I've never really been one to have hobbies. Growing up, my hobby was reading. Or reading and watching TV and listening to the radio simultaneously (seriously.) I did lots of other things, but once I grew out of the toy phase I never really replaced them other than with books and extra-curricular activities.
College pretty much killed my joy of reading for a time, although it did drastically improve my skill level (to pretentious geek stage apparently...) I appreciate this, but with putting a decent bit of distance between myself and my formal education I have realized that having pursuits outside of work (and my head) is incredibly important. And while I now enjoy reading and try to get in at least 30 minutes a day for pleasure (or to put me to sleep) I need something else. Since I read or write upward of 8-10 hours a day during the week, reading even for pleasure is not satisfactorily different to constitute a true reprieve from my work activities. And while I absolutely love TV, there are only a few quality shows on air. I will actually defend the merits of television (I can't stand people who think they are too good for TV or that watching TV means your are unintelligent or simplistic of mind. If you choose not to because you have other uses of your time or simply don't enjoy it - fine by me. However, don't judge me because I take a slight pleasure in the escapism television provides. I can even make an intellectual case for the merit of at least limited TV watching, but that's for another day.)
Unfortunately, my cynical side doesn't allow me to find much joy in "meaningless" activities that most people enjoy. I would rather cut away at my own finger with a left-handed Kindergarten safety scissors than scrapbook. I greatly appreciate sewing, knitting, quilting, and needlepoint but don't really have the patience or time to devote to it right now (I plan to start soon though. I figure if I start sewing a baby quilt now, by the time it's done I'll have a friend or family member to give it to.) I can play a video game for all of about 10 minutes before getting bored or not having the skills to go further. (Except the Sims... but that takes too much time to play and my computer can't support Sims 3 anyway.) I would love to paint or sculpt, but really do not have the talent for it. And the last thing I need in my life is the clutter than comes from collecting things. I'm an abysmal athlete, so sports for fun also holds no appeal. The list could go on. (Enter caveat: If the activity provides value to the person engaging in it, great. Good for them! I just happen to not be interested in things that are not of immediate urgency or provide a tangible good/service. I'm too pragmatic and wish that I was not.)
However, last fall I discovered my love for baking. I always loved baking with my grandmothers when I was a kid, but hadn't done much since I was about 12. This was a great first step because I began to experiment and re-learn techniques that I had forgotten in the last 13 years (or never mastered to begin with.) I began combing through recipe websites and cook books. I also read food and cooking blogs like there is no tomorrow. While I still find baking more enjoyable than regular cooking, I am beginning to pick up more cooking since having tons of delicious baked goods around the house isn't exactly advantageous to my wasteline. It also takes so much time that I typically cannot justify baking during week nights. However, actual cooking always must be done.
Now, to say I diligently prepare a gourmet meal every night of the week would be the grossest overstatement since the OMB claiming that Obamacare will save money. However, I did have the opportunity to prepare a two side dishes for some friends' cookout last Friday. The fruit salad I was particularly pleased with, so I'll share that recipe now. And, since it's my blog, I figure I can write about whatever I want, right? As fun as ranting is, I am actually attempting to keep a low blood pressure these days. And I truly love cooking for others if not for myself.
Sweet and Sour Stone Fruit Salad
(I forgot to take a picture. Next time...)
Ingredients*:
2-3 nectarines - sliced, skin on
2 plums (Damask for tartness; Satsuma if you prefer more sweet) - sliced, skin on
1 ripe mango (bordering on over-ripe to get the full sweetness. It adds another dimension to the salad which is perfect in my opinion) - peeled and chunked
1-2 peaches (or substitute white nectarines depending on preference) - peeled and chunked (unless using nectarines... then slice and leave skins on for color)
1/2 pint blackberries (can substitute cherries as well since they are in season. The blackberries add a balancing color to the orange shades of the other fruit and bring out the taste and color of the plums)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp white sugar
1/2 lime - juiced
*Note, the fresher the fruit, the better the salad. I don't recommend making this with anything that is not in season or not perfectly ripe (including the lime.) I got my produce from Fresh Market and it was excellent - and surprisingly not very expensive since these are all in their prime seasons and were on special.
Directions:
Cut fruit and place in medium-sized bowl. When half of fruit is in bowl, sprinkle with white sugar to get the juices naturally running from the fruit. Stir. Add remaining fruit. In a small bowl, juice the lime. Whisk in 1/4 tbsp of brown sugar (or omit if you prefer extra sour.) Once sugar is dissolved into juice, pour over fruit and stir. Sprinkle top of salad with remaining brown sugar. Set out for 15 minutes or so, then refrigerate until 30 minutes prior to serving. Stir all together once more before serving to ensure the salad is fully coated.
