Wednesday, December 21, 2011

New Year's Resolutions...

Unlike a lot of people I know I like the idea of New Year's Resolutions. The new year is a time to reflect on the things we are thankful for and the things we wish to continue and change about our lives. Resolutions, even the ones that are hard to stick to, are ways for us to recommit ourselves to being a better person, taking better care of ourselves and those around us.

I have a many many things to be thankful for in 2011 and a lot of things I want to do in 2012. One, I want to volunteer my time more. I know that their are ways that I can contribute to making other people's lives better other than donating money. Donations are critically important to most charity and service organizations but it allows many people (myself included) to remain somewhat emotionally and intellectually detached from the issue that the organization addresses. One of my goals for the new year is to be more involved by volunteering for charity.

The other thing I would love to do starting next year is to take a photo everyday of the year. I think it would be a cool way to chronicle my year. Plus, photography is always something that has interested me.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

If I Ever Have A Boy...

If I ever have a boy he will grow up playing baseball, and not basketball. I have made this decision not just because I love baseball more than basketball, but because it just makes more sense financially if my child is athletically inclined. I came to this decision the morning after going to the Watch The Throne concert at Staples Center with a friend of mine.

As we were checking Watch The Throne hashtags on Twitter I mentioned that Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers would be at the concert the same night. My friend, Kati, looked at me puzzled?
"Who is that?"

I explained that he was the best player on the Dodgers and had just come in second place for the Most Valuable Player award in baseball. Kati had no clue who this guy was. Kati is not clueless when it comes to sports. She knows the basics and follows her favorite teams and knows their star players. She just didn't know who Matt Kemp, a star baseball player in the second largest media market in America, was.

The next day I realized something, Matt Kemp is a great player, but unless your a Dodger fan or a pretty tuned in baseball fan you probably won't know who he is; and you can't be blamed for that. In spite of that fact he just signed a new 8 year contract for (wait for it) 160 million dollars. That's right 20 million a year!

Compare that to Kobe Bryant. Even if you don't know anything about basketball or care about sports you probably know who he is. My 98 year old grandfather who doesn't speak a word of english knows who he is. Do you know how much he makes a year? 25 million dollars.

More than Matt Kemp.

But what isn't mentioned is that the amount of money Kobe Bryant can make playing basketball is limited by salary limits. If Matt Kemp is "worth" 20 million dollars a year how is Kobe "only worth" 25? What would this guy be paid if there weren't salary limits? 35 million? 40 million? 50 million?

To put this in greater perspective, LeBron James (another household basketball name) only makes 16 million a year compared to Matt Kemp's 20 million. All I am saying is that if I ever have a boy I am putting a bat and a baseball glove in his hand immediately. There are no salary restrictions in baseball and you can be as fat Prince Fielder and still make over 20 million a year...




Thursday, October 27, 2011

Losing Weight...

My absence from writing had basically coincided with my attempt to be healthier and lose some weight. I feel like every waking moment I am not at work I am spending traveling or at the gym, which has not been very conducive to writing. So I am going to try and recommit to updating the blog. I am very happy with my weight loss though. I took some pictures and as you can see I am making some significant progress.



Tuesday, April 12, 2011

It Must Be Hard To Be A Woman At The Gym...

I have started going to the gym more frequently and I have noticed something. The TVs in front ot the aerboic machines are tuned to only two channels: E! and the Food Network.

It's hard enough for me as a dude to stare at Dinner, Drive-Ins and Dives without feeling like a sad sack. I can't imagine what it's like to be one of the women on the elyptical machine, bike or treadmill who are trying to be healthier and feel better about themselves. They are being forced to stare at rich fatty foods or watch one of the 13 shows on E! that feature a Playboy playmate. It's as if the managment at the gym is saying, "thanks for coming to the gym, ladies. Now who is ready to feel bad about themselves?" Dear gym, please change the channel before you give them (and me) an eating disorder.

Thanks.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Just An Observation...

Has anyone else noticed that Twitter has been uniquely successful at attracting young black users. I mean if you look at hash tag trends on twitter they seem to be dominated by tweets from young black people.

Even prominent black celebrities get in on the action (I almost never see a white celebrity use a hash tag meme in a tweet). Very interesting.

