Category: Life | Page 7 | Shiny Bits of Life

December 29, 2015January 4, 2016

Bloom where you’re planted – or sleep where you find a bed

Floof, the cat, sleeping in a board game box lid Our cat, Floof, sleeps whenever he feels tired, which is the vast majority of every day (and night). He doesn’t need a bed to enter kitty slumbers. In this case, a board game box was a great place to begin his nap.

I find myself looking for the perfect bed before I begin my sleep. Or the perfect situation before I dive into a big project, begin that talk with a friend I’ve been putting off or start a challenging exercise regime that I know will pay off in the long run.

May we all be more like Floof – and just dive in, even if only into the world of dreams.

December 22, 2015December 21, 2015

I can’t change your mind

There’s a lot to get upset about these days. If you’re an American, the massive ego and questionable ethics of various presidential candidates is quite disturbing. But I’ve given up on saying anything about them on Facebook, Twitter or this blog. It’s just not worth the time or frustration.

Even face-to-face discussions can be frustrating. I make assumptions that my conversational partner will interpret the solution to a problem the same way I do. That’s not always true. And reaching a place of difference is rarely fun.

But small change can happen.

A good friend said, “Small change is a thing to be celebrated!” He has a very challenging relationship that’s incredibly complex and difficult. He celebrates when he sees a very small change.

I occasionally tackle little issues with my little blog, like the value of recycling, bringing your own cup or being part of a community. Maybe no one changes their attitudes or actions as a result of such posts. Or maybe, just maybe, one person will do something different.

December 1, 2015November 21, 2015

Give yourself variety

Don Henley in Rolling Stone Magazine We all need variety. It keeps our brains firing properly.

One area of intentional variety in my small life is my whiteboard at work. I really don’t use it as a whiteboard, but I do tape interesting things to it, in my attempt to provide some changing scenery.

I would urge you to look for areas you can change – to give your average days a little extra spice.

By the way, Don Henley is no longer on my whiteboard. The latest tenants are a band called Public Access TV.

November 10, 2015November 16, 2015

Beauty is pain

shoes-of-ms-prada Just looking at this photo* caused me pain.

What great lengths people go to in pursuit of beauty – and have done for the scope of human history.

The vast majority of good things come with a cost.

Even enjoying a beautiful flower along the path requires you to take a moment to stop.

– –

*This is an excerpt of a photo taken by Craig McDean. It appeared in the November issues of WSJ magazine.

Footnote: The pain Miuccia Prada must experience while wearing these shoes must make her feel beautiful – enough to put up with the pain of wearing them.

November 3, 2015October 31, 2015

Assumptions

“Everyone has one.”

Tom Kundig, a famous architect said that about his Cab armchair by Mario Bellini. I did a quick Google search and discovered it costs about $5,500. For one chair.

The full quote is just as priceless: “It’s almost embarrassing to admit that [I own one] because everyone has one.”

Then I had to ask myself, when do I make assumptions about others? Quite often.

They look like that because they have no sense of taste.
They are struggling with that health problem because they refuse to exercise.
They keep failing at relationships because they…

You get the point. It’s too easy to assume things without knowing the bigger picture.

Photo by vetustanova on Tumblr.

October 6, 2015September 22, 2015

Smaller can be better

two wireless external keyboards Two external keyboards – the larger is the one that I used to have at work. The smaller is my new one, and I love it.

I realized that the numbers keypad was forcing me to type at an odd angle to the screen. The new smaller keyboard lets me type in a more ergonomic position. It’s much lighter and easier to move out of the way, when I need to use more of my desk. And, it’s more elegant.

America is in love with big things. If you travel to almost any other part of the world, you’ll see small.

What can you go smaller with? Play around with this idea and you might enjoy the results!

September 8, 2015September 8, 2015

I love early autumn

extra-blanket It’s getting to be that time of the year in Colorado when you wake up in the middle of the night and think, “Is it worth the effort to pull up the extra blanket and half-wake myself up?”

I love the crisp cool evenings and warm afternoons. The leaves are just barely starting to turn. Haze from California’s wildfires seems to be dying back a little. I don’t have to wear an extra layer when riding my bicycle to work.

It’s really the best time of the year.

(And it seems like summer started just a month or so ago.)

September 1, 2015August 22, 2015

The Ferrari Paradox

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta I’ve always been a car guy.

When I was a younger man, I reflected on the injustice of old men driving super-fast cars while no longer possessing the quick reflexes to fully exploit their machines’ potential.

Young men generally can’t afford supercars. Old men no longer have the responsibilities of paying for their kids’ soccer team fees, college tuitions, braces, etc. So if they have a substantial income, that lifelong dream of owning a drivable work of art may come true.

But they can’t drive them as fast as those fire-breathing dragons deserve.

I propose that older male Ferrari owners host track days for young men in their early twenties to enjoy a lap or two.

Come on, you can afford it.

And invite me. I’m not in my twenties, but…

Photo courtesy of frankenspotter. Creative Commons licensed via Flickr.

August 11, 2015August 9, 2015

What once held value

tiny promotional mug from 1967 I love visiting thrift shops. It’s hereditary – my dad did, my sister does, and now my daughter joined the club as well.

Any visit to a thrift shop is a lesson in value. What once held value no longer does. Or in some cases, what’s there never held value for anyone.

Take this little mug, dating back to 1967. It commemorates the participation in an “Advertising Decision Seminar.” There’s no first place – you got a mug just for showing up. It’s the size of a shot glass but shaped like a beer stein – and not good for either use.

Today’s tiny shiny conclusion is that people should consider the value of a gift before investing time and money in the purchase. Don’t sell ice to eskimos, as the saying goes.

August 4, 2015July 30, 2015

Don’t wait

Ceiling speaker I waited.

For more than a year, I heard Taylor Swift – and her friends – singing the same songs over and over and over. The company that runs the building I work in hires Muzak to pipe tunes into our halls and bathrooms.

My brain has a problem with repetition – when I hear the same song over and over, it starts burrowing into the deep crevices of my consciousness until I feel like I’m about to die.

Well, not really, but you get the point.

My daughter heard me complain, over and over, about the music in my office building. She finally asked, “Dad, why don’t you ask the company that runs your building if they could change the music?”

I came up with a few excuses. She kept asking me. Finally, I tracked down the building management company, and they agreed to change the music.

Why did I wait so long?!

Moral of the story – don’t wait. Ask the gatekeepers to change. They just might!

By the way, Muzak is now called Mood. For those of you who haven’t heard of Muzak, that is the company that caused the creation of the term, “elevator music.”