This and That

I find it hard these days to find time for the things I once so enjoyed. I hope that the reason I am unable to find time is because I am lazing or slacking, not because I am getting older and have to deal with other issues. Jenn and I have often mentioned that since we moved here, we have noticed that time goes by faster. It really does seem that the way of life moves faster than our last home, a smallish community deep within the Rocky Mountains. I’ve always heard people say that the way of life in the south is slower than everywhere else; I think those people are crazy.

I do think things here move faster. I believe it has a lot to do with the consumerism culture, as well as the Southern "hospitality culture". In regards to consumerism, it seems to me that individual’s lives revolve around three things: 1) Shopping, 2) Work, and 3) Church (notice how I did not say God). The overwhelming impression here is that if you are not at work or at church, you must be shopping. No ifs ands or buts about it. This plays into the Southern "hospitality". More so than anywhere I have ever been, these Southerners are social creatures. They cannot be alone with themselves and their thoughts. If they are alone, they must be shopping. Everything is about interacting with others, church, high school football, going to the mall, going to weddings, etc. It is all about being around and being seen. I won’t say whether this is right or wrong, but it is very different than what I was used to. I am more comfortable with the "rugged individualist" of the Mountain West…or at least people who are okay with being alone.

Anyway…these are just some thoughts after having a not so awesome day in the mid-South (that is what the truck commercials call this area of the country). So I must then live in the central northwestern corner of a mid-southern state that borders "mid-western" and "southern" states.

A New Year

I know that it has been 2006 for almost two weeks now. I am behind, as usual. It has been a long couple weeks, and it feels like it should be much later than in the month than it is.

As everyone and their mom have said, 2005 will be a significant year in the history of the USA. It will also be a significant year in the history of the World (well, at least in this current incarnation of the world). I think we all know the reasons why 2005 was a big year, and despite the fact that your middle school social studies teacher would use that same statement right before s/he would go ahead and tell you why such and such was significant, I am just going to leave it at that.

The reason that I write this post is then to just make sure that I get on the bandwagon (albeit a few days late). But seriously, another year has passed and we are all older, hopefully we are all wiser, and maybe, just maybe, some good will come out of 2006 (like the impeachment of GWB). It would be nice if he was kicked out of office, but at least an impeachment would do nice. If we can impeach a President for lying about sex, we should at least be able to impeach a President for lying about WMDs, domestic spying, lying about Iraq’s ties to Bin Laden, etc. It would be great if this would start a trend. Our society is so darn litigious as it is, maybe we can take that to the next level and just go crazy impeaching our elected officials. I am sure we wouldn’t have to stop at GWB…we could go state by state and impeach some governors too.

For my parting words of my first post in 2006, if you have not seen the “World’s Largest Retailer Movie” aka Wal-Mart: The High Cost of a Low Price, I would suggest renting it and watching it. Here is a toast to 2006 in hopefully being a Worlds Largest Retailer free year!