So many thoughts....where to begin.

I'm not entirely sure where to start, how to transition, or how to finish.  I'll give it a shot.  Here goes.

 Aside from those with the obvious mental illness, all of us, whether consciously or not, live life according to how we think it should be lived under our own set of circumstances.  I think most of it comes from a need for validation.  Some like it more than others and the school of thought that negative attention is better than no attention holds some weight.  They'd rather have people upset at them than be ignored completely.

I have a crippling desire to be liked by everyone I associate with but I know that's not possible so I decided I'd let people know where I stand and let the chips fall where they may.  If I can't stand up for myself and my beliefs now I'm not going to have a prayer later.

To illustrate;  I’m straight, white, I am a member of the LDS faith, a BYU Cougar football fan (more on the LDS and Cougar things later), and I don’t really dig controversy or conflict so I’m quiet about it.  I’d like to think I’m a likable person but my particular set of demographics lead some to think I’m a closed-minded a-hole with blinders on.  I've been digitally blocked and / or un-friended by some because they believe that.  If any of you are reading this you know who you are.  I may not agree with everything you have to say but why should that mean we can’t be friends?  I know we disagree on stuff but it’s not so much what you say as how you say it.  Try a little less volatility.

Before I go any further I need to offer heartfelt condolences to those whose lives were forever changed in the ill-fated Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.  Our fragile psyches have been put in the cross-hairs of yet another psychopath.  A prayer (or a moment of silence if you're not religious) would not be inappropriate if you've not already observed one.  I don't usually wax religious but recently I've felt my central nature was under attack (especially after recent tragic events) and I needed to say something.  

I'm not doing this to start a heated debate.  I'm not trying to use this forum to spew bitter diatribes against anybody.   My opinions are just that, opinions, and are not meant to offend.  I'm simply letting you know who I am, and why I believe (and therefore, act) the way I do.  I apologize if any of it comes across as caustic.  If it does just chalk it up to venting after a pretty stressful day.  In addition to the news of the shooting I also heard that my internship (along with the possibility of a pretty good future job) was a no-go and my father-in-law is facing risky surgery.  These are comparably small problems to be sure but they don't relieve the stress either.

According to the Washington Post, the 12 deadliest shootings in U.S. history date back to 1949.  Sadly, mass murder is nothing new, only the efficiency of the weapons has changed.  I've listed the six that I remember best from earliest to most recent.

1.  April 20, 1999 - Columbine High School (Columbine, CO)

13 dead + 2 shooters -- one assault pistol, one assault rifle, two shotguns

2.  April 16, 2007 - Virginia Tech campus (Blacksburg, VA)

32 dead + shooter - two handguns

3.  April 3, 2009 - Immigration services center (Binghamton, NY)

13 dead + shooter - two handguns

4.  November 5, 2009 - Soldier Readiness Processing Center (Ft. Hood, TX)

13 dead - three handguns

5.  July 20, 2012 - movie theater (Aurora, CO)

12 dead - two handguns, one assault rifle, one shotgun

6.  December 14, 2012 - Sandy Hook Elementary (Newtown, CT)

26 dead + shooter - four handguns (recent reports say he also had an shotgun in his car, and had also recently tried to purchase a rifle (assault or hunting, I'm not sure))  NOTE:  I got these numbers relatively early on.  The reports have changed somewhat since this was written.

Six deadly shootings using 20 guns which left 113 dead obviously leaves people asking "why?".  I don't profess to know the answer to that age-old question but I have some thoughts that have helped me cope.

In relation to the shooting I'm lost.  I don't personally like guns.  I have a healthy respect (fear) of them and don't see myself becoming an enthusiast anytime soon.  Having said that, I'm not a 2nd Amendment basher.  The problem isn't necessarily about "bad guys" obtaining firearms.  Some of these crimes were committed with guns registered and purchased legally.  So what are we left with?  Do we arm the school faculty?  Do we execute people for crimes of this  magnitude without a speedy trial?  (I admit that last idea has some attraction for me.)  Obviously there are no clear answers or we'd have found them by now.  With this type of evil in the world it's even more important that we love each other as best we can.  It's not possible to solve evil with hatred.