This recipe is simple and delicious. Just don't be afraid to get your hands sticky!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Nails Against the Chalkboard
Do you ever have one of those days where every little thing grates on your nerves to a degree that you want run out of the room screaming and waving your arms in the air like a crazy person? Well, that's been my week thus far. It seems like every task - personal and professional that comes my way is a little more tedious than the one before. Taken individually, these tasks would be fine, but when combined they make me want to tear out my hair.
I also have reached the end of my patience with politicians. It's not like I had a tremendous amount to begin with, but whatever remaining iota of goodwill I had towards them was annihilated with the introduction of the Healthcare Bill. I cannot extrapolate further other than to say it is the biggest, most convoluted piece of garbage I have ever encountered. If Obama wasn't dead set on destroying our country before albeit through good intentions, he's graduated to the next level with this one.
There have been some really great things going on lately though, so I'll highlight those:
I also have reached the end of my patience with politicians. It's not like I had a tremendous amount to begin with, but whatever remaining iota of goodwill I had towards them was annihilated with the introduction of the Healthcare Bill. I cannot extrapolate further other than to say it is the biggest, most convoluted piece of garbage I have ever encountered. If Obama wasn't dead set on destroying our country before albeit through good intentions, he's graduated to the next level with this one.
There have been some really great things going on lately though, so I'll highlight those:
- We adopted 2 dogs last weekend! I can't wait to bring them home (they're staying at the adoption center's shelter until we can move into the new house since we can't have them in our apartment.) They are the sweetest girls ever and I can't wait to come home to them every night. I'm sure there will be plenty of crazy, funny, and frustrating events as a result of their arrival. I also can't wait to start baking for them! Now I can bake to my heart's content and not be faced with the temptation of the tasty items I create (I promise, bacon-infused muffins hold absolutely no interest to me. I'm guessing Eva and Zsa Zsa will love them though. They almost took out a table trying to reach a wrapped blueberry muffin at Petsmart on Saturday.) Oh, and the dogs are named after the Gabor sisters which I thought was too much fun to change.
- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (the movie) finally was released and it was great! I'm holding out hope that Dumbledore's Funeral will be at the beginning of the 7th movie because it is one of my favorite and vividly imagined scenes from the books. I look forward to seeing it again next week when it comes to the Imax theater. I'm especially glad they chose to highlight the friendships and romances of the students considering how incredibly dark the rest of the subject matter is (and will be in the last 2 movies.) It was much needed comic relief that was a great throwback to the first movie.
- Our house is almost finished! We actually have countertops, some appliances, and one coat of poly on the floors. We had some minor tile issues - they said the one we wanted was in stock and it was not (8 weeks backordered!), so we had to go with a cheaper alternative. That was fine by me though. It will still look great and that's money we can use for something else. I just can't wait to finally live there!
- After we move in, unpack, paint, and pick up our dogs we're going back to Amelia Island for a few days of relaxation and bonding with our new puppies. I can't wait although I'm sure taking the dogs to the beach will be an adventure. I think they'll like it though. They're incredibly curious.
Monday, July 6, 2009
How I Love Vacation
Last Monday I rushed to work... about 5 minutes late as usual. Unfortunately, as anyone who knows me has observed, the level of my stress-induced fatigue directly correlates to my punctuality. Since being so stressed out about our house (and work and missing a day and a half from being sick and life in general), it has been steadily rising for the last 5 months or so. I still keep it under 9:30am, but ideally I should arrive between 8:45-9. I have a fairly laid-back office, so it's not really a big deal as long as I don't miss a meeting (or deadline.) I also tend to stay later when this happens to compensate, or do work at night. So while I wish I was one of these early morning people who wakes up at 5:30am, goes for a 30 minute run, and sits under a tree for 15 minutes listening to the birds and basking in the sunrise, I most certainly am not. I am diligently working on going to bed earlier though. Staying up until midnight (or later) and only getting 4 hours of sleep a night may work in college when you have a month off every 3 months to rest up, but not in the real world.
Back to Monday, I got into the office and my boss told me to take Friday off for the 4th of July. He apologized for not thinking about it sooner, but said that I needed the day off. I heartily agreed. (I often agonize over taking Federal holidays off... because I want to maximize my vacation days. I'm beginning to learn why I need to take them off though - to preserve sanity.) My husband also had the day off (and Thursday afternoon), so we decided to get away for the weekend since we have been trying - and failing - to plan a vacation for about 2 months now. We looked at hotels at every beach location within reasonable driving distance and decided on Amelia Island.
It was wonderful.
