Another Year and Lots to be THANKFUL for….still…

This Thursday I turn 28.  And ever since the car accident that almost took away my ability to celebrate birthdays I’ve been hyper-celebratory.  Every 6 months is important to me now. Literally. Every six months is a milestone. Every birthday is important. Every New Years has become important.

My birthday lost importance once I hit 21 and I started forgetting how old I was, didn’t much matter to me… Great indication of how I will be later in life.  Perhaps forever 35?

But since my car accident, it’s another story. A whole different ball game so to speak. And it’s only been emphasized after losing two dear friends and former teammates in the past couple months.

I am ANGRY.  VERY VERY ANGRY.  I’ve spent lots of my adult life trying to figure out the best and most appropriate way to deal with anger, and I had thought that I’d come to a pretty good resolution when my car accident happened.  And a year and a half later I’ve lost two friends.

And I am Angry.  I am angry at myself for not having talked to them on a more regular basis or made an effort to stay in touch.  But most of all I am ANGRY that I have to spend my days working, to pay my bills.

HOW TRIVIAL BILLS SEEM FACED WITH YOUR OWN MORTALITY. HOW TRIVIAL BILLS SEEM WHEN YOU’VE LOST TWO OF YOUR FRIENDS.

This. Is. Why. I. Am. ANGRY. (pounding my fists.)

Don’t get me wrong.  I generally LIKE what I do. But it seems to be a Catch-22.  Have to work. Have to pay the bills. In the meantime you’re losing quality time that could have been spent with family and friends.

Well. This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for my family and friends.  I vow to do a better job of keeping up with my friends and family. Let’s call it a pre-resolution.  And I’d like to encourage all of you to think about what you are TRULY THANKFUL FOR.

If you need help setting a scene to conjure thanks, watch this short video.

Oh Funny Animals

 

Just a refresher. 😉

Alan. Alan. Al. Alan.

Help me destroy public radio! Don’t give to NPR.

Have you guys heard this???

Yesterday I was driving to the Y for a lunchtime workout and I heard Alec Baldwin telling me to help him destroy public radio…  I just about peed my pants. Check it out here.

RSA Animate: First as Tragedy, Then as Farse

I love these RSA Animate videos!  I saw this the other day and found it pretty interesting.  I don’t know all the answers, but I appreciate when people posit suggestions.

In this short RSA Animate, renowned philosopher Slavoj Zizek investigates the surprising ethical implications of charitable giving.

When You are Engulfed in Flames: David Sedaris

I found David Sedaris a long time ago, but was listening to When You Are Engulfed In Flames on the way back from vacation this past week. There are always a bunch of LAUGH OUT LOUD moments in Sedaris’ books.  This chapter is one of my favorites.

This week in review.

It seems like lots of large websites have been getting make-overs.  Etsy has a new look on its shop page.  Istockphoto has a new look (don’t know when that happened, but I came across it this week). I guess Digg has a new look.  I don’t use Digg, but I read a headline somewhere…. And Facebook pages will have a new look at the end of the month.  I kind of like all this change.  It’s almost like a ‘spring cleaning’….except its more like a new wardrobe for ‘back to school’.  Hmmm.

A good friend from high school got married.  Which, now-a-days, more than anything just makes me forlorn to not have been at the lovely event, and a little irritated that I’m not keeping in-touch enough to KNOW when friends from high school are getting married.  Although I am very happy for all of my marrying friends.  But I will tell you what…. I LOVE WEDDINGS.  Everything about them is fantastic.  Happy.  And I LOVE photographing them.  Maybe what I should do is get a loan and go into business for myself as a FULL-TIME wedding photographer.  I have one coming up in October. Can’t wait.

Mint.com.  Started looking into some of the tools on here.  I really like some of the options to take advantage of here.

The Pink Panther

I wonder if I realized as a child how stinking drunk this dude is and how ODD it is for him to pick a stranger (even if it is the Pink man himself) from a park bench and take him home? What were they thinking???

I have a new life theory; money is the root of all that is evil.

Different periods in my life have been governed by different theories.  Increasingly, these days, I am confounded by money.  I think it’s pretty dumb to spend a majority of my life working just to earn money, just to pay my bills,  just to die in debt anyway….  With the way our economy, health care, wars, etc, etc, blah blah blah, are going; what’s the point?

I’m increasingly becoming a fan of bartering, local food, less technology (god, did I really write that, cause I’m not sure I could survive without the interwebs…) & more physical activity.

Granted, I SAY I’m a fan of these things, but I’ll outright admit my hypocrisy, as it’s nearly impossible on my salary to buy local food, and I’m addicted to the internet… but that doesn’t mean I can’t believe in what is good and right.

Any way, back to bartering.  Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could go to the store, or the doctor and come up with some way to barter for the goods & services we need???  I mean, imagine how this would effect your stress level?  MONEY IS THE BIGGEST STRESSOR IN MY LIFE…. How ’bout you?  What a waste of time & emotion I spend on money.

Capitalism at its best. ?

A while ago I wrote about taxing junk food and our obesity crisis.  Marshal Brain wrote this recently and I think he put it very well….

This article will lead in well to a post I’m working on about money.

Pepsi’s Refresh Project

If you haven’t heard anything about Pepsi’s Refresh Project, you should really check it out. I’ve known about it for a while and suggested to friends that they submit a proposal (for what else? ultimate related projects…). I don’t know of another single corporation that ACTUALLY does as much good as Pepsi is doing with this Refresh Everything campaign. Even companies that claim their mission statement is to ‘do good’, or ‘do no evil’…. or whatever else they say…there’s no other company I know of that gives away millions of dollars in grant money to worthy projects every month.  Users vote on the projects that get the grants too, so no board of directors is pulling the stings here, it’s you and me.  Actions speak louder than words.  This is from the ‘how it works’ page…

• We’re looking for people, businesses, and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact. Look around your community and think about how you want to change it.
• Anyone can submit their idea.
• Pepsi is accepting 1000 ideas every month.
• Starting February 1st, vote for up to 10 of your favorite ideas every day. If you submitted an idea, feel free to vote for your own.