I would love to find out if (and why) black youth prefer Twitter is preferred over Facebook.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Not Feeling Great...

I can feel the tightness in my chest. Like someone living inside of me is giving me a merciless bear-hug, and not in a loving way. It feels painful and make my chest feel heavy. It's not a feeling that is uncommon to me but the source of the feeling is.

In the past my emotional downward spirals, my unhappiness, were relationship based. Almost always I felt resent towards others who were in happy relationships or I felt doomed to a life of loneliness when I was rejected. Other times I felt doomed because of my own self-perceived inadequacies and how they made me afraid to even pursue a relationship.

But that's not whats causing me to feel this way now. I've felt sad/ambivalent/depressed for the better part of a month. I feel trapped. As the school year ends I think, 'my God, here comes an 11th year of living on a college campus. An 11th year of opening a building, dealing with drunk students, weeknight meetings, dealing with student in crisis, the same training, diversity discussions and on and on and on'.

10 years ago I thought I was stepping on a road. Now it feels like I just ended up stepping onto a treadmill. Never moving, always repeating the same thing over and over.

The truth is, I just don't care anymore. I don't love my job anymore and that makes me feel terrible. It makes me feel terrible because I live were I work and so every second of everyday is a constant reminder of how I feel. I feel terrible because other people can tell that I am unhappy and I don't want to burden others or have them affected by it.

I feel terrible because I feel guilty about being that employee. The kind who is unhappy and starts going through the motions and everyone can tell doesn't want to be there. I love my boss and I love my co-worker. I consider them friends and wonderful people but I can't change the way I feel about this job and it makes me feel like a horrible person knowing that I am going to have a negative impact on them.

I feel terrible because even though I feel this way about my work I know I have caring and supportive people around me and I still feel this way.

What makes it even worse are the lingering doubts. Is it really the job or am I just depressed? What options do I have? I can find another job but not one as financially lucrative as this. How will I find a job that can pay for my rent, my car and help me keep my grandfather in his home? If I find a job and move back home (with my mother) will I be happy? Will having a regular 9-5 make everything all right, or will I just come to resent my family for how their actions and the burden of obligation have led me to a series of less than favorable choices?

Maybe the problem is that I suffer from an overwhelming need for stability. All I have ever wanted in my life has been stability. The problem is, I fear, that I have confused stability with routine. I'm used to not being happy - that's my routine. I'm used to having to help out my family - it's my routine. I'm used to being alone - it's my routine. I've become complacent about the things that cause me pain, grief, sadness and hopelessness. It's easy to say that I don't love my job anymore. The scariest part is that I don't know what I love at all. I feel empty inside.

The few moments of happiness I get are spending time with my friends. Sharing a meal with them, going to the movies, going over there homes and chatting. The thought of leaving these people behind to start an uncertain future is scary and disheartening.

I hope that as in the past this feeling fades. I hope that I come out out of this funk and find a renewed sense of hope; but for now I will just have to wrestle with the doubt, the fear and the sadness.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sometimes It's Nice To Disconnect...

I had a great weekend. I got to spend time with people I love and care about deeply. On Friday night I drove to Irvine with three friends and we had a great time watching another one of my friends perform in his men's choir. 

I spent Saturday with another couple of friends. We had dinner and went to a comedy show in L.A. Sunday, I got to spend some quality time with family.

However, I think the most underrated part of my weekend was a result of a mistake I made. I knew that I was going to be staying over my friends' apartment after the comedy show on Saturday night. However, I forgot to pack my cell phone charger. I tried to preserve the battery as best as I could but the phone died around 12:30pm on Sunday afternoon. All of Saturday night and Sunday morning I wrestled with the idea of just buying an extra battery for the phone. Alas, my pocketbook won out and I decided that I could live without my phone for a while. Not only did I survive without it, but I actually enjoyed being without it.

Before I continue I want to explain myself a bit. I am not saying that this 10 hours has turned me off to technology or the interconnectedness it brings us. In fact it may have done the opposite. On Friday night my friend Gina posited that the people who aggressively reject using Twitter, Facebook or blogging are basing their stance on a misguided principle. They see technology as a way for people to communicate about the most mundane aspects of their life. Those who reject these forms of technology only see people who use our interconnectedness to live out every single aspect of their day to day lives out in the public, hoping of garner some kind of attention. To be fair, some of those folks do exist. However, in between those who wholly reject the interconnectedness that technology brings and those who view it as a way to remind us of what they had for breakfast, there is a majority of us who hope to use this technology to have conversations, spread ideas, humor, culture and ultimately learn from one another.

