Today has proven to be… well… just LONG.  While I have been able to get decent sleep over the last week – restful sleep – I find that my stamina is rather low for some reason. After four hours of activity, even very basic things, I’m am in need of a nap.

Switching topics, I’m very glad I obtained the rim and wheel insurance through my deal when I purchased the new car.  Why?  I hit a small pothole, apparently bent the rim, and my tire is leaking air.  

Most people would pass up the insurance, and I usually would as well, but ever since having run flat tires I’ve learned that the insurance is a MUST.  Over the life of the car the coverage pays for itself as run flats are very costly.  I’m talking $340 per tired costly.  Basically, my choice of getting the insurance has already paid for itself.

Sweet call!

Rishi’s Mundan

I was up and about at 9AM this morning.  You have to understand something – for me this is an accomplishment.  On the weekends I tend to wake up around noon, if not later.  So, I’m happy I was able to get up and function.

Anyway, today was my Nephew-in-law’s Mundan, a Hindu rite of passage where a child gets their first haircut.  It was a cute little ceremony and Rishi was so very calm.  I cannot believe how laid back the little guy is…. 

Ceremony has a very interesting history behind it and it was very cool to witness.  Unfortunately my parents were unable to join as they were having issues at their house.  I hope that turned out OK for them.  They were missed, that’s for sure.

Muffins

I didn’t have a chance to make dinner today, but I did make some muffins.  I’ll be posting the info over on yeswecook shortly.  

Enjoy the rest of the day (what is left of it!)

This is not a criticism but it will sound like one – with a young child why would an individual engage in extreme, life threatening, activities?

Shane McConkey was, apparently, a top extreme athlete.  I know nothing about extreme sports but doing a quick search using my personal search assistant (the Google) it looks as if he was a decorated freestyle, extreme and base jumping skier.  

On March 27th he died during a base jump.

I have no issue with people deciding to life life in whatever way they see fit, but I simply do not understand why one would want to do such dangerous activities while being responsible for a young child.  

Now, I know some people will say that you take a chance every time you get behind the wheel of a car or when you cross a street but I think it is hard to compare every day activities with willingly throwing yourself off of a mountain and then trying to deploy a parachute.

Maybe this was all he knew of life, and maybe he didn’t want to be out of the sport, but the responsibilities that come with parenthood would seem to outweigh such activity – even if that was ones given profession.

Again, this is not a criticism..  I understand the difference in priorities between him and I play a factor but I simply do not understand how one could live such a lifestyle while having a child. It just sounds very selfish to me.  There is nothing wrong with selfish, just don’t have a child then…

Let’s make a pact to shed 15 pounds!

Oh, how about you promise to stop drinking as much coffee!

No… no… I got it, NOW is the time for you to start studying Coahuilteco – the dead language last spoken in Texas by the Native American group called the Quems way back in the 18th century.

I need to rant for a second….

I simply don’t get why people think January 1st is going to be the new start they have been looking for. Unless you have some major life changing event on New Years eve, like you side down with God and do tequila chasers, December 31st is a day just like any other. There is no logical reason to think you will have the ability to suddenly change your life simply because the calendar changed from 2008 to 2009.

This is not an attempt to negate individuals who have a genuine desire to change, someone who has set their mind to making a difference in the quality of their life, rather this simply pointing out the absurdity of someone who believes their life is going to be different simply because the calendar has changed.

People who ACTUALLY want to shed the weight, stop drinking or learn Coahuilteco will do so because they make an effort to do so, be it January 1st 2009 or September 18, 2012. They may not be successful, but the understand it will NEVER happen if they don’t put in the effort.

Now, to tie up the rant….

I have been trying to deal with depression for a number of months now. I made a conscious effort to do so back in June of this year… and every day is a struggle (some more than others). I don’t look to anyone else to solve my issue but I try everyday because I know I have to do so.

Am I capable of affecting change is a different question. To this point the answer is no, regardless of how much I put my mind to it. What ticks me off is people who simply think things can go away because it’s a new day, they cannot. The issues still remain.

It it was as easy as saying today is the 18th so my depression is gone, I would have been a happier person ages ago.

Driving in today, during the first snow of any substance here in Chicago, I really had an “ah ha” moment as I watched the wind blow the flakes over the river with the cities buildings as a backdrop.

I know this is going to sound lame, because that is exactly the reaction I had when the thought came into mind this morning, but I realized just how life and snow are alike.

A snowflake is delicate, unique, and beautiful.  From the second of its birth, said snowflake has a limited amount of time, predetermined to return to its original form.  The influences of other elements, such as the wind, provide a reminder that the snowflake has no control of the final destination; it’s simply along for the ride.  The flake can act in concert with others to become a drift or make a valiant stand on its own against the world, and either can make a significant impact.  

Snow comes, sometimes unexpectedly, and can leave just as quickly. The same can be said for the life…

In no way is my blog popular.  I usually have roughly 1000 people a day dropping in to see what I am thinking, or what I have found on the net.  I mean, really, how interesting could my thoughts on life be? Regardless of how much traffic my site receives, I want to provide the best possible user experience.

Suddenly it seem as if my Wordpress theme is not fitting my needs in terms of flexibility.  Mind you, this is not a bad layout, it is actually one of the best I have seen, my needs have simply changed.

The ultimate desire is to have a site that provides a clean user experience but addresses all of the needs I have as a blogger.  I do not want to have a cluttered user interface, overwhelming the reader with information.  At the same time I want to provide all the information I see as useful to potential visitors.

So, a few things may be changing in the near future.  No user functionality will be lost, no data will be removed, just a simply change in appearance. I just hope I do not need to create my own theme.

One of my long held views in life can summed up by this simple saying “Right and wrong are just words, what matters is what you do”. This saying has implications that would challenge the beliefs and views of people.

There will be a highly charged group of people that, without a doubt, right and wrong is the truth, the highest priority. Right and wrong tell this set of people what do to in their view of life. How to act and it also sets the tone for how they view other people.

The next set of individuals would say the action doesn’t matter; the result does not matter, as long as the person performing the “right” action, the person is “right”

Personally, I believe the action an individual undertakes could be the “right” thing to do even though the action(s) the individual does is seen universally as “bad”. Going against your family for what you stand for, for what you believe in… to live your life for yourself would be right (for you) but piss off a whole host of other people.

During the great depression, people faced this question all the time. Grab milk from a cow while the farmer wasn’t watching, take an extra bread roll from the soup line, and lie about your ability in order to get a job. Where they right or wrong?

All these actions were wrong by society’s standard, but I view them to be right as they were trying protecting their families in situations of few to no means.

Ok, let’s take a hard one – was Hitler wrong?

I think most people will flat out say “yes”, he was wrong for the horrors of WW2 and the pain he inflicted on the Jewish people.

I can’t honestly answer this question when I view it from the perspective of “what is really important is what you do”. Why? I was not apart of that culture; I did not share the beliefs of the time. Maybe they were doing the “right” thing in that situation.

Having 30 years of knowledge and a number of family members in the military during that point, I can – in my view of reality as it is today – what he / they did was wrong.

Finally – can a good person switch to become a  bad person (and vice versa) because of the influence of another? To me, this all comes down to the concept of free will. I have the ability to make decisions for myself and, as such, I am accountable for my actions. Some people may try to avoid the accountability that comes with their actions, but it is still there.

Basically put, a human can be the most loving animal or the most dangerous animal in a matter of seconds.