in Speedos. It's been done to death
• Bodily-function humor. That stopped being funny in about the 3rd grade. Enough already
• Vomit. We get the point without sharing the whole experience

I'd like to see some scary movies that are actually scary, not just a compilation of cool special effects. Thrillers like "Silence of the Lambs" were such a great experience. Think about what goes into the story, not just how you can hang the ending in order to set up 300 sequels.

I know that my particular demographic isn't the most attractive to Hollywood, but there are some attempts in Hollywood to make a film like "Shutter Island" worthwhile for adults. I hope they can get a trend going: Well thought-out, written stories that are great from beginning to end. These kinds of films make for some great viewing.

I love movies, and have always considered them among my favorite pastime. I once was an avid collector of pop music, with a ridiculous amount of albums, tapes and CD's in my possession. I cannot remember the last time I bought a CD. I mostly pick and choose from single tracks on iTunes because I can't recall one entire CD I'd be enticed to own. I don't want this to be the case with films.

To Ponder or...

I was watching a commercial for an insurance company the other night. The woman said, "We help people save menny."

"Menny?"

She said it again: "I like helping people save menny."

I assume she was saying, "money," unless there is something new on earth to save.

And for that matter, when did "thank you" become "think you". Listen for it. Especially on TV. They say it all the time now.

I think too much.

Two Views!

Ok there's a few ways to tell a story, right? Let's look at this made-up tale as an example:

"I woke up, went out to the front door to get the newspaper. I looked across the street and saw my neighbor's house in flames. I ran in and called 911, and the Fire Department got there in time to save everyone!"

OK. Now Version 2:

"I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 7:30 AM. I figured I had a few minutes before I had to get ready for work, so I went down to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I use Maxwell House coffee now because the Starbuck's coffee, which I used to drink and really liked, got so expensive.

Once the coffee was brewing, (I like to make sure the pot actually starts brewing, because sometimes I come back to find water all over the counter. You really don't want water running on the formica all the time, ya know?) I decided I would have my coffee while reading the newspaper. I prefer the Gazette now to the Examiner, because the delivery is so much earlier, and the paper is such a quick read. You can fold it a lot easier because they don't fill it with a lot of advertisments.

So I opened the front door, which I recently fixed because the hinges were all out of whack. I got the new hinges at Home Depot which had them on sale a lot cheaper than Lowe's, although Mary's husband works at Lowe's and tells me all the time that they carry stock so much cheaper. When I opened the door, I saw the newspaper exactly where I like it to be, which is why I give the paperboy a bigger tip these days. I thought for a minute that I smelled smoke, and was afraid that maybe my coffee maker had malfunctioned, because you can't always be sure with that stuff you buy in Walmart. But then I caught a flash from the corner of my eye, and for a second thought it just might be a glimmer of sunlight which wouldn't be unusual for that hour of the morning, being that it's summer and all.

Well it was then that I realized that Tom and Delores' house was on fire. They've been living there since 1975. I met them through Bill and Margaret who I knew from Church, and they're very nice people all around.

I didn't want to take a chance, being that so many people might have left for work already and might not see the flames, so I went back inside with the newspaper and set it down on the table. I wasn't sure if I should use the cell phone to make a 911 call, so I opted for the house phone, which of course, was nowhere to be found. Jane leaves the phone in the whackiest places, and since I've gone cordless, I haven't been able to keep track of where the darned thing is. Luckily there's a 'pager' function that you can use to locate the handset and it turned out it was in the living room. We're having that painted, so the phone was hidden under one of those blue tarps you see, which I'm not sure are better than the old canvas ones.

I dialed 911 and they picked up on the first ring, which really surprised me, since you hear so many bad stories about 911 mistakes these days. They ran a story like that on 'Dateline' this past weekend, which we watched off a recording instead of live because we were out on the boat with Phil and Louise, who are the best hosts in town when it comes to dinner parties.

I couldn't believe how quickly the fire department arrived. I could hear the sirens within a minute or two of making the call, and I was surprised I could hear them over the hum of the air conditioning system, which I have to have checked out before this summer is over.

Well I'm happy to say that the FD got the fire out pretty quickly, considering how intense the blaze was by the time they got there. The family got out in plenty of time, and I saw them all standing in their robes and pajamas, while the neighbors brought them drinks and blankets, which probably isn't necessary with it being summer and all.

Ok, you have to go now. Thank God for the Fire Department, huh?"

So...

Please tell me why, no matter what, I always end up with the Version 2 Tellers?

My ears bleed daily!

Things Are Normal

Certain things have to be in place in order for the Universe to feel right, ya know?

I logged on to Pogo.com a couple of times recently, and got soundly thrashed by my good friend Emily. Nice to know some things don't change.

Someone Stuck a Happy Pill in My...

So, let's look at the whole trust thing...

So far this week I my Trust Resolution has resulted in me:

• Being tarred and feathered


• Being buried alive


• Being shot out of a cannon


• Having, not one, but two wallets stolen.

Ok maybe not.

