Wayward Tree Cycle

I was always taught that honesty is the best policy. Most people have heard those words in one form or another. The problem is, when my parents gave me that valuable lesson, they didn't teach me the art of subtlety. I didn't know that there was such a thing as nuance and that sometimes it's better to stay quiet, or at least edit down ones honesty!

Fastforward to me being around 10 or 11 years old. My mother walks out of her bedroom, having just gotten ready for church, when she asks me, "How does this dress look?" It was black and white and, at least to me, the way the colours and shapes were designed on it, it looks very orca like.

Apparently saying, "You look like a killer whale," was not the correct answer. Keep in mind, I was not referring to her weight (she didn't know this, of course) and I wasn't even insulting the dress (I like orcas). She rushed back to the masterbedroom upstairs, and then came back in a different outfit (one that has not stuck in my mind) and threw away the monochromatic one.

Kissing is weird! There, I said it!

I know what you're thinking, "Hey, what are you talking about?! Sounds like somebody's never had an amazing kiss!" And I would tell you that you are 100% wrong. I really enjoy kissing, but if you really think about it, it is a strange thing to do.

We take the part of out body that breathes, eats, drinks, and (unfortunately) sometimes dispels the same food and drink it took in. Then, we press that one another person's face hole that does the same stuff! Oh, and before I forget, we also release gas through the same place. So who figured this out first? What bored cave-person decided to press their food hole on somebody else's?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they did!

Where did the all of the sitcoms go?!!?

I mean, I do know, they became unscripted "reality" shows in the early 2000s because of a writer's strike.

But that doesn't mean we can't have them back! I miss the days when networks would throw anything at the wall and see what sticks. I know, I know, this is an expensive habit, but it doesn't have to be. I mean, here's a wild idea. We start paying the actors less, the writers more and give us viewers some more variety!

And I am them! Like I posted about before, a lot of time I feel like I am some kind of alien creature trying to fake their way through this world and look as human as possible. Well, I still feel that way, but at least now I know a little bit more why I feel that way.

Over stimulation!

I guess I didn't read my post about money closely enough. Did I do better than I have in the past? Yes. Did I do well, though? Oh no!

I did set aside money for an important car repair that I need, but I did not set aside money for a planned vaction. Thank fully the spending didn't go as wild as it has in the past, so there is vaction money left. The problem is, when I went off to...

So, one of the things I've been doing this month is watching movies. Now I know that something like this is not unique to me and it's not even unique to this month. What I am doing this time around, though, to make it different is that I am actively watching the films I put on. This means no phone, tablet, or other distractions while watching the movie. Now that's not to say that I haven't done anything while watching. My hands like to be moving, so I do end up doing things like folding clothes, playing with my straw, or just fiddling with my shirt sleeve. The difference between now and before is that none of those things take me out of the experience of what I'm viewing.

Yes. Yes, I do! I thought about using AI to "create" something and put it out there, but nothing I found or had it make ever felt real. (I use the term "real" loosely, I know this is all digital.) And while I am not going to claim that everything I put on here will be quality, it will contain my own thoughts and words.

That being said, we are all inspired by things and one of the reasons I am doing this in a blog format is so that I can use titles from Sick Sad World, a fictional TV show on the MTV series Daria. A lot of them are strange, and a bit quirky at times... and I love them! They are also great at inspiring bigger ideas for me to write about.

PS: Each time I use something from the show, I will tag "Sick Sad Wolrd" at the bottom because I give credit when I "steal."

It's so much easier to see when other people waste their money! Like with anything, when we commit a vice, or make a mistake ourselves, we sometimes don't notice until it's too late (if we notice at all). Like that one book says, it's easier to see a splinter in somebody else's eye than it is to see the plank of wood in our own. My plank is money!

When I get a little bit of dough, I have to cook an entire loaf! Sorry, my metaphor is getting away from me. All I mean is that when I get some money I feel almost obligated to spend it. This comes from multiple sources. One reason is that I was never taught/shown why to save. My parents told me, "You should save!" and that was it. While that might be good enough for some people, it never worked for me. And now, as somebody who has lived 4 centuries and counting, I know why I need to save, but I never built up the muscles to be able to do it properly. The other two main reasons is being told "you can't take it with you" and always feeling like I would never have money again.

All of this creates a mindset that is tough to fight, even as a responsible adult. It's also why I am so easily able to see when other people are making financial mistakes. So that's why I decided to write this post. I'm hoping that (like with other entries) when I see this in writing, that it speaks to me the same way I try to speak to others.

So, pay your bills, save some for future emergencies and bigger purchases, and just wait a couple beats before spending all willy nilly!

Stop objectifying people, please!

We typically use the word "objectify" to talk about how creepy, old men look at and talk about young women, but there is more to it than that. Yes, we also need to stop sexualizing almost everybody! The easiest way to do that is to realize that everybody is their own unique, complex person. If Taylor Swift wants to drink beer, let her! If Patrick Stewart wants to talk about things other than Star Trek, let him! It's just that easy. When we view somebody though our own, narrow window, then we are objectifying them. I can make a generalization and say that if you're reading this, you don't want people to know you for only one thing (good or bad), so stop looking at others that way.

Here's were being a lazy person like myself makes life easier. I don't know or care what famous people are doing right now. I heard about Ms. Swift and her beer from another source and they told me how others were flipping out. It doesn't affect me or my enjoyment of her work, so let her do it. As a big fan of Star Trek, I really love The Next Generation and Picard is "my captain," but Picard is not Mr. Stewart.

Got a dog-dish full of love, tonight on Sick, Sad World.

I am getting bored with food! Everything has been tasting the same lately except for a few exceptions. It's also getting boring having to eat...

EVERY...

SINGLE...

DAY!!

When does memory become nostalgia?

There may be no literal difference, but you know the feeling I'm talking about, right? We all think about the past every once and a while. Those memories flow in and out of our minds and we move on throughout our day. Sometimes, though, there's a flip of a switch where those memories go deeper and affect us more. That's where I make the distinction of nostalgia.

Nostalgia, in the case of this post, is when you feel like you are literally taken back into your past. Music is REALLY good about doing this. Sometimes you can be listening to a song, or watching a music video and your brain zaps you back to when you first experienced it, or a time that was important to you and the song was on. Recently, I've had this feeling while re-listening to some podcasts from the early 2000s. It was weird listening to Marc Gunn talk about cat songs and all of a sudden I'm remembering sitting at a Wendi's drive-thru in Central Florida!