One of the things that I'm finding with social media is that it has a broad audience and there are so many people looking at it it's amazing!
So when I go to use Twitter I take them at their word. I use Twitter as a microblogging site. I still believe in the 140 character limit, even though Twitter has expanded that to 280 characters and I go up to 200+ characters often. But I basically post to twitter on multiple accounts of things that I think can want to talk about and then I never look back. I posted and make it available to people and then never look back it seems like everybody wants the whole circle jerk idea of post then get everybody's comments then comment on the comments thing. I just post and leave it out there for people look at. If people want to get upset about what I'm posting or they don't like what I'm posting they can comment on their own blogs or microblogs but otherwise I don't care.
I think that this approach actually reduces the amount of negative energy on the Internet. While I may post something negative about others and things happening, my posts are dead-end streets where it's me and it's what I think. I don't want to have a conversation with anybody. I don't want a reason and get along with anybody. I just want my thoughts and ideas on the Internet so that 200 years from now when people go in they do research on the thinking of 21st-century humans they will run across my posts and go all here somebody that thought differently than the rest of the herd. So it wasn't a cohesive unit.
I think that the strategy of some groups is to flood the historical documentation with their bull ship in the hopes that 200 years from now people will think that they had the majority view. I've never kissed a man even though I'm male. I have no desire to have sex with a man even though I'm male. While the idea of abortion appalls me I understand why women use it. But I disagree with it. I think that socialism sucks. And I hate using that term. Socialism leads to authoritarianism. And I don't think any of my liberal friends understand that they will lose freedom if socialism takes hold.
That's just me! If you have a problem with the way I use social media don't follow me.
Monday, November 30, 2020
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Fasting thoughts ~
Fasting for three days was an interesting experience. I stopped eating on a Friday after lunch and started back at lunch time on a Monday.
During that time I had some hunger but it wasn't outrageous. And I never got really uncomfortable or anything. I drank water, one cup of coffee per day in the mornings, and then one cup of tea in the afternoons.
My left shoulder didn't start hurting the way it normally does when I don't eat. I found that very interesting. Because usually when I don't eat a meal or something my upper left shoulder will start hurting and remind me that it's time to eat. Weird, I know, but that's me!
A couple of things that I learned during my three day fast:
- Not eating frees up a lot of time. I would go into the kitchen to get more water or throw something away and I would think about the meal preparation time, the time spent setting the table, the time sitting at the table and eating, and everything that goes with it. And so I freed up a lot of time. By the same token, though, I would not have had that time with family and friends if they had been around. Which may be glad I was alone when I did this.
- I was able to focus on things. Instead of being torn and driven to the next meal what are we going to do for the next meal and arguing about it and all the decisions that surrounded I was free from those decisions. I was able to concentrate on my the project I had taken on, cleaning out my closet. And I got a lot done.
- I was reminded of good times. I didn't pine for food or anything, but I did have memories of the fun of preparing meals and the fun of being with family and friends. And I remembered the kids when they were growing up and the times when we would joke and do fun things. It was a good experience.
- I got closer to God. My main focus or goal with this fast was to grow closer to God, and I feel like worked. The big lesson that I got was to obey is better than sacrifice. God loves it when we obey him! I felt like he was calling me to do this fast, and I did it. And I got to think and pray a little bit more than normal and get a lot more focused on what he had for me. It was interesting!
Fasting isn't for everybody, and I don't encourage it to do it just for the heck of it. But it helped me.
During that time I had some hunger but it wasn't outrageous. And I never got really uncomfortable or anything. I drank water, one cup of coffee per day in the mornings, and then one cup of tea in the afternoons.
My left shoulder didn't start hurting the way it normally does when I don't eat. I found that very interesting. Because usually when I don't eat a meal or something my upper left shoulder will start hurting and remind me that it's time to eat. Weird, I know, but that's me!