So after making a case for why technology is so great, why am I writing a post about how I enjoyed being disconnected from the world for 10 hours. When I got back home I began to charge my phone. After about twenty minutes I turned it on. Then came the notifications:

3 Missed Calls
New Voicemail
New Text Messages
New Personal E-mail
New Work E-mail
New Facebook Message

I was about to go to through them when I stopped myself and thought, 'I don't have to do this right now. These messages are all probably a few hours old and I didn't respond to them then yet the world didn't fall apart. These things can wait.' I realized then that just because I can be connected at all times doesn't mean I have to be connected at all times. I had effectively burned myself out. I realized that when someone sent me YouTube clip I wasn't thinking, 'awesome!'. No, Instead I was thinking, 'ugghh, why won't this person leave me alone! Now I have to watch this because I am going to go into work tomorrow and this person is going to ask if I watched the clip'.

I ceased being connected and had begun feeling saturated. Everything felt like a homework assignment that I had to do right then and there. Worse than that, the homework assignments just kept coming and coming. For me personally, I had lost sight of how great the internet and technology can be. I had become overwhelmed and overburdened by them. I had become inundated with information and messages and email and the feeling that I had to respond to all this incoming information and stimulation. But after those few short hours I realized the importance of finding time to be disconnected. There is something to be said for turning of my phone, for not ehcking email, for not having a computer screen in front of me. There is something nice about being at a concert and not feeling the urge to have to look at a work email that just landed in my inbox or check a text message while I am having dinner with my brother. It was nice to disconnect. It was nice to be fully present around those I cared about and focus on the world around me and not feel as though this larger virtual world was going to interrupt me.


I love that the internet and other technologies allows me to be connected to a world that is larger and more vibrant than any other world I would have know during any other period of recorded history. Yet, this weekend reminded me that absence can make the heart grow fonder. Just because I am connected to a larger world doesn't mean that I am obligated to it. In fact, by disconnecting and focusing on my real time experiences and the smaller world around me I may be able to find something worth sharing with the rest of the world. 

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Fear and Loathing In Arizona...

I am sitting here in the Phoenix Airport thinking about the vacation I just took here to see Angels and Dodgers Training Camp.

It was a great time and a nice respit from work and other realities. I want to briefly run down some thoughts:

1. I am no longer allowed to travel with an iPod. I lost my iPod Touch on this trip. I lost it taking the Super Shuttle from PHX. Here is the thing: my head phones are great in terms of comfort but the cord is awful. the cord comes in two separate parts. One piece is approx. 14 inches long - which is not long at all. There is no slack at all and you constantly have to connect this cord to an extension cord that adds another 20 inches or so. I dont know why Sony decided to have this stupid two part cord - but they did. Well the when I walked out of the shuttle I felt my head phones around my neck and assumed my iPod was still with me. Nope. The cords detached from one another and I just had on a pair of head phones with a 14 inch cord connected to nothing. I figured it out in an hour and half called Super Shuttle but they said they couldn't find it. In sum, I am an idiot.

2. Arizona hates recycling. I couldn't find recycling bins to save my life. They were nowhere to be found in the hotel, and the Spring Training Facilities, at restaurants or bars. I couldn't find any recycle friendly bins anywhere. I was ecstatic when I saw one at the airport.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Vacations Are Exhuasting

I have been in Arizona all of 24 hours and I am exhausted. Don't get me wrong, I have had a great time but I am beat. Drinks, dinner, sun and crazy friends takes it out of you.

My biggest take away lesson from this trip so far: I will never drink to the point were I nod off on a toilet.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Random Musings...

Who looks for change when they tip someone?

I went to Starbucks this weekend and saw a woman take 50 cents out of a tip jar and then put a dollar in. Are you f**king serious? note to the woman who did this:
1. You live in La Jolla, something tells me you can part with the full dollar.
2. If you cant afford to give the whole dollar as a tip, don't give anything. It's embarrassing to you and disrespectful to the barista to watch you scour through tip jar looking for two quarters so you can put a dollar in there.
3. Lastly, what the hell are you doing trying to save pennies at a Starbucks? If you're that budget conscious make your coffee at home!

