Friday, January 13, 2012

Childhood Memories…

Childhood memories are a funny thing. We have good ones and bad ones and as many as we have, it seems our parents have even more.
I swear my Mom pulls the most embarrassing stories out of nowhere at the drop of a hat. Like that damn flamingo tie I used to wear when we went to the symphony together. You’d think it was the only article of clothing I had from ages 12-17 as often as she brings it up.
She recently brought up the time when I was 5 and I kept stealing cherries –one at a time- off the cherry cheesecake she made, thinking she wouldn’t notice. Yeah, apparently I ended up eating them all. And she noticed.

Don’t remember that one.

We all have certain special memories though, ones that really stand out. That one day or that one thing or moment we think back on that brings a smile to our face. Some are stupid and insignificant to anyone but ourselves, yet some we barely remember and others will never forget.

Whether we cherish them, hate them, laugh or cry about them, they’re there and always will be.

I remember one day –I must have been around 10 or so- some friends and I decided to ride our bikes out to this little creek. I don’t recall if it was raining when we left, but it was certainly pouring when we got there.
We tossed our bikes on the side of the road, walked down to the creek and jumped right in, clothes and all.
The mud had to have been a foot deep and I remember jumping around and playing in it thinking “this is the best day I’ve ever had” and, while life has brought me many more memorable and much happier days (in my adult mind), I’ll never forget laying in that mud, staring up into the sky and being 100% genuinely happy.

I remember sitting on my Mom’s sewing room floor and telling her my legs were “two feet long.”

I remember walking home from work one day in the rain when I was 18 and a giant raindrop hit me square in the middle of the head.
I don’t know why I remember that, but I do, and every time a big raindrop hits me in the head, I wonder if I’ll remember it the way I remember that one from 24 years ago.

I never do.

I have a million other memories and believe me, most would bore you to tears (like I’m not already doing that?) but there’s also much I don’t remember from my youth.

I wish I had more pictures…

I sometimes wish I had a better memory so I could look back on my youth and smile about it more than I already do, but if I did, would that lessen the degree of sentiment I carry for the memories I do have?

Monday, January 2, 2012

I’m Probably More Psychic than You

Over the past couple of years I’ve come to the realization that I’m pretty psychic or something.

I sometimes wake up with crazy premonitions and occasionally have random things pop into my head throughout the day that sure enough happen and I’ll say “Man! I KNEW that was going to happen!” but have no proof that it would other than saying I knew it would.

While I barely have enough of an attention span to remember to finish flossing and often find myself with a piece of dental floss hanging out of my mouth wondering how it got there, I do have the ability to focus on things I want and things I want to have happen. And no, I’m not talking about the manipulation of people or situations to get these things. I’m talking about weird metaphysical type crap.

I’m a big believer in positive visualization. I like to think I can think about things and have them happen, sometimes that same day, sometimes a few days later or sometimes even months later.
Of course this isn’t always the case. If it was I’d be driving a Ferrari with my imaginary girlfriend (you know who you are) wearing bacon underwear (me, not her) and getting million dollar checks in the mail on a daily basis.

It's really pretty simple..

An example:

After a charity chili cook-off at work, they raffled off a bunch of stuff. One of the prizes was a gift certificate for a dozen gourmet cupcakes a month for 6 months (yeah, like I really needed that). I thought about how much all the other raffle prizes sucked and I pictured myself stuffing my face with gourmet cupcakes, showing up for parties with dozens of cupcakes, sharing cupcakes with the hot Russian girls in operations and pretty much being the cupcake guy. 
I knew I was going to win it and, sure enough, much to the chagrin of my office mates, I did.

I once went out on a Saturday to garage sales with the sole intention of finding a particular kind of desk and chair for my living room. Sure enough, that day I found exactly what I was looking for and here I sit, at that awesome desk.
Another recent example is the ipad2 I won at the company Christmas party. Earlier that evening, I was in the bathroom getting ready. I looked in the mirror and said out loud “I can’t wait to win that ipad tonight” I seriously almost updated my FaceBook status before I left to say that same thing, but didn’t.
Sure enough, I won that ipad.