A couple of things that I learned during my three day fast:
- Not eating frees up a lot of time. I would go into the kitchen to get more water or throw something away and I would think about the meal preparation time, the time spent setting the table, the time sitting at the table and eating, and everything that goes with it. And so I freed up a lot of time. By the same token, though, I would not have had that time with family and friends if they had been around. Which may be glad I was alone when I did this.
- I was able to focus on things. Instead of being torn and driven to the next meal what are we going to do for the next meal and arguing about it and all the decisions that surrounded I was free from those decisions. I was able to concentrate on my the project I had taken on, cleaning out my closet. And I got a lot done.
- I was reminded of good times. I didn't pine for food or anything, but I did have memories of the fun of preparing meals and the fun of being with family and friends. And I remembered the kids when they were growing up and the times when we would joke and do fun things. It was a good experience.
- I got closer to God. My main focus or goal with this fast was to grow closer to God, and I feel like worked. The big lesson that I got was to obey is better than sacrifice. God loves it when we obey him! I felt like he was calling me to do this fast, and I did it. And I got to think and pray a little bit more than normal and get a lot more focused on what he had for me. It was interesting!
Fasting isn't for everybody, and I don't encourage it to do it just for the heck of it. But it helped me.
Friday, November 20, 2020
Dealing with angry people ~
When I was in college I worked in the customer convenience center at our town's Sears store. The Customer convenience center was in the back of the store. It's where the safe and head cashier and her assistance worked. It's where we wrapped presents and handled general questions about purchases, deliveries, and other things. And it's where we handled credit card situations.
That last thing, credit card situations, was the most challenging part of the job. People would come in and apply for a credit card and want to know the status quickly. This was in the time before the Internet and so it was not instantaneous the way it often is now. Others would come in with their bill and be upset that they were being charged a late fee for not paying their credit card payment. Or they would be upset about charges on their credit card that they claimed not to have made. They would be upset about not being able to charge something to their Sears credit card because of the credit limit or balance that was above their credit limit for other reasons, usually nonpayment for several months.
One of the things that I had to learn working back there was how to deal with angry customers. People upset at the store but taking it out on me.
I learned to listen intently. To pay attention to signals and cues that their bodies were giving. I learned to say soothing things and investigate further and ask questions and then go and call the appropriate people and try to get an answer that would help the customer get what they wanted.
The hardest one to deal with was the angry person that would not be satisfied by anything. I had a man come in that needed to buy paint or something and knew he worked at a paint store.
I had a man come in the needed to buy some tools or something and he was very upset that he could not get the prices that he wanted and charged to his credit card. He yelled at me! He pitched a fit. He asked to see my boss. After seeing my boss he yelled at me some more. I did everything I could help the guy. I checked the sales, I checked with the credit department down and headquarters, I even looked for the couple ways that I knew how to influence the system and help them out.
The man left angry.
The man came back the next day and apologized to me. He thanked me for being patient with him and dealing with him the way that I did. And he offered me a job! He gave me his business card and said if I ever decided to leave here that he would love for me to come and work for him because "you're the kind of person that I need help in my customers".
I don't tell this story to puff myself up. I tell the story because we have a lot of angry people around us right now. A lot of people that are spooled up because of what they're pumping into their head, whether it's news, commentary, music with hateful and vulgar lyrics, or just whatever. Powder keg people that are just waiting for that spark to go off.
The best way I've found to deal with that is smile, ask lots of questions, try to help them, and then leave it at that. I'm taught in church to love my neighbor as myself. Treat them the way that I would want to be treated so I tried!
I hope you try to help an angry person in your life. Their anger is sometimes a cry for help because they're afraid. Stay calm and soothing!
That last thing, credit card situations, was the most challenging part of the job. People would come in and apply for a credit card and want to know the status quickly. This was in the time before the Internet and so it was not instantaneous the way it often is now. Others would come in with their bill and be upset that they were being charged a late fee for not paying their credit card payment. Or they would be upset about charges on their credit card that they claimed not to have made. They would be upset about not being able to charge something to their Sears credit card because of the credit limit or balance that was above their credit limit for other reasons, usually nonpayment for several months.
