Bad Manners

When did it become trendy to be so rude? I guess it just became more acceptable, and then it became the trend. Almost on a daily basis, I go out of my way to do something for someone that doesn't directly service myself, and at least 75% of the time I don't even get a "thank you" back. I've heard similar stories from others too.

Are people really that thoughtless? Do they forget? Didn't they have a mother that would grab them by the ear and march them... oh wait, that's probably just my mother that did that...
Weren't they ever taught manners by some elder in their lives?? Maybe the older generations are to blame for enabling it.



Or maybe, I'm just becoming that old woman who is bitter about the "kids these days"... but then again, it's a lot of adults acting this way too.





Anyway I look at it, I'm convinced that the majority of people alive today are s*#t heads.

It's easier to be selfish. Every man for himself, I know, I get it, I'm guilty of it myself sometimes. Oh America, the downward spiral continues... Democracy breeds individualization and as a result comes egotism. People love personalizing every aspect of their lives. That is why it is great to be an American! We can revel in the endless amount of options we have.

There comes a time, however, when this self-serving behavior becomes detrimental to society. If everyone is independently working to advance their own agendas, everything becomes disjointed, unorganized, and inefficient. Together Everyone Accomplishes More! (I just read that somewhere, thought it was clever... I know it's cheesy)...

I'm not suggesting that we all need to hold hands and sing Welcome Christmas like the Whovillians. I'm just saying that life would get along a lot smoother if people would just stop to take the time to practice good manners and appreciate when others make their lives easier. Say 'Please' and 'Thank You', bring someone their favorite candy, let people merge into the lane in front of you on the freeway, send greeting cards to friends and family just because, chew with your mouth closed, say 'Hello' when you walk past people, look people in the eye when you're talking to them...

Don't treat everyone the way you'd want to be treated. Treat everyone the way you'd want them to treat your grandmother. (:))

ATTN: Deficit Disorder

Generally, I think living the life of a (self-proclaimed) A.D.D. maniac is fun and exciting. But often, the unavoidable multi-tasking lifestyle becomes hectic and overwhelming. So much so, that sometimes when there is too little going on, I am less productive and effcient.

"I wish I had something to occupy that empty mental space"

BAM!

Here comes online Sudoku! No, wait, that's not work related....

Here comes the iPod! Endless playlists of music in a small portable device. Very A.D.D. friendly.

At work, I listen to it to keep my brain focused. If all goes according to plan, I'm pumping through spreadsheets and the only pause in my day is the monster growling in my tummy (ready for lunch!) and seeing the bottom of my coffee cup (am I on my third or fourth cup?...).

The great thing about this also, is that it helps me hone in on my mental state. For instance, today. I sit down at my desk. Pull out my task list... wow it goes all the way to the bottom of the sheet today. Damn...there's more. Turn to page two. Ok, ok. Today calls for an 8am iPod sesh. I pull out my Pod. Put in my ear buds. Oh wait, my boss comes by, ... 10 minutes of chatting later. I open my Outlook, open my documents, check my calendar for the day. 8:38 AM. Damn the iPod cord is getting in the way... ughm... iPod has yet to have been powered on. I've been sitting in silence for the past hour, with my ear phones in, and nothing playing. Distractions are my best and worst friend.

This event happens every couple weeks. It actually makes me laugh just thinking about it. Sometimes I catch it in 5 minutes, sometimes it's an hour. Sometimes the iPod dies because it was low on batteries and I don't even notice. This, my friends, is the point of burn out. It's a reminder that my multi-tasking has hit the point futility. I slow things down. I laugh about it. I regain focus.

Literally and actually listening to a powered off iPod.

Photo of the Day

I'm having one of my mini-meltdowns on personal appearance. I'm not sure that everyone experiences this, but I'm talking about those times every couple of months or so where you realize that you've "let yourself go" to some extent. You stopped styling your hair, you wear slighty wrinkled clothes, the scuff on your shoe just doesn't really matter, .... I haven't painted my toe nails in 6 weeks. Somewhat equivalent to a superficial rock bottom. I'm from Southern California. Enough said.

Anyway, on a mission to find the next big improvement mechanism, I was scouring Google images for a picture of my next hair cut and I came across this gem of a photo.

How can you look at that and not smile? It makes me so happy.

There are so many subtle and simple expressions of humor and beauty on this earth. It's almost like stopping to smell the roses.

Be thankful for who you are, be thankful for what you have, and most of all, stop to enjoy things before they pass you by.

Chicken Feet

In the news today: China gets its chicken feet from America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/business/global/16chickens.html

The global trade market never ceases to amaze me. One man's trash really is another's treasure. Every market demand is different, mainly in part because it can be. International travel has not only facilitated this, it has also opened the opportunity for less wasteful behaviors. Chicken feet in America sell for loose change, but in China they could be considered a delicacy.

