Webloose and Fancy Free...

I suppose it's no longer the year of blogging dangerously. I could call this the year of blogging anonymously, since I don't believe anyone knows this account exists. Something to think about.

Tonight, I deactivated my Facebook account. You know why? It's a festering swamp of obnoxious opinions. People post the kind of thing they once would only utter late at night at a party after large amounts of alcohol had been imbibed. Certainly, under the circumstances, one could pardon any funky world views. However, offered from the secure station of one's personal computer or lap top or iphone or whatever other piece of technology has jumped into bed with the worldwide web, it's just too much. I prefer my memories. Dulled though they are by wine. Such is life. Without Facebook.

Apparently, they make it easy to jump back on. Just log in with you old login and password, and you can get right back to it! How awesome! You know what I miss? The geography challenge game. The brain game. The Tetris battle. I was pretty high up there. You know who gives a rip besides me? No one. That's why I deactivated it. Likely, I'll just get a Wii. Wee!

The Year of Blogging Sparingly...

As with many of my pursuits, I seem to have grown tired of the attempt to put a blog on this thing every day of this entire year. For me, stopping to write is like stopping to smell the roses. It's something does purposefully just a few times a year, always thinking to one's self how this ought to become a daily, or at least weekly, routine. Yet it never quite does. So it is with music, acting, reading or any of the other random pursuits I have at times given myself fully to in the past, and yet now have to force into an otherwise encumbered lifestyle. I don't promote this negligence. I simply admit to it.
Here is a bit of what I have experienced over the past few months:

The death by suicide of an in-law
A low grade fever that came and went with no other symptoms
The birth of a godson
A situation which for the first time in my life made me lose a little respect for my mother
My first eleven mile run
A very successful record in fantasy football with a team I didn't even draft myself
Nearly 5 months with zero health coverage; now I get it

So, all in all, just another set of months. Could have happened to anybody. Probably did. In my case it did. Looking forward, I get the feeling I might like to head out this year actually putting something in here every now and again. Maybe I'll surpass the century mark, a feat I have been so far unsuccessful at in my prior blog, one which has held on for several more years than this. Regardless, I'm sure it will be fascinating. If nothing else, I'm writing and growing a beard, so the significance of November isn't completely lost on me...

Debt...

We're all debtors. I am. I owe money for my home, credit card purchases, and student loans. Spiritually, I can never pay back the debt I have racked up. Even though I am generally pessimistic, I continuously find myself in debts of gratitude to friends and family for their generosity towards me.

You know who else is in debt? Of course you do. The United States.

Here is my philosophy on debt. Get out of it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Avoid going further if you are stuck where you are. It's like quicksand. Do not struggle. If you must, hold still and wait for help. If you've been practicing the Golden Rule, help should come. If not, well, I believe we all get what we ask for.

Here is a wish list for our government representatives: Work together. Never has the two party system seemed such a dismal idea. The system of checks and balances has devolved into a system of thwarts and upheavals. Human nature. I would love to bottle it then throw it off a cliff. Anyway, I don't pretend to have any idea of what the national debt really is let alone how to fix it. When you start talking about figures that require more than 4 commas to write out, I start thinking about unicorns and zombies. It's fiction. It's unreal. But I still think there are some things that our officials could do in order to lead by example and extend a laurel leaf to those of us nosepickers out in the rest of the nation. How about taking a pay cut, at least for a time. How about a mass donation towards the debt. Pay back a grand or two out of their own pockets--especially those who are responsible for conceiving of and singing off on the expenses to begin with. I understand debt enough to know that a purchase is required, one that represents more capitol than the purchaser possesses or is willing to put up. Take some responsibility. How about Congress not voting to give themselves a pay raise every time you turn around. I haven't gotten a raise in several years. Most Americans don't. Why should they?

Again, I don't claim to know much about the process, which is why I only speak up here, if this is in fact speaking up. I've lived long enough to have learned a couple of things, and I'm simply trying to apply them to this situation that I can't turn on the news without being lambasted with: Do your best not to bite of more than you can chew, and servant leaders are the only leaders I have any interest in following.

That's 2 strikes, America.

This has been brought to you under the influence of Dancing Goats coffee. It's currently doing what could best be described as the Lindy Hop in my intestines right now...

Trimming the Fate...

A quiet morning. My wife waves at me from the bed in the other room. Our guest hastily packs himself for a return trip to NYC. Behind me, one of the cats is busily attempting to cover all evidence of the job it just did in the litter. All in all, a fairly even keel morning. Not exactly the kind one would write about. So, why am I?

