On exercise

There’s a great opening monologue in an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry is talking about working out and getting in shape.  Essentially, he surmises that everyone is working out and getting in shape simply to get through their workouts.  Aside from exercising itself, we really don’t have anything to get in shape for, so we’re sweating away at the gym simply to prepare for tomorrow’s workout.

The whole thing makes me laugh because, well, it’s true.  Once you graduate from the high school and/or college sports arena you really don’t have a whole lot of reasons to stay in shape.  Aside from all the health benefits associated with regular exercise, of course. 

I just find it somewhat ironic that if I unintentionally miss a day of exercise I fret and worry and generally feel bad.  And yet, I’m not training for a marathon, I’m not involved in any organized sports, and I don’t have to rely on my legs to get me to work each morning, so missing one day of working out probably isn’t the worst thing that could happen in my world. 

Part of it is psychological.  When I exercise I feel better, so by the simple law of mathematics the more I work out the better I feel.  But I also like to just “stay in shape.”  In shape for what, though?  For cruising the aisles at the grocery store?  For walking up and down the stairs at work?  What am I getting in shape for?  In reality it’s nothing.  I’m getting in shape simply for the sake of getting in shape, and while that is a great thing sometimes when I stop and think about it I just can’t help but laugh. 

I’m really not sure where I’m going with this one.  And maybe that’s okay.  Sometimes it’s good to linger on the path of rambling thought just to see where you might end up. 

I suppose on some level the whole exercise deal has been ingrained in me since I was little.  I played sports for god knows how many years and was essentially always “in season.”  Working out is just a part of my life.  And while it isn’t always something I enjoy doing or look forward to, I still feel better about myself when I step off the treadmill and start to catch my breath. 

It feels like an accomplishment.  And that is so important.  Because that means even on my worst day, when nothing is going right, I know that I can throw on my gym clothes, fire up the treadmill, and see just how far I can go.  Each day I can always go a little farther than the one before, and sometimes that’s all it takes to brighten up a dark day.

So maybe it’s not for nothing after all.

The spirit of the season

We are halfway through the month of December, and a mere 11 days away from what has (sadly) become the most commercialized holiday of all.....Christmas.  I for one have been relishing in the carols, the lights, the decorations, and the overall festive nature of the season.  I find it's almost hard to be in a bad mood with the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas everywhere I go.  For instance, every night when I turn the corner onto my street it makes me smile to see our house aglow with lights, and baking cookies also is so much more enjoyable with Dean Martin crooning "White Christmas" in the background.  And what is it about that tree in the living room that makes me feel so peaceful?  

Yes, most of us out there are in full Christmas mode, which I imagine means different things to different people.  And while this time of year is wonderful for so many things, it also brings up a lot of things which can be not so wonderful as well. 

Since before Thanksgiving we have been bombarded by advertisements from all sorts of different media encouraging us to get out there and spend, spend, spend.  To make us feel better about all the spending, these advertisements don't neglect to remind us that we will also be saving, saving, saving.  Blowout sales, Black Friday, one-day-only sales, every day I get something in the mail related to shopping.  And I have done my fair share of shopping this month, in fact I still have more to do.  Because Christmas is after all the season of giving.  The problem for a lot of us is that we don't know when to stop giving, or we worry that if we don't give enough we will be looked down upon in some way.  Gifts for family, friends, coworkers, students, the list goes on and on and bill keeps getting higher and higher.  I'm not trying to discourage buying gifts for the people we care about, but this time of year it seems we are under so much pressure to give something to every person we have ever known in our entire lives.  To give or not to give becomes the ultimate question of the month. 

Then there's the guilt factor.  And not just the guilt that comes with forgetting to buy a gift for someone, but the guilt we feel about not being able to donate to all the much needed and much appreciated charities.  I know they say that every little bit helps, but after you have given a little bit to every toy drive, canned food drive, and donation box, that little bit has turned into a lot.  I for one am happy to give to these wonderful missions, in fact I wish I was better at doing it year-round, but sometimes it's just too much.  This is where the guilt kicks in.  Not enough that I lose sleep over it, but enough to drain me a little bit each time I leave a store without dropping something in the charity box. 

