Distractions

The number of distractions in life is absurd. I am bombarded by a lot of them by no choice of my own. However, I make the intentional choice, and go to varied amounts of effort, to add a lot of them to my life as well.

-When will the new season of my favorite show be on Netflix so I can binge watch all of it in a week?
-Of all the shows, why did they choose to bring back Full House and how can the new season of 24 not include Jack Bauer?
-How realistic can I make the Powerpuff version of me look like? (seriously though, you should try this if you haven't already)
-Should I spend less time watching TV, and more time reading books?
-If so, which book should I read?

-What are all of my social media friends up to?
-Do I really care what people I haven't seen in years are up to?
 Why did I just spend hours spectating on their lives instead of finding something to do in my own life?
-How many likes or hearts or whatever did my most recent post have?
-Why doesn't it have more?

-What ice cream flavor should I buy?
-What brand?
-What size?
-How can I ever eat healthier when Chocolate Brownie Thunder ice cream is so freaking delicious?

-Is that viral video a hoax?
-Is it some sort of advertisement that I am willing taking in that is going to alter my subconscious consumer tendencies?

-What crazy thing did that actor/politician/athlete do or say?
-Why do we care so much?

There are a lot of things I want to and should care about. I want to a better job of tuning out the noise, so I can focus in on what is truly important.

Any ideas on how? 

Unplug

Without being plugged in to recharge, our beloved cellphones run out of juice. I feel like we humans are the exact opposite. We occasionally need to unplug in order to recharge. Conveniently, this chance to unplug coincided with being on a vacation at a mountain lodge where I didn't have great reception. I decided to unplug, and spent the weekend recharging.

I like being connected and informed, but noticed I felt more relaxed not constantly checking my phone for any potential updates. I'm not even quite sure what I am constantly checking for in the first place. It was refreshing. It was needed. I hunger for something my feed doesn't provide. I can choose to get my substance from other sources, starting with the people around me.

Let's unplug more.

*I did use my phone to take this picture of
my mountain adventure... deal with it.

(That said, I did forget to charge my phone upon returning to civilization. My phone died in the night causing me to oversleep my alarm by several hours which basically added a half day to my vacation. This unplanned sleeping bonus did help me feel very rested when I returned to the daily grind.)

Perspective, Yo

The daily grind is tiresome. The steady wear leaves me lacking. It's the importance of unimportant things at work. It's the alarm clock and time clock. It's the emails to read and write. It's drama and doldrums. Everything is a crisis and needs immediate attention. It's all quite tiresome. Looking with a broader lens, it is so trivial what we let be of importance sometimes. Let's try to keep a little perspective.

On a much more positive note, this weekend I am getting a break from the grind with my girlfriend and her family on a much needed vacation to a mountain resort. Saying I am stoked would be quite the understatement!

Sugar Coated

Perhaps to alleviate the sadness of one Craigslist purchase falling through due to the sketchiness of the seller, I met with a much less sketchy seller to look at a coat today. This seller was also not very friendly. Both sketchiness and unkindness are seller traits that tend to lead me to decide against making a purchase. I guess I don't like wondering if I should be fearful that my life is in danger or feeling like somebody is being a jerk when I am trying to decide if I want to buy something.

I don't expect much from email communications with strangers. I don't need emojis or similar fluff. That said, I expect a small amount of kindness, especially when you are trying to get me to buy something from you. I think it is reasonable to dialogue about the item and the price. When I agree to meet at a time and location you picked out, I sort of expect you to show up on time since I am going to all of the work to cater to your schedule and demands. Life happens, so I am understanding when you email that you are running late. However, there is a certain word that starts with an s and rhymes with calamari I expect to see in the email. Maybe I am old-fashioned, but it just seems appropriate when you are inconveniencing another person.

All of that said, I wanted the coat, so I did end up buying it. Now it is keeping me warm while I write this post. Let's remember it is not just coats that warm people up. Extend kindness to strangers. There is no reason to be cold towards others.We are all in this together.

It's Pi Day!

I like math. I like pie. So of course today is a favorite of mine. I have been trying to eat healthier, so this is one of the first years in recent history I have passed on eating at least a portion of a pie if not the majority of one.

There are healthier pie options, but those mainly serve to remind you how good the unhealthy pies are. You might think this lack of dessert consumption would have put too substantial an obstacle on my ability to enjoy this special day. Well, you would be wrong!

It is not easy to try to eat healthier, so it is rewarding to succeed at that on a day as difficult as this to abstain from the round goodness. I also got a backdated raise at work, so that was most excellent. This Pi Day will be remembered as the one I got dough in my bank account, not baked into a delicious pie and stuffed in my face.

Spring Forward, I'm Back!

Three things.

1. Daylight Saving Time was proposed as a way to conserve candles. This is 2016. We mainly use candles once a year to signify how old we are on a cake. We promptly blow out these candles after a short song because they hinder us from stuffing our face with cake. We don't need to conserve candles anymore.

2. No matter the potential reward, putting yourself at risk for a Craigslist deal is not worth it. Also, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. For the above reasons, I will most likely not be buying a collection of silver dollar somebody inherited from a grandpa they didn't really know and wanted to exchange for my weight set at 1:00am.

3. Let's not get hasty, but it looks like I am back internet! Did you miss me?

Running not Over

I've started to run again. It seems to be a seasonal thing. Not calendar seasons, but personal ones. You have to enjoy running to be out there right now in near freezing temperatures especially after working outside all day in that coldness.

While running, I've had quite a few close calls with cars. Usually, it is there fault for not paying attention and probably slightly related to the incredible rate of speed at which I am traveling. Thankfully, if I am paying attention to people not paying attention, it usually negates any potential problems. Tonight, I take responsibility. At a very young age, I learned to look both ways before crossing the street. I'm sorry car. I'll do better.

Pictured: Vintage me running a 5K race, probably breaking the speed limit.