First and foremost, I do believe in God, (not in a Westboro Baptist kind of way).  As I mentioned before I'm a member of the LDS faith and I do believe in life after death.  Some of my atheist acquaintances may call me foolish (or something similar in more derogatory terms) but I call it faith and I HAVE to believe that the fallen (especially the children) are in a better place. 

If you want to call it a crutch go right ahead.  I'd rather have a crutch to lean on then walk on a bloody stump with no hope of recovery.  I call upon academia to give me a better way to deal with incredible heartache and grief.  I can't imagine a more miserable existence than to just be waiting in line to have my (and my loved ones) ticket(s) punched by the tall dude in long black robes wielding a scythe.

Some assume that if there is a deity, he is petty.  In the words of heavy-hitting atheist Richard Dawkins;

"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." 

As with any parent, I believe that our Heavenly Father weeps at our extremely poor choices but if he interfered with every bad decision we made there would be no growth.  Granted, there are some really bad choices being made by mankind but if I'm going to believe in a perfect form of justice and mercy I also have to believe in the free agency we all have.  We can only choose our actions, we don't get to choose the consequences of them.  I don't know it all but there IS a bigger picture.

Mr. Dawkins also asserts:

"If you agree that, in the absence of God, you would 'commit robbery, rape, and murder,' you reveal yourself as an immoral person...If, on the other hand, you admit that you would continue to be a good person even when not under divine surveillance, you have fatally undermined your claim that god is necessary for us to be good"

Incidentally, he has a website: its slogan is "A clear-thinking oasis".

I think Mr. Dawkins has missed the mark by an incredibly large margin.  According to him you're only good for one of two reasons.  I respectfully disagree.

I consider myself a good person.  I know right from wrong but I believe my faith allows me to become better.  Believing you're a good person isn't enough.  You have to practice what you preach, and being a good person doesn't mean you reach a certain point and stop.  When you stop you become stagnant, and in some cases you regress.  My religion allows me that progression. This isn't to say that non-religious people are "bad".  My point is that religion isn't either.

Lest anyone think I'm preaching from a pedestal, I do not, and never have claimed to be better than anyone else.  Most times when I try to be a better person I fail miserably but I take comfort in the fact that I am trying.

If Mr. Dawkins met me and thought I was a nice (and relatively intelligent) person, would he later change his mind about me if he found out I was a (*gasp!) believer?  That seems incredibly petty to me but it wouldn't be the first time.  People of faith (or at least those who dared to question Darwinist assumptions) have been left out of intellectual discourse.  They include:

Evolutionary biologist Richard Sternberg (sandbagged at the Smithsonian).

Biology professor Caroline Crocker (drummed out of George Mason University).

Astrophysicist Guillermo Gonzalez (blackballed at Iowa State University).

I'm also aware that there have been numerous atrocities committed in the name of religion but zealots, extremists, and fanatics don't count.  Please don't lump every religious person into a category as somebody who rode in the Crusades of the Middle Ages.  Being an Atheist is okay, just don't attack good religious folk for not being one.

Back to the BYU thing, I’m a quiet Cougar football fan.  I don’t live and die by the team or its accomplishments but I silently cheer for them against Utah.  There are multiple reasons for this but the main one is that there are several Ute fans in my neighborhood that are teetering on the verge of becoming pompous blowhards.  I have nothing against the University of Utah, I just enjoy the quiet somberness that follows a Cougar victory, not the year-long testosterone fest if it goes the other way.  I also had a bad experience at a rivalry game with some Ute fans when I was about 8 or 9 and it stuck with me.  I understand that Ute fans have probably had similar bad experiences with Cougar fans and I don’t aim to discount them.  I only know what happened to me.