Lastly, I have a recommendation to folks looking for cookware and bakeware. I recently overhauled both with purchases of Giada De Laurentiis' cook and bakeware from Target and they are both great.

The non-stick surfaces are really really easy to clean and the food cooks evenly. The bakeware keeps things warm well after you pull them out of the oven.

The only downside is that the bakeware is heavy, and I mean heavy. These things have the density of a dying sun. On the upside, they look wonderful. Two thumbs up from me.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Are You Watching This?

Caught Between Two Generations
People between the ages of 25 and 35, in post-industrial nations anyway, are special in that they have lived in almost two completely different worlds. One before the maturation of the Internet and one after the maturation of the Internet. Since the development of the internet and other technologies, media consumption has become more and more fragmented and specialized to consumer interests. New technologies and new media outlets have altered the way people experience popular culture.

We don’t have 72 channels anymore, we have 700. We don’t have to watch those shows when they air, we can record them and watch them later. We don’t have to listen to the radio, we can plug in your iPod and listen to our music library or listen to a podcast whenever we please. In the past there were less choices. Less channels, less radio options, no DVR, no podcasts and the Internet still in infancy.

The lack of choices, in a way, unified generations because they were forced into consuming the same pop culture/media and that was what they would have to talk about. For example, as an undergrad if I didn’t watch Conan O’Brien on a Wednesday night there wasn’t a way for me to see the show later on. I had to stay up late so that I knew what happened on Conan so that me and my friend Amber could talk about it over lunch the next day. Now I can watch Conan whenever I want online. That is great for me and my sleep schedule (but not for Conan’s ratings as he unfortunately learned last year). While I appreciate the option to watch when I want, I feel that this hurts my viewing experience.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Tom Hanks Gives Great Speeches...

In anticipation of this weeks Academy Awards I would like to share his acceptances speeches for Best Actor (won in back to back years '93 and '94). While enthusiasm (Marion Cotillard, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) is great, I love Oscar winners who mix raw emotion and honesty with the poise and class that we attribute to old Hollywood.

embedding is disabled but you can follow the links to Youtube:

1993 Philadelphia

1994 Forrest Gump

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Sex In Public Is Legal...

...in one Amsterdam park it is atleast. Vondelpark, a park in Amsterdam is going to allow public sex to occur in the wooded area of the park. The park apparently has been famous for having same-sex and heterosexual couples engaging in sexual activity for years. But rather than fight it the local lawmakers have decided to legalize it. As long as the acts do not occur near the sandboxes, playgrounds, and open theaters that attract families and tourists it will be all good for those who choose to get down at Vondelpark.

Ah, but before you think that Amsterdam is a place that legalizes anything you should know that local authorities have decided to add stiff penalties and fines for dog owners who allow their dogs to run free without a leash. So if you are scoring at home - Amsterdam is OK with smoking pot, prostitution and public sex in a park; but they are putting their foot down when it comes to dogs running without a leash.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Regrets...


I hate when people say they have no regrets. I guess I dislike when people say stuff like that because I find it hard to believe that people can actually feel that there is nothing in their lives that they regret doing, or not doing, saying, or not saying. I know that it feels like we should say we have no regrets. It feels better to say that there is nothing we would change about our lives. But I think people are being dishonest when they say something like, "I have no regrets. Everything I've done, good or bad, has made me the person I am today." Really? I understand that I am the sum of my experiences and choices but not everything in the equation that is my life is of such value that I can't go back and say, "oh man, i would love a do over of that" or "I wish I hadn't done this". In looking up regret I saw this:


When I saw this I thought, "Are you serious? People want things all the time. Just because they want them doesn't mean the desire was justified or wasn't a mistake/destructive."

For example, in college I was infatuated with a fellow student. She did not reciprocate. Do I regret the pain of not being loved back, or the sting of rejection or the awkwardness of trying to hold on to a friendship with this person after we both let our feelings known? No of course, not. It was an important life experience and taught me a lot about myself, what I value and how to deal with other people. What I do regret is spending the next year in a half in this dumb game of still trying to see if I could get her to like me! It led to a lot of misplaced emotions, time and energy. That is something I regret. I wish I would have just gotten the message right the first time instead of constantly putting myself in the same situation over and over and over again.

