Today my husband ran 6 miles for the first time. As he has reminded me, it has taken 19 years for me to convince him to attack such a feat.
His comment at the completion of the run was, “After covering 6 miles, I have determined Nike, Suacony, Asics and Brooks are all fine, but Honda is still better.”
I don’t usually wear the ball and chain when I am at home.
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Context: the son asks, “Dad, where is your wedding ring?”
Of course the son only asked because honey dos and kid lists were being handed out at the time.
The most important person you want to please is the person looking back at you in the mirror.
It is certainly better to be disliked and respected, than to be liked but held in contempt.
Just remember to be respected does not mean to be feared; and if everyone seems to dislike you, you might want to take a good hard look at your own nature.
However, if you are virtuous and kind to yourself and the world around you, yet still are not liked my the masses, you must be doing something right. Keep up the good work, and maybe the masses will learn something from you.
I am not sure if my blogging will change the world, but it makes my husband happy. Now he can read my mental meanderings rather than listen to them.
Remember back thirty or so years ago when being chosen to participate in a TV survey was an honor? You were a Nielsen family and your TV preferences counted. Your voice mattered.
With cable and satellite, the idea of being a survey family has fallen out of favor. I am not even sure my kids know what a Nielsen family is, but if they did, they would probably think it was redundant. Don’t the cable/satellite companies track everything we watch as it is?
In the past, my husband was a huge fan of radio surveys, at least until he started using an IPod. I am unclear whether ITunes collects data, especially as we seldom log in, but I am sure Pandora is collecting information from my husband.
It seems the novelty of being part of a survey has worn off as technology now makes so much more available to companies seeking information about consumers. I remember, in years past, getting phone calls asking me what kind of laundry detergent I preferred, or what kind of shampoo I used. Sometimes those calls were a nice respite from motherhood; sometimes they were simply odd since I wasn’t much of a brand name shopper. Either way, I never felt my privacy was being infringed in any way. I still don’t feel my preference of soap is intrusive information.
Just recently, while planning for a trip, I searched online for “support” socks. It is amazing how quickly and abundantly ads for support socks showed up on Facebook and Amazon since my search and purchase. These adds do not bother me, it is needing the support socks when traveling which bothers me.
Media discussion about target marketing seems plentiful, and while I agree there are some negatives, from a personal standpoint I don’t find this type of marketing to be much of a problem. It is actually less irritating than the huge piles of junk mail of the past.
Another advantage with target marketing is that unlike TV commercials, I don’t get hounded by ads which I find objectionable. Out of curiosity the other day, I tried to delete an ad from my Facebook page. I was delighted when I could. I am not sure it is always possible, but in this case I could not only delete the ad, but also give feedback as to why I wanted it removed.
Target marketing is nothing new; the method of information gathering is all that has changed. As with any other change, learning how to maneuver in a less than private world takes some adjustment before a comfort level can be reached. Some days I feel frustrated with all the disruption to my comfortable rut, but on other days, I reflect on how this constant change is keeping my brain active. It is up to me to look at the negative or at the positive of the changing world.
Now I ponder – would it have been funny or mortifying if on the day I searched for “support” socks, I had also searched for a sexy negligee? Since it was a family trip I was planning, the thought and the search never occurred. Give me another decade…
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Is it censorship or a violation to constitutional rights when a privately owned company providing a service chooses to set decency policies? In a recent Facebook debate, I read a multitude of criticism over Facebook deleting a photo some deemed objectionable and others deemed humorous. The following are some questions that came to my mind.
I have become a huge fan of using technology and social media to communicate with distant acquaintances and friends. I have found social media to be an enjoyable way to connect, but I always utilize the advice of my mother, my journalism instructors and my own common sense.
You know you have reached exhaustion when unpacking the souvenirs seems beyond your ability. It is strange how the excitement of a vacation can push you past the aches and pains of a tired body. You can walk further than you normally do, sleep briefly and restlessly night after night, and unhealthily for days on end, all with continued stamina. Then you arrive home, drop your bags, cringe at the piles of mail, dread the laundry and want to sleep all day.
It is funny how memories can return with a flood due a smell, sight or sound. The flood of recollection washes over you. For a moment, time and space dissolve and you are transported to a different moment of your life. A time you once thought you would never forget, but somehow had.
While it is easy to remember big events in life, remembering the roses often takes a low priority. You may have taken the time to smell them, you may have even taken a roll of film or two, but you didn’t take the time to reflect on the roses over the years. Occasionally looking at the photos in a book, does not seem to be enough to keep the roses fresh and vivid. The fragrance fades with time and only an image remains, not the full experience.
It seems the best remembered roses are the ones we share with others. Those who originally smelled them with us, those who help us remember the fragrance as well as the shape and color. Taking time to smell the roses is important, but if we hope to remember the fullness of life’s journey, then taking time to cultivate and nurture the relationships of the loved ones who walked with us through the garden is vital. It is how we will remember the roses.
Hey, don’t you remember me?
Is it a sign I have written too many blogs or just of advancing age when I can no longer remember what I have written in the past?
It does make reading my own postings so much more interesting, because they are like long, lost friends. I recognize their faces but have forgotten their names.
Pithy Ponderings 