Believe me, I'm not trying to be down on Christmas.  There are so many wonderful things associated with this holiday and so many great traditions to share with family and loved ones.  I guess sometimes I get discouraged because, like so many people before me have stated, the true nature of the season gets lost and before we know it Christmas is over and we're not even really sure why we were celebrating in the first place.  Many times during this month I feel a bit like Charlie Brown, wondering if someone can please remind me what Christmas is all about.

So yes.  There are a lot of outside stresses that come along with Christmas.  Every year we strive to create that perfect holiday experience for ourselves and our families, to give the perfect gifts to those that we know and love, to create an arsenal of perfect memories.  But beyond perfection, I hope we all take some time for inward reflection.  Some time to remember the reason for the holiday.  No matter our differing religious views, we all understand the importance and the purpose of love in our lives.  Love for our friends, our families, and for those who might be less fortunate than us. 

If nothing else, take the time to appreciate the love.  It will last a lot longer than some of those presents sitting under the tree.

Feeling "on top of it"

I'm back again, boys and girls.  Tell me you missed me.  Tell me you couldn't live another day without an enlightening, stimulating, inspirational post from the endless bounty that is my mind.  Just tell me you are reading my words.....so I don't feel like I am wasting my time sending these sentences into the oblivion that is the world wide web. 

I was away for about 10 days, and did not return home until this past Sunday.  The hubby and I dropped the dogs off at the kennel (I was so very sad to leave them), drove to Seattle, and hopped a plane to the state of New Mexico where we spent many happy days with Dean's family.  The trip for me was a real treat because in all the years Dean and I have been together (nine years, to be exact), I have never really gotten to spend much time with his extended family.  Most of them I had met exactly two times before this trip.  Others I had only met at our wedding, and other still I was meeting for the first time.  So I saw this trip, as Paul Harvey would have said, as an opportunity for me to learn, "the rest of the story."

And you know what?  It was a blast. 

I feel so incredibly blessed because while I love my own family with all their little quirks and eccentricities, I also have a super terrific in-law family that I now feel I can say I really belong to.  I now fully feel that I am related to all these great people, and more than once throughout the busy week I felt that warm, fuzzy, happy all over feeling that I get during those particular memorable family moments.  I truly am a lucky girl. 

So.  Great trip, followed by a return trip to Seattle where Dean and I manned the gates at the pregame function before Apple Cup.  Was it difficult getting into work mode after a long trip?  You betcha.  Did everything go off without a hitch?  More or less.  At the end of the day we got to spend time with our best friends so it really wasn't all that bad. 

Now we get to the heart of the post.  We return home Sunday evening and immediately start unpacking, doing laundry, and decorating the house for Christmas.  Because really, I couldn't wait much longer to pull out the garland and the snowmen....not to mention all my adorable Peanuts decorations.  Flash forward to Thursday, which of course is today, and my house looks like a tornado has ripped right through.  I can't see the floor of our den due to all the dirty clothes piles that are still there, not to mention the overcrowded coffee table that is holding fall decorations that need to be put away, or the kitchen, living room, hell, all the floors in the house that are dirty, covered with dog hair, and in need of some serious TLC.  Friends, in my world this is what I call UTTER CHAOS! 

You know that feeling you get when coming home from vacation?  Like you are waking up from a dream and you feel like the world and everything about "real life" has been put on hold, only to find out that isn't the case and the world has basically continued spinning without you?  Yea.....that's been like my entire week.  I feel slightly frazzled, extremely tired, and every time I look around at all the piles in every room of my house I want to just run away.  I know I'm a huge drama queen, and honestly I am handling the disarray much better than I thought I would.  I can be so anal about things, I'm honestly surprised I didn't spend all of Sunday and Monday deep cleaning and organizing until the house shone like new again.  Instead I have been living in squalor all week, and haven't complained about it once!  Okay, maybe I have once....but not for very long.  