I regret things all the time. I think regret can be a good thing as long as you don't get hang up on it or if you can use the regret to inform future decisions. Regret shows thoughtful and careful inspection about your life choices and evaluates those decisions meaningfulness and impact on your life. If I had to do it all over again i would try and pursue a more artistic line of work. I regret not taking advantage of the opportunities I had as an undergrad to take more art classes. I can use that regret to push me towards going to a local community college to take a graphic design class or something.

I don't know why it bugs me, I just think people should have regrets. When it comes to having regrets, I have no regrets.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Stepping on Snails...

Stepping on snails is really sad. These are super defenseless animals. To make it worse, when you step on a snail not only are you killing the snail, but you're destroying their home. That's just insult to injury.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Depositing Rolls of Change...



Recently I ran into some financial trouble and I realized that I was going to have to deposit rolls of change in order to make sure some checks didn't bounce. There are few things in this world more embarrassing than having to deposit rolls of change at a bank.

First off, you are forced to get into a line where people are making legitimate financial and business transactions. Meanwhile you have a deposit slip in one hand and 18 dollars worth of quarters, nickels and dimes in another. You're literally holding your shame in your hands and everyone else in line can see it. Nobody in any kind of good financial standing stands in line at the bank with 14 dollars worth of change. That whole Coin-Star thing was built around the simple fact that people were so ashamed about depositing change that they would rather have a machine charge them than take it to a bank teller.

Second, when you finally make it to the teller you have to plop down the rolls of change, and it makes that loud clunky sound. It's the sounds of change and desperation. You just have this unrelenting sense of shame. You know that the teller is just judging you as they ask you how they can help you. "Hello sir, how can I help you? Oh I see that you're depositing 7 dollars in change. I am sure this is in no way a reflection on your ability to manage money...you loser!"


Here is why dealing with the teller is so embarrassing. It's one thing for you to know that you're broke and being forced to deposit change, that's embarrassing and shameful enough. But in a few short moments - the teller is going to see exactly how broke you are too! Even if the teller is a wonderful person who has convinced themselves that you're not a broke loser they have to deposit the money into your account and that's when they see that you're deposit of 20 dollars worth of quarters is increasing your balance by 200 percent.

Depositing rolls of change is really just sad. I know because I am forced to do it atleast twice a year. So lets hope that someday in the future they will have some kind of anonymous backroom in the bank that people like me can slink into. This backroom can have some kind of coin counting machine where I can deposit my rolls of change and try to hide my shame from the rest of the bank customers. Now that makes cents.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Look On The Bright Side...

Whenever I feel bad about my job I think to myself, at least I don't have a job where when I am done I look like this:

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Chrysler: Imported From Detroit Commercial


I was blown away by this ad. It was a tremendous use of 2 minutes from the one Detroit automaker that we have heard little from since the auto industry bailouts. Chrysler was in the worst shape of the big three (GM, Ford and Chrysler). It was so bad that they were forced not only into bankruptcy but a partnership with Fiat before they could even recieve the bailout money. Reintroducing and reconnecting with the american people is a big part of Chrysler's 5 year plan which was announced in late 2009.

This ad was 25 percent about the Chrysler 200 and 75 percent about reintroducing the Chrysler brand. The music fit that message. Lose Yourself is about having one chance to prove yourself. Chrysler has one chance to prove itself after the bailout. It must now follow through on that promise by making great cars. The words fit that message. The narrative is all about resilience. The visuals are used to reinforce the idea that Detroit, and Chrysler, know about luxury, class and aesthetic beauty. By using some of the great visuals of downtown Detroit (the Fox Theater, The Joe Luis statue, The Spirit of Man statue) it challenged our thinking of Detroit as a dead or dying city. As a city gloomy pace filed with boarded up industry and run down vacant houses.It reminded us of the uniquely American beauty of Detroit and thus the unique American aesthetic of Chrysler.

