Note To The Class of '09: Keep Your Head Up

I've been listening to radio and television casts about the demise of recent high school and college graduates not finding any work thanks to the recession. Of course it's hard to feel too sorry for a twenty-something, straight out of college that has never even had the pleasure of a job to get laid off from, when seasoned veterans twice their age have just run out of unemployment dough.

Here's something I would want someone to let me know if I was once again in their shoes, as I was during the 1991 recession:

• Stay with your parents and save every dime you can, for as long as you can

• The time to take risks, is when you don't have a spouse and children that rely on you

• This too shall pass

• Use this time to discover what it means to have a "good work ethic"

• You have a lot of latitude (read: margin of error) in your twenties you won't have later in life, use it.

Sotomayor

It's funny. Just when you think the GOP can't receive any more drama, Obama pulls a Sotomayor. I already want to get a t-shirt and begin chanting, "si se puede!" Seriously though, to say the GOP is in trouble would be an understatement. The good news is that here is an opportunity to dispel the notion that the GOP is the party of "no."

More Than Half Way There

Today is day-fourteen with the A Complaint Free World.org bracelet. My wife took hers off a few days ago. It's clear that (for me) the first two days were always the hardest. That's why it took soooo long to get past those first two days.

I've definitely noticed a difference in my life and marriage as I find myself two-thirds of the way to victory. I finding it easier to let go of slights. I'm more forgiving of slights. I'm better at not calling out those closest to me on their infractions. Even when all the aforementioned are factual and not merely perceived.

There's a certain freedom in this. I feel less responsible for everything going well, every day. I feel like I can just go with the flow.

You Reap What You Sow

A cousin of mine reminded me of something I had sown a long time ago, that I just reaped yesterday. You may forget but God never does. Thank you cuz.

And On The Seventh Day

Day seven. The A Complaint Free World.org bracelet is still on the same wrist.

Fruganomics

The Web is a funny place. I started out browsing on "The New Frugality" based on a Time Magazine's cover by the same caption, and I ended up at Your Money or Your Life. Along the way I read scores of reader's comments regarding their take on what being frugal meant to them.

What I learned is that, a lot of people confuse being cheap with being frugal. From what I read, most of the people who thought they were being frugal were (technically) really being cheap. This isn't a judgment, just an observation that is important to clarify.

Change Your Atmosphere

Today in church I was in a bit of an odd mood. We were late again, and I wasn't too crazy about that. However the bishop's son was preaching and that immediately lifted my mood. I hadn't heard him preach in a while, so it was good to have him back.

His sermon was about how to be aware of atmospheres and their potential power over us (my inference). In these economically trying times, it's...now let's stop right there. Read the beginning of that last sentence. Think about how it made you feel. Now, you had one of two (group) reactions. You may have thought, oh yeah, I'm still on unemployment and I'm hanging on. Or perhaps you may have thought, yeah it's rough for some people, but I'm doing okay.

My point is that if you watch (or listen to) CNN all day, you maybe begin to feel as if the world is ending. To be sure, this recession is real to a lot of people, myself included. Still, recession or not, you either have cash flow problems, or you don't. If you don't...then this may be academic for you. If you do, then you'll have to figure out how to improve you're cash flow. There are tons of sites and books on how to do that, and that's beyond the scope of this post.

What the pastor reminded me of, was the need to BE AWARE of the atmosphere we are in and it's affect it has on us. It's a lot easier to resolve the issues of our times if we seek atmospheres that build us up, rather than tear us down. Do whatever you must to make sure your daily atmosphere is as positively charged as possible.

Another Birthday

Yesterday, I ticked off yet another year. It was an interesting one. I found out when I attempted to reserve a car via Zipcar.com, that my driver's license had just expired. Thinking I was clever, I zipped to the Registry of Motor Vehicles website to renew my license online. I was rejected because my photograph was more than nine years old. Now, you know you're a grown man (or woman) when the RMV tells you your current license photo is more than nine years old.

Since driving would mean breaking the law, I ended up taking the kids on the bus (for the first time) to a RMV branch at the local mall. God bless public transportation. When I arrived at the RMV, I saw a sign on the wall which read, happy birthday, andthe Registry no longer sends out license expiration reminders, so please checks your license.

The night before, I had gone through my old journals to read other interesting entries from (or around) prior birthdays. One birthday (also a Friday made famous by a movie) my wallet got stolen, and my present was minus $500 in my bank account. During another birthday, a good friend I hadn't seen in a few years because he was in Japan, blew into town unexpectedly and took me to a lovely brunch. Yesterday, was the first one I spent with my kids, very nice indeed.

