POLITICS

According to Glenn Beck, every man, woman, and child owes $340,000 to pay for the current federal deficit. I can't stand Glen Beck because he makes my head hurt. BUT, I do love to color of his eyes. HOWEVER, he needs to learn to use MOISTURIZERS! As Vladimir Horowitz once said about the importance of "spontaneity" in performance, "...that's very important...". Well, it's very important to use moisturizers. In addition, what the hell is going on with his hair? I should stop listening to Fox News ("fair and balanced"), but I'm a curious creature so I can't help myself. So, I listen and then feel like a moron for listening to them. Final note... he has fairly good fashion sense, which probably means he has some gay man dressing him. Oh geez, let's not go there!

I've stopped tracking politics in general because 1) I'm generally disgusted with all of it and 2) I don't have the energy to worry about it anymore.

But I will say this... there's a big difference between the Republicans who sit back and complain about our debt and how great things used to be (even though they created a great deal of our debt on Iraq, the war of choice -- yes, I know they want to forget that and blame Obama, but it's the TRUTH, DAMN IT!), without offering any REAL solutions, and the Democrats... well, maybe there's not such a difference. I'm disgusted with both parties, which is probably why I stopped following politics in general. Which brings us to...

MAN TALK

Life is a strange thing. I guess I should give you some context. Kent is away for awhile. I go to work and do the best I can, but honestly, it's a struggle.

But I try to work within reality. WHAT IS REAL? Well, philosophers with many names have a lot to say about "What is Real?". I'm not that deep. I'm pretty much a meat and potatoes man. My goal is to just go to work, do the best I can, and try to get through the day on the energy that I have.

Today, I spoke to a coworker who went through some major health issues, as I have, in the last two years. He seemed to pick up on my demeanor I suppose. He kept telling me how long it takes to recover from surgery. He tells me things like, "Don't get discouraged.", "It can take up to two years to fully recover.". ok. I get it. Be patient.

But I'm not a patient person. Perhaps I'm trying too hard. Perhaps I have a higher expectation of myself than everyone else has. I've always been somewhat of a perfectionist. I've always tied to be the example in work ethic. But the truth is, I'm working very hard to maintain a very high bar in work ethics. My mental state is where the U.S. worker used to be in 1970.

But why do I need to do this? I've paid my dues. I've worked my butt off for years to get to where I am. I've enjoyed it. But the brutal truth is, with what I have now, I can't sustain that. I can't do what I did when I was 25 years old. Everyone at work understands that, except me. So, I'm used as a mental reservoir of knowledge because I've been there 23 years. That's fine I suppose. My time for physical involvement is over. So now, when I need a physical task done, I call another department and tell them what I need. Then, the 20 year old guys will come out and do what I'm no longer able to do. That's a hard one for me to get used to.

Finally, one of my coworkers and I were talking, in the men's restroom no less, issues with urinating. Yes, we were alone. There's a bit of humor here. I told him, "I'm standing at the urinal and doing my thing. This young guy comes in, and it sounds like Niagara Falls in the stall next to me. He finishes, washes his hands, and leaves. I'm left there finishing up. It seems to take forever". The man I was talking to understood this because he's three years older than me. He told me, "Don't compare yourself to others. Everyone is different."

Well, that is certainly true.