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Rodney and I went to buy groceries tonight. As we were checking out, I noticed our cashier (whom I presumed to be younger, probably 16) was wearing a red ribbon on her name tag. I was so touched. I looked around at the other adolescent cashiers and none of them had a red ribbon on. I thought it was wonderful for one young girl to make a statement, without fear of all the ridiculous stereotypes about HIV/AIDS. With a big smile, I said “I think it’s nice that you’re wearing a red ribbon.” She smiled back, in fact her face lit up. “Thanks! So you know what a red ribbon is for?” she asked me. We had such a connection. Two strangers discussing an important cause. If only I could bottle that moment in time and share that special feeling with all of you. “Why yes, I do. Tomorrow is World AIDS Day,” I said proudly. A perplexed look of confusion came over her face. “This is for my school, to support the troops,” she explained. The connection was broken. ‘Well, um… the ribbon for troops is yellow. Red ribbons are for AIDS. But uh… supporting your troops is good too” I said. — December 1st is World AIDS Day. I hope we can all feel connected about it, because it’s something that affects all of us.
How much effect does birth order have on us? Can the order you were born in define how much money you make and how intelligent you are? Can it change the role you play throughout your entire life? People have always had theories, but now scientific studies are proving them. I recently read a fascinating article in Time about this, and the results were right on the money. My siblings are a classic case scenario. My parents had 3 sons, and everything the study showed matched us perfectly. Keep in mind, there are always exceptions to any study. This is some of what I found out, and I’m going to use the words “he” and “him” because it’s just easier. You can apply it to girls too. It’s been awhile since I read it, so I’m going by memory… The oldest child: According to this study, the oldest child is the wealthiest, most educated and tallest. While growing up, he is extremely concerned about pleasing his parents and he will work hard to be a model student in school. The oldest child is often the caretaker, and usually the most successful. An average of 42% of all leaders in the work force are first born! My oldest brother is a doctor. He fits every single thing on here. He even moved back to our hometown to be closer to my parents (i.e. caretaker). If you line him up against a wall, along with my middle brother and me, you can see a slope in our heights. Each son was progressively shorter. The middle child: They are the most complex and unpredictable of the study. Middle children constantly feel stuck in limbo, and sometimes feel they have to work twice as hard to get attention. Their roles drastically shift because at one point, they are the youngest. Then a new baby comes along and throws off everything. The oldest child is always paving the way, so naturally parents are focused on them. The youngest child always needs care, so they also focus on him. That puts the middle child in a position of confusion. When it comes to success, middle children are still more successful than their younger siblings. But they often struggle with low self esteem. If you throw 4 children into the equation, it gets even more confusing. But the role of oldest and youngest are still clearly defined, while everyone else is in the middle. The youngest child: These are the artistic, outspoken rebels. They don’t like rules, they don’t like authority, and they aren’t interested in pleasing their parents. As adults, they are often self employed or entrepreneurs, because the thought of taking orders from someone else just makes them feel suffocated. They are also the most likely to show up at a protest. In fact, they feel so strongly about things that they don’t even care if they are arrested. Studies of people who have been arrested during public protests show that many of them are the youngest child. This study believes that the youngest aren’t afraid of being arrested, and aren’t concerned about the rules. Physically, they are often the shortest with a smaller frame. This is absolutely amazing because I am the youngest child. All of that applies to me. I am designer, I work from home (for myself), and I don’t let other people define me. I am sort of small, but I feel big and mighty on the inside. So I thought this was most interesting, and these are facts to consider when people have children. Keep in mind this is all very stereotypical, though. What if the children are adopted? What if some of the siblings join the family through a second marriage? There are many factors that can throw this off. But as a generalization, it is extremely true in the case of my brothers and me. I’m curious, how many of my readers are the youngest children?