The plumbing thing worked out to the tune of roughly S700,000 or $1250 in American currency. Did I get hosed? Not sure, but there is no more Great Lake in the yard, so...

But I did some more good stuff:

• I went to McDonald's, ate, and trusted them not to poison me. I'm good.


• Took a client's word on something he said he would do. Still pending.


• Lent someone $20. Said he'll pay me Thursday. k

So it's not Earth shattering, but I'm working on it ALRIGHT?

Imagine how hard it wo uld be to read blogs if e very one wr ote like this?

Anyway I had to sit in the Doc's office a bit, and the great people in the Doc's office shared their WiFi with us lucky patients! So I started visiting blogs.

Yayyy!

Isn't it funny though? When you don't visit for a while, you're always afraid that your favorite blogs won't be there? So far, so good. I'm getting to you! I'll be there!

You are missed.

Sewerage

Well, here's a good start! In August of 2006 I happily discovered a large flood on the back left side of my property, just off the house. There had been a ridiculous amount of rain that year, so I attributed it to a slow drain and that rain. When it became clear that I was either going to have to act, or else name a new ocean, I called a company called Mr. Rooter (not Roto-Rooter) to alleviate the body of water that was quickly becoming swampy back there.

It was revealed to me that the PVC pipe running from the storm drain to the storm sewer out in front of the house had collapsed. As in cracked to hell, crushed, unworking. $1400 later the pipe had been replaced (part of the job involved going under the sidewalk out front). No more Lake Stupid.

Till July, 2009. I rediscovered Lake Stupid after the 289,304 days of rain this Spring. I called the company to inquire as to any warranties, etc. as I could not believe that a pipe could disintegrate in a mere three years. The phone rep did say it was possible if a truck drove on my property, (huh? Highway Stupid, too?) but that they would look into it and do the right thing.

As I know nothing about plumbing other than water in the wrong places is not a good thing, I'm putting my faith in this company to do the right thing. They'll be coming today. I'll keep you posted.

Let's Play A Game

I watch a lot of episodes of House. The central character, Dr. Gregory House, is a brilliant diagnostician who is also a complete misanthrope. He is convinced that people lie and cannot be trusted.

Why talk about that?

I have seen that this character is a bit exaggerated, certainly, but I have seen something else in that character. I have seen traits that I have allowed to fester in my own life. I'm not so much a misanthropic geezer as I am cynical, beyond what I would like to allow any more.

So, what's the game?

I'm going to try something new; something that's been suggested to me on a number of occasions. I'm not going to lose my mind here, of course, but I am going to try trusting people as well as their words. I'm going to give people the benefit of the doubt, I'm going to find a way to allow people to be true to their word. I'm going to put myself out there.

There is a certain amount of faith required here. I'm not going to put my life in people's hands by any means, and I'm not going to become a "Yes Man".

I'm going to treat this somewhat lightheartedly so that no one is in danger. But I'm going to start taking people at their word, allowing them to prove themselves to me simply by doing or saying what they say they will. In other words, I'll put the ball in motion and see where it bounces.

I'll have to be somewhat discreet with the names and such, because a lot of this experiment will take place in the course of doing business, naturally, both in my own business transactions, and in my day-to-day life.

A Challenge?

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?

Driving Through Church

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?

Important?

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?

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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.

Stumble and Crash

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.

Sunday Night Views

It's was a long week, but some good stuff did happen. I think.

I had a really nice experience this week at the Staples store in Brick, NJ. I needed a couple of customized ink stamps and went to the Print Center in the store. It was about $50 worth of merchandise, but the whole thing was handled with such care I couldn't help but be pleased.

It was kinda funny at the end when I hit the register. I'd picked up a few other items that came with warranties and when the lady there rang my order up she went to attach the receipts to the warranty cards. She was out of staples. Just thought I'd throw that in. I really do like that store though.

---

I sat in the living room doing some work. I had the TV on and I noticed something. Sunday night must be "Amazing" night. I heard people say it no less than 50 times. There's a lot of "Amazing" things out there.

To me, it's the same as people who use "like" too much, you know the ones, "And he was like, 'hello', and I was like 'what?'." That's how much "amazing" is overused, in my book. Amazing.

---

When you meet people who stand by their word, it's incredible.

---

I wonder how it feels to go through life moving from one drama moment to the next. It's so strange to me how much effort some people put into finding things to be annoyed about. You miss out on so much in life. And I think it makes you lonely because people get tired of it. It makes them mad when you don't let them affect you any more, too.

---

When the world stops being "all about you", it becomes so much more interesting, don't ya think?

---

I got a nice long ride in a Toyota Prius. That's a hybrid. I was very impressed. Roomy too.

---

Not sure why they call them "sleepovers". No one sleeps. My son passed out this afternoon after his buddies went home.

---

The Sunday evening Mass by me features a group of teenagers providing the music. There's nothing more uplifting than seeing kids singing their hearts out.

---

Ok, that's enough from me. Enjoy the week, ok?

H E L P ! lol

A few weeks ago, I had written about having a new outlook on life, self-improvement and the like. Well, here's the thing...

