I am rich! (and so are you)

It is easy for many of us, including myself, to get caught up in complaining about what we don't have or what we wish was better about our life. And while I do fall into this rut more often than I would like to admit, I am trying very hard to have the proper perspective. Because you know what? I am unbelievably blessed (lucky if you like), and so are most of you (you meaning Americans, not just the meager readership of my blog).

Look, I know everything is not perfect: the one thing I want to fill my life more than anything else I do not have. But most everything else in my life is pretty frickin' good. I have a fairly secure job in a severe economic downturn. I am relatively successful at my job and make more money than I probably deserve (whatever "deserve" means). I am healthy, have a family that loves me, if imperfectly, and amazing friends. And the list could go on and on. And yes, not having in my life what I most want can make all my experiences a little bittersweet, but it is still very sweet.

Think about all of the people in the world who are desperately poor. In 2005, it was estimated that 1.4 billion people live in "extreme poverty" (living on less than $1.25 a day). That number was 430 million more than previously estimated. Take a moment to let that soak in. They underestimated the number of people in extreme poverty by almost one-and-a-half times the US population! Now some may argue your perceptions are relative to what you are used to. In other words, if you are used to $200,000 a year, $50,000 may seem like very little money. Therefore, people who live in third world countries (I think the PC term is underdeveloped) are content because they are doing fine relative to what they are used to. But consider that 2.6 billion people (roughly 40% of the world's population) do not even have access to a toilet. Having basic sanitation is about more than lifestyle or comfort - the lack of it can lead to all sorts of diseases and considerably raises child morbidity. Imagine not having access to clean drinking water, drinking from the same stream that people relieve themselves in.

Don't you see how truly blessed all of us really are? Your job may not be your dream job and may not pay as much as you would like, but if you take just a small step back, you will realize how good you have it. I'm not saying don't reach for that perfect job or that bigger paycheck. But dammit, stop complaining and put on a positive attitude, because the grass is green on this side, my friend. If you can't see this, your eyes are wide shut.

The fruit of love

Over the past few months, Jason Mraz has become one of my favorite musical artists. I love discovering new musicians, but Mraz is something special and has shot straight to the top of my list. I was introduced to him early last year by an amazing young lady who, unfortunately, seems to think quite the opposite of me. At the time I didn't realize how amazing he was, probably in part due to the fact that she introduced me to him on some pretty lousy sounding laptop speakers (how a professional musician can bear to listen to music on those tone-butchering speakers is quite beyond me).

One of my favorite songs by Jason (I really want to call him JM, but another excellent musician has aleady claimed those initials) is called Wordplay. The song is very clever - just trying to sing along with the song can be quite challening. In the second verse, he employs a pretty neat little trick I first learned about relative to the radio. See, good radio talk show hosts realize the power of silence. Sometimes, before they are about to say something important or that they want to make sure their audience hears, especially after a long monologue, they will pause. The pause might last 2-3 seconds or more, which seems like an eternity on the radio. But it is so powerful because, after the pause, the next thing they say stands out in contrast to the silence. If you are listening to the radio in the background, the sound after the pause will often suddenly catch your attention.

So in this song Wordplay, Jason sings "Gotta find another way to keep from goin' under /
Pull out the stops / [PAUSE] / Got your attention". What I really like about this is how he works in the dynamic of the pause into the lyrics themselves. He sings "stops" and then the music literally stops for an instant. After the pause, the next line is "got your attention." He is capturing your attention by stopping and then resuming, and in the very words he sings next he is pointing out he does in fact have your attention again. You probably need to listen to the song (around 1:30) to really appreciate it, but I think it's actually pretty clever.

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Now playing: Jason Mraz - Wordplay
via FoxyTunes   

If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.

Advantage, girls

Perhaps the experience I am about to describe is a little odd, so consider yourself forewarned.

See, on occasion, I find myself finishing my business at the urinal only to discover that I, in fact, need to now relieve myself , let's say, sitting down. How I did not realize this upon my entry into the restroom is unclear, but sometimes the sensation can be somewhat sudden. And when this occurs I myself in a bit of a quandary, especially when I am at work and others are in the room. For some reason I find it somewhat embarrassing to make my way directly from the urinal to a stall. I feel as if I am sending the signal that I do not know my own body (or worse). Would you trust someone's work who is uncertain of the what they are doing in bathroom?

And then I started thinking, what is really interesting to me about this is that girls do not suffer the same problem. Whenever they are going to the bathroom, they are always in a stall sitting down. They can switch it up without anyone noticing. Must be nice...