One of the things that I had to learn working back there was how to deal with angry customers. People upset at the store but taking it out on me.
I learned to listen intently. To pay attention to signals and cues that their bodies were giving. I learned to say soothing things and investigate further and ask questions and then go and call the appropriate people and try to get an answer that would help the customer get what they wanted.
The hardest one to deal with was the angry person that would not be satisfied by anything. I had a man come in that needed to buy paint or something and knew he worked at a paint store.
I had a man come in the needed to buy some tools or something and he was very upset that he could not get the prices that he wanted and charged to his credit card. He yelled at me! He pitched a fit. He asked to see my boss. After seeing my boss he yelled at me some more. I did everything I could help the guy. I checked the sales, I checked with the credit department down and headquarters, I even looked for the couple ways that I knew how to influence the system and help them out.
The man left angry.
The man came back the next day and apologized to me. He thanked me for being patient with him and dealing with him the way that I did. And he offered me a job! He gave me his business card and said if I ever decided to leave here that he would love for me to come and work for him because "you're the kind of person that I need help in my customers".
I don't tell this story to puff myself up. I tell the story because we have a lot of angry people around us right now. A lot of people that are spooled up because of what they're pumping into their head, whether it's news, commentary, music with hateful and vulgar lyrics, or just whatever. Powder keg people that are just waiting for that spark to go off.
The best way I've found to deal with that is smile, ask lots of questions, try to help them, and then leave it at that. I'm taught in church to love my neighbor as myself. Treat them the way that I would want to be treated so I tried!
I hope you try to help an angry person in your life. Their anger is sometimes a cry for help because they're afraid. Stay calm and soothing!
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Christian music ~
One of the things that I enjoy listening to is praise music. Christian praise with a decent band and all that. Our church sings a lot of Hillsong (https://www.youtube.com/user/hillsonglive) and Jesus culture (https://www.youtube.com/user/jesusculture) songs, and Elevation worship (https://www.youtube.com/user/elevationworship) and Bethel (https://www.youtube.com/user/ibethelmusic) songs. I enjoy a lot of them!
I also enjoy a lot of the more modern pop sort of stuff. But Christian. I don't really like the N-word in my songs and so I don't listen to rap music if I can avoid it. But I love to hear the word Jesus or God and songs that I'm listening to and so artists like Toby Mac, Newsboys, and some of the newer artists catch my attention in a listen for a while. Then I'll make playlists.
Last Christmas I actually made the playlists and shared them as a gift on the 12 days of Christmas event that I had on Facebook for all of my friends. I basically gave a gift of opposed to videos and apps and Internet resources that I actually use daily weekly or monthly. And it I got a lot of good response on Facebook from it.
I may start posting some Christian stuff here on my blog. Because I've followed Christian music since the early 80s. And I've enjoyed listening to it transform from bootleg CDs and weird sounding artists that were very polished, well-produced moneymaking machines.
So I will post here and there about songs or playlists or that sort of thing. I hope those posts will share some of the passion that I have for having music going whenever I'm at home alone or with my family and friends.
Watch for it!
I also enjoy a lot of the more modern pop sort of stuff. But Christian. I don't really like the N-word in my songs and so I don't listen to rap music if I can avoid it. But I love to hear the word Jesus or God and songs that I'm listening to and so artists like Toby Mac, Newsboys, and some of the newer artists catch my attention in a listen for a while. Then I'll make playlists.
Last Christmas I actually made the playlists and shared them as a gift on the 12 days of Christmas event that I had on Facebook for all of my friends. I basically gave a gift of opposed to videos and apps and Internet resources that I actually use daily weekly or monthly. And it I got a lot of good response on Facebook from it.
I may start posting some Christian stuff here on my blog. Because I've followed Christian music since the early 80s. And I've enjoyed listening to it transform from bootleg CDs and weird sounding artists that were very polished, well-produced moneymaking machines.
So I will post here and there about songs or playlists or that sort of thing. I hope those posts will share some of the passion that I have for having music going whenever I'm at home alone or with my family and friends.
