Monday, February 24, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Am I Smarter Than a Fifth Grader or Dumber Than a Bag Of Rocks?
I do those crazy little quizzes that pass around occasionally, but I don't give them much precedence.
What's your brain age? I do believe in challenging the brain. But Scrabble, Dictionaries and DMV re-licensing questions are sufficient for me.
What's your thumbprint on earth? Actually, I have two of them and I don't think that can be changed by asking me ten questions. But —I recycle wine corks, try not to use a lot of plastic and don't buy paper towels.
Astrology, How is your day going to be? Several if not half of the 12 zodiac signs can describe just about anyone.— so nix the horoscope. Although I do believe the alignment of the sun, moon and constellations has earthly, heavenly and therapeutical consequences.
Recently I peeled out the tablet on some down time and took a lengthy in-depth survey with some cool psyche questions. At the end of the survey their determination was — You don't feel pressured to live up to society's expectations of what is "perfect", which is healthy - however, you may want to consider whether your rejection of societal standards might be jeopardizing your chances for success out of a desire to be a nonconformist.
With the exception of jeopardizing my chance for success, this may have been the closest personal description that I have seen from a quiz. I don't do anything for success, all endeavors are for either survival, love, a future life or the pure joy of it. But — the hint of truth in the quiz that nailed me as a non-conformist was the snare that had me questioning (briefly) whether I was laying land mines in my own path of achievement.
After that brief review I determined that the close but no cigar assessment considered literary or monetary achievement as success.
You may ask "Well don't you want to be a writer?" I am a writer.
"Well don't you want to be published? I am published, I did it myself.
"Well don't you want checks?" Of course, but I would continue to write if I never got a dime.
So, does one quiz fit all? Not at all. Neither individuality or improvising are factored into these test and quizzes because someone has already predetermined what is normal.
When we moved back here from NC, I took an online personality test for a job. 125 questions! Many of the questions were repetitive with a small change in the format that (I perceived) as skewing the situation. I adjusted my answers accordingly. I laughed out loud when I received the denial e-mail from the company. I was permanently blocked from testing at their site and 4 other subsidiary companies!
This is the way you should be, this is the way you are. Here is what to do to get there. Ya da, ya da, ya da. Ambidextrous, Mild-ish dyslexia and undiagnosed, un-medicated but surely present ADD (my desire to do many things at one time) can make interesting quiz and test results. Consistently inconsistent, I have at least 3 signatures and was once refused a package at the post office that required a signature match with my driver's license. I have also been asked to leave the drive through at the bank to come in and verify my identity. Not to mention being asked to leave (kicked out) a beginners aerobic class, I kept going left when everyone went right.
I may flub the quizzes and test and criteria that one may quantify success with, but there are advantages to knowing thyself. For one, I disagree with the philosophy that we need to start at the bottom and work our way up. If you have the ability to do the work at the top, start there. And lastly dessert can come first.
Protocol, structure and procedure are important to maintain civil and self obedience, obviously. But, they aren't steadfast rules or recipes for success. For instance, Don will tell you that I am a darn good cook, but it certainly isn't because I follow recipes. I improvise because I am out of something, add something or tweak it to our liking. Does it always work? No. But circumstances can also change a tried and true recipe, making it fail.
So, I'll flip across the horoscope page, laugh at the silly test's that claim to determine my self-worth or whether I am most like Cinderella or Shrek. If I make it, it will be determined by my creator or it will be because I just didn't know that I couldn't.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Like Water Off A Duck's Back
The beginning of the end —Branding. When the shelves of big box stores overflow with underwear, cookware, t-shirts and accessories with your face on them, watch out! It's happened to the best and worst of them.
Duck Dynasty — Duh, it's a reality show, I knew it was going to be controversial. If it quacks like a ducks —you know the rest. Opinions—yada yada yada, we all have them, hence this blog.
Aren't we all a tongue slip, blinking cursor or mic away from inciting either anger or love? Most call them the train wreck shows. I liken reality TV to cooking a white fluffy marshmallow on a coat hanger over a campfire. I plunge this perfectly good marshmallow that was getting along swimmingly with other like-minded fluffy mallow's onto a coat hanger to cook precariously over a campfire flame. I admire it as it warms and turns golden brown and does what I want it to do. Then, I let it linger a second too long and Poof!, just like that the unstable marshmallow becomes a blazing inferno before my eyes!
If a neighbor dances drunk in their skivies on their porch every weekend with Budweiser bottles lined up on the railings, that is their business. I may have my own opinion about it, but when they fall over the railing to land on the Holly bush, I'm not going to act shocked or appalled.
I appreciate everyone's constitutional right to express their views freely. However, that doesn't warrant lewd, abusive or violent behavior, unless of course they are lewd, abusive or violent. You see it's a slippery slope. I love diversity — It screams we are free! We aren't clones.
I detest racism, past present or reverse, prejudice, legalism, self-righteous indignation, rabid politics or religion. Now, doesn't that sound like a lot of us? Common ground.
I realize that I have been inundated this year with political crap, religious crap and commercial crap. I have spent way too much time thinking about what she said, what he said, what he did, what the fox said.
So for 2014 I have declared focus my resolution. Focus on the good of the bad. Focus on humanity and not hilarity. Focus on things of lasting importance. Denying myself a negative reaction to a ludicrous position taken, an insidious idea, a temptress, a barb, an insecurity.
Expunged negativity — That would have to add more focus for the good and peace would be it's side effect.
Don and I were watching ducks swimming happily in the pond during a downpour recently. I made the statement that they looked comfortable even in the rain.
Don replied "Like water off a ducks back." And that my friends is my mantra for 2014. Happy New Year Everyone!!
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