Spanksgiving

After several weeks of mind numbing thoughtlessness - the usual work monotony and countless real-time Office Space moments,  I present you a new post...<insert ridiculous graphic here>

Lately I have noticed a rash of Facebook posts consisting of a countdown of sorts about what each user is thankful for.  Therefore, I decided to compile my own list of shit I'm thankful for in the spirit of being thankful.  There is actually a lot to be thankful for - these are the highlights of the day.  Grab a cocktail and enjoy.

Shit I am Thankful For....

• I am thankful that this is a three day work week and a five day weekend - see next item.  This downtime will enable me to spend time with family, friends, and furry babies.

• I am thankful for having six weeks of vacation despite the solid ten plus years I have spent whoring for the Man.  This is probably the one and only good thing I will say about my employment situation right now.

• I am thankful for music and its numerous vehicles - i.e. live shows, Pandora, SiriusXM, KDHX, and my iPod.  I am also thankful for my parents early push in the direction of music whether it be through listening or being forced into taking those damn piano lessons.  I ended up sticking with them for over a decade and don't regret any second of it.  Music has been and forever will be a constant in my life.  

• I am thankful for social anxiety.....wait - what?  No really....I am thankful for this son of a bitch disorder (if you will) because it forced me to force myself out of my protective comfort zone.  Over the past decade or so, I have learned how to fight back.  This has led to engaging in completely radical and sometimes crazy/stupid activities not to mention meeting new and amazing friends.  Yeah...fuck you, anxiety. 

• I am thankful for having a relatively small but supportive and loving family.  The small part comes in handy this time a year.....more food and liquor to go around.

• I am thankful for having such an amazing collection of friends that reside all over the place.  I am lucky to be surrounded by such a unique, diverse, and completely bat shit crazy group of amazing individuals.  I love you all.  I will give you a minute or two to complete the vomit process........done?  Good - now let's move on.

• I am thankful that my health and body have put up with all the abuse served up over the past thirty-six years.  I am able to still do all of the things I enjoy with minimal pain or discomfort.  I hope to be able to continue doing what I do for many years to come.  

• That being said - I am thankful for medications such as Advair and Singulair.  They help my abused lungs keep up especially during those heavy allergen moments.

• I am thankful for beer and whiskey.  They get us through the holidays and other trying times.  Do I need to say more?  I didn't think so.

• I am thankful for having two super cool human beings for parents, and I miss my dad each and every day.

• Last but not least - I am thankful for my wife because she puts up with an immense amount bullshit and shenanigans compliments of me.  I love you Stacey Ann.  Commence vomiting!

Have a safe and happy stuff yourself stupid while hanging out with family/friends day!

Whoa is me

Two measly weeks on the IR wagon, and I feel disconnected from the world.  I am a go! go! go! person who overloads the personal/social calendar with everything from athletics to drunken bicycle rides.  Sitting idle makes me bat shit crazy...

                                                       ....make that Gary Busey crazy.

Moving along - so everything 'active' is currently on hold until further notice, which gives me ample time to dream up weird shit to blog and rant about right?  Sure.  I'll get right on that.

Let's talk about social networking and all its glory.  It could be me, but I sense a decline in Facebooking or should I say intelligent rants and/or conversations.  Has all the nonsense - relentless game requests, ads, event requests, pokes, and the constant flow of memes and other random graphics - pushed users over the edge?  I honestly feel as though I could get poked more, but that's another story.

Facebook will celebrate its ninth year in the electronic world this coming February.  However, this year marks its first true year in the wonderful world of politics via the presidential election.  Jump in the way back machine with me as we travel back to 2008.  How many of you actually had a Facebook profile back then or even were aware such madness existed?  Don't fib - I know a good majority of you were loyal MySpacers. Internet users began to witness the first signs of a massive social networking exodus in late 2008.  Facebook, which once upon a time was more prominent amongst college students, began to spread its love to the masses.  In less than a year, the Facebook population virtually doubled and continued to grow exponentially as time pressed on.  Most of the folks I once met and socially networked with were shit canning their MySpace pages and migrating over to Facebook.  One by one the MySpace messages read - I am deleting this page and heading over to Facebookland.  It's been a gas, MySpace....or something to that effect anyhow.

And now for a moment of silence...

Zip back with me now to today - Sept. 2012 - the first official election year on Facebook.  We all know how annoying election years are.  Now we can add yet another media source to the barrage of smear campaigns via television, print, electronic, and radio.  Facebook takes it to a new level - personal smear campaigns via random and usually biased 'facts' associated with a terrible graphic.  I am not being biased here because it comes from ALL sides of the political spectrum.  I feel compelled to stay away from social networking as much as possible until December.  I'll get right on that.

Alright - alright enough graphics.  The sad thing is that I tend to lean towards Facebook to get my up-to-date news via the local media Facebook pages.  It's not necessarily a bad thing.  It's not always a good thing.  It just is.  What I don't miss is seeing all the smear campaign ads on television this time around.  There are some benefits to not having cable - besides the fact that it is cost efficient. The last Facebook census checked in around 900 million users.  That is a phenomenal amount of networking, folks.  However, there is a dark side - as always.  We or at least I see more of more people walking/driving/biking/whatever with their faces buried into their phones - oblivious to the world.  Good, old-fashioned conversations seem to be diminishing.  It seems like a bad habit we - yes, we - have fallen into as mobile and wireless technology continues to advance.  Here is one relatively easy and inexpensive suggestion - light a bonfire or a basic fire pit for that matter, buy cold, refreshing beverages, and invite friends to gather around the fire for some genuine face-to-face conversation.  Works like a charm.

Until next time...