My faith in humankind - renewed and destroyed in less than 5 minutes

My faith in humankind was restored today on the bus - an unlikely location, I know.  I had just got on the bus, sat down, and started reading my book.  A guy got on at the next stop and sat near me.  He looked pretty down on his luck, maybe homeless.  He took out an expensive-looking cell phone and made a call.  He told the person who answered the phone that he had just found this cell phone, and asked if that person could tell him how to get in touch with whoever the phone belonged to.  "How nice," I thought to myself, a bit surprised.  I was surprised because a couple years ago someone tried to steal my cellphone right out of my hand at this same bus stop (my bus stop is in a not-so-nice area of downtown - basically an open-air drug market).  Plus people are generally just POSs these days, so I was quite surprised that someone was actually trying to return a cellphone they found on the bus, especially in this area.  It left me feeling optimistic - like maybe people aren't as bad as I think they are, and I actually felt kind of bad for the assumptions I make about people sometimes. 

My new-found optimism was immediately dashed.  As soon as the guy hung up the phone, two other guys sitting near me told him that he should keep the phone because it looked expensive.  The guy who found the phone said he would keep it, but he didn't know how to use it.  Then as he got up to get off the bus, he said to the two guys:  don't worry, he [the owner] will have to pay to get it back.  What a jerk.  There goes my renewed faith in humankind.

I love the Voodoos!

Can't wait until they are back in the US, playing in Seattle!  Here is a link to one of my favorite songs by them:  Restless.  Go check it out!

One reason I love the month of March

Shamrock milkshakes are finally out at McDonald's!

Oh how I love them, with their green, minty goodness!  I'm so excited they are finally here.  But, this means that it is now going to be a daily struggle for me to not get one every day.  You would think I learned my lesson after my seasonal binge on gingerbread lattes at Starbuck's this year.  I swear I gained at least five pounds in gingerbread latte weight.  I was drinking one every day, and sometimes two.  I can't help it - I wait ALL YEAR for them to come out!  Then, because I don't know how long they will be around, I just go crazy and get them every day.  I really think that calories, sugars, and fats shouldn't count when it comes to seasonal items.

PS - I just heard there are also SHAMROCK SUNDAES!!!

The Adventurous Spirit

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future."

--- Chris McCandless, letter to a friend, taken from Into the Wild


This quote always makes me think about where I am in my life.  My future is about as secure as one's future can be, which is good in a responsible way.  But sometimes I think that secure future is stopping me from being really happy now, and squashing my adventurous spirit.  My job is OK - not my dream job, but OK.  Some days really suck, and other days are OK, but none are great.  So why do I keep this job?  Mostly because of the secure future - because of good retirement benefits, good health benefits, a decent salary, and a fairly large number of vacation days (compared to most private-sector jobs). Plus, I kind of sealed my fate by going to law school - I'm pretty much stuck in the legal world now.  I take some awesome vacations, but in between those times, I am not very satisfied with my daily routine.  I'm only 35 and I'm counting the days until retirement, when I can really have some fun.  I don't want to wait until 30 years to enjoy life - I want to enjoy it now! 

Ideally I would either have a job where I worked outside (like being a park ranger or a nature photographer or something), or I would own my own bookstore.  I have really been thinking about the bookstore thing, but people don't love books anymore.  Everyone has e-readers, and even big bookstores can't stay in business.  It would be cool to be a law school librarian, but that would require another degree, and there isn't a program for that around here.  Maybe I can just sell all my stuff and live in my tent.

Feeling a little rough this first morning of 2012?

If your New Year's Eve was anywhere near as fun as mine, you probably greeted the first morning of 2012 with a groan and a headache.  Luckily for us, I found this article, and thought today is the perfect time to share it:  12 Hangover Cures from Famous Heavy Drinkers.  Who knows how to cure a hangover better than some of my favorite writers, like Ernest Hemingway or William Faulkner??  But my favorite cure comes from Dean Martin:  "Stay drunk."

I'm not famous, but I'm going to share my own hangover cure.  I think it is pretty effective, and really easy.  When you wake up all dizzy at 5:00 am, with a raging headache and sick stomach, feeling like you might die, get out of bed, take a handful of advil, drink a 32-ounce bottle of G2, and go back to sleep.  When you wake up again, you should feel like a new person.  If you don't, move on to step 2.  Get out of bed and, still wearing your pajama pants, go to the nearest Irish pub (if you are in Seattle, I recommend the Celtic Swell on Alki).  Have an Irish coffee, with extra Jameson, and some waffle dogs (Irish sausage wrapped in waffle).  Follow that with another Irish coffee and a traditional Irish breakfast.  (As you can see, today was a step 2 day for me.)

You'll feel like a million bucks - or at least like you might not die. 

Happy 2012!