So now I’m wondering if I should start keeping a log of these cool “premonitions I have and check them off as they happen. Or would that screw up the whole cosmic deal and change it so these things won’t ever happen?

Really, I have no idea how it works. Whether it’s just dumb luck, random cosmic mojo or the reality of positive visualization,  I do know that it’s better to stay focused on the things you want to have happen and the things you want in your life, rather than the things you don’t want to have happen or the things you don’t want in your life.

It's like that simple old mountain biking tip. When you see a rock, focus on the space next to the rock where you want your wheel to go and you will miss the rock every time. Focus on the rock and how much you don't want to hit it and you will hit the rock damn near every time.

This is a big part of how I live my life and -not that I'm some wise man or anything- I think a lot of people would be a whole lot happier if they did the same.

Or maybe I’m just a bit kookoo…


Peace

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year's Resolutions



So here we are, in a nice and shiny, brand new year and I have to say, as far as years go, 2011 was pretty awesome. I met a lot of amazing people, did some really cool stuff and I think I ended up a better person than when 2011 started, which is sort of the goal anyway, right?

I’ve never been one for New Years resolutions. I think they’re silly and in many cases, just set people up for disappointment. A lot of people make their resolutions and within a few weeks, find themselves at the donut shop rather than the gym or at a happy hour with friends, rather than the juice bar.

But in the spirit of the season, I decided I’d make a list of a few resolutions for 2012 and with some hard work, determination and a little help from my friends, family and coworkers, I think I can make them stick.

1)      Stop stubbing my toe so often - I have a habit of walking into things on a pretty regular basis and I have to say, this is something I believe I could do without. I’m also going to include hitting my funny bone, poking myself in the eye, falling down in public and cutting myself while shaving in this one. It’s kind of a resolution bundle.
2)      Get pedicures more often - If you’ve ever seen my feet, you know this is a good one.
3)      Get a new office chair - I love my office chair, but it has a habit of randomly reclining and usually only does it when someone walks into my cube. It’s kinda funny, but it also sometimes does it when I’m on the phone with attorneys and it’s embarrassing when I go “GAAAH!” in the middle of a conversation. Totally not professional.
4)      Spend more money - I like having new stuff. Who doesn’t? Saving money is stupid, so I’m going to make an effort to buy more cool stuff for myself and other people. Maybe I’ll start with a new coffee table that is less prone to toe stubbage?
5)      Eat more bacon - As much as I love bacon, I don’t eat it as often as I should. And if my whole “bacon underwear” plan works out well, I’m going to need to stock up anyway.
6)      Drink more coffee - I love coffee so I should drink more.
7)      Be nicer to kids - Actually, I know this isn’t going to happen, so forget it.
8)      Be better looking – This one is pretty superficial, and yes, I know you’re probably thinking “That’s impossible”, as I'm already too good looking, but I honestly think I can make this happen.
9)      Stop using regular eating utensils and use only a spork - This needs no explanation.
10)  Use bleach when washing my whites – They’re just not white enough
11) Work on my posture – They say that the quickest way to lose 10 lbs is to stand up straight, so I’m really going to make an effort here. Maybe if I learn to do a back bend, I’ll look like I’m at my optimal weight and won’t have to exercise or watch what I eat.

Wow, that’s a lot more stuff than I thought.

Yes, there are a lot of silly resolutions I could make, like watching my diet, going to the gym, learning a language, doing more charity work or spending more time with family and friends, but I thought it would be better to make a list of things I may actually do.
I’m sure as the year progresses I’ll come up with a few more things I would like to start/stop doing and it's likely I'll blow it on a few of these, but I’m going to do my best to make these stick. Yes, it's going to be hard, but the payoff will be worth it in the end.

Happy 2012!