July 2006 Archives

Last year at some point I ranted about bad birthday presents, some real, some fake. This year, I want to take back everything that I said. Because this year was so much worse than receiving any/all of those gifts, with/without asking for them.

There isn't much more which shows you need drop a few pounds than when you break your toilet seat. It snapped right on one of the rims I was sitting on. Sure, I could claim that it was old, that it was bound to happen, that the broken plastic holders underneath it caused uneven weight distribution… but it's all B.S. Apparently certain previously received birthday gifts (the scale) weren't clue enough.

People respond to things in curious ways. I've had a few different experiences lately at work that have caused me to ponder my own reaction to various things. A couple of the instances were caused by me asking truly trivial questions of people. The other is from a reference made to a TV program with which someone was unfamiliar. Why is it that people seem so alarmed by such simple things?

For a long time I've heard about people saying that they live life "with no regrets" and I haven't really understood it. I thought that, at times, it's impossible not to regret things from the past. How does one know if a well thought-out decision will end up being something that is regretted later? What I've come to realize is that this isn't what is really part of that "no regrets" thing. I think it comes down to doing (or not doing) those things that you know you're going to regret later.

Many times it is interesting to consider the source of advice. If somebody is extremely lazy, overweight, and overeats extensively - they would probably not be a good person to listen to on how to lose weight. If somebody has filed for bankruptcy routinely, they would probably not be the best financial advisor. Although these are somewhat extreme cases, it still holds true that the source should always be considered when advice is being received.

Taco Bell currently has a series of commercials running right now that talks about the Food Square or 4th meal. I'm a supporter of Taco Bell, and think it's pretty tasty for the most part. I've eaten many meals there and could list my favorite items on their menu, but I won't. In the past I talked about how Life Cereal is Bossy, which was some feelings that I had about Life Cereal's decision in words. Well, on Taco Bell's Food Square (think of a food pyramid, but adapted to include this mysterious fourth meal (one is related to a balanced diet, the other talks about how you should eat another meal in the day/night)), they have decided to use a word which I cannot tolerate - melty.