I think what is keeping me balanced is the fact that I know once Saturday morning rolls around I will be in house cleaning mode, and by late that afternoon order will once again be restored and I can breathe easy again.  Every time I go on a trip I am always amazed at the time it takes for me to once again feel on top of things, both mentally and physically.  Going on vacation is hard work, kids.  I seriously needed this entire week off just to recoup and get my bearings!  

I am just one of those people who needs order in their life.  In the evenings when I get home from work I know it would be very easy just to fling my clothes on the bed and not give them a second thought, but if I did that I would actually give them a second, third, and maybe even fourth thought.  I know that if I don't put those clothes away in my closet it will just.....bother me.  Same with making the bed in the morning.  Even if I'm running a few minutes late, I still talk myself into making the bed because it just looks so neat and put together.  And coming home at night and seeing that made bed just makes me feel a little more calm.  I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.  And you're probably shaking your head thinking I should be seeing a shrink to deal with my OCD.  Don't worry, I've thought that myself a time or two. 

So while I am proud of myself for my flexibility in dealing with a dirty, unorganized house all week (I haven't made the bed once), I don't think it's a habit I will be adopting on a permanent basis.  Order and cleanliness are two things that make me extremely happy, so until that changes I'm just going to keep on keeping on.  

Happy December everyone!  Are you counting down to Christmas yet?? 

Who are you?

I think an undisputed part of growing up is learning exactly who we are and being comfortable with ourselves.  For some of us this is probably a lifetime process.  Sometimes I will think back on my younger self and shake my head at the way I used to act, at the person I tried so hard to pretend I was.  I've pondered on this blog before about growing up, about change, about becoming the person you are supposed to be.  And yet I still don't quite understand a lot of things.  I still feel like I have a long way to go before I know for sure who exactly I'm supposed to be in life and what the hell it is I'm supposed to do. 

Do you often get the feeling that you are standing still, watching others around you evolve and change?  Is that really the way it happens, or is it simply too hard for us to recognize the changes in ourselves? 

If my life were a movie I feel like this is the point where I as the main character would take drastic action and leave everything behind, then set out on a whirlwind travel adventure where I would learn valuable life lessons and discover, finally, who I really am.  All in the span of two hours.  

But the thing is, this isn't a movie and I don't necessarily want to leave everything behind.  I feel that despite all the questions I have floating around in my head about almost every conceivable thing, I know enough about myself to realize what I want.....what's important to me.

My family.  My friends.  My home.  My writing.  

I think what is throwing me off right now is that I feel like I should still be searching.  I feel like I should want certain things or not want others.....and I don't know if I should already be so content.  

I'm not trying to say I have it all figured out.  But for once in my life I feel like I am ready and able to own my wants and convictions, which has never been an easy thing for me to do.  Maybe I'm not currently undergoing any major life changes.  Maybe I already have.  But I know the next step is to capitalize on the things I finally know to be true, and not keep searching for things I have already found.   

If you're a fish, keep swimming....

 

Every now and then I come across things that just speak to me.  I found the quote above during some Internet browsing and it instantly clicked for me.  The concept of the message is quite simple, yet I find it's oftentimes hard to put into practice. 

None of us are great at everything we try.  There are in fact some things we will never master or have much luck with.  And it is so often by these shortcomings and failings that we judge ourselves.....and others. 

Why do we so often find ourselves dwelling on our mediocre abilities?  Why is it sometimes so hard to focus on things we are not just good, but great at doing?  

I know I have asked these questions before, but I feel that this quote really puts it all into perspective.  If we are going to judge ourselves and others, why not focus on those qualities that make us.....geniuses.  In some way shape or form. 

Hello, fall

I've been absent from my blog for awhile, although my mind continues to think about potential posts almost every day.  This time of year, particularly this month, is always busy and try as I might I am never able to do all the things I wish I could.  Plans and projects get pushed to the back burner until finally I emerge from what feels like a fog of constant activity and finally find the time to slow down again.  