A lotta people out here have been giving me a lotta crap! Help me! Who wants to kick some mean people's butts for me?

Imagine

I always thought about being able to fly. I knew that it wasn't possible to do, at least not in the way I imagined (yes, we can board a plane, but it's not the same thing!), but I always thought about what it would be like to actually leave the ground and go aloft.

I can't put a word to the feeling you get when you have to accept some reality or another. It's a nice sentiment, "You can do anything you set your mind to," but in reality, there are some things you can't do, no matter how much brain power you apply.

I think about the way my life has changed, and how certain things left my control. You can't make someone love you, no matter what. You can't have a job that doesn't exist any more, and you can't make yourself love someone either.

For the most part, I try to look at those situations in order to find something positive in them. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end, as the song goes.

I wouldn't so much say that I'm mournful for some of the things I've lost, because I did my best in one case, and I had no say in another instance. No regrets, right? Time for a new path.

But there are other things that I still imagine happpening, that I know won't happen, or shouldn't happen. I have no place taking the field in the NFL. There isn't a movie bad enough to have me in the starring role. But while I can't be the next Bill Gates, there are little compromises you can make and find happiness as a result.

I have some awesome, lifelong friendships with some wonderfully beautiful women because I was able to "just be friends" with them and not pursue anything more. That's hardly a compromise. I've become physically handicapped in the last couple of years; this brought my sports "careers" to and end. But, that has allowed me to experience some incredible kindess and consideration from others. Hardly something to be sad about, because kindness doesn't always come from the direction we assume.

There are a few things I really want in my life, but just can't have. It's that simple. But I put that aside and just enjoy imagining what it would be like. Besides, with my fear of heights, flying might not be so great.

Did this make sense?

Curiouser

I don't believe that people who do bad things are always consciously aware of what they are doing. I'm not talking about criminal behavior, I'm talking about the day-to-day not-niceties that people inflict on each other.

Part of my life's philosophy includes the notion, "You can't blame a dog for being a dog." Kids generally goof up until they're taught proper social behavior; a poorly timed burp might require some manners updates, and now the kid knows it's not acceptable to let fly at will.

We receive guidance from the day we're born, at home (at least if the parents have any sense at all, a huge assumption to make these days), in school, etc. But there isn't always a rulebook for adult social behavior. We take our cues from those we admire, or want to emulate.

There are a couple of people from whom I receive good tips for different aspects of my life. I've always been big on trying to be respectful, but there were a few things I did, ideas I had, that weren't exactly on target until I heard stories from these people in which something upset them. I would think to myself, "Wow, I did that once," or "Oh man, you mean that's wrong?" Behavior that I thought was very polite was in actuality quite the opposite.

In two instances, I've cited lessons I was "taught" by the words written by these people I consider role models, and was met with odd looks. The thing I'm curious about is this: Do any other grown-ups out there still have role models they look up to? I know I do, and I try to "behave" because I know these folks wouldn't approve if I didn't; in other words, I try to live up to the standards they set because I believe I'm a better person for it.

What's your take? Do you have role models still?

A Sidestep...

I was thinking about being a kid. I had a sister and three brothers, and a host of playmates when I was growing up.

Inevitably, there would be arguments. It really was more like "bickering" than arguing; something silly would set off these little spats. And the funny thing, most of them were unwinnable, but that never stopped us. We'd battle it out until the frustration peaked. Sooner or later it would come to something like this:

Oh yeah...oh YEAH? Well..well you're just a STUPIDHEAD!

That got me thinking today.

There are unwinnable arguments and bickering that I still engage in. And I was thinking about how, despite being grownups, we still eventually get to those "Oh YEAH?!!" moments, right?

With grownups, though, it's at least a little more relevant...sometimes. "OH YEAH? Well your family is nothing but idiots anyway..." or "OH YEAH? Well, you're just like your FATHER!" You know what I mean.

So, what's your "OH YEAH? moment? Something irrational that you may have blurted out recently, something you knew was dumb the minute you let it fly? C'mon...'fess up. We're all guilty...

Bloggity Blog Blog

I just wonder about something, and want to see what you think?

I don't spend nearly as much time on Blogs as I had in the last couple of years. Time has gotten ridiculously tight lately, but Blogging/Journaling was a pastime that I enjoyed so very much.

So I consider a lot of Bloggers/Journalers my friends, even though I haven't met a lot of them. Real friends. "Real" friends. Do you?

I miss the people I would connect to daily. I don't get there every day anymore. But do you think they know I miss them and think of them? Do you miss your Blog friends if you don't see them daily?

Is that weird?

Do you think it's ok to write and not read?

Do you think I think too much?

A Little Hint...

If I may be so rotten as to say this, I just think it's helpful. And since we're all so into being "honest" these days, I don't even have to be sorry for saying it I guess.

Ok the point is, if you're one of those people for whom life is one never-ending series of personal crises, for whom life is one giant "bail-out" after another, who always "needs" someone, or "tests" the friendships of others, here's a flash:

You will become boring and monotonous, and will drive away the very people you're looking to manipulate with your drama.

Like they say, I'm just sayin'...