Much Ado About Nothing: January 2006

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Snapple Side Note

A completely random and useless side note for you: I came across a blog devoted to posting nothing but Snapple Facts off the bottle caps. I was amused.

Gasp, gasp, puff puff

Oh man am I out of shape! Just walking up a few flights of stairs has me breathing hard. And I just walked, I didn't run!

When did we, as a nation, get so out of shape? My guess is that it started about the same time companies started extending the hours employees were required to work, and shortened the lunch break at the same time. The era of 9-5 with an hour for lunch is laughable today. We are lucky to get 9-5:30 with a half-hour, and that is when you are lucky. All those countless hours sitting still in front of a computer with no reason or even means to move can have a tremendous negative impact on the body.

And it hasn't been all that long a time period in which it happened. I remember my first editor telling me about when he got his start in newspapers, how people would show up around 10 or 11, usually hung over, go for several-hour-long lunches, then head home or out to the bars around 5 or 6. How they managed to get anything done, I'll never know. But while that was the people who were drinking, think about those who took that time to get out and take a walk, or go to the gym? No wonder we, as a nation in general, were in better shape 20 years ago.

Sure, there are some people today who get up at ungodly hours to go work out, or who somehow find the time after work to set aside an hour or more for exercise. More power to them, and I wish I knew how they did it.

So, despite my belief that the only reason we have mornings at all is to prevent the night and afternoon from bumping into each other, I have started sacrificing a few minutes of precious sleep every morning to get in a little exercise. Right now I only do about 10 minutes worth, maybe a little less. But I am hoping that doing it 5 times a week will help, at least in part, to counteract the sitting-at-desk syndrome. Over time my goal is to add more time and more intensive exercises to the mix, but I am going to do it in baby steps. And try to take the stairs more often....

I hate that out-of-breath feeling, especially when you know you really shouldn't be. I don't know how long I will keep this up, but hopefully actually posting it here will shame me into continuing. Feel free to heckle me about it should you discover I have slacked off.

Friday, January 20, 2006

My Apologies

Ok, I would like to apologize for the bad lymricks below. My only excuse is that I was hyped up on cold medication, and my head really wasn't firmly on my shoulders where it should have been. So I am sorry for any injury my bad poetry may have caused, and I assure you I will do my best to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

This is What Happens

Sudafed is a wonderful drug
My senses wrapped up in a rug
I pen verses that rhyme
To pass the time
While sipping tea in a mug.

Tea with Honey

Ah, lemon tea with honey
good for when the nose is runny
I sip all day through
this marvelous brew
the color of a day that is sunny.

Illness

This must be some kind of trick
To feel this horrible ick
All achy and sore
I can't take any more
Man I really hate being sick.

Ode to a Hot Shower

With your steamy water so hot
The chills and aches I have not
Down the drain they all go
Washed away with the soap
Now my muslces are not one big knot.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

A Few Thoughts

Ok, I seem to be getting into a lot of conversations about relationships lately with just about everyone, which, for lack of anything better to do while driving to and from work, has got me thinking. I have come up with a few general observations I thought I would share.

1. Too many people seem to be obsessed with the superficial to the extent that they discount the things that really count. When talking about dating, people talk about how they want a guy who looks like 'this', or a girl who owns 'that'. They refuse to even consider dating someone who does not fit that profile, and to me that seems as silly as saying 'I refuse to date anyone who doesn't like the color blue.' Superficial things like looks or what they own or even their deodorant preferences can be negotiated and changed if they bother you that much. Instead, it seems like more people would find long-term happiness if they didn't worry so much about that stuff and instead focused on things like a sense of humor, or similar tastes in recreational activities.

2. Which leads me into my second, similar observation. Stereotypes. When people describe their 'perfect' mate, they usually choose a stereotype of some sort, like 'Italian male' or 'party girl'. Why would you want to date a stereotype though? Talk about boring -- there would never be a sense of wonder or excitement because you would be dating someone who always reacted the way you predicted they would. And that is assuming you could even find said stereotype out there. I hate to be the one to have to say this, but that only exists on television, not in real life.

3. The perfect person doesn't exist. And quite frankly even if they did, I wouldn't want to date them. I'm not perfect, why would I want the stress of dating someone who was? Refusing to date unless someone fits perfectly into the little box you have created to describe "mate" means you will either never date anyone at all, or you will sabotage every relationship when the other person doesn't live up to your every expectation.

4. No relationship will be without its irritations. I have the benefit of growing up with parents who are best friends as well as lovers, and they still have things about each other that irritate them. The trick isn't to find someone with no qualities that might get on your nerves, but to find someone who is willing to negotiate compromises with you, to say "ok, this irritates me about you, but I know this thing I do irritates you, so lets agree to both work on it."