Watch for it!
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
2020 has been great ~
So with everyone on social media and mass media and in my friend circles complaining about how awful this year has been, I feel guilty that this has been one of the best years of my life
When my workplace reacted to the virus I am was put on a five days on and 10 days off rotation. And I had three or four of those rotations where I had 10 days off. It was amazing! I got projects done around the house. I planted my little deck garden that I've always wanted to try. I cleaned out the area around my desk upstairs. I got stuff done around the house that I had never had time to do before. I relaxed and destress. I watched movies and videos with my wife and family. I cooked dinner and just enjoyed life at home. It was amazing!
At some point I got put on a five on and five off rotation which was almost as amazing. I still had a weekend that was five days long. I joked at work that it was a conspiracy to make the senior guy work weekends again, but having five days off I reduced the impact that almost nothing! It was amazing.
Then I got picked up for a straight days and weekends off job as one of the support managers where I work. That means that with the reaction to the virus I got telework five days a week. And have a regular weekend. In my teleworking schedule was 8 to 430 or whatever I wanted it to be. It was amazing!
That's just work stuff in my personal life traffic died down to where it wasn't an issue. When I would go out and drive somewhere I didn't have to worry about bumper-to-bumper traffic all of the time when I went. When I went to a store people stayed away from me which was amazing! We all spread apart.
Recently I went on a flight and at the airport it wasn't a negative experience where everybody was crowded in like sardines in a can and you felt like somebody was right up on you trying to play with your privates while they were waiting to cut in front of you in the line for checking in or getting checked by the TSA or getting on the airplane. It was an amazing experience!
Let alone the distance between people. I like to be careful and I like to maintain space between me and strangers. It's just the way I was brought up and it's my personality. I'm a friendly person, but stay the hell away from me and don't get right up on me if I don't know you. So the virus has been an amazing benefit to me where people don't even want to get close to me. Then of course I wear Basques that make it obvious that it's not really my concern about the virus that passes right through the cloth that everybody thinks putting on their face will protect them.
My wife and I have had more time together to adjust to not having children at home. We've gone and done things like travel to see family and the Northeast, not New York, but in the Northeast. We traveled to our property down in Florida and spent time down there getting the no neighbors and the wildlife out in the field. We played games, we've watched movies, we've enjoyed grilling and cooking food together. We had friends over. We've joked and laughed and had a great time without the disturbance or disruption of all the junk that happened before all this.
So I feel bad for the people that are so wrapped around the axle about how awful their life is now and how scared they are and how jacked up their anxiety is. Accept, adjust, and move on. It was this way before COVID-19 corona virus, you just didn't know it and didn't understand the dangers that you lived in every day.
I'm enjoying life! I'm enjoying the election season, though I am tired of seeing people post that they voted. He should've been voting in the first place and it's not something to brag about, it's something that you just do as an adult in the United States of America.
I can't wait to see what next year brings!
When my workplace reacted to the virus I am was put on a five days on and 10 days off rotation. And I had three or four of those rotations where I had 10 days off. It was amazing! I got projects done around the house. I planted my little deck garden that I've always wanted to try. I cleaned out the area around my desk upstairs. I got stuff done around the house that I had never had time to do before. I relaxed and destress. I watched movies and videos with my wife and family. I cooked dinner and just enjoyed life at home. It was amazing!
At some point I got put on a five on and five off rotation which was almost as amazing. I still had a weekend that was five days long. I joked at work that it was a conspiracy to make the senior guy work weekends again, but having five days off I reduced the impact that almost nothing! It was amazing.
Then I got picked up for a straight days and weekends off job as one of the support managers where I work. That means that with the reaction to the virus I got telework five days a week. And have a regular weekend. In my teleworking schedule was 8 to 430 or whatever I wanted it to be. It was amazing!
That's just work stuff in my personal life traffic died down to where it wasn't an issue. When I would go out and drive somewhere I didn't have to worry about bumper-to-bumper traffic all of the time when I went. When I went to a store people stayed away from me which was amazing! We all spread apart.