Not counting facebook friends, I could list the people I could realistically hang out with unplugged, and sadly, it wouldn't be that long of a list.  Of those people I can only remember one whom I've recently spent any amount of quality time with in the last six months.  I know life happens and it’s not someone else’s responsibility to make contact but I've tried interacting digitally in hopes of starting a dialogue with no result.

One of my (possibly future former) hobbies is as a nerd who plays dress-up sometimes but I seem to have fallen out of favor with some in even that circle.  I am making the assumption that my age has something to do with it.  The older you get the less likeable and fun to you are to hang with (anybody wanna buy Magmatrooper armor?).  I like validation.  So do all of you.  If you need proof, you’re reading this (whether you’re enjoying it or not) because you stumbled onto a link while visiting a social networking site.  Why are you on a social networking site?

I know I've said I've seriously contemplated leaving facebook before but I always seem to come back.  You'd think I would have the adequate impetus to leave but I can't seem to break the addiction.  It has become a digital form of "hanging out".  There are too many people that I'd be sad to leave, and I think I may view it as too inconvenient.  I’m trying to go back to school in the near future so (insert sarcasm) maybe it’s best if I don’t have the distraction of being social (end sarcasm).  I’ll find another way to seek validation.   

People I used to be really close to don’t talk to me much anymore.  I suppose they could just be busy but it feels a bit like when you can see the writing on the wall right before you get dumped by your girlfriend (believe me, I know what I’m talking about).  It’s that feeling that you’d love for things to be better but don’t see it happening.

I've also been seeing lots more contention online than I’m comfortable with and certain people are becoming colossal a**-hats.  This isn't a plea for comments or for people to ask to remain my friend.  I refuse to ask you all do my digital house-cleaning by asking you to like my status or send me a pm to remain on an unimportant list.  I don’t disagree with anybody that uses this option, I’m just saying it’s really not my style.  I won’t discourage anybody from sending a message, I just don’t think it’ll happen.  I’m not that popular.

I don’t expect tons of comments or even a large following, I don’t use blog hits to make a living – if I did I’d have to be a much better writer or I’d be in serious trouble… but it’s nice to know that a few people enjoy(ed) reading it.

Dear Santa,

I have a Christmas list that you may or may not be able to accommodate but I have to ask.

First, I want people to lighten up.  Can you make that happen?  Is it possible for you to take the vitriol out of people?  Prozac might help but I don't know if you have access to that much of it.   If you know people and your name can get you through some doors I say go for it. Just be careful.  The last thing we need is to have you in the pokey for attempting to procure it illegally.  

Back on point, I don’t mind people voicing their opinions or pictures about politics or religion (or any hot-button topic) through social media, I just hate when it’s done in a way that makes me feel like my central nature is being attacked.   Try to take the aggrandizement out of it.  I want people to be passionate about what makes them…well, them, but I don’t want that passion to turn so intense that it burns away friendships.  If I’m guilty of this, give me a gentle reminder. Occasionally I like to share views but I don’t want people to think I have a severely misplaced sense of superiority.  I don’t consider myself superior to anybody.  If anything, I probably tend to self-deprecate more than I should.  

While people definitely need to lighten up, they also need a thicker skin for those occasions where they may feel they are being singled out when they aren’t.  Help people to realize that not everything that goes against their personal grain is a direct assault on them.  We all have different opinions, and while opposition makes life much richer it can escalate if not kept in check.  I think heavy drama should be reserved for stage and screen so I try to avoid it whenever possible.  Maybe that's just me but whatevs.  Having said that, I'd like to put in my own order for a thicker skin.

Bring some lost friendships back together if either of the first two wishes aren’t feasible.  That will probably require the softening of hearts but a thick skin and a soft heart CAN co-exist.  Those that don’t take offense easily sometimes make the best squishy-hearts.