I don't think I have ever enjoyed going to the beach as much as I did last weekend. It was not an overly exciting weekend - we drove down Friday morning/afternoon. Went for a walk on the beach and got some sea food for dinner. We slept in the next morning and then went to the beach for a few hours (about 11am to 1pm so I got some sun for the first time in about 2 years.) We then partook in the 4th of July festivities - a little parade and a beautiful fireworks display over the harbor. The people sitting behind us were interesting of the North Florida redneck variety, but other than their atrocious accents they were pretty entertaining - one woman wanted to "give me money to immediately move away from Atlanta." I didn't mention that we just bought a house there... We then had to search for some food because the one thing this celebration lacked was rampant commercialization via vendor cart. I was astonished that there were absolutely no vendors out considering there were several thousand crowded into the historic downtown district. I assume there was an ordinance and I think they tried to localize the vendors in the "park celebration" earlier in the day. Oh well. The fireworks were still great. And I bet I can find some 4th of July Mardi Gra beads on sale at Kroger or CVS... because that's what the Founders clearly would have wanted.
I must say, I'm a little shocked at how uneventful our weekend was and how wonderful that made it. Life is so busy and stressful all the time that it was nice to take a break and essentially "do nothing." I also find the ocean to be the most calming sound in the world. Even though I am absolutely terrified of it. I refuse to get in the ocean above my knees for fear of imminent drowning. I also am perpetually afraid of sea creatures biting or stinging me. Wading around is nice though and I could walk along the beach for hours every day (too bad I'm married and can't put that in a singles ad, right?)
This weekend made me want to up and move to the beach. Even if that means just working at a hotel to make ends meet. I would never actually do that... but it was nice to think about for a few days. And I do hope that one day we will actually be able to move to the beach semi-permanently. As we were leaving, I still couldn't wait to get home to see the progress being made in our house. The hardwood floors have been installed, which is great! Things are moving along nicely and I can't wait until it's done. Our new house will be a great substitution until we can take off to the beach again.
Back to Monday, I got into the office and my boss told me to take Friday off for the 4th of July. He apologized for not thinking about it sooner, but said that I needed the day off. I heartily agreed. (I often agonize over taking Federal holidays off... because I want to maximize my vacation days. I'm beginning to learn why I need to take them off though - to preserve sanity.) My husband also had the day off (and Thursday afternoon), so we decided to get away for the weekend since we have been trying - and failing - to plan a vacation for about 2 months now. We looked at hotels at every beach location within reasonable driving distance and decided on Amelia Island.
It was wonderful.
I don't think I have ever enjoyed going to the beach as much as I did last weekend. It was not an overly exciting weekend - we drove down Friday morning/afternoon. Went for a walk on the beach and got some sea food for dinner. We slept in the next morning and then went to the beach for a few hours (about 11am to 1pm so I got some sun for the first time in about 2 years.) We then partook in the 4th of July festivities - a little parade and a beautiful fireworks display over the harbor. The people sitting behind us were interesting of the North Florida redneck variety, but other than their atrocious accents they were pretty entertaining - one woman wanted to "give me money to immediately move away from Atlanta." I didn't mention that we just bought a house there... We then had to search for some food because the one thing this celebration lacked was rampant commercialization via vendor cart. I was astonished that there were absolutely no vendors out considering there were several thousand crowded into the historic downtown district. I assume there was an ordinance and I think they tried to localize the vendors in the "park celebration" earlier in the day. Oh well. The fireworks were still great. And I bet I can find some 4th of July Mardi Gra beads on sale at Kroger or CVS... because that's what the Founders clearly would have wanted.
I must say, I'm a little shocked at how uneventful our weekend was and how wonderful that made it. Life is so busy and stressful all the time that it was nice to take a break and essentially "do nothing." I also find the ocean to be the most calming sound in the world. Even though I am absolutely terrified of it. I refuse to get in the ocean above my knees for fear of imminent drowning. I also am perpetually afraid of sea creatures biting or stinging me. Wading around is nice though and I could walk along the beach for hours every day (too bad I'm married and can't put that in a singles ad, right?)
This weekend made me want to up and move to the beach. Even if that means just working at a hotel to make ends meet. I would never actually do that... but it was nice to think about for a few days. And I do hope that one day we will actually be able to move to the beach semi-permanently. As we were leaving, I still couldn't wait to get home to see the progress being made in our house. The hardwood floors have been installed, which is great! Things are moving along nicely and I can't wait until it's done. Our new house will be a great substitution until we can take off to the beach again.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Welcome to the Neighborhood!
I am finally a homeowner... assuming the funds were paid out of the escrow account to the seller this morning...
You have to love how mortgage lenders mess up your loan amount on the day of closing, don't provide the closing packet to the attorney until 2 hours before closing, and then leave work promptly at 5:30pm so you cannot close in totality until they approve some faxed documents when they decide to look at them in the morning. Especially when you weren't able to start the signing documents until 5:00pm. And then my name was mis-spelled, so we had to reprint about half the documents and sign them again. After reconciling the lender's inaccurate math.
And people wonder why this mortgage/housing crisis occurred.