One of the famous lines from the 1970’s sitcom Maude starring Bea Arthur was “God’ll Getcha for That, Walter.” Now it appears God is getting me for poking fun at religious people. Well, just as the fates would have it, I was typing away at a story about yet another difficult person I’d encountered this week, and the humorous story behind it. The short version is that a woman got angry because I couldn’t meet her in person to discuss a website design she wanted. I’m mostly an internet based company, so when someone wants a website design, I handle it via phone and e-mail. So this woman got angry that I wouldn’t meet her, and started yelling, throwing a big fit over the phone. Instead of yelling back, I referred her to an anger management counselor in Nashville. The reason this situation was particularly funny is because her website is for her new book, which promotes inner peace and harmony through God. Now isn’t it a little funny that such a “peaceful” woman was yelling and telling me off just because she didn’t get her way? I guess I made one too many jokes about this woman and her relationship with God. Right as I was editing it to post, my modem went completely dead and I was without an internet connection. Okay, I get the message, God. No more making fun of people. I’m really going to focus on the positive things, like I used to.
I love Myers-Briggs tests! Is you’re familiar with them, they are a 4 letter combination that makes up your personality profile. I or E (Introvert/Extrovert) A friend of my posted his profile, and he’s an ENFP. There are times I have a lot in common with him, and I usually understand where he’s coming from. As for me… test after test shows I’m an INFJ. But this last test told me that only 1% of the population has the same personality as I do, making it the most rare personality type. Really? I didn’t know that. This is what it says about me… INFJ - The “Confidant” INFJs, making up an estimated 1% of all people, are the most rare type (males even more so). They are introspective, caring, sensitive, gentle and complex people that strive for peace and derive satisfaction from helping others. INFJs are highly intuitive, empathetic and dedicated listeners. These traits tend to act as a “tell me what’s wrong” sign on their forehead, hence the nicknames Confidant, Counselor or Empath. INFJs are intensely private and deeply committed to their beliefs.
Yep, that’s me, no doubt about it. I am very sensitive, I hate arguments, and I do get satisfaction from listening to other people. Sometimes I feel like a battery that gets recharged off other people’s energy. Because of this, my environment can really impact my mood. If people are mean or harsh, it can take over me and bring out my worst side. But if I’m surrounded my positive people, I am thriving and I’m capable of doing amazing things. What is your personality type?
I wonder what it is about the human mind that always wonders over to the dark side? You can encounter 10 nice people when you start your day. Somebody says “Good morning”, another person holds the door open for you. All it takes is one rude person, and your whole day is ruined. That’s how life is. I try to believe that the world is made up of mostly good, kind people. But all it takes is one nasty person to ruin your whole outlook. When that happens, I just feel like throwing in the towel. I started working for myself in March of this year. I had the most amazingly consistent run of good clients. From March through this fall, it was one good person after the other. But lately, I’ve been on a negative streak. I don’t know what happened. It just seems like lately I encounter the angriest, cruelest people you could imagine. They have all this baggage and rage, and I guess they think a website designer can heal them? I have no idea. They love the work, but they don’t want to pay for it. They’ve had a bad experience with a designer in the past, and now I’m going to pay for all their sins, and they even want a discount because the last designer ran off with all their money. Their Father didn’t give them enough hugs when they were children, and now it’s all my fault. It’s crazy. These people should be committed to an institution. I try not to focus on the negative, but when I tell Rodney about the people I deal with, his mouth is just hanging open in shock. I am a designer, I make your website look pretty. I cannot take away all the pain in the world, and I do not want to hear about your messy personal problems. It only makes my job harder. But that’s my challenge. We are faced with challenges every day. We have to try and find the good in every situation. We have to forgive and accept that people don’t really mean the things they say and do to us. Even more difficult, we have to maintain the courage to treat every person with a clean slate. When I’ve just finished dealing with one nut job on the phone, I still have to turn around and be nice to the next person I talk to, because they don’t know what just happened and they deserve to see the best of me. The best of me. That’s what I have to be. Every day.
