So… I thought I a had a pretty connected home. I have a computer that’s only purpose is to hold all my music, movies, and pictures and share them with other devices. I’ve been able to use other devices to play those files in various rooms around the house. I figured with everything connected I would always have a place I could go watch a movie or listen to music in the house. Well…. I have kids. My kids for some reason can’t watch the same show in the same room. No, they need to take up various rooms to watch shows relegating me to watch what I can on my laptop computer. Why as the parent do I give up my plasma TV and home theater to the kids instead of sending them somewhere else to watch their shows??? I think it’s because I would rather watch in peace on my computer than hear the kids argue about what to watch in the other room. I think it’s time to take back control. It’s time to be a parent and not raise children that think they can get what they want if they fight and whine enough.
Who’s with me?
Chirp, chirp, chirp….
In the words of a very wise old man… “One man can make a difference Michael” except I’m not Michael.
Bonus points to the person that can tell me where the quote comes from and who said it!
Keep cool if you can,
The Ultimate
I recently had the opportunity to see a Minnesota Twins game at the new Target Field. It was a great game that the Twins won 6-0 over the Cleveland Indians. Upon returning to work the next day many people asked me about the experience. I immediately began talking about not being able to find parking and walking forever to get to the Stadium. Eventually I got to the fact that the stadium is awesome and it was a spectacular place to watch a baseball game. As I told my story a few more times I realized that I was more excited about telling people about the bad things than I was about how great it was. This same issue arose just the other night as I was surfing facebook and a friend posted a note expressing frustration with all the negativity we deal with on a daily basis.
Why is it easier for people to talk about negative things when there is so much positive going on around us? Why do we like talking about all the bad things that happen to us and rarely mention the good things? As a society we are taught not to brag about things and maybe downplaying a great event is our way of keeping others from feeling bad. Maybe it’s because we like hearing how bad things are more than how good they are.
We each have the ability to decide how we will react to situations and how we respond to the circumstances around us. If we each made an effort to focus more on the positive we would not only make others happier we would do a lot towards making ourselves happier. The next time you have something negative to say maybe pause a moment and figure out how to put a positive spin on it or just refrain from saying anything.
The Ultimate!
We have reached another census year. I have read several news stories about people standing against the census refusing to answer the questions and be counted. Even political figures are deciding not to fill out their form. This year we moved when the census form was sent out so we ended up losing ours. A kind census worker showed up at my door to personally ask the questions. I was waiting for these intrusive personal questions everyone is scared of but the only one I found slightly intrusive was the ethnicity of the people living in my house and that wasn’t even really that bad. It took all of 5 minutes for this gentleman to fill out the form for me and go on his way. What is the big deal with the census? I’m really lost on this one. Someone help me out and explain to me why people are refusing to answer the questions….
Thanks,
The Ultimate
We recently filled the hot tub at our new residence and were ready for a relaxing dip. The kids were excited too. We all got into the tub and checked out all the different chairs and jets and such. We adults were ready to lean back and relax. The kids were ready to go get their toys, splash each other, play tag, etc. Here are some discoveries in our hot tub adventure.
Hot tub discovery number 1: To a kid a hot tub is just a small warm swimming pool. Don’t expect much relaxing when the kids join you in the tub.
Hot tub discovery number 2: There are a lot of parts and when something comes apart it’s fun to figure out how to put it back together (not). Upon turning the pumps to high speed, one of the jets come shooting across the tub along with a few other parts. I tried my best to get it back in place but alas the hot tub won. I figured it works fine without it.
Hot tub discovery number 3: Hot tubs are not one size fits all. They do make booster seats for hot tubs. Shorter people might appreciate this.
That is the end of this public service announcement; please return to your regularly scheduled life.
The Ultimate!
Packing has to be one of the most horrible things to do. You have to face the fact that you have a lot of crap and really need very little of it. It seems like it would be easy to go ahead and get rid of stuff as you are packing but that never happens. You get to the new place and open boxes only to find it full of stuff you don’t need. Then after spending time trying to find the things you do need you decide to just get new stuff because you give up. It’s a viscous cycle.
As I sit here amidst the boxes that have yet to be unpacked I realize that if I haven’t really needed the items in these boxes yet why I even keep the junk inside them. What will eventually happen is these boxes will be stuck up in the attic or stored in the garage never to be touched again until we run out of space or end up moving again.