Time to slow down again.  Quite the concept, isn't it?

At some point during my leave of absence Mother Nature decided that it was officially time to switch over from summer to fall.  For awhile we were in a back and forth pattern, experiencing one very warm day followed by a couple cooler ones, but then one morning on my way to work I noticed the leaves of a particular tree were starting to turn red.  Then little by little more leaves decided to start turning vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow.  The days started growing shorter and shorter, and the mornings became even more dark.  You can smell fall.  It has a smokey undertone, a brisk overture of cool air and changing foliage.  You can feel the season as it creeps into being, and it attacks all your senses when it hits full force and decides to stay. 

As far as seasons go, fall is easily my second favorite.  There are times when I consider putting it at the top of my list, and if I didn't have a job where fall was the busiest work season then it might just be my favorite.  But when it comes to laid back and fancy free, summer has yet to be beat. 

But there are so many wonderful things about the fall, so many qualities that just get better and better.  So as a way of easing myself back into the blogging routine, I am going to share with you some of my favorite things about the fall season, that I am currently enjoying in full force. 

1. Meals in the Crock Pot.  While technically this ingenious kitchen device can be used year round, food in the crock pot always tastes the best in fall and winter.  Stew, chili, soups, there are endless opportunities for warm, delicious meals. 

2. Pumpkin spice lattes.  While the Starbucks original is hands down my favorite, I do also enjoy the pumpkin spice creamer that Coffeemate releases.  Yummy goodness first thing in the morning!

3. Egg nog.  Along the same lines as the lattes, egg nog is finally back on the supermarket shelves.  So very delicious it just screams fall (and also goes well in coffee).

4. Halloween.  As I proclaimed at this time last year, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (yes, I consider it a holiday) because I for one am a fan of all things that go "bump" in the night.  Spooky stories, movies, decorations, you name it.....I just can't get enough!

5. College Football.  Even though my beloved Cougars aren't in the top of any of the rankings, there's nothing like college football season.  Cougar Football Saturdays are like mini holidays in and of themselves.

6. Candles.  Again, there is no law that says candles cannot be lit year-round, but for me the beginning of fall is also the beginning of candle season.  Plus, they have the BEST scents out during the fall, so bring on the cinnamon, spice, and everything else that is reminiscent to being warm and toasty.

7. Scenery.  Let's face it, some seasons are just prettier than others.  Here on the Palouse we have some absolutely gorgeous days during the fall, and it is definitely one of the prettiest times of year for the area.  Every day on my way to work I just want to pull over my car and go jump in a pile of multi-colored leaves. 

8. Haunted Palouse.  An annual event that takes place in a neighboring town, it has become a favorite fall activity for my family.  You walk through old downtown buildings while community volunteers dressed in their Halloween best jump out and scare the daylights out of you.  Not to mention the haunted hayride where you get chased by a chainsaw wielding maniac.  Classic.

9. Colors.  Between the bushes, the leaves, the sunsets, everything just seems so vibrant in the fall.  The combinations of reds, browns, oranges, and yellows are simply stunning.

10. Sweaters.  While I do not enjoy being cold, I do enjoy warming up....especially in a cozy sweater.  This time of year I actually kind of enjoy perusing the "warm" side of my closet and bundling up against the chill in the air. 

Ahhhh.....fall.  Such a wonderful variety of things to enjoy.  Now wait and talk to me when there is 12 inches of snow piling up outside and I will be pining for the first signs of summer.  Such is the cruel reality of the changing seasons.

Blah

I wasn't going to blog about this because it makes me feel like a whiny little child.  But since I can't get it off my mind I'm going to do it and just face the judgment which will inevitably follow.  

I'm feeling a bit blah right now.  I'm not necessarily sad and depressed, but I'm just not excited about anything.  I'm trying so hard to bombard myself with positive thoughts and little doses of inspiration but it's not working.  I'm also being very hard on myself about things, and feeling bad about situations I don't have a lot of control over.  