5. It is never easy. A good relationship is work. If you expect it to always be easy and run every time it gets hard, you will be running all your life. Not to say there aren't times and relationships that just can't be fixed. But if two people love each other, they should be willing to talk about it and try to find a solution they can both live with before just calling it quits.

6. Time is not as big of a deal as people seem to think it is. There isn't a timetable for when you must or must not be with someone. On the flip side, if you truly care about someone, lack of time becomes less of an issue. Does it suck if you can't spend a lot of time together? Of course. But when you care about someone, you don't begrudge them what they have to do, or even that they have other friends they want to visit with, and you take what you can get and are grateful for it.

7. Everyone has their own defense mechanism for avoiding getting hurt. Some people hide it better than others, but everyone has them. None of us are completely without issues. The trick is to know what your own defenses are, since then you can try to work past them. I freely admit I have a hard time with this one myself. Yes it is easier just to stick with what you know and not get hurt, but that isn't always the right decision, and who knows what you are missing out on.

8. If you don't know who you are as an individual, how can you be part of a couple? I have never understood that drive to not have any real personality outside of your identity as "so-and-so's boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse." How can you possibly be someone's 'other half' if you have no idea what your half really looks like? How can you give your heart to someone if you never really knew what it held in the first place?

Monday, January 09, 2006

Memories

Ok, I was posting a response on Steve's blog about Red Light-Green Light, and that got a whole slew of childhood memories coming up to the surface. It is amazing the things we remember from childhood, and the things we forget. For example, I remember the yard of our house in Georgia, and the layout of the house. I remember my Mom learning to make fried ice cream one year, and I remember making forts out of the kitchen table. But I don't really remember parties or celebrations, or any of the big stuff I am sure happened there.

It is funny how the mind works, how we store away memories and experiences for recall later. You would think we would either remember everything or nothing, as that is how data storage is supposed to work. But instead, we remember imperfectly, with some memories remaining clear and crisp, while others fade into oblivion. Heck, we even change our own memories sometimes, choosing to remember something as we wish it had happened, until the original memory is forgotten for the new one. We convince ourselves that this is the truth.

Then there are the things that can trigger memories. Like seeing something that reminds you of something else, or, like now, talking about one thing, which unleashes a chain reaction of memories you thought long buried. But how does that work? Is there a finite limit on how long memories will last? They fade over time, but is that because newer memories push them to the back, crowding them out, or is it something else? Why is it that memories like those from childhood that you never think about anymore can come back so clear and real? Are the memories really fading, or just being filed away for future reference, with some of them getting misfiled or the "card catalog" getting the wrong notation, so we can't find them again?

Or memories shape us, make us who and what we are. They influence every decision we make, every step we take in life. They contribute to our confidence and are the root of our weaknesses. They define our sense of self, so why are some, usually the more trivial, the ones that remain so clear, so easy to recall? Is it because the trivial memories simply supplement the major experiences, put them in perspective so our minds can properly process everything?

And what will we remember about today? Last week? These memories are still sharp and easy to recall, but they will slowly be pushed out by newer, more recent memories. Last year is fuzzier than yesterday, and will get fuzzier still next year. But yesterday will become last year eventually, and will fade as well. What will we remember 10 years from now? Maybe that is why blogs have become such a big thing -- the obsession with memory and capturing it before it has a chance to leave us.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Tired. Just tired.

Ok, I have gone from being frustrated to upset to annoyed to just plain defeated today. I am too tired to post the whole thing, but suffice it to say I got a scoop, said scoop was controversial, the subject of said scoop made a few empty threats, the company caved and took my scoop away. They didn't decide against running the story because it was a bad story or not relevant, but because it could, and I stress the minute possibility of could, cost the company money.

It goes against every journalistic ethic I have to give up on a story because it was unfavorable toward a person and they objected to it running. I'm sorry, if you don't want bad news reported about you, don't do stupid, newsworthy things. Just because you think no one will find out doesn't mean we won't. It is my JOB to find them out, then tell other people about them.

I am just feeling a bit discouraged. If I'm not allowed to report on bad news because someone might sue us, even if all the facts are correct and they have no legal legs to stand on, then what does that make me? A parrot for PR people? A copy editor who just fixes grammar and spelling? Why should I bother looking for and reporting on good stories? What difference will it make if I can't tell them?

I am sure I will feel better in the morning, but tonight I'm not ok with it. I know there is nothing I can do about it, that the decision was made and that is that. But that doesn't stop it from depressing me. Here's hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

Much Ado About Nothing