We did actually get to go into our house last night (which should never have happened being that the seller did not receive his funds.) Reason being, we have a neighbor of epic proportions. I will from this point on call her Maryann. You see, Maryann strongly believes in the neighborhood sharing keys in case of an emergency. Being that it's a townhouse, we share an open space attic with 3 other houses before there is a firewall separating us from the next 4 houses. We also share a wall and apparently 5 years ago there was some kind of pipe burst and the whole place could have flooded had she not had a key to get in and turn it off. Despite the fact that there is a master shutoff valve for the street 2 houses down from us (she showed it to us yesterday... in addition to her alarm code and where her house water turnoff is.) We also were lectured for at least an hour on the benefits of living in the community and taking care of one another. There were almost tears... from her sentimentality and me losing my patience.
I decided the best course of action was to play super sweet young neighbor girl. (It's sickening how much I can turn it on when the need arises. It's a gift, what can I say.) We were also informed we are the first "normal" neighbors she's had in that house - she's lived there since the community was built in 1972. The first lady lived there with her [straight] son, the second lived there with her gay son and his boyfriend, and the last lady was deaf. I didn't quite know how to appropriately respond to her description of the previous neighbors, so I just kind of went "huha, okay?" And tried to move on to another subject as soon as possible to disguise my shock at what was just said to me (and suppress my anger.) We brought up how we are really excited about moving in and look forward to getting a puppy soon. She was like "Oh, please not one that barks all the time!" To which we responded, "Of course not, we don't hate ourselves." She was like "Great, then it can be our dog. I can take care of it while you're gone and let it outside during the day." Because she had tried adopting one, but when it needed to go outside at night during the cold winter she decided it was enough and sent it back... but there are 2 of us (and her!) so we should have no worries about our future dog. As long as it's quiet. And she can care for it during the day while we're at work.
This was during her tour of her house and our street. She reiterated at least 12 times in the last 20 minutes of the tour the need for us to share a key and how she would NEVER go into our house unless it was an emergency. In fact, Maryann asserts, she's been a Realtor for 25 years so going into other people's houses doesn't hold any interest for her. She left for about 20 minutes after which she returned to take the lock box (for realtors showing the house) off the door... and let herself right on in...
I was gone picking up the best pizza in the world while this happened, but my husband and couple of friends were there and witnessed the event. We decided we're probably going to need an extra dead bolt, a chain on the door, and a yappy dog to prevent the imminent intrusions of Maryann.
Our street should have one of those carved wood signs that say: Welcome to the Neighborhood! Surrender Your Privacy at the Door.
Lets just hope I don't have to get creative with ways to take that privacy back.
You have to love how mortgage lenders mess up your loan amount on the day of closing, don't provide the closing packet to the attorney until 2 hours before closing, and then leave work promptly at 5:30pm so you cannot close in totality until they approve some faxed documents when they decide to look at them in the morning. Especially when you weren't able to start the signing documents until 5:00pm. And then my name was mis-spelled, so we had to reprint about half the documents and sign them again. After reconciling the lender's inaccurate math.
And people wonder why this mortgage/housing crisis occurred.
We did actually get to go into our house last night (which should never have happened being that the seller did not receive his funds.) Reason being, we have a neighbor of epic proportions. I will from this point on call her Maryann. You see, Maryann strongly believes in the neighborhood sharing keys in case of an emergency. Being that it's a townhouse, we share an open space attic with 3 other houses before there is a firewall separating us from the next 4 houses. We also share a wall and apparently 5 years ago there was some kind of pipe burst and the whole place could have flooded had she not had a key to get in and turn it off. Despite the fact that there is a master shutoff valve for the street 2 houses down from us (she showed it to us yesterday... in addition to her alarm code and where her house water turnoff is.) We also were lectured for at least an hour on the benefits of living in the community and taking care of one another. There were almost tears... from her sentimentality and me losing my patience.
I decided the best course of action was to play super sweet young neighbor girl. (It's sickening how much I can turn it on when the need arises. It's a gift, what can I say.) We were also informed we are the first "normal" neighbors she's had in that house - she's lived there since the community was built in 1972. The first lady lived there with her [straight] son, the second lived there with her gay son and his boyfriend, and the last lady was deaf. I didn't quite know how to appropriately respond to her description of the previous neighbors, so I just kind of went "huha, okay?" And tried to move on to another subject as soon as possible to disguise my shock at what was just said to me (and suppress my anger.) We brought up how we are really excited about moving in and look forward to getting a puppy soon. She was like "Oh, please not one that barks all the time!" To which we responded, "Of course not, we don't hate ourselves." She was like "Great, then it can be our dog. I can take care of it while you're gone and let it outside during the day." Because she had tried adopting one, but when it needed to go outside at night during the cold winter she decided it was enough and sent it back... but there are 2 of us (and her!) so we should have no worries about our future dog. As long as it's quiet. And she can care for it during the day while we're at work.