I just want to shake myself back to normalcy.  I just want to snap out of this and feel happy with everything because life on all fronts is actually going very well.  You know those people who complain about every little thing just because they like to complain?  That's what I feel like right now.  I also in a way feel like I'm being ungrateful.  I mean, who feels like this when there is nothing inherently wrong?

I'm one of those people who tries really, really hard to avoid bad moods.  And most of the time I'm pretty good at it.  But right now none of my regular methods are working.  I just can't trick myself into a good mood right now and I think I'm just going to have to ride this out until I a) figure out what the real problem is, or b) just snap out of it. 

I've been know to over analyze, to think a situation to death and take things a bit too seriously.  Sometimes, yes, it is hard for me to just lighten up.  Is this one of those times?  Am I making something out of nothing?

I guess time will tell.  In the meantime, I can only hope that something comes along to excite and motivate me.  A new project I can tackle that will somehow bring me back from this feeling of.....blah.   

On newspapers

We recently canceled our newspaper subscription.  It was a mutual decision between my husband and I, and at the time we felt certain we were doing the right thing.  As of late it seemed that neither one of us had the time or energy at the end of the day to leaf through the stories, which meant that my recycling bin was filling up with newspapers that often never even got unrolled.  I found that I was going online to get my news from a variety of different sources which seemed to suit me better seeing as how I spent most of my day in front of the computer.  But perhaps our biggest reason for not renewing our subscription was that we were less than satisfied with the content of the newspaper.  It’s not that we weren’t getting the skinny on local happenings; we just felt we were missing out on everything that was happening in, well, the rest of the world.  And yes, I know that most all newspapers around the country are in dire straits at the moment so I have been trying to set realistic expectations for our small little paper that serves two communities.

And so.  We are going on week two of no newspaper and I think I’m ready to throw in the towel. 

You know how when you have something you’re more inclined to complain about it, but once it’s gone you can’t help but feel withdrawals and realize it wasn’t as bad as you thought?  That’s kind of what I’m going through right now.

The newspaper used to be a staple in the lives of almost all Americans.  You would read the newspaper in the morning as you sat eating breakfast, or at night when you got home from work.  It was your source for televised sporting events, movie listings, and job advertisements.  The newspaper was kind of a catch-all for American society.  And now?

We have the beast known as the Internet.  More and more people are going online for news because they are already online for entertainment purposes, so it’s like two birds with one stone.  Plus you can access so much more online.  The New York Times, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly (admit it, we’re not solely checking out legitimate news sites).  This is not a new trend, it’s been in the works for quite some time and if you are involved in any way with the newspaper business you know that for a lot of papers it’s do or die time. 

But I digress.  No more than five minutes after I got off the phone with someone at the paper telling them that, sadly, I wouldn’t be renewing my subscription at this time, I wanted to call them right back and say that I made a terrible mistake.  I didn’t mean what I said, of course I still want to get the paper!  What was I thinking?  They must have been talking to someone impersonating me. 

Because the truth is boys and girls, even with all my level-headed reasoning for deciding not to renew, I miss my newspaper.  I miss having it sitting there on my coffee table, the front headline emblazoned across the page, just waiting for me to pick it up and start reading.  I like being able to hold the newspaper in my hand, to see the words on the page, with no pop ups or extra links to click in order to get to the story.  On the days when I did find time to read the paper, I found the process of skimming the stories to be relaxing.  I even enjoyed the sound of the pages as I would turn them. 

Okay, enough with the sentimental garbage.  Maybe I’m going through some kind of twisted guilt thing since I used to write for my college newspaper and feel that my recent lack of newspaper support is somehow a mortal strike against my character, or maybe I’m just too old fashioned to be satisfied with online news.  I’m a purist at heart.  And even with the flaws, I’ve decided that I simply cannot live without the daily thump on my door alerting me that my newspaper has arrived.  (Actually, in all honesty, I could do without the thump because they deliver our paper at like, 5 a.m., and sometimes that thump is so loud I wake up in a panic thinking something or someone is trying to get into my house, and by the time I realize it’s just the paper I’m too wired to fall back asleep, so….yea.  A little less thumping would be appreciated).