Who needs writers when you have the 24/7 reality show that unfolds on Craigslist every day? I love this site. If you really want to know how candid people are when they are sitting in the privacy of their home, look no further. In particular, I like to check out the M4M Personals. (Don’t worry, I’m not having an affair.) The things that men will say to get a little action are unbelievable. Wow. And nobody is as unfiltered as the gay male. Last night, I stumbled across a guy I know from Nashville. “Aggressive black top wants submissive white bottom.” Honey, please. I know you. He’s about as aggressive as a butterfly. And could he be anymore cliche? I’ve seen sooooo many pornos with the angry black male taking control of the helpless white man. Bor-ing. Can’t we both have penises and just be equals? Oh, and there was this “married straight man” looking for “discreet fun” with another man. He had the tiniest penis… erect! I don’t mean to be rude, but sometimes it’s just best to sell yourself with your personality… if you have one. And shame on him for cheating on his wife! That poor girl. Not only did she have to finish herself off after he was done (because she couldn’t feel anything when he was inside her) but now Mr. Man wants to go and have an affair. Shame, shame… But moving on… I recently decided I wanted to try out some experiments with my webcam (not those kind). Think of it like a talk show without an audience. There are already plenty of video podcasts out there, and I don’t want to do those. Unfortunately, podcasts did not hold my attention. I eventually became bored with them, which leads me to think people also became bored with the audio ones I did. I always figure if I’m bored, others are too. My idea is to be interactive, and talk with other people using iChat because it’s easy to record with it. I decided I’d like to specifically talk with gay men who came out when they were teenagers, and maybe ones who endured a lot of homophobia. I went through that, so I always feel connected to other survivors of that rough patch in life. I’m looking for a serious tone that gets down to the depths of people. If I can get them cry, they get brownie points. Everybody loves a good cry caught on camera. I placed an ad on Craigslist and not one homo responded. Maybe I should have enclosed a picture of my dick. That seems to work in the M4M sections. But I want to be taken seriously.
There, I said it. You can gasp, turn your head away in disgust, shun me from your list of daily reads. I don’t care. I like fruitcake. For some reason, fruitcake has developed a bad reputation. It’s the topic of jokes and a universal symbol of bad taste at Christmas (along with the green sweater with white reindeer patterns on it that Grandma gives you). But why? It’s moist and delicious. It can even be cooked with alcohol inside. According to Wikipedia, it’s all Johnny Carson’s fault. Did one man change the way everyone looks at fruitcake? I dunno, but I’m here to give fruitcake a good name. Who here likes it?
Hey Iowa! Caucusin’ is easy. Mark January 3rd on your calendar and show your support for Hillary Clinton in 2008. (I love this video!)
Hello all! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is back safely if they were traveling. Thanks for all the kind comments you left me on my birthday last Tuesday. I really appreciated it. Rodney and I had a great time with our family this week. Good food, good laughs, good times all around.
(Yes, I know I could have just bought it online. But I can honestly say I worked for this one…)
I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday! Here are a few random tidbits that I’ve picked up during my first 26 years: - Never order spaghetti on your first date. - Do not drink orange juice if you’ve just brushed your teeth. - Always kiss your Mother and tell her you love her, even if you’re mad. - Keep a spare role of toilet paper within arms reach of the toilet. - You should take a shower every day, and I don’t care how “earthy” you are. - An act of kindness is always rewarded. - Everyone has value and purpose in this world. - 98% of the things that make us angry don’t even really matter. - Do your best, even when you think nobody is paying attention. - We attract everything into our lives, good or bad. - Birds of a feather really do flock together, so pick a good flock to join. - If you feel love for someone, tell them. It does not matter if they don’t say it back. That’s not the point. - Take care of yourself, because it’s important. - Tell your friends and family you appreciate them, even if you think they already know it. - Live every day with a sense of wonder and adventure. - Know when you’re rambling on, and close your…
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5 Comments
I like fruitcake.
There was even a Black Friday incident involving me facing off with a hungry pack of wolves over the last Nintendo DS. All I can say is that there’s going to be a Crimson Red box under the tree with my name on it this year. 