This was during her tour of her house and our street. She reiterated at least 12 times in the last 20 minutes of the tour the need for us to share a key and how she would NEVER go into our house unless it was an emergency. In fact, Maryann asserts, she's been a Realtor for 25 years so going into other people's houses doesn't hold any interest for her. She left for about 20 minutes after which she returned to take the lock box (for realtors showing the house) off the door... and let herself right on in...
I was gone picking up the best pizza in the world while this happened, but my husband and couple of friends were there and witnessed the event. We decided we're probably going to need an extra dead bolt, a chain on the door, and a yappy dog to prevent the imminent intrusions of Maryann.
Our street should have one of those carved wood signs that say: Welcome to the Neighborhood! Surrender Your Privacy at the Door.
Lets just hope I don't have to get creative with ways to take that privacy back.
Friday, June 26, 2009
RIP MJ
I never thought I would be so saddened by Michael Jackson's death. But I really am. Now, I was a fan of his music, but his questionable lifestyle certainly cast a large shadow on my personal opinion of him in the last years. Lets just call it massive skepticism. However, he was a pop icon and deserved the status for his talent even if his private behavior was suspect.
The thing I love about pop culture is... as sad as this may be... that it provides a unifying trend among our immensely disparate society. I genuinely feel sorry for the celebrities lives it eventually ruins, but pop culture and its icons play huge roles in our lives even if they are inadvertent. We all remember watching the Thriller video for the first time, or if you're like me, him singing at the end of the movie Free Willy. (Free Willy was one of my top 5 movies from growing up, so it's very sentimental to me.) And those memories strangely matter. Maybe it's because the common unifying institutions have begun to erode, but more likely it is because pop icons are far more democratic than any political election could hope to be. Granted, the music execs play a large role in deciding who gets a shot and who does not, but the public ultimately decides if that person/group will be a success. We listen to radio, buy concert tickets, and buy albums. And if we do not like the artist, we simply don't bother. It's a relatively simple process that is often unfair to those who go undiscovered and are truly talented. But that does not lessen the impact of those that are.
So, here's to you Michael Jackson. May your afterlife be much more peaceful than your earthly one. Thanks for your great contributions to music and our pop culture. They will not be forgotten.
The thing I love about pop culture is... as sad as this may be... that it provides a unifying trend among our immensely disparate society. I genuinely feel sorry for the celebrities lives it eventually ruins, but pop culture and its icons play huge roles in our lives even if they are inadvertent. We all remember watching the Thriller video for the first time, or if you're like me, him singing at the end of the movie Free Willy. (Free Willy was one of my top 5 movies from growing up, so it's very sentimental to me.) And those memories strangely matter. Maybe it's because the common unifying institutions have begun to erode, but more likely it is because pop icons are far more democratic than any political election could hope to be. Granted, the music execs play a large role in deciding who gets a shot and who does not, but the public ultimately decides if that person/group will be a success. We listen to radio, buy concert tickets, and buy albums. And if we do not like the artist, we simply don't bother. It's a relatively simple process that is often unfair to those who go undiscovered and are truly talented. But that does not lessen the impact of those that are.
So, here's to you Michael Jackson. May your afterlife be much more peaceful than your earthly one. Thanks for your great contributions to music and our pop culture. They will not be forgotten.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Out of Office Reply
Actually, make that an "in the office perpetually until I am too tired to drive home, then go home and work" reply.
Good news is that business is booming. I told my chiropractor that yesterday and she said that is the first time she's heard anyone have good news about work. I agreed that I, and my husband, are incredibly fortunate in that regard. However, the stress that accompanies it on top of a recent trip that included seeing family often overshadows it in my mind. And greatly contributed to my new back problems.
I'm glad I went to Wisconsin for the weekend and it was great to see my Grandma (and to see that she's doing far better than my mom said) and my friends. It was good to see other family members too, but talk about stress. And on top of it, I had perhaps the worst flight of my entire life. Getting delayed 3 hours on the red eye, waiting to rent a car for an additional 45 minutes that is not the brand/model you drive (although it was fun to test out the Prius first hand. Honda is just better), and having to drive through the incredibly foggy, dark countryside at 4am is not my idea of a good time. Especially when I still have not been able to catch up on anything resembling sleep. At least I brought home some good cheese to comfort my stressful self.
So, all this is to say that I am absolutely exhausted and my time is maxed out. Hopefully I'll be able to catch a break this weekend - I hope so considering it is our first anniversary! But, I'm not counting on it too much. I must say that I really am enjoying being busy for work though. If I had even a little bit more sleep I would be having a blast. Instead, for the first time, I understand why people do drugs to stay awake. After a while, caffeine does NOTHING. This has never happened to me before. Welcome to the real world! Yikes.