What about you?  Do you think Americans are giving up on the daily newspaper or will print journalism continue to survive in the coming years and decades? 

Are you happy or content?

I have so many moments throughout my day where I just stop what I'm doing and try to decide if I'm happy.  Does anyone else do this?  Happiness is so fleeting, I will literally feel euphoric and on top of the world one minute, then no more than a few seconds later I'm feeling just....blah. 

I battle with myself a lot on the matter of happiness vs. contentedness.  I think these two feelings are definitely related, and definitely share some overlap.  I can't really decide if one feeling is better than the other, but I do think it's extremely easy to mistake feeling content with being truly happy.

Now I suppose you're going to tell me that I have to put a definition on these terms.  A most impossible task, I'm afraid, but I'll do the next best thing and ramble on about the two until I reach some kind of random, possibly off the mark point.  

I think most of us are pretty good at figuring out what makes us happy, at defining certain places and people that bring us the most joy.  On the same end of the spectrum it's also easy for us to figure out those things, people, places in life that don't make us happy.  

Yes, it's easy.  Except when it's not. 

I think sometimes we talk ourselves into happiness.  Whether it's with certain people or situations, we rationalize away all the warning flags and somehow convince ourselves that we are, in fact, happy.  But why do we feel the need to do this?  Why is it sometimes so hard for us to admit that happiness eludes us, and that something needs to change?

I think this is where contentedness comes in, which I categorize as the middle ground between happiness and unhappiness.  I think it stems largely from being comfortable with something or someone, and when you are more or less satisfied yet still experience moments of slight panic and yearn for instant escape and reprieve.  Okay, maybe that's a tad dramatic.  But you get my point, right?  Contentedness is okay for awhile....until it's not. 

I think that sometimes, at least for myself, it can be hard for us to break out of our content states because to do so means taking a bit of a risk.  And taking a risk is often a very scary thing.  We lose our security blankets, our sense of familiarity, and failure becomes a very real possibility.  Besides, who out there likes to fail?  How does that in any way lead us to be happier?

What I've come to discover is happiness is something that must be worked toward.  It doesn't just happen on its own and it takes a lot of our own mental energy to make the leap from content to happy.  I struggle a lot in my own life with deciphering between these two states, and even when I know I should make a change and take a chance to better my situation, it's sometimes very hard to take that leap.  I also did not mean to suggest by this post that I am inherently unhappy with my life, but I am working to evaluate things more and trying to force myself to take the steps necessary for some of the things I truly want.  


The picture which accompanies this post is also entirely appropriate because lets face it, dogs know a thing or two about happiness and life's simple pleasures.  Plus, whenever my two beagles do the head tilt similar to the one pictured above, those are moments that make me incredibly happy.

My love yet mostly hate relationship with my cell phone

I’m not even going to beat around the bush with this one, kids.  I’ve needed to get this out for a long time so I’m just going to go ahead and put it all out there in the open.

I hate my cell phone.

God, it feels good to write that.  It might also feel good to shout those words but I have neighbors and don’t want to tarnish the illusion of normalcy I have so tediously created for myself.  Of course, now that I have written those words and subsequently published them here in the blogosphere, I suppose I need to explain myself.  So pardon me while I stretch out on the imaginary psychiatrist’s couch in front of me and bear my soul about my love/hate (but mostly hate) relationship with cellular telephones.

I’m not sure when it began.  I’m not sure how it began.  But I think the turning point was definitely around the time I purchased my iPhone.  To go on record officially, I did not want an iPhone.  I had no inherent desire to own an iPhone.  But standing there in the AT&T store I let myself fall under the persuasion of my husband and a fast-talking salesman.  I let myself be seduced by a touch screen and instant compatibility to iTunes, email, and “apps.”  I cannot tell you the memory capacity of my iPhone or any detailed, specific information most technologically educated people would rely on when making the decision to buy a product.  Hell, I just recently learned how to look up a phone number while on the line with someone else.  That’s about as advanced I can get. 