At the risk of sounding selfish, give something nice to my friends and loved ones who are suffering, whether it be from divorce, unemployment, hard feelings, hot-headedness, lack of patience, inability to forgive and any other malady that comes from going through anything more difficult than I’m personally capable of facing.  My stress tolerance is pretty low so I consider myself a bit of a wimp.

Let’s see, lighten up, thick skin, friends, help for friends,…. I think I covered it all.  Wisdom would dictate that if there’s something I forgot, you can fill in the blanks.  Santa, this is supposed to be the season of “Peace on earth and good will towards men” and all that.  It sounds like I want world peace.  I don't like sounding cliche' but whatevs.

Oh…. and a new iPod.

-LG

Throw away your own garbage.

It's been a while since I blogged about...well, anything really.  Something has been bothering me for a while now so I thought this was as good a place as any to vent.  While I'm not accusing anybody personally, the general public is... let's just say "poorly behaved".

Actually, I no longer work for D.I. (which stands for Deseret Industries - not Dump It) but I'm on the job hunt now (a subject for a different post) and I thought I'd do my former co-workers a small favor and post this, in the hopes that it would stem the flow of trash that they have to deal with.  There are other locations for D.I. but it's mostly a local gig.  That doesn't preclude non-locals from the instructions given here, it just means that you'll have to apply them in your own little corner of existence.

No heavy details here - in a nutshell the D.I. takes donations and re-sells them.  It's basically a goodwill store but it's got a few other wrinkles thrown in that make it slightly different.  Since this isn't a piece about the programs they offer I won't get into specifics.  Suffice it to say they are genuinely there to help people in ways others can't.

Now, here are some of the things I have personally seen get 'donated' by people too lazy to get rid of their own trash.  If I listen closely I bet I can hear your eyes rolling when you see some of these.

                   




There was a wheelbarrow full of these broken decorative bricks.










A snow shovel, rusted to the point of not even being straight.  (Sorry for the poor picture quality)

A weed eater without the signature part.

Part of a shower stand - Not usable without the rest of it, and the hygiene issues with trying to sell something like that blow my mind.











A mini ironing board missing two legs.













A three-legged stool without the legs, sitting atop a tent with no poles.











A poor repair job on a cracked lid....no container.











Just to give you an idea, here is an entire pod full of stuff like this that people drop off.  There are six pods total, and the work to sort through the good from the bad is heartbreaking.

Some of the other things I've seen come through are:

- Nazi materials

- Porn

- "Adult" toys

- Lots and lots of headless Barbie dolls

- Soiled underwear

- Toilets

The list could go on...



Some of the things they DO NOT WANT include, but are not limited to:

- Mattresses.  Pretty much any mattress can be thrown away instead of 'donated'.  Most of them have stains (no matter how small), whether from urine or other fluids and there are state laws that require mattresses and box springs to be sanitized.  If there are no stains then check for tears, rips, or fraying.  Anything older than 5 years is unusable no matter the condition and without the tags there's no way to verify it.  It's a safe bet that no mattresses would be usable.  Go to the dump with them.

- Any large appliances.  Refrigerators, Stoves, Ovens, Washers, Dryers, Air Conditioners, Water Heaters, etc. all have strict ordinances concerning their disposal.  D.I. doesn't have the licensure (is that a word?) to do this.

- Firearms and / or ammunition (duh.  I shouldn't have to explain this one)

- Tires

- Anything a baby rides or sits in (car seats, stollers, high chairs, playpens, cribs, baby walkers, changing tables) present a possible liability and they just don't want to take the risk, no matter how nice it might appear to be.  Find someone you know that could use it or throw it away.

- Vehicles.  Anything with an internal combustion engine that is used for transportation (electric scooters and riding lawmowers DON'T COUNT).  Donate your car or motorcycle to the kidney foundation or take it to a junkyard.

- Toys containing lead - duh.

- Paint or chemicals of any kind.  Find a hazardous waste disposal company.

- Liquids.  ANY liquids.  Even if it's still brand new in the wrapper.  Contact the D.I. about their humanitarian aid program and what hygiene items are appropriate and where to take them.