Good news is that business is booming. I told my chiropractor that yesterday and she said that is the first time she's heard anyone have good news about work. I agreed that I, and my husband, are incredibly fortunate in that regard. However, the stress that accompanies it on top of a recent trip that included seeing family often overshadows it in my mind. And greatly contributed to my new back problems.
I'm glad I went to Wisconsin for the weekend and it was great to see my Grandma (and to see that she's doing far better than my mom said) and my friends. It was good to see other family members too, but talk about stress. And on top of it, I had perhaps the worst flight of my entire life. Getting delayed 3 hours on the red eye, waiting to rent a car for an additional 45 minutes that is not the brand/model you drive (although it was fun to test out the Prius first hand. Honda is just better), and having to drive through the incredibly foggy, dark countryside at 4am is not my idea of a good time. Especially when I still have not been able to catch up on anything resembling sleep. At least I brought home some good cheese to comfort my stressful self.
So, all this is to say that I am absolutely exhausted and my time is maxed out. Hopefully I'll be able to catch a break this weekend - I hope so considering it is our first anniversary! But, I'm not counting on it too much. I must say that I really am enjoying being busy for work though. If I had even a little bit more sleep I would be having a blast. Instead, for the first time, I understand why people do drugs to stay awake. After a while, caffeine does NOTHING. This has never happened to me before. Welcome to the real world! Yikes.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Attention Worthless Generation: Give Me A Break
I haven't had a good blog rant in a while, so here it goes.
Yesterday, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal highlighting spring college commencement speakers' apologies to the Class of 2009 for causing this economic mess that they are inheriting. The speeches ranged in specific content, but most apologized for past slovenliness (my term) especially in regard to ruthless pursuit of greed and self-interest with no long-term regard of consequences. They then proceeded to essentially say, "Sorry graduates, but you're going to have to clean this mess up. That is the only avenue your ambitions can actually serve. Listen to what we say, not what we do. Maybe you can leave the world better for children, but your generation is pretty much screwed." Thanks guys, for those amazingly inspirational sentiments. I mean, it makes me want to go right out there, don my comrade uniform, and "get to work for the common good." Especially to bail out the idiots who got us here... oh wait, they don't actually want our opinion on that. No, again, they want us to listen to all their great wisdom as to how to get ourselves out of this mess.
Huh?
So, let me get this straight. The generation who is largely responsible for this idiocy now wants us to sit back and follow their orders on how to fix it? The reason being that they are now "sorry?"
I don't think so. Hell will freeze over before I listen to these buffoons. Or we'll turn into Idiocracy and I'll be executed for having an independent brain in my head. If you haven't seen the movie, you should. Poor Mike Judge has gotten so screwed over by Fox's "marketing efforts" that most people have not heard of it... but it's worth multiple viewings. (I have a tirade against Fox marketing that I will save for another day. Lets just say it is largely related to their handling of Firefly among other quality shows and movies that tank because their marketing director is one of the biggest of the aforementioned buffoons to have ever walked the entertainment planet.)
As far as I'm concerned, the Baby Boomers and Me Generation are complete wastes of space. They squandered their affluence, opportunities, and general peace in names of themselves. As a general rule, I am not at all opposed to market selfishness as I don't think there is a omniscient human (or group of humans) who can accurately dictate the actions of individuals. And even if there was, that is immoral in principle and should not be entered into by anyone who still has an iota of free conscience left in their heads. However, this generation takes selfishness to an entirely new level... to a degree that it needs its own definition to differentiate it from "good selfishness" espoused by those such as Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek, and even Tocqueville when you get down to it.
Lets call it, "Self aggrandizement at the expense of all reason, morals, or social consciousness?" That's probably a little too long... Or maybe, "Denial of reality." Getting closer. However, I think what truly captures these people is simply, "Asininity."
They don't want the freedom that their parents fought, and many died, for. Why? Because freedom takes work largely through choice. You have to actively employ your brain and reason to determine whether or not a good or activity actually is in your self interest instead of just doing what you want. At the end of the day, self-interest is not supposed to be hedonism. It's very existence depends on rational choice. Lest us not forget this is the generation that produced the Summer of Love, the irrational elevation of hippieness, and general apathy... except toward green living. That they love because it only affirms the theories of their youth!
I guess the critical flaw in the way Smith is taught is there is no emphasis on the extent to which people would become lazy. Smith did address it, but it's not the primary objective unless relating it to why the free market is necessary. It also does not receive as much explicit emphasis because back in the day, lazy people perished. There was no option. Unless you were an aristocrat, but they were few and there were no Cinderella stories regardless of what Disney tells us. (Although I finally saw Wall-E and it did a great job of illustrating what happens when you don't have to work or make choices. Props to Pixar for a great film. As was Up. Absolutely fantastic, but that's for another day too.)