The Perfect Snack For A Sweet Tooth

Saltines with peanut butter and jelly. What's yours?

A Beat In Time Reminds Me of Mine

I was at a house party at my sisters' place for a friend of theirs, and the friend's husband was the D.J. This was the end to a day that had started at a low point and had been steadily improving.

A first, the music has mostly gone to waste, as the speakers on hand were more suited for an office desktop than a party. Then I returned with the D.J. to pick up his own, industrial strength (think rock concert) speakers. That changed everything. Once "Murder She Wrote" (an old reggae tune by Chaka Demus & Pliers) came on, everyone hit the dance floor. I even managed to pull my usually dance-shy wife on to the floor. As I sang along, she asked aloud to all how, I managed to know all the words.

I only smiled and told her it was an old tune. In my mind I drifted back to different summer. One of my youth. When I drove a burnt-sienna, 1978 Audi 5000, and a the tape deck had the same song playing. I remember driving at night past the front of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the way from work, with my hand tapping against the front of the sunroof. The stars were out, and the beat of the city filled the air.

Back at the party, I took my wife in my arms and pulled her closed and boggled to the swinging beat.

Poor Chelsea

After holding on to a one goal lead (scored in the ninth minute) against Barcelona, Chelsea became the victim of a most tragic end. Barcelona scored the go-ahead goal to take them to the final against Manchester United on May 27, sending Chelsea packing. It's gives a whole new meaning to, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!

The Specter of the GOP

I didn't think anything could make me say WOW regarding the GOP after John McCain picked his running mate. Then Arlen Specter became a Democrat. I think that's right up there with Kobe Bryant all of a sudden playing for the Celtics.

On one hand it's a clever and shrewd political move. On the other hand, it's entirely possible that some in the Republican party may be believing stories of it's demise. I personally don't believe that, and as a Democrat, wouldn't want that. After all I wouldn't want the Obama Administration to slip into the same complacency that the Bush Administration did. I'm very wary of one party having all the cards at the table.

Still, I can't help but thinking it's more about the reality of politics than anything else. I think a lot of politician on both sides of the aisle would really like to bask in the Obama glow, regardless of whether they're Obamacans or Obama-can'ts. I think there might be more credulity in a life-long Republican who moves a bit more to the center, than a Republican who become a Democrat. Unless it's more of a statement to the Republicans, than inferred carte blanche for the Democrats. I suspect the Republicans have gotten the message loud and clear at this point.

And On The Fifth Day...

I got to day five with my A Complaint Free World.org bracelet on the same wrist. Then I got sucked into an argument. Sigh.

Connections

I love taking the MBTA (i.e. Boston's transit system)! I know, one of my employment recruiters said the same thing, "huh?" Well it's true. Especially when my jaunts involve going downtown. It's also one of the easiest way to get fresh air and exercise in the city.

What I enjoy most is the connections people make or the ones we are privy to, when we do take public transit. The other day, I made a trip down to Copley Square. The first leg of my trip was a bus ride which would lead to a connection to the subway.

On the bus, a woman looking to be in her mid-fifties, got on and immediately began blaring to the driver about what sounded like a retelling of another driver who wouldn't stop when a passenger was between stops.

Then from my initial subway ride on the Orange Line, I had to switch to the Green Line. When I boarded, two women about mid-to-late-twenties were dissecting the occupational virtues of (what sounded like) a subordinate of the woman doing most of the talking. She sounded fair in saying that while her subordinate was the nicest person in the world, she could improve her organizational skill and reduce her interoffice banter, to become a more effective worker.

On the ride home, I took the Green Line to the Red Line this time. Since it was the beginning of rush hour in Boston, my initial bus wouldn't serve so well on the return trip. In my Green Line car were a group of high school boys, all fifteen and sixteen. I know because that's what they discussed for my part of the ride. Everyone thought the tallest boy was sixteen and a junior. It turned out he was fifteen and a sophomore. The chucked it up to his maturity and who he hung out with at school.

Finally my Red Line ride led me to the bus connection home. On the bus ride home, a young woman looking early-to-mid-twenties, was almost knocked out cold by a guy with a large messenger bag. Luckily, only her glasses were rendered askew. The guy apologized as he disembarked. Once the bus resumed moving, the construction worker across from her joked that it happened to him all the time at work. They then transitioned into a friendly conversation about prospective home ownership in spite of the economic recession.