This commercial was Chrysler trying to mirror its story to that of Detroit (people think we're dead. we're not. We're alive and we are going to thrive again). It was about reaffirming it's ties to Detroit and at the same time tying Detroit to the way most people in this country feel (i.e. "don't count us out, and those that do don't know us and what we are about"). I thought it waspowerful. This was, in my opinion, super effective advertising. It creates a hope about the company, hope about the city, about the country and thus about ourselves.



photos are from my 2007 trip to Detroit.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Super Bowl 45

Why the Packers Will Win:

The Packers are the younger, healthier (and that is using the word loosely), and more athletic team. Even though the Packers are famous for the power sweep and playing in cold weather, this Packers team is built like a turf team. They are athletic, quick and built to march down the field on long passes or slants that lead to mismatches with safeties and linebackers. Aaron Rodgers is a great passer, who is also capable of moving out the pocket and making something out of a broken play. The Green Bay receivers can beat you deep (Greg Jennings) or eat you up all day with slant plays (Donal Driver).
The Steelers are a great defensive team against the run, Green Bay is a bad running team. So who cares. Green Bay is a pass first team and the Steelers will have to prove they can stop the passing game.
The Steelers linebackers and ball hawking DBs will have a tough time dealing with the receivers speed and will be forced to play physical, which may lead to penalties. Defensively, B.J. Raji should be able to eat up the Steelers back up center, Doug Legersky. When a front line can get penetration on a QB it makes it easier to use your LBs in disguise blitz packages or to have them cover the Steelers' check down options, Rashad Mendenall and Heath Miller.
Lastly, Hines Ward has had less than 3 catches in each game he has played against an elite team this season. If he doesnt have at least four catches it's hard to imagine the Packers defensive backs not being able cheat on Mike Wallace and thus stop him from making a big play.
Best case senario for the Packers is that they shake off the two week rust and put some early scoring drives together. The Steelers aren't built to come from behind in games - they are built to win close grind em out games. If they jump out to an early lead this could be a route.

Why the Steelers Will Win:

Though they are an injured mess, the Steelers are the veteran, championship tested team, who has been here before. Defensive players like James Harrison, Lawrence Timmons, James Farrior and Troy Polamalu don't just stop drives; they help win the turnover battle that often gives the Steelers offense a short field.
The Steelers offensive line has been decimated all season. The fact that the Packers are the healthy team going into this Super Bowl is an indicator of how badly hurt the Steelers are. So how do the Steelers score enough points to win? Ben Roethlisberger. As good as Aaron Rodgers is out of the pocket, Big Ben is the Picasso of turning a broken play into a big play.
Another reason the Steelers will win: The Packers always let other teams hang around. With the exception of the Atlanta playoff game the Packers let the Bears hang around two weeks ago and in week 17. In both cases they had to rely on late game interceptions to seal the deal. Same goes for their game against Philly. They let Philly hang around and had to be saved by a game saving INT. If the Packers let the Steelers hang around there will be no saving them. The Steelers love close games and have the experience to win them.
I feel that the real key to the Steelers success will be four fold. Cause at least two turnovers, will the penalty battle, use Heath Miller on first and third downs and lastly, have Rashad Mendenhall gain at least 80 yards on the ground. If the Steelers can run on the Packers it will force the Packers to play more conservatively on defense and that will allow the Pittsburgh offensive line to give their QB time to find his receivers.

Final Prediction:
If they can avoid crumbling under the spotlight of the super Bowl, the Packers are just too young, too quick, and too athletic to be stopped; especially on turf. There is only one way the Packers lose this game: they commit multiple turnovers and commit dumb penalties. Although part of me really believes that Pittsburgh can really win this game (especially if they establish a decent run game). But I think the probability of that happening with a weekend offensive line is slim. So I say Packers 28 - Steelers 17.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Racism On The Family Feud...

I don't get to watch daytime TV very often. So during my winter vacation when I saw the Family Feud I was surprised to see that Steve Harvey now hosts that show! I started watching the show midway through and saw that an African-American family was playing a latino family. The question they asked them to answer, I shit you not, was: "how do you get a bill collector off your back?"

My head almost fucking exploded!

By the way, what the hell was with the phrasing of the question!? The question wasn't, "how do people avoid bill collectors" it was, "how do YOU get bill collectors OFF YOUR BACK!"