This list could go on and on.



One other thing to note.  If there is something that you have to slightly disassemble to get in your car or trailer, that's one thing, but please don't come through saying that all something needs to be workable again is 4 screws, some epoxy, three bolts and a good wrench.  They sell items AS IS.  They don't do repairs there and it will end up in the trash.  If you think something will be that easy to fix and / or find a new home for, fix it yourself, hold a garage sale or put it up on craigslist.  If it doesn't sell that should tell you that your stuff isn't the pure gold you thought it was.

Here are some hints that will make the day go better for everyone.

1.  Given what I've said already, some of you may still decide to bring your sh**.  Do so at your own risk and please don't be rude to the workers there.  They've been accepting trash all day and if you get snippy they may go off on you.  If you think this is harsh I challenge you to volunteer to work on the receiving dock for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon - say, anywhere in between noon to 5.

2.  Sort through the crap in your car BEFORE you get there.  Holding up traffic while you're deciding what to get rid of and what to keep is not a good way to make friends.  This is also helpful in preventing you from dropping something off that you weren't supposed to or wanted to keep.  If you tell them to just take everything, they will.  Given the volume of stuff that gets sorted, if you need to come back to retrieve something, the odds of finding it are slim to none.

3.  If you can help it, don't go on a Saturday, or around lunch or dinner times.  I know it can't always be helped but don't get upset if you can't get through the line at anything less than lightspeed.  You've been warned.

Last but not least, this is a pile of trash waiting for the next industrial sized dumpster to come.  On behalf of my former co-workers, all I ask is that you really examine your donations before taking them in.  Look at them and see if it's broken or unusable.  Ask yourself if somebody would want it.  When in doubt - throw it out, but go to the dump.  In Davis County, it's 693 E Highway 193, Layton, UT 84041

....and this was a SLOW day.


-LG

Disneyland - A Travelogumentary.

My recent trip to Disneyland showed me people at their best, and people at their worst.  Don't get me wrong, I loved my vacation, I'm just reporting my observations of different behaviors from a wide spectrum of people who were, for a short time, simultaneously located at "The Happiest Place On Earth".  I wouldn't even really call this an op-ed piece, and I won't try to offer an explanation for any of it.  This is simply an observation into the diversity of human behavior.

Before I get into the meat of it, let me give some reference.  I spoke with a very pleasant Disneyland employee from Yucaipa, CA named Anthony who works in the animal care department for the park.  He is a recent college graduate of animal science and is going to veterinary school.  He helps care for the horse that pulls the trolley down Main Street, the goats in the petting zoo area, and any other live animals that belong to the park.

Anthony told me that Disneyland and California Adventures combined have over 22,000 employees.  Some are in specialized positions like animal care, security, guest relations, etc.  You have to have some background to work in those fields.  Now, while the other positions may not require a college degree there is a training period to see if you'll be able to handle the position.  I should say "positions" as most employees cover more than one attraction.  They also have multiple uniforms that differ depending on what attraction they are working at.  Many of the employees there are college interns because from what I hear, having put down "worked at Disneyland" looks good on a resume, especially if you did it during the summer.

I forgot to mention that 6,000 of those employees are custodial.  That's around 27% of the entire workforce.  You could say that's due to the sheer size of the park.  While I'm sure that's a factor there is more to it than that.  You can't count on people to behave themselves if they know someone is being paid to clean up after them.  There is some allowance for people who get sick or who drop things unknowingly, BUT:  At the Grizzly Rapids recreation area there was a bit about being kind to wildlife and wilderness and whatnot.  After it was over I watched people callously throw the backing of their "Wilderness Friend" (or something like that) sticker on the ground. There is ALWAYS a trash can nearby so why the indifference?