Today, virtually everyone is an aristocrat of old even if they technically have a job. Technology has provided us with free time previously unfathomable and enabled us to conduct more cerebral work than every before. Thanks college! Both of these things are great when used well.
However, when one insists on living in one's head more than interacting with the world, bad things happen. You lose your connection to society, people, and general common sense. I'm not debasing a good education or modern living - I would not want to have been born at any other time in history and I am unfortunately addicted to learning at a rapid pace. However, higher education should not inversely correlate to common sense.
The interesting thing is that our generation - call us Gen Y or the Millennials or whatever other buzz word of choice - but in my experience most of our generation is at the very least hard working. This is in part due to elevated opportunities at younger ages, especially in education. While not all of us trained for Harvard beginning in infancy, most of us still realized that in order to succeed we needed to work hard and be decent people. Not that there aren't exceptions... there always are... but even though in many ways life has been easy for us due to technology (and the subsequent lack of scarcity) we realized that in order to maintain that ease or one day have the option of not working hard that we would indeed have to work our tails off when we are young. And competition is high since we've all been elevated. Being raised in this competitive jungle has contributed to our work ethic and knowledge only second to the advent of the Internet.
For children of the waste-of-spacers, we either realized how damn lucky our parents were to grow up in an age of affluence or how unlucky if they didn't get a piece of the pie (to what degree luck plays a role is certainly up for debate. See The Black Swan and Fooled By Randomness for a deep discussion of the issue.) People's reactions vary, but the two most common in my experience are either adopting the work ethic of rightfully successful parents (or other role models) or working against the ways of the parents because there's no way they can sustain that lifestyle - whether it be good or bad. Think of it in a SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) diagram (pictured below.)
And, for the stupid members of my generation, they are mostly getting a huge dose of big bad reality since the parents footing their obscene bills have lost their shirts in the stock market or are losing their houses. It would be sad if it wasn't deserved. (Not to say that everyone who gets in over their head is a complete idiot... there are plenty of victims, but most of them in my experience deserve it 100% for making ridiculous choices. As tragic as it may seem at the time.) Their kids will now have to jump on the hard working bandwagon too, or lose their former affluence. Either scenario will be a significant improvement to their current lives and probably the most successful action to prevent a crisis of this magnitude from happening again.
So, in conclusion, I am sick of the Worthless Generation continuously criticizing my generation and expecting us to do what they say hook, line, and sinker. This is me saying, "No, I will not follow your directives. I will find my own. Ones that are thoughtful, decent, and self-interested to the core." And, "Quit criticizing us before we've even had a chance to prove ourselves. You had your shot and blew it. We've not yet even begun to show our potential and I'm sick of hearing what a failure I am before even beginning. You are the failures, not us, so get out of the way."
I've been in the business of being successful for 20 years. So I will ask the Worthless Generation: What have you done in the last 20 years that warrants my respect since ruining our economic, political, and numerous societal institutions doesn't quite cut it?
I'm sure there are individuals with good answers and those are the people I respect. Yet, they just appear to be ordinary citizens. Imagine that.
I'm considering revising this to be an open letter, but don't have the time to re-write at the moment. Soon though. Soon.
Yesterday, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal highlighting spring college commencement speakers' apologies to the Class of 2009 for causing this economic mess that they are inheriting. The speeches ranged in specific content, but most apologized for past slovenliness (my term) especially in regard to ruthless pursuit of greed and self-interest with no long-term regard of consequences. They then proceeded to essentially say, "Sorry graduates, but you're going to have to clean this mess up. That is the only avenue your ambitions can actually serve. Listen to what we say, not what we do. Maybe you can leave the world better for children, but your generation is pretty much screwed." Thanks guys, for those amazingly inspirational sentiments. I mean, it makes me want to go right out there, don my comrade uniform, and "get to work for the common good." Especially to bail out the idiots who got us here... oh wait, they don't actually want our opinion on that. No, again, they want us to listen to all their great wisdom as to how to get ourselves out of this mess.
Huh?
So, let me get this straight. The generation who is largely responsible for this idiocy now wants us to sit back and follow their orders on how to fix it? The reason being that they are now "sorry?"
I don't think so. Hell will freeze over before I listen to these buffoons. Or we'll turn into Idiocracy and I'll be executed for having an independent brain in my head. If you haven't seen the movie, you should. Poor Mike Judge has gotten so screwed over by Fox's "marketing efforts" that most people have not heard of it... but it's worth multiple viewings. (I have a tirade against Fox marketing that I will save for another day. Lets just say it is largely related to their handling of Firefly among other quality shows and movies that tank because their marketing director is one of the biggest of the aforementioned buffoons to have ever walked the entertainment planet.)
