Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Thoughts for a Wednesday

1 - I am learning a lot about myself.  I tend to get frustrated very easily.  Stressed a lot.  Annoyed by lots of little things.  Overwhelmed by big projects.  Stuck in an endless cycle of procrastination and un-movement.  Held hostage by what Seth Godin would call my "lizard brain" (see this book for more on the lizard brain: Linchpin:Are You Indispensable?).  And he would be right.  I am stuck by my lizard brain.  But what does it take to get unstuck?  What's the first step? Is it acceptance? Patience? Gentleness?  How do you not become the person you see yourself becoming - how do you stop?  And so I am learning.

2 - For all of my Lost aficionados - Are you in love with Richard Alpert as much as I am?  The Office's own, Rainn Wilson had this to say about last night's episode: "''Tonight's episode was one of TV's greatest of all time. I'm gay for the eternal Richard Alpert. There I said it.'' (thanks ew.com for that :))  I heart you Ricardo.  I heart you.

3 - Oh spring, spring, spring, spring!!! Green, green, green, green, green, green. Sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun. Warmth, warmth, warmth, warmth. Finally, finally, finally, finally.

4 - Do headbands with flowers and bows attached to them connote a desire to be a kid again?  Or are they just a playful adult way to convey whimsy?  Either way, I love them and am incorporating them into my wardrobe this spring.

5 - This is an interesting article on the recent healthcare bill that was passed.  Other than this, I don't have much to say about the bill right now.  I don't think it's evil, but I don't know that I think it's all good either.  Maybe it's my recent interactions with the banality and inanity of local town government, and thus have a hard time seeing how a federal government can make an industry already inherent with banality and inanity better due to its own shortcomings.

6 - This is also an interesting article I ran across through a blog that I once in a while read called The Great Deception.  She is uber-conservative and Catholic and while I don't always agree with what she has to say, every once in while I come across something that is thought-provoking that she's posted. This is such an article.

And that is all for today.  Right now I am carrying on a project over at my other fun blog, Ruminations and Reflections in which I am going to be doing some multiple quote postings each day.  This is really in part due to the fact that I am cleaning my desk in order to prepare for an imminent cubby move, but want a way to capture all this wisdom that I have come across over the years.  So swing on by if you get a chance to check out some wise thoughts from other random people!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Thoughts for a Wednesday

1 - I went this past weekend to see the movie Avatar with my father.  Can I just say, ridiculous?  I've watched some bad movies in my life, and unfortunately this ranks right up there.  How it was even considered for a Best Picture Oscar is only testament to it's 3-D technology, visuals, and cinematography and definitely not its acting.  The story was probably ok, and maybe even good, but the actors who played the characters were so awful you couldn't appreciate the story.  But like I said, it was visually stunning, and even though I only got to see it in 2-D, you could guess why it was so interesting to watch in 3-D - and it was all because of the visuals.  So well-deserved and earned Oscars to the visual and cinematography teams of the movie.

2 - Dealing with the local town government of the place where I work is turning me into an anarchist who will be joining the militias in Montana.  It is utterly ridiculous the restrictions, paperwork, meetings, and hoops that must be jumped through in order to put a frickin' sign in front of a business.  And then you can't even put a sign that is big enough in front of your business or in your business's colors.  It is utterly ludicrous, an exercise in inanity, and God help me to find the patience for it.

3 - Yoga is soul-soothing.  The simple act of consciously breathing in and breathing out is restorative in the most profound way.  And it's not about competition - who is the most flexible or who can do the harder poses - it is about listening to and respecting the limits of your own body - challenging them yes, but not to the point of excruciating pain.  It completely turns upside down all that I have been taught by my wonderful, loving, former Marine Corp father, who instilled such maxims into me like "If you throw up, then you know you've left everything you have on the field" and "Do one more for the Marines".  It is about an awareness of your mind and body and what is going on within your body.  I am so in love with it.  If you live in the Warrenton area, I highly recommend that you visit my yoga studio, Transcendent Women at their Open House this Saturday, March 20th.

4 - Only 3 more days until the official start of the vernal equinox - the daffodils are pushing their way up through the ground, the birds chirping their beautiful melodies each morning, the sun shining gloriously in a brilliant blue sky, even a walk in a spring rain becomes refreshing and enjoyable, not annoying and miserable.  Goodbye long, long winter.  Hello long, sunshiney days.

5 - Only 8 more episodes of Lost and the ending to this 6 year metaphysical, spiritual, mysterious show.  I am going to be so sad and I have no idea how it is all going to end at this point.  Right now I feel as if I have more questions than answers or even a clue as to how the series will wrap up.  Will my world be blown to pieces (probably)?

6 - I fully admit to watching the 20/20 special on The Bachelor/Bachelorette series.  Do I feel ashamed? Not a bit.  I love this show for its ability to make me laugh at the antics of these people - it is so amazing.  The series executive producer definitely comes across as sketchy with a capital "S" and "Ketchy", and the behind the scenes look at the casting of these characters was fascinating.  I think I would probably rather claw my eyes out than watch the upcoming season of The Bachelorette with Ali though - I honestly don't know if I can stomach it.  But I know that inevitably I will get sucked in.

7 - Deadliest Catch will you please premiere soon? I miss you.

8 - Last and final thought. I keep reading or hearing things in our culture touting happiness as the ultimate goal in life and basing all decisions upon that goal.  It disheartens me.  I don't think happiness is a worthy goal to build a life around.  I think that there is something more, much more worth living worth, and happiness and her deeper persona, joy, are byproducts and emotions that ebb and flow.  Building a life centered around an emotion just seems to be a castle built in the sand.