The answer is, I'm not sure. It could be that I am still stressed about something I was prayer-journaling about earlier. My wife and I are currently not covered by medical insurance. Part of me wishes I could be okay with that, considering how much I loathe being a part of the corporate machine that is medical insurance in this country. I am, however, neurotically predisposed to be safe and careful, so every day I have no coverage is another day I spend unconsciously worrying about something bad happening to us. Add into that the fact that we are still trying to get pregnant, plus the cost of insurance which includes maternity and you basically end up with a Molotov cocktail of financial and emotional stress, one capably of my overall well-being.

So I guess stress over insurance is the answer to why I am writing this. As a man, I now must seek a solution. My job is currently negotiating rates for a group insurance plan, one that would cover maternity 100%. This is a good thing. Of the 4 primary individuals who would be holders of this plan, I am the only one who is not having it paid for by the company. This is a bad thing.

I am not sure whether we can afford the cost of the insurance without taking pains to drastically reduce our current living expenses. Even with doing that, it would be a stretch. This is a bad thing. I currently do not see a solution from all of this.

I realized I have been seeking solutions while in the middle of this post. Oh Windows, one does tend to float freely among you. I have emailed a mortgage re-financier, hoping to make headway with a process which has started and stalled for months now. I have begun thinking how I can propose savings to my boss which could possibly be rolled over into a discount for insurance. I suppose I'll now go over our monthly expenses and see where fat can be trimmed. [I initially typed 'fate can be trimmed'. I like that. I think I'll keep it]. Beyond that, there's nothing left to do but wait. Which is fine. This is world is at best a really interesting waiting room, and at worst, a really bland waiting room.

This has been brought to you fairly dry. Alcohol is expensive.

All Access Package...

For some reason, I have not been able to log into this to add posts lately. Every now and again Google takes exception to the fact that I never created a password or email address through it. And, when it decides to interrogate me and not accept my password or old email address, it graciously agrees to send me a new one to the old email address. Which has been closed down by Yahoo over 9 years ago. It becomes of vicious cycle of futility where massive Internet companies play ping pong with my data and I end up never getting to my blog. I've had a lot of interesting things to say lately, too. Today, it's brutal hot and all I can think is will this be a one time access? Do I need to get a months' worth of witticisms down here or can I just relax and log back in tomorrow? It may not be for me to know. The ways of the web gods are different than mine. I guess I should feel lucky they still let me play Tetris whenever I want.

Another Failed Camping Trip...

So, another 'this is definitely the one' end of the world prediction comes to nothing. I almost wish one of these folks would admit they only did it for the press, to turn people's attention towards something that actually will happen and actually is important, albeit which is something no man or woman can or will predict (if you believe the scriptures that they take the concept of the end of the world from, anyway). Sadly, I think that this whole thing was just another instance of an idiot with a god complex taking advantage of people who don't think too clearly for themselves. Who am I to judge anyone? I believe in God, and perhaps he puts people like Harold Camping in positions of influence for a purpose. I am grateful that I am not subject to their inexplicable manias, but I have been persuaded of things I later came to disagree with in the past. It's human nature to be led. We're sheep. Clay. Of that I'm certain. To say I'm made of thicker clay than someone else is just, well, thick.

Generation Gape...

I like to hear people's perspectives sometimes. Today I spoke with my grandmother. She definitely has a perspective. Apparently, Obama is an evil man, hellbent on ruining the country from the inside. Also, Camping, or whatever the guy who is predicting the Rapture tomorrow is named, should not necessarily be called a Christian, nor should his followers. Anyone can call themselves that, but it doesn't mean they really are. Those were the main points.

Honestly, I like hearing her input. This is a woman who has lived through more wars than anyone else I know. She was married faithfully and happily to one man for over 63 years. She raised two children and then pitched in and raised 1 grandchild when the father of the grandchild decided he wanted to be a child himself for a little while longer. Whether you like her politics, agree with the far right party line she subscribes to, or simply leave annoyed by her castrating stance against anything remotely democratic, you have to respect the fact that she has been there and seen that. This woman remembers the fireside chats. She witnessed Watergate. She was tuned in when the towers fell, the Arizona sank, the allies won and the bomb was dropped. There isn't a lot you can teach an old dog. Sometimes, I wonder if there is anything you really need to.

This has been brought to you under the influence of, most recently, a black IPA brewed by the winner of a Samuel Adams beer competition. I don't remember the name. I'm sure this is the beginning of a phenomenal amount of forgetfulness on my part. Such is life...