As far as I'm concerned, the Baby Boomers and Me Generation are complete wastes of space. They squandered their affluence, opportunities, and general peace in names of themselves. As a general rule, I am not at all opposed to market selfishness as I don't think there is a omniscient human (or group of humans) who can accurately dictate the actions of individuals. And even if there was, that is immoral in principle and should not be entered into by anyone who still has an iota of free conscience left in their heads. However, this generation takes selfishness to an entirely new level... to a degree that it needs its own definition to differentiate it from "good selfishness" espoused by those such as Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek, and even Tocqueville when you get down to it.
Lets call it, "Self aggrandizement at the expense of all reason, morals, or social consciousness?" That's probably a little too long... Or maybe, "Denial of reality." Getting closer. However, I think what truly captures these people is simply, "Asininity."
They don't want the freedom that their parents fought, and many died, for. Why? Because freedom takes work largely through choice. You have to actively employ your brain and reason to determine whether or not a good or activity actually is in your self interest instead of just doing what you want. At the end of the day, self-interest is not supposed to be hedonism. It's very existence depends on rational choice. Lest us not forget this is the generation that produced the Summer of Love, the irrational elevation of hippieness, and general apathy... except toward green living. That they love because it only affirms the theories of their youth!
I guess the critical flaw in the way Smith is taught is there is no emphasis on the extent to which people would become lazy. Smith did address it, but it's not the primary objective unless relating it to why the free market is necessary. It also does not receive as much explicit emphasis because back in the day, lazy people perished. There was no option. Unless you were an aristocrat, but they were few and there were no Cinderella stories regardless of what Disney tells us. (Although I finally saw Wall-E and it did a great job of illustrating what happens when you don't have to work or make choices. Props to Pixar for a great film. As was Up. Absolutely fantastic, but that's for another day too.)
Today, virtually everyone is an aristocrat of old even if they technically have a job. Technology has provided us with free time previously unfathomable and enabled us to conduct more cerebral work than every before. Thanks college! Both of these things are great when used well.
However, when one insists on living in one's head more than interacting with the world, bad things happen. You lose your connection to society, people, and general common sense. I'm not debasing a good education or modern living - I would not want to have been born at any other time in history and I am unfortunately addicted to learning at a rapid pace. However, higher education should not inversely correlate to common sense.
The interesting thing is that our generation - call us Gen Y or the Millennials or whatever other buzz word of choice - but in my experience most of our generation is at the very least hard working. This is in part due to elevated opportunities at younger ages, especially in education. While not all of us trained for Harvard beginning in infancy, most of us still realized that in order to succeed we needed to work hard and be decent people. Not that there aren't exceptions... there always are... but even though in many ways life has been easy for us due to technology (and the subsequent lack of scarcity) we realized that in order to maintain that ease or one day have the option of not working hard that we would indeed have to work our tails off when we are young. And competition is high since we've all been elevated. Being raised in this competitive jungle has contributed to our work ethic and knowledge only second to the advent of the Internet.
For children of the waste-of-spacers, we either realized how damn lucky our parents were to grow up in an age of affluence or how unlucky if they didn't get a piece of the pie (to what degree luck plays a role is certainly up for debate. See The Black Swan and Fooled By Randomness for a deep discussion of the issue.) People's reactions vary, but the two most common in my experience are either adopting the work ethic of rightfully successful parents (or other role models) or working against the ways of the parents because there's no way they can sustain that lifestyle - whether it be good or bad. Think of it in a SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) diagram (pictured below.)
And, for the stupid members of my generation, they are mostly getting a huge dose of big bad reality since the parents footing their obscene bills have lost their shirts in the stock market or are losing their houses. It would be sad if it wasn't deserved. (Not to say that everyone who gets in over their head is a complete idiot... there are plenty of victims, but most of them in my experience deserve it 100% for making ridiculous choices. As tragic as it may seem at the time.) Their kids will now have to jump on the hard working bandwagon too, or lose their former affluence. Either scenario will be a significant improvement to their current lives and probably the most successful action to prevent a crisis of this magnitude from happening again.
So, in conclusion, I am sick of the Worthless Generation continuously criticizing my generation and expecting us to do what they say hook, line, and sinker. This is me saying, "No, I will not follow your directives. I will find my own. Ones that are thoughtful, decent, and self-interested to the core." And, "Quit criticizing us before we've even had a chance to prove ourselves. You had your shot and blew it. We've not yet even begun to show our potential and I'm sick of hearing what a failure I am before even beginning. You are the failures, not us, so get out of the way."
I've been in the business of being successful for 20 years. So I will ask the Worthless Generation: What have you done in the last 20 years that warrants my respect since ruining our economic, political, and numerous societal institutions doesn't quite cut it?
I'm sure there are individuals with good answers and those are the people I respect. Yet, they just appear to be ordinary citizens. Imagine that.
I'm considering revising this to be an open letter, but don't have the time to re-write at the moment. Soon though. Soon.
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