Recently I went on a flight and at the airport it wasn't a negative experience where everybody was crowded in like sardines in a can and you felt like somebody was right up on you trying to play with your privates while they were waiting to cut in front of you in the line for checking in or getting checked by the TSA or getting on the airplane. It was an amazing experience!
Let alone the distance between people. I like to be careful and I like to maintain space between me and strangers. It's just the way I was brought up and it's my personality. I'm a friendly person, but stay the hell away from me and don't get right up on me if I don't know you. So the virus has been an amazing benefit to me where people don't even want to get close to me. Then of course I wear Basques that make it obvious that it's not really my concern about the virus that passes right through the cloth that everybody thinks putting on their face will protect them.
My wife and I have had more time together to adjust to not having children at home. We've gone and done things like travel to see family and the Northeast, not New York, but in the Northeast. We traveled to our property down in Florida and spent time down there getting the no neighbors and the wildlife out in the field. We played games, we've watched movies, we've enjoyed grilling and cooking food together. We had friends over. We've joked and laughed and had a great time without the disturbance or disruption of all the junk that happened before all this.
So I feel bad for the people that are so wrapped around the axle about how awful their life is now and how scared they are and how jacked up their anxiety is. Accept, adjust, and move on. It was this way before COVID-19 corona virus, you just didn't know it and didn't understand the dangers that you lived in every day.
I'm enjoying life! I'm enjoying the election season, though I am tired of seeing people post that they voted. He should've been voting in the first place and it's not something to brag about, it's something that you just do as an adult in the United States of America.
I can't wait to see what next year brings!
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Personal vibration is weird ~
My personal vibration is weird. That sounds odd when I say it out loud or type it anywhere, but it's a true statement.
I read about energy and people's attitudes being a result of the frequency they are vibrating at. It's all that New Age woo stuff that I don't buy into but trip across the anywhere on the Internet or talking to people or whatever. When you talk to anybody that that does yoga you come across it really fast.
I've experienced being in sync with people as we work toward a common goal as a team. I experienced that in Cub Scouts as a den leader and as a pack leader. I experienced it at work many times when working traffic and I was in sync with three or four controllers around me or even in a different place in the control room or in the country and we were doing things that made everything just come together. In traffic management I did that a lot but on a much bigger scale. A nationwide scale at times.
I felt disconnected because I choose to vibrate at a different level than those around me. Quiet guy. Usually. They can change depending on what's happening or what I am trying to accomplish. A lot of times people at work have seen the as brash but they did not understand that I had been tasked with looking out for the entire operation and so I was much bolder than I would normally be.
But even you know in social settings where friends are talking about cars or sports, because I'm not into that I vibrate at a different frequency if you want to think about it that way. And so my perceived disinterest isn't that, it's just I'm not as enthusiastic and energetic on the subject. And so I'm out of phase or out of sync.
It feels weird to have been in sync and then feel myself slipping out of sync. Even choosing to slip out of sync. I'm going through some of that with the my church involvement right now. I was getting into sync with the group leaders and such but because I am such an outsider and because I chose to continue to earn money in my career rather than retire I am falling out of sync with some of the efforts I was involved in. That's by choice both by me and by leaders. But it feels weird. And part of me realizes that when I was younger this weird feeling would lead to anger and displays of immaturity and that sort of thing. Now I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and wonder what happened in the movement.
A lot of times I can't maintain the frequency that I want to vibrate at because of either distractions brought by guilt or by anger. I find that when I stay calm and focused that I can better synchronize with what's happening and get things accomplished. When I feel guilty the voice in my head echoes way too loud and distracts me and changes my personal vibration.