We all have things that we like to hang onto. I don’t like to get rid of old electronics because I never know when I will think of a new way to repurpose them. I do think the four computers in the garage should have been disposed of years ago.
What items do you hang onto even though you know you should just get rid of them?
The Ultimate!
I spent over four years working for the same company in the same job and was very comfortable in the situation. Even as the economy took hold and things started going south my comfort kept me from taking a life raft as the ship slipped deeper and deeper into the water. It seemed easier to do the best I could and keep trying to turn things around instead of facing the obvious and trying to find a new job before I was forced to.
I recently took a new job which led to more things outside of my comfort zone. I have never liked going downtown and now I work there. I have a new job with all new people and I’m trying to find my place in the pack. We are moving into a new house so our house is full of boxes as stuff gets packed for the move to a new city.
I have found that being out of my comfort zone usually brings on good change in my life. It forces me to examine many things I used to take for granted or just didn’t feel the need to look into. Even though it’s not comfortable I need to remember that sometimes we need to shake things up and see what happens. Maybe we go back to what was comfortable and maybe we find something new that works better.
I challenge you to move yourself out of your comfort zone in some area. Who knows maybe you will find something that you never knew was there.
The Ultimate
Back when my son was in 1st or 2nd grade he came home with some math homework and I was going to help him with it. He was adding two double digit numbers. I started to show him how to start from the 1s column and then move to the 10s. He got all mad and told me “that’s not how they do it”. I assured him that I knew how to add and was doing it correctly. He argued that you always start from the left. I replied that he was thinking of reading. He said “no, the teacher told us to start from the left” I asked him to show me but he wasn’t really sure how to do it. I could not believe that I couldn’t help my son with his simple addition homework because they changed the way they do it. To this day I still don’t understand how he was supposed to do it. I asked a teacher if it was easier for kids to do it that way and the reply I got was “no, it’s just a different way of doing it”. Why would we change the way math has been taught without having a good reason to do so? Just so you know… so far, multiplication and division have not been changed.
The Ultimate!
The other day my daughter sat down to watch the movie “Oliver and Company”. It had been years since I had watched that movie so I thought I would join her. As the music started I was instantly whisked back into my childhood. I had the sound track on cassette and listened to it extensively on a vacation we took as a family when I was a kid. I could see myself laying in the back of the station wagon looking up at the clouds and telephone poles as we drove down the highway. It was like it was just yesterday. I even remember the tape melting because I left it in the window of the car.
The connections our minds make with music are amazing. The same can be said of certain smells, tastes, or textures. Our senses seem to connect directly with our memories. Have you ever had a moment where you heard a song, smelled something familiar, or touched an old baby blanket and everything came streaming back to you? Leave a comment and tell me about it.
The Ultimate!
Over my vast years of life here on Earth I have realized that when you are in a rush to do something it takes twice as long to do it. For example… If I try to tie my shoes quickly to get out the door I end up tying them in a knot and have to spend twice as long undoing the knot. If I had just slowed down and tied them I would have been out the door much faster. This has happened many times but I can’t seem to get myself to slow down even when I know it will mean I get out the door faster.
What is our obsession with speed? Why do we have to try to get things done quickly instead of carefully? I have seen many instances when rushing through something causes huge problems down the road. I was watching my daughter rush to get out the door for the bus. She couldn’t get her gloves on right and the more she tried to hurry the more problems she had. Finally I suggested she slow down and sure enough the gloves were on with ease.
Long ago someone told me that you can have something good, fast, or cheap but only two at a time. You can have something good, fast but it won’t be cheap. You can have something good and cheap but it won’t be fast, etc. Our culture seems to want all three.
Take some time to slow down a bit when you are in a rush and you will find you get the job done faster.
The Ultimate!
When I was a kid I remember getting new shoes based on how fast I thought they would make me. When I got home I would test them out and show everyone how much faster I was because I had these new shoes. I also remember thinking that glasses made people smarter. I guess when I was growing up I attributed speed and smarts with external things. I bet this came from the ads I saw on TV. I think we as a people need to start explaining to our kids that hard work makes you faster and studying make you smarter not the shoes or glasses you are wearing.
Lets start taking personal responsibility for ourselves and work hard to be the best we can be.
The Ultimate!