“We have these jumbo, juicy paws the Chinese really love,” said Paul W. Aho, a poultry economist and consultant, “so I don’t think they are going to cut us off.”

There is a person, whose sole responsibility in his career is poultry economics. Awesome.

What I want to know is, who was the first person to eat a chicken foot and decide it was delicious? That Evel Knievelish Chinese bad boy had about 10% chance of scrumptiousness, with a 65% chance of the scales and talons getting lodged in their esophagus. Quite the feat.

Living in this day and age, we are blessed that all those who came before us have already tried and determined what is good to consume. Imagine being a barbarian and finding out (the hard way) that shark cartilage and palm fronds are not edible? I suppose that's why we've also been given the gift olfactory senses, so that if someone is perilous enought to disregard those instincts so be it.... but in the truest sense of Darwinism, idiots will never prevail.

Quality Control

Why don't they make quality products like they used to? Think about the indestructibility of paper clips, bobby pins, silver ware, tupperware...tractors. Seriously, these things last forever. My mom has a mixing bowl that I swear she's had for at least 30 years.

I saw a commercial the other day for Stride gum (that was actually really funny, people in kilts punching the guy... I digress). Their marketing niche is long lasting flavor. So naturally their ad campaigns suggest that the flavor lasts so long that they are losing money because people chew the gum for so long and don't buy new packs. That's a pretty good angle. It also brings to light the fact that there is no business sense in creating a good, quality, long lasting product. Similar to the concept of all iPods mysteriously breaking around the 2 year mark... or my conspiracy against Chaptstick making your lips drier so you'll use more of it. Genius. The marketing atmosphere is reminiscent of cigarettes and nicotine.

When does doing the best job you can become superseded by making the most money from it?

What about the products that have been around forever without any recent development? Clearly, these products were well thought out, created with care, and good enough to beat the competition and remain profitable. Elmer's Glue. Cracker Jacks. Shoe Polish. Crayons. Not one thing has changed about the Crayon since the addition of the Mac N Cheese color in 1982. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Literally and actually, using Elmer's Glue.

"I'm gonna Google it"

I've been deemed the nickname "Google" because I am the trivia master. No, I don't know everything, and I don't care to. But I usually encounter questions throughout the day that intrigue me. They become the "Google Topic of the Day" and I look up the answer. And though I cannot remember that I left my toast in the toaster or the plans I committed to this weekend, I know that black widow spiders create sporadic web patterns and that FDR is on the US dime. Unfortunately for me, the only benefit this really has is being a bad ass board game player. Humph. Oh well. Life goes on :)

Today's Google topic was in regards to the question: Do cows sweat, and if so, how?

Answer: Yes, from their noses. (Dogs and cats, consequently, sweat from their paws, and reptiles cannot sweat at all.)

In the research process I also found a website that detailed the following completely random and enlightening animal facts (I'm not sure how accurate these are, but they certainly will add a few thoughts to the pondering pond):

1. Cows can have regional accents.
2. A domestic cat can frighten a black bear to climb a tree.
3. In a fight between a polar bear and a lion, the polar bear would win.
4. US Secret Service sniffer dogs are put up in five-star hotels during overseas presidential visits.
5. Dolphins sleep with one eye open.
6. Bulls are color blind.
7. A cow's only sweat glands are in its nose.
8. Mosquitoes have 47 teeth.
9. The Poison Arrow frog has enough poison to kill 2,200 people.
10. Emus can't walk backwards.
11. A group of unicorns is called a blessing, kangaroos a mob, owls a parliament, ravens a murder, bears a sleuth, and twelve or more cows are called a flink.
12. A baby oyster is called a spat.
13. An elephant can be pregnant for up to 2 years.
14. Chickens can't swallow while they are upside down.
15. The average garden-variety caterpillar has 248 muscles in its head.
16. A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds.
17. A mule won't sink in quicksand but a donkey will.
18. More people are killed annually by donkeys than in airplane crashes.
19. Animal breeders in Russia once claimed to have bred sheep with blue wool.
20. Penguins are the only bird that can leap into the air like porpoises.
21. India has 50 million monkeys.
22. By some unknown means, an iguana can end its own life.
23. Americans spend around $3 billion for cat and dog food a year.
24. Pigs can cover a mile in 7.5 minutes when running at top speed.
25. The shell constitutes 12 percent of an egg's weight.
26. A squid has 10 tentacles.
27. A snail's reproductive organs are in its head.
28. When a horned toad is angry, it squirts blood from its eyes.
29. The typical hen lays 19 dozen eggs a year.
30. The ostrich has a 46-foot long small intestine.
31. A scallop has 35 blue eyes.
32. The left leg of a chicken in more tender than the right one.
33. The only dog that doesn't have a pink tongue is the chow.
34. Dogs and humans are the only animals with prostates.
35. The giraffe has the highest blood pressure of any animal.
36. Zebras can't see the color orange.
37. There are more insects in ten square feet of a rain forest than there are people in Manhattan. 38. It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.
39. The smartest dogs are the Jack Russell Terrier and Scottish Border collie. Dumbest: Afgan hound.
40. A rat can go without water longer than a camel can.
41. A 'zebdonk' is a cross between a Burchell's zebra and a donkey. Other names for a zebdonk include zonkey, zebrass, and zorse.


