Things I've Noticed

(Almost) All Professions Should be Honored, Not Just Teachers, Firemen, Soldiers, and Secretaries

Most of us work hard at what we do and many of us take satisfaction in doing our jobs.  But every day I see society honor only a select subset of professions with extreme reverence and it’s getting a bit annoying.  Apparently, some professions deserve holidays while others don’t even deserve a minute’s thought.  Of course, jobs whose practitioners put their life on the line deserve extra support and honor.  But for those professions whose practitioners don’t put their life at stake shouldn’t be put on more of a pedestal.  It’s not that they don’t deserve to be honored and respected, but so does everyone else that does a hard day’s work in a way that contributes to society.  They all do things that keep the gears of our society and economy turning.  They enable other people to get their jobs done, survive, be healthy, be entertained and to lead happy lives.

In the immortal words of Whitney Houston, “the children are our future;” parents and teachers are important in getting kids educated and started on the right path.  But what extra credit do the engineers who design the computers they use and the manufacturing workers who build the school buses get?  None.

Stop Expecting Things to Be Free and Complaining about Free Things

As I’ve written before, the internet is amazing.  It informs us thereby making us smarter, connects us, entertains us and so much more.  But I’m noticing that it also spoils us.  Once our internet connection is presumably established through WiFi, (often free WiFi,) we expect everything that comes to our screen to be free and with no strings attached.  Maybe I’m just getting old, but it’s becoming annoying.  In the past, I’ve defended Gen X and Gen Y as not being selfish and I believe the same applies to Millennials.  In the online interactive world, every generation feels entitled.   When it comes to websites and apps, of which 98% are free, we have little right to complain.

Of course, when a website or app decides to charge for its content, web users complain because they expect it to be free.  In a way, this is understandable.  The content providers themselves have created this expectation of “complimentary’ism” since they started giving it all away for no money a long time ago.  (Ask the newspaper companies if this was a good idea.)  But that still leaves 98% of websites and apps that we can use or download for free.  Despite the fact that many of these interactive websites and apps, (or W&A’s as I will call them,) lose money, we tend to forget that they are supposed to be businesses.  Why would anybody start something up that’s expensive unless they can make money off of it? 

Quick Quote on Happiness and Gladness

"Being glad is just being happy with a sense of relief."

+Atul

Why It’s OK to Spend Money on Things Instead of Experiences

Happy New Year plus one week after the long hiatus here at Things I’ve Noticed.  Sorry to make you miss by blog posts. With Christmas being over and people coming to grips with the presents they’ve received, I just want to say don’t feel like you have to return any of your presents by falling for “receiver’s remorse” (or buyer’s remorse if you bought yourself a present.)  Supposed happiness experts are tell us, “Buy experiences, not things.”  That’s an oversimplification, not good advice.  I would say buy experiences and buy fewer things, ones that make you happy and lead to experiences you enjoy.

Most things we buy create immersions in the moment that we enjoy.  I bought specific speakers for my stereo because they sound great (to me) and they repeatedly create a wonderful musical listening experience.  Objects continually create experiences until they break or age beyond their functional life.  That’s value!  I am particular about the cars I drive because to me, driving is about the experience and the feel of the vehicle that I encounter nearly every day.  A vacation or a zip-lining experience is a one-and-done affair.  Objects can make part of each day a mini-vacation whereas you can only go on a real vacation every so often.  We have limited time and budgets.  It’s not about the ownership of the item, but to get repeated experiences from an object requires ownership.  For instance, I can’t rent the same bicycle 30 times a year.  Ironically, memorable experiences can lead to the purchase of souvenirs or the creation of photographs, even if only stored on a hard drive.

Quick Quote on Celebrities and Fans

"Celebrities should appreciate their fans more than fans appreciate celebrities.  Celebrities don’t exist without fans whereas fans do exist without celebrities."

+Atul

Don’t Use A Nickname Just Because Your Name Isn’t “American"-sounding

My full first name is Atul (pronounced Uh-tool with no accent on any syllable.)  It’s not a nickname.  It’s not shortened.  It’s Indian and I’m proud of it.  It’s only 4 letters and 2 syllables yet many people have a problem with it.  They often see it or hear, don’t recognize it and then proceed to guess at what it should be (as if reading 4 letters is difficult.)  Even worse, they figure out that it sounds like “a tool,” and get that smirk and snicker because they think it’s funny.  They’re thinking “you’re a tool.”  Turns out I’m not.  Do they think they’re going to make me like them more by trying to make fun of my name?   What people don’t realize is that even with English-acceptable names, there are many that sound like other words.  We have just learned to accept them without thinking twice.  To show the ridiculousness of people making fun of my name and other foreign ones, I have listed some common names that sound like other words and some equally asinine comments that could be used in response to their names…

-       Matt     You must enjoy getting stepped on when people walk in the door.
-       John     You’re named after a toilet
-       Sandy   Were you at the beach lately?
-       Chuck  What do you throw, rocks
-       Dick     You are a jerk aren’t you?
-       Randy   Don’t get fresh with me

We Are "Interbeings"

First of all, sorry that it has been months since the last blog post.  I’m sure two or three of you are going through withdrawal.  I started a new job, moved, and life got busy.  It won’t happen again.. at least not for a couple of months.

You may not realize it but right now, I am with you in a way… thanks to the internet.  I can communicate with you without being in the same room.  Books do the same thing but the interweb takes it to a whole other level.  I’ve said before that I love the internet, and I think it’s making us all smarter.  But I’m realizing that it’s making us lazier and less alive in some ways.  It’s replacing many aspects of our lives.  The internet helps us find information in a second.  It entertains us, allows us to socialize, helps us do things like pay bills, shop and find recipes, news, and weather.  We even experience events or places through the internet.  We can now interact with our homes and cars through the internet thousands of miles away.  Basically, the internet is allowing us to do more and more of the things that make us modern-day humans, and it’s kind of sad.  Smart phones and tablet computers only exacerbate the problem.  We’re becoming “interbeings.”  We live much of our lives through the internet.  One day when they develop technology to hook up our brains to it, we won’t need our bodies.

I am just as guilty and perhaps more guilty than the next person of living part of my life through my computer screen and keyboard.  I have become adept at getting things done on-line.  It makes my life more efficient.  Why write a check, address and stamp an envelope, put it in the mailbox when I can set up automatic on-line payments straight from my checking account?  Why go to the mall to buy something if within a few keystrokes and clicks, I can have it delivered straight to my door?  It doesn’t make sense to go manual when we are all so busy and when the busyness of so many jobs and family lives gives us barely a second to spare.

Quick Quote on Miracles

"I only believe in miracles that already came true."

+ Atul

Experience It While You Still Can

For there to be birth, there must be death and destruction.  That is a basic tenet of Hinduism and explains the fact that everything can’t exist forever.  This holds true for man-made objects as well as things in nature.  I have been fortunate to have visited quite a few amazing places but there are many more to be seen.  We all have a bucket list and I urge all of you to see and experience what's on your list as soon as you can, before the items are gone.  In 2001, the beautiful towering Buddhas of Bamiyan statues in Afghanistan were dreadfully destroyed by the Taliban.  Nobody can see them now and nobody in 2000 expected them to be gone forever a year later.  I visited the World Trade Center when it was still standing and I’ve been to the Taj Mahal and Niagara Falls.  Who knows what could happen tomorrow?  The 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Honshu, Japan is proof of the instantantaneous destructive power that nature possesses.  But man often destroys nature.

Quick Quote on Creativity 2

"Inhibition is the enemy of creativity."

+ Atul