So if I were to continue thinking about this odd subject where people actually believe that if they carry a rock in their pocket vibrates at a certain frequency that they can change their life how do I just? Attitude seems to be the answer that I keep coming back to. The other thing is just accepted keep doing my thing. I read all these gurus and such and the Zen Buddhist people keep saying that the teacher will appear when the student is ready. I guess that because I'm vibrating at the wrong frequency the teacher just want to come by. I know that when I take the time to stop and pray and not just hurl my requests and demands that God but sit and listen, another word for that is meditate, that my brain slows down enough to where I feel like I can hear God speaking to me. It's not an audible voice but it's more of nudges and and and thoughts that float by. The Holy Spirit works in odd ways, and I guess personal vibration can be one of those ways.
I guess what I struggle with is because I'm not in sync with everyone around me I feel like something is wrong. I've spent the last several years learning that there are different ways to approach that fought and one of the best ways is to accept that I am on my path and not theirs and move along. Enjoy the moments, stay focused on the goals, keep doing my thing. Be legendary me. The funny thing about legends, though, is that nobody really sings their praises all there in the middle of it. They do it when the stories are retold over and over long from now.
Weird.
I read about energy and people's attitudes being a result of the frequency they are vibrating at. It's all that New Age woo stuff that I don't buy into but trip across the anywhere on the Internet or talking to people or whatever. When you talk to anybody that that does yoga you come across it really fast.
I've experienced being in sync with people as we work toward a common goal as a team. I experienced that in Cub Scouts as a den leader and as a pack leader. I experienced it at work many times when working traffic and I was in sync with three or four controllers around me or even in a different place in the control room or in the country and we were doing things that made everything just come together. In traffic management I did that a lot but on a much bigger scale. A nationwide scale at times.
I felt disconnected because I choose to vibrate at a different level than those around me. Quiet guy. Usually. They can change depending on what's happening or what I am trying to accomplish. A lot of times people at work have seen the as brash but they did not understand that I had been tasked with looking out for the entire operation and so I was much bolder than I would normally be.
But even you know in social settings where friends are talking about cars or sports, because I'm not into that I vibrate at a different frequency if you want to think about it that way. And so my perceived disinterest isn't that, it's just I'm not as enthusiastic and energetic on the subject. And so I'm out of phase or out of sync.
It feels weird to have been in sync and then feel myself slipping out of sync. Even choosing to slip out of sync. I'm going through some of that with the my church involvement right now. I was getting into sync with the group leaders and such but because I am such an outsider and because I chose to continue to earn money in my career rather than retire I am falling out of sync with some of the efforts I was involved in. That's by choice both by me and by leaders. But it feels weird. And part of me realizes that when I was younger this weird feeling would lead to anger and displays of immaturity and that sort of thing. Now I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and wonder what happened in the movement.
A lot of times I can't maintain the frequency that I want to vibrate at because of either distractions brought by guilt or by anger. I find that when I stay calm and focused that I can better synchronize with what's happening and get things accomplished. When I feel guilty the voice in my head echoes way too loud and distracts me and changes my personal vibration.
So if I were to continue thinking about this odd subject where people actually believe that if they carry a rock in their pocket vibrates at a certain frequency that they can change their life how do I just? Attitude seems to be the answer that I keep coming back to. The other thing is just accepted keep doing my thing. I read all these gurus and such and the Zen Buddhist people keep saying that the teacher will appear when the student is ready. I guess that because I'm vibrating at the wrong frequency the teacher just want to come by. I know that when I take the time to stop and pray and not just hurl my requests and demands that God but sit and listen, another word for that is meditate, that my brain slows down enough to where I feel like I can hear God speaking to me. It's not an audible voice but it's more of nudges and and and thoughts that float by. The Holy Spirit works in odd ways, and I guess personal vibration can be one of those ways.
I guess what I struggle with is because I'm not in sync with everyone around me I feel like something is wrong. I've spent the last several years learning that there are different ways to approach that fought and one of the best ways is to accept that I am on my path and not theirs and move along. Enjoy the moments, stay focused on the goals, keep doing my thing. Be legendary me. The funny thing about legends, though, is that nobody really sings their praises all there in the middle of it. They do it when the stories are retold over and over long from now.
Weird.
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