At the end of "Fantasmic" (a show that takes place in the island and waters of Frontierland) they close off a section of street to allow traffic to clear out after the show.  I saw people get all bent out of shape because they couldn't just bypass the roped off area in an effort to not have to go "upstream" against foot traffic.  The park employees deal with the "why can't you just let me __________ (fill-in-the-blank)" all the time.  If it were just one or two people I'm sure things would be different but when you're dealing with 20,000 + (at least) on a daily basis you can't give an inch or you'll get taken for several miles.

Fast-pass is an option to come back to a ride a bit later and not have to wait as long in line.  I won't go into details here.  Any of you that have been to the park know what I'm talking about.  Those of you that haven't....you need to get out more.  The problem comes during the evening when the time frame is different and both lines are a bit longer.  People in the fast-pass line become grumbly masses because fate has deemed it necessary for them to wait a little bit too.  Sugar-high induced children (I dare say some of them are brats) are causing mass hysteria and nobody wants to be encased in a place where the only escape for your ears is to plug them.

My point is this.  If you realize the park is a fun place to be and the employees do their best to appeal to the atmosphere you would also realize that more people want to come have the experience, ergo, the park becomes a victim of it's own success as more people enter it.  You WILL be competing with every other guest there.  I have worked with the public before so maybe that's the part of me talking here but don't be a jerk to the employees.  You ruin the experience for the rest of us.  We've become a nation of instant gratification.  You only have to wait in line for a ride.  They have to wait until the park closes.

To be sure I give equal treatment to the best of people and to end on a good note I need to recognize some of the people I saw.  I don't remember names but I remember experiences.

One guest hurt her leg or foot somehow and a retired firefighter / EMT happened to be there so he assisted while waiting for the park personnel.  He was kind and gentle with her and as we were being pushed in another direction by the masses I can only assume he stayed with her until more help arrived with crutches or a wheelchair or something.

One employee was having a difficult day with the crowds and I saw some of the park patrons just go up and compliment her on the job she was doing.  I saw her brighten slightly at this and decided to offer a kind word and smile to her as well.  It's true that watching others perform kind acts can motivate you to perform your own.

On a personal note, my camera crapped out or I'd have some candids here.  I ran into two of my 501st family, one from AZ and the other from TX.  I should have written their names down somewhere, and if my camera had been working I'd have gotten pics with them.  Also, my daughter was the Rebel Spy three times on the Star Tours ride.

My Ample Plate

If it were a plate full of money this would be a completely different kind of entry.  Unfortunately, Midas hasn't seen fit to let me borrow his touch so many of my problems are directly or indirectly orbiting the planet Poverty.  We all have our own problems so this isn't a 'wo is me' type of post, this is more of an FYI in case you see me not acting like myself.  All roads lead back to lack of money and / or the current inability to acquire more for foolish pursuits like food and the right to use a phone.  Notice I said 'current'.  I'm vigorously searching for other employment that will let me continue chasing further education.  Call it an interim job but the short story is I need something I don't dread going back to.

I hesitate to label school as a 'problem' but it is also on the proverbial plate.  Anybody that has ever done school and work simultaneously knows that both are necessary to get where you would much rather be.  I need employment, simple as that.  I have a job right now but it’s not anything I love doing.  Quite frankly I hate it and if I have to work there during another busy summer, well…let’s just say I’d volunteer to be a hostage in a crisis situation if it ever came up.  I won’t bore you with the details.

I've been to job and career fairs and networking classes and all that stuff but what I need are direct contact names that can help me bypass Gozer the Gatekeeper, even if it’s just for an informational interview to learn a bit about what goes on.  I’m asking if any of you know of any job openings, or know of anybody that knows of any job openings, or know anybody I could talk to for a few minutes to just get some information (the higher up the better).

The next obvious piece of necessary information would be what I do or what I’m looking for.  In this case they aren't the same thing.  I've been doing warehouse work for the past 20-ish years so I know how to do grunt labor and drive a forklift and such, and while I’m not opposed to doing that but it wouldn't be my first choice.  I’m hoping to find something quieter like stocking the shelves at Barnes and Noble or something.  Outside of the stuff I’m completely unqualified to do I’m not ruling anything out.  This is not a search for a career but rather an interim job while I continue going to school to study something I’d like to turn into a career. 