That oughta keep ya occupied until my next Google topic.

Bacon! In the News...

I decided today that I am going to do a weekly segment called "In the News"...

Ever since I studied media communications in college, I have had a fervent disdain for almost all media, particularly, the news. Agenda setting, sensationalism, slants... I could go on for paragraphs on all the ways the public is affected by biases in the media.

As much as I try, there are still outlets and circumstances in which I cannot avoid the regurgitation of communication they call the "news"... So I proceed skeptically with caution and knowledge and do my best to take it lightly. For example, online, I find myself running into news when logging into various websites and email inboxes. My favorite is Yahoo news, for the sole reason that they pick the most random and interesting stories to spolight, from the most frivolous and auspicious writers.

Today's headliner:
World's oldest person dies in Los Angeles at 115

Ok, I have to admit, that is pretty cool. I continue reading the subheader:
Gertrude Baines celebrated her last birthday with a letter from Obama and a visit from Guinness. >>Her Diet

Wow! She's knows the President? They are going to tell me what to eat so I can live to be that old??! I was intrigued, so I clicked on the arcticle, only to find the amusement that inspired this blog:

Staff at Baines' nursing home described her as a modest woman who liked to watch the "Jerry Springer Show" and eat fried chicken, bacon and ice cream. She refused to use dentures.

This is so delightful. I read this and I can really only smile. I ♥ the news.

Gummy Worms For Breakfast

I often live by the mantra that if you feel like doing something, you should do it. Obviously, some things are easier than others, for example, eating junk food for breakfast. I read in a book somewhere that it is ok to be different if you are either having more fun that way, or doing something more efficiently that way. Well I say, eating gummy worms for breakfast today was certainly more fun than eating my regular sugar-free cinnamon spice oatmeal.

It is easy enough to make a bold decision regarding breakfast, seeing as you eat it everyday, and little is risked in the process. But what about dressing how you want, instead of dressing to impress others? My favorite thing at the office is casual Fridays, because it gives that little glimpse into other people's lives. After all, you can tell a lot about a person by their casual collections... What about packing up and moving across country... or to another country on a whim? What about chasing your dreams?? I think I've maxed out on my personal threshold of settling for mediocre.

Literally and actually, gummy worms for breakfast.

Going Green

My roommate sold me on the use of aluminum water bottles (aka the Sigg) only to find out recently that the liner in the bottles contains traces of BPA that leach into the liquid inside the water bottles. Aluminum water bottles are supposed to replace the ever popular plastic Nalgene bottles because... they contained traces of BPA that leached into the water. Ironic, isn't it?

So I continued to think about the concept of "going green" and thought of the following notions to ponder.

1. Plastic grocery store bags. Is it bad to use them if you recycle them for various other home projects, not excluding my favorite use as dog poopy bags.... ? Canvas bags are better for the environment? It's a conspiracy. Somewhere "Ralph" or Mr. Trader "Joe" is sitting at his desk made of rich mahogany thinking that he could save X amount of dollars if he could stop giving grocery bags away for free. After all, the best way to convince someone to do something is to make them think it is their own idea, and is based on some philanthropic cause.

2. Recyclables, paper, glass, and plastic. Ok, you recycle them, a portion of them is reused ... the "post consumer waste" label you see on your Starbucks cup? Ya. Great. High five. But then you are just placing values on resources. Did you not waste a quart to a gallon of water cleaning/washing out the jar of jelly before you threw it in your bin? Of course you did, you don't want that funky smell or pesky little ants. Just think of how much water is spent on that peanut butter jar...

Random thought: why aren't yogurt containers recyclable?

Just some things to get you thinking. Not to be negative, but there is always a downside to everything. Think about what you're doing from all angles before you make a decision. Not everything that other people are doing always makes sense.

WELCOME ME! I'm so great.

So, this is my first post.

I oughta...

... myself.

(Just trying to stay consistent with the vanity that is the real reason why people write blogs.)

....For those of you who are wondering what vanity means: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vanity ....

You're welcome.

Anyway, this blog is my meager attempt to:

1. Stay sane (YOU try working 9+ hours a day with ADD)

2. Bring joy to people by showing them that life is way too short to take things too seriously and that there is A LOT of funny crap in the world, and of course

3. Make myself feel better by applying my creativity to at least one (granted, probably one few will see) outlet

Thank you for your time and enjoy! :)