Just the fact that a black and a latino family were on TV and being asked how to avoid a bill collector was funny/shocking. I had to watch how this played out.
Here were some of the answers that were given:

don't answer the phone,
screen your calls
have someone else answer,
change your number,
tell them your not working
disconnect your phone
move and,
tell them the person is dead!

Unbelievable. Who thinks to tell a bill collector that the person is dead? Who moves? how can you afford to up and move but not afford to pay a bill.

Well, if the unintentional racism couldn't get any worse/funnier there was one answer left on the board and neither family could correctly guess it. The answer was: "Pay the bill".

Of course, the people of color wouldn't ever guess to actually pay the bill...Jesus Christ! I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Maybe I need to buy a Tivo and record some more daytime TV.

Friday, January 28, 2011

PayPass

Remember PayPass? This was Mastercard's promotion for it's credit and debit cards. The idea was that you could just wave your card in front of a reader and pay for your items. No swiping, no showing idea, no signature, no punching in your zipcode. Well a number of other credit companies and banks followed suit. Well, it's a great idea. I try it every single time I can. Here is the problem. It works less than 50 percent of the time. Grocery stores, fast food places, convenience stores. I whip out my card and wave it in front of the scanner. I look cool, i am on the cutting edge of technology with my fancy credit/debit card. But the sale doesn't go through. Then I try it again. The little lights flash. but no dice. Then the person and the counter says, "oh that thing doesn't work. You can swipe it or you can give me your card."
Great! I thought the purpose of these new cards was that I would be able to get in and out quicker. Instead i am taking longer and looking like an idiot in front of the rest of the people in line. The people behind me have places to go and I am slowing them down because I think I can play George Jetson with my futuristic credit card!
The strange thing is the companies aren;t trying to fix the card readers that don't work. Oh no, they are working on the next step of making it easier to pay for your stuff. Within the next 3 years (if not sooner) most smartphones will come with NFC chips (Near Field Communication). The idea is that you won't even need a card anymore. Instead you will be able to wave your phone in front of another reader (that probably won't work) and pay for your stuff. Hopefully it will work this time, because if not I am going to have to juggle my wallet, cards and phones while i get the stink eye from all the people in the line forming behind me.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V6X0bCvCPE

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Address Labels Make Me Nervous...

Just a quick post. I give to quite a few charities. AIDS Project LA, Oxfam and a few others. Well over the course of the year I get small gifts from these folks, and those small gifts are almost always address labels. Most charities love to send you address labels as a sign of their appreciation and I appreciate the sentiment. But those little address labels freak me out! I now they are supposed to be tokens of gratitude - but I am a catholic. I have nothing but guilt and self-doubt driving me. The address labels make me feel bad for not giving more to these causes.

Then it gets worse, the guilt turns to fear. All of a sudden these address labels start to scare me. They are like a reminder from each of these organizations: "we know where you live and we are going to keep sending stuff! NOW HAND OVER THE MONEY OR WE'RE GOING OVER THERE!" The labels might as well be made out of letters cut from magazines.

So I say to these charities, 'please stop sending me address labels, they're freaking me out. Plus, I have enough address labels to last me a life time! Who sends out this many physical letters anymore?

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Rich School, Poor School

Yesterday, to say the least, was a horrible day for public schools in Los Angeles. After a school shooting at El Camino Real high school a number of schools were put on lock down. The shooting occured when the unknown gunman, attempting to break into cars, was approached by a by a police officer assigned to the school. The gunman proceeded to shoot the police officer. Luckily the officer’s life was saved by the bullet proof vest he was wearing. It’s a sad and disturbing situation - but it got me wondering: having police officers assigned to your school is something that happens at really rich school and at really poor schools.
There is a strong police presence at well to do schools in order to keep the rift-raff out. At the poor school the police are there because the rift-raff are inside the school and we need to keep them from killing each other. There is no middle ground when it comes to a police presence at school. You don’t see police at a ‘middle of the road’ school.
It's like outdoor showers, only two types of people have them: really really super duper rich people and poor people who can't afford indoor plumbing.
So let us say you see a police officer at your local school. How can you tell if you are at a rich school or a poor school? Rule one, if the police officer seems generally happy - your probably at the rich school. if the police officer is monitoring a metal detector, you guessed it, you’re at the poor school.