Status Update - Long Version

“He who is most slow in making a promise is the most faithful in performance of it.” -Rousseau

I usually try to focus on long term goals and make sure I'm trying to do something small in furtherance of those goals. Some long term goals I'm doing well on, others have gone by the way side and need to be revived. And though I could improve on that, I've finished some of my big ones, which could only mean that I'll need bigger ones. The thing is that as of late, my mind is really centered more on short term goals and realities than on the long term. Goals probably isn't the best word, but just kind of taking things day by day. Short-sightedness is never good, but you don't want to be looking for the grander meaning and miss the moment either. I wish I could get passed the cliches and on to my point. I guess I'm just at one of those points where I feel somewhat uncertain and I don't know how to feel about that. I think the feeling can be a character test, especially when the underlying triggers are probably self made. For a person that likes being two steps ahead, for some reason I feel like I'm a step behind. I also think a lot about things that I should probably not look into so deeply. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar I'm told. That is a long paragraph that kind of says nothing, but yet made me feel better.

I forgot to report this, but a good friend of mine who lives in California recently found a great job. He really deserves it and had been looking for a while. We caught up the other day on the phone and he filled me in on the story of his employment. It was an interesting story to say the least. How he got the job was definitely attributed to his persistentness, but I'm sure his qualifications played the main role. I'm happy for him and for all my other friends that have found work. Abram seems to be enjoying his new job. And for everyone still looking, I can't wait to hear about the jobs you find. I don't envy anyone on a job search, especially when times seem to get tougher.

This really got me thinking about my friends over the years and the people that are too far to be close contact everyday friends. My high school friends, my college friends, my Miami friends, my DC friends. I think I just miss my distant friends. You invest all this time and effort getting to know people and then you move away and over the years the updates come farther and farther apart. You lose touch gradually and it is not a reflection on how strong your friendship was to begin with, but the fact that the dynamic of your friendship didn't include a strong long distance component. I feel like I need to make some trips to NY, Boston, DC and LA just to see everyone and get caught up. I've met some really cool people on this journey and wish I would get to see them more. At least there is Facebook right.

Health Class No Longer Required In Texas High Schools
Health class will no longer be a state requirement for high school students this fall, making Texas one of the few states in the country with no required health education. I agree with a legislator's argument that "We've been trying to address the issue of childhood obesity, but we seem to be losing ground every time the Legislature meets." Why does Texas do such stupid things? Then again we do have an all-star running the show here. For example, Naming Someone Who Hates Public Schools to Head the State Ed Board? Gov. Perry, You Can't Be Serious!


I love the news articles today. Here is one that really caught my eye since I believe how you see the world influences how you feel. Stop Positive Thinking, Study Says A study just published in the journal Psychological Science says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are. This is a pretty impressive study I think. Here is my favorite quote from the article, "If you try to tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, he won't think he's any smarter; he will probably just disbelieve your contradictory theory, hew more closely to his own self-assessment and, in the end, feel even dumber."

Have I been wasting my time with all this positive thinking? I think the way I think about the world now is much different than it was 5 years ago. I'm no Pollyanna, but I do look harder for the positive than dwell on the negative. I attribute a lot of positive changes in my life to that, but I totally agree you can't always fake it until you make it when it is about things you feel are just objectively not true. I've met some really negative people in my life and man they really bring you down. Complainers I call them. The worst part is that they don't know that that is what they are. They feel like they are just telling you a story about how they were victimized, you know by the traffic, that jerk at the store, the teller, their family, their inconsiderate friends. Don't get me wrong, when bad stuff happens, you want to tell someone. But if its all you do, then it kind of dampers the mood.

I'd have to say I'm a night owl for sure. The morning is just not the best time for me. Luckily, in my defense, research is being done on the topic to justify my ways. Study: Night owls may benefit from evening strength If you have a hard time crawling out of bed in the morning, it could be that your body is biologically programmed to start the day later. In my defense, "It's very difficult for a night owl to become a morning person, Collop said. " I've done my best to be a morning person. I can wake up and go to work and function in society, but it isn't my preference to be up that early. I still can't run in the morning and have to put it off until after work. I don't think I'd want to workout at 9pm like they mentioned in the article though.

Today is the big day, I'm going to see Bill Maher tonight. I am very thankful to Christina for this. I'm excited and this should be a really cool experience. I'm sure I'll talk about it at length in my next entry. This is Christina's last outing in Austin before she takes off and crams for the final weeks of bar exam prep. I'm glad I didn't have to take my bar in Arlington like she has to. It should be a fun night.

Andrea is coming into town this weekend to visit her sister. This is definitely an eventful weekend. I'm looking forward to hanging out.

So back to my favorite reads of the day. A friend of mine posted this link the other day and I just had to steal it. It was very funny and a must read if you use FB.
Facebook Updates: What Kind Do You Write?
My favorites are the: "The 'Oh Come On, Just Tell Us What It Is ─ Are You Dying?' Update," "The 'You Never Seem This Happy in Real Life' Update" and "The 'Passive Aggressive' Update" I'd go off on my thoughts of each, but I'm tired now and the article does a good enough job itself.

I was in the gym the other day and I decided it was too hot to keep on working out so I told Abram who was also working out, "I'm gonna pull a Palin and quit." He didn't find my joke to be that funny, but it made me laugh on the inside. Little did I know that the saying had already made the Urban Dictionary. "Pullin' a Palin" Now In The Urban Dictionary
I guess I must be in step with those evil bloggers.

Along the same vein, here is a great video by The Full Ginsburg that was shown on MSNBC on Thursday. It is called, "How to Talk like a Politician." I think it is pretty funny. They do good work. http://thefullginsburg.com/2009/07/07/how-to-talk-like-a-politician/

I'm going to end with the quick fact that the Harry Potter movie (what part I forget now) is coming out on the 15th. I want to watch it. I'll probably wait until the weekend though. I remember picking up the first book on recommendation of a friend thinking I would be wasting my time. I was very wrong.

hard to read