So, let’s move this story along.  I get the new phone and okay, it’s kind of cool.  I mess around with downloading some apps, I connect it to my email account, I surf the web faster than I can on my overloaded laptop, and I think that maybe this phone is one of the greatest things I have ever owned.  With the passing of time I soon come to the realization that this phone isn’t the greatest thing I have ever owned and has in fact ruined any chance I ever had of being able to disconnect.  I realized that apps such as Drinking Games, Mike Tyson Main Event, and Calorie Calc really didn’t do much to better my life (by the way, two of those apps came from my husband’s phone.  I’ll let you guess which ones), and in fact the app I used the most on my phone was the free version of solitaire I downloaded on the very first day.  Also, as time goes by I realize that my hatred does not extend merely to the smart phones, but to all cell phones throughout the four corners of the earth.  But back to the disconnect statement….what does that even mean?  I’ll tell you what it means.  It means that I have now become an absolute FREAK about checking email on my phone.  Sometimes I’ll do it several times in the course of ten minutes.  It’s not even a conscious choice anymore, I just do it whenever I happen to be in the vicinity of my phone and not because I care if I have new email, not because I feel like writing an email, no, I check simply because of the fact that I CAN.  With the swift touch of my pointer finger I am instantly connected to my inbox.  It’s so convenient, so effortless, and really helps me stay efficient and on top of things.  Yea, okay, except for the fact that I don’t want to be checking work email at 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night.  Yet when I see that number “1” staring back at me from the bottom of my screen I am almost powerless to resist the urge to see, to just peek, at who is the sender of the note.  This is infuriating behavior and yet I feel powerless to stop. 

My next rant can be applied to all cell phones.  I am an equal opportunity insulter of all phones, all shapes and sizes.  And believe me, I feel like such an old person when I say this….but texting for the most part drives me nuts (as I typed that last sentence my little sister sent me a text....man I love her).  Most people describe texting as quick and instant communication.  I call it the longest most drawn out way to have a conversation with someone.  Plus, people can choose to ignore text messages for hours, days even, without any kind of reply.  At least when you are talking on the phone or in person it’s usually a quicker response time.  Texting also forces you to split your concentration for an unknown amount of time.  You could potentially be attempting to carry out a verbal conversation with someone while intermittently taking breaks to respond to a conversation you are having via text.  Kind of an exhausting process, and kind of super annoying for the person who has to watch you text. 

I think the thing that bothers me the most about cell phones is that, hypothetically, they make us accessible to everyone at all times.  And I know this has benefits, such as if you are being chased by a crazy axe murderer all you have to do is pull out your nifty little cell phone and presto!  Help is on the way!  This is comforting and probably could have saved the lives of many doomed characters in those campy horror movies I love so much.  But herein lays the ultimate question.  How accessible do we really want to be?  Why do we feel the need to be connected to so many channels and so many people at all times throughout the day?  I will admit, I feel lost when I don’t have my cell phone tucked away in my purse or, more often than not, clutched in my hand and ready to be used in a moments notice.  I resent that lost feeling I have when my phone isn’t with me and hate that I am so committed to this one device.

So what is one to do?  Is there a happy medium that exists between staying technologically current and blissfully unconnected?

Maybe this is about more than cell phones.  At the root of it all the emails, the texting, the apps, and all the other fantastic features of the modern cell phone are nothing more than distractions.  I personally am coming around to the idea that when it comes to a cell phone, less is oftentimes more.  And by less I mean less of my personal time wasted on simply playing with my phone.  Therefore, I am on a mini cell phone strike until the day when my cell phone can clean the house, walk the dogs and fold my never-ending pile of laundry.  But really, who am I kidding.  They probably have an app for that.