While I’m thinking about it, I plan on updating all my LinkedIn stuff so you may be getting LinkedIn requests from me.  Obviously that doesn't mean you need to respond or add me but I thought giving a heads up would be the courteous thing to do.  I opened an account and created a profile a long time ago but didn’t put much into it because I was foolish enough to think I’d never need to actually utilize the possible benefits.  My myopia stretched into the stratosphere back then.

I’m simultaneously working on several aspects of my job search in the hopes of finding something before about May-ish.  That’s when the busy season starts ramping up and I’d just as soon not be in my current state when it happens.

I can’t think about re-locating at the moment as my father still requires care so anything out of state isn’t feasible.  Actually, anything that would get me home past about 7:00 is iffy as his behavior is more erratic at night and I’d rather not leave the Mrs. to handle that alone.  I don’t mean to come off as morbid but the harsh reality is that unless we come into millions of dollars we will be living here until the “end”.  There are several roads that could lead there and I’m not sure what form it will take but we’ll know it when it comes.

Thanks for any consideration.

-LG

What does it mean to be an adult?

I'm fairly certain it has nothing to do with smoking and voting becoming legally available upon turning 18, or when you turn 21 and can legally drink.  Simultaneously drinking and voting is probably not a good combination but that's an entirely different subject.  I'm talking about our ability to take the high road and suppress the childish instincts we all have.  That's not to say we can't have fun but being child-like and child-ish are two very different things.  I borrowed from a few sources for portions of this entry but I think they fit nicely.

I've been bumping into the notion of "adulthood" a lot recently -- usually when castigating myself for (what I consider to be) my own puerile or juvenile reactions to life. But what does it mean to be an adult? Obviously, I am referring to emotional, intellectual, and moral adulthood, and not physical (a lot of adults are not "adult.") For the record, I am reasonably good at restraining my juvenile emotions -- but I wish that I didn't feel them.

I'm not entirely certain how I'm going to proceed here but in the last several weeks I've observed an obscene amount of childish behavior from those who would probably profess to being "adults".  While I'd like to pinpoint certain events I fear this would only cause me to come off as overly caustic. Besides, several of my encounters were with strangers and they wouldn't know me if they saw me again.  The point is I want to give each of us pause before childishly reacting to something.  I realize this is made exponentially more difficult when a fellow conversee throws a tantrum but keep it in mind for the next time it comes up.

In a three-year old's eyes, here are some things I noticed in varying degrees that were common:

If you misunderstand me it is always your fault.
Fair means that everyone gets the same no matter what they do, and it is even fairer when I get more for doing less.
To play nice means doing everything my way (conflict or problems are all your fault).
If I don’t get what I want and now, my world will end.
It is always my job to tell everyone when anyone does something wrong.
Something is worth the effort until it is effort, and then I just give up.


The list that follows is "grown-up stuff", it may sound trivial, but whatever.

Grownups have: 

umbrellas.
a nice tote/briefcase.
a basic tool kit.
scotch tape and a stapler.
the ability to change a tire.
a tire gauge and jumper cables in the trunk.
decent pens.
something to write on.
a calendar.
the ability to read a map and take a train/bus to wherever they are going.
the ability to articulate their thoughts to someone else without getting visibly upset.
all their tax/real estate/insurance papers together and safe.
at least one pair of shoes that cost over $50.
the ability to dress/speak appropriately for different occasions.
a good handle on how much money goes out in relation to how much goes in.
etc
etc
etc

By this logic I'm not an adult yet as I fall short of some of these but since maturity is a road and not a destination I'd like to think I've progressed a lot since I was three.

In closing, think grown-up thoughts and try not to regress.  Choose to replace your thinking with mature beliefs, and leave here a better you.

-LG