The robot war has a brief armistice.

So last week I was in my shared office, cramming for something or another, and had one of those moments where you all of a sudden realize that you've been staring at something for a while that has nothing to do with your coursework. Not the staring at something with intent to glean information kind of staring, more of the "I'm looking off into space and anything that is technically in my line of sight will stay there for awhile" kind of staring. If you know what I'm talking about, then you also probably know that coming back to reality can be a weird experience because you haven't been seeing whatever it is your eyes were looking at in your head, but you still know something about it. In this particular situation, the thing that was in the way of my gaze was this health advisory poster from Boynton:

Signs of chronic stress
Physiological
*Headaches
* Insomnia
* Gastrointestinal problems
* Weakened immune systems
* Fluctuations in eating patterns and weight
* Fatigue
Psychological
* Irritability
* "Low" moods
* Impulsivity
* Inability to concentrate
* Low motivation
* Emotional tension
* Behavioral and attitudinal Perfectionism
* Procrastination
* Avoidance
* Dissatisfaction, disenchantment, or cynicism
* Isolation or disconnection
* Overcommitment or feeling pressured

And then, as I came out of my trance, it dawned on me that in the past couple weeks I've had all these symptoms (except the GI problems, thank God) at some point.

Therefore, if this that stupid poster is worth anything, I guess I've been a little bit stressed out. But, I have some questions about the matter. Aren't these really common symptoms, that everybody is going to deal with to varying degrees? Can we just say that life is stressful?

Then again, there's a chance they could know what they're talking about. I mean, I have a right to be happy about the 4-day weekend that starts tonight, but probably not *this* happy. I admit, I was gettin' my dance on at the bus stop this afternoon; every now and then you find yourself in such a situation and I think are morally obligated to act on impulse (which, i suppose, is a sign of chronic stress). What's the worst that will happen in that case? That someone you've never met before and won't ever see again might enjoy seeing you do something out of the ordinary?

This might be another entry where my conclusion ends up being "whatever", but as such, I don't care. Thanksgiving rocks and that's mostly what I wanted to say anyway.

Nevermind, one more thing: As part of my expected thanksgiving rumination about my various blessings, again I'm really, really thankful that farts aren't socially contagious like yawns are. Just imagine it, you observe another person fart, and then all of a sudden you have this incredible urge to pass gas, too. In a room of 500 people, there would be a toxic gas buildup in less than an hour unless there was awesome ventilation going on. Although that would be a barrier to the formation of the megachurch... hmmmm....

And the apathetic will disco down

Today marks the start of the political offseason. Finally. This is the beauty of representative democracy to me: I only have to think about the issues once every couple of years. And, now that I've lost any sort of power I had until the next election, *they* (and we know who they are) leave me alone. No more crap flyers under my wiper blades. No more TV commercials about how the other candidate enjoys shooting at children with a pellet gun. The advertising gets so ridiculous that it almost makes me wish we lived in a dictatorship, where all you see are positive ads for whatever despot is at the top of the food chain.

Okay, maybe that's overdoing it, but still, don't you just wish the powers that be would give you some credit? Now we have, like maybe a 2-week window where you're not being screamed at about what you should do. Then, the consumerism season hits and instead of being told how to vote you get told where to spend your money (your family needs this piece of crap that we're vending or they will think you hate them!).

So I guess my point is go watch TV, while the ads are still harmless and inane? Or, maybe it's that life is too valuable to be spent throwing poo at others, metaphorically to be sure, but please not literally either. Or, it could be that Amy Klobuchar should celebrate her victory by getting some orthodontic work done, for the people, Amy, for the people.

This woman sold crack to your children!
Paid for by the campaign to re-elect Mark Kennedy

Question Marx

Man, this blog is lame. Really, lame and square. Not at all what I intended. I don't really see the point in getting rid of it. Or even trying to reform it. But not just ignoring it either, I can't do that. Know this though: things will change. Bet on it.

However, I think a side project is totally what I need right now. One that's more of a social event than this. So, I proposed starting a team blog, and there's at least an outside shot of everything actually coming together. A lot still needs to happen, mostly recruiting and such, but if it does, I suspect that most of my creative energy will go into that and most of my complainage will go into this. Because obviously, I'll still need a whining pedestal, ya know?

A few weeks ago I was (evidently, if you read motive soup) wondering what the point of doing this experiment in bloggery was, and since then I've decided that it could be both just for me and to be more connected to other people, but the balance was probably shifted more toward the second one of the two options. So, in achieving that end, it makes less sense than I'm comfortable with to be doing this as a solo act.

Furthermore, despite my best efforts to be real, I'm discovering that the me that occurs in isolation is really just a substandard imitation of the me that happens in a more social context. So, why not use the good version of yourself to do your self-expression when you have the choice? It's basically the same decision as putting gel in your hair, and we do that all the time without fear of condemnation.

Part of humility is not constantly running to cover up your faults. Hence the non-deletion of things I don't entirely know about anymore. But on the other hand, we owe it to each other as people, and even to the one who created you to, as cheesy as it may sound, be the best freakin person you can be. Hence the goal of writing better stuff in the future.

And, if it applies, sorry about any tuna contamination that I might have accidently introduced to the community mayo.