So, what have the psychologists at Columbia been up to recently, you may wonder? Busy working out causes to what triggers pedophelia or how to strengthen your willpower? Nope. They've been studying the Great El Hombre (who is that guy, by the way?) and how his reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and such match up to the Late Great Babe Ruth. Now there is a great use of trained minds, campus equipment, and resources. You'll be happy to know (if you know who the guy is and like baseball) he scored quite similarly to Mr. Ruth - in fact, he was off the charts on one test. Doesn't the world feel like a much better place to you now??? I know I'll sleep better tonight. LOL
Ok. Question for the day... how MUCH is TOO MUCH? We seem to live in a society of largesse. One more drink, larger portions, bigger houses, faster cars... materially speaking, more is more. From a psychological/relationship standpoint, we want instant connection, instant intimacy, and undying loyalty/devotion/abject admiration. However, it occurs to me that while we're willing to put a lot in to get the material things in life, we're not as willing to put in the time/energy/effort it requires to really earn what we want on the psychological/relationship side. So, is what we want too much or are we just lazy?
Will have to expound more on this later.. not looking too cute and I have to be out the door in five minutes.
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So, it looks like I'm going to Las Vegas in November. Almost right after I get back from our company trip to San Fransisco/Napa, it looks like I'll be headed to Vegas for the BigBuilder '06 convention. 3 days of conferences and networking with my partner at the Mandalay Bay. Sad thing is, I know I NEED to do this; but, I can't tell whether I want to or not. What is WRONG with me? LOL On the upside, my hotel room is huge! I do so love the Mandalay...
The kids didn't want the Thatch Pepper chicken. Should have really been able to guess that. So, I'm doing French Herb Stuffed Chicken with risotto. As I'm writing this, I'm watching my little one "practice" the new Cheetah Girls 2 song that they're playing ad nauseum on Disney Channel. She's "performing" it tomorrow with three of her girl friends for her expo teacher. My child is such a diva, but it's totally cute!!!
So, I went to lunch today with someone that had me tre' cranky by the end of the meal. Went to one of my favorite places to eat, Jaspers. Noon reservations and a Chicken and Spinach salad calling my name. I was pumped. Well, the whole time we were there this person complained about everything! We didn't get seated fast enough (we had reservations, we shouldn't have to wait), how long does it take to get an appetizer out here (admittedly, it did take nearly 20 minutes, but it wasn't like they were going to waste away from hunger), this food is too dry and your salad looks wilted (I thought my salad looked fabulous), our waitress doesn't come by often enough to refill the tea (well, you have the bottle in front of you, you could pour it yourself?), this place is too expensive to be sitting near the kitchen (Crystal side-note: I truly detest talking about what things cost unless you're talking about a good retail steal. It just seems distasteful, especially when you're not paying). Admittedly, Jaspers fell down on the job today. But, for this one time of mediocre dining experience, there's been over a dozen great experiences.
I guess what really got me was the different filters through which we chose to view the world. For my dining companion, the experience was all-around terrible and completely unsalvageable. To the point that they took the time to get the number of the place so they could call and complain about the waitress later. Now, I didn't really care for our waitress, either; she did spend a LOT of time running back and forth doing nothing, from what I could see. But, instead of going to get the number to complain; I went and asked for the name of the waitress next to us (who has served me in the past and I loved) so that I could request her section the next time I make reservations (not with today's companion). I recognize the food is far better than I can make myself (and I do think I'm a pretty good cook); so, I'm not going to complain if the salad looks slightly limp (could be from all the junk they put on it, anyway). To my companion, the excessive wait was a drain - had it not been for the complaining, I saw it as a good opportunity to get to talk and get to know each other better. How can two people be in such similar stations in life, and view things so differently???
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Ok, finishing up on the "more is more" train of thought from earlier... it really does seem that we want more than what we're willing to work for. I know, not exactly a "stop the presses" thought, but as that's not a theory I subscribe to, it boggles me. Call me crazy, but I LIKE having to work for what I get. I enjoy knowing I've earned the stuff I have (which is a big part of why I don't like or use credit cards), it feels good knowing that I've worked for the connection I have with people, and so on. I really wanted to type more, but suddenly.. I'm tired. So, I think I'll go to bed instead. Goodnight.
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