Tag: blogging

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Try Not To, But It Is Human Nature

Bloganuary writing prompt
What do you complain about the most?
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I try not to complain about anything, because let’s face it, what good does it do? When we criticize something is that a form of complaining? Complain is defined as expressing dissatisfaction or annoyance about something. Criticize is defined as indicating the faults of (someone or something) in a disapproving way. Looks like it is just a matter of semantics to me. Saying you criticize something makes you look more intelligent than saying you complained about something. I have never heard the phrase constructive complaining. People seem like they really do not want to complain or be critical. How many times have you heard someone say, I don’t mean to complain but, or I don’t mean to be critical but. If we don’t want to do it, why do we do it? Is it because we do so many other things in life, that we do not want to do, that complaining is the one thing that in a way, we secretly enjoy. Sometimes complaining or being critical does seem to cause change. Whether that change is good or bad can be left up to debate. Some things that you complain about do go away. I mentioned using DVR to watch all sporting events and my complaining about all the commercials went away, because now I just fast forward through them. Some complaints you keep to yourself. Bad service at a restaurant is one that I keep to myself, because I do not want anything happening to my food and I get great joy in leaving a ridiculously small tip. I feel this is always better than leaving no tip at all, because the waiter knows, you know enough to leave a tip, it is just 3% of the bill. The things I complain the most about are the weather, traffic, slow play in golf, ruling bodies in sports, prices, crowds, holidays, and myself. If we lived in a perfect world, then the last one, myself, would be the only thing left to complain about. Complaining about other things is a way to give oneself a break from all the self-deprecation. I am definitely going to start complaining more and be a real pain in the ass for the rest of my life. Thank you oh great writing prompt, bloguary or whatever the hell your called. You have just turned me into a complaining asshole.

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Would Not Do

Bloganuary writing prompt
What would you do if you won the lottery?
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There was another prompt I believe that said what would you do if you found or were given a million dollars. Lottery pay outs are much more than a million dollars, usually. It is a lot harder to say what you would not do, without saying what the alternative might be. I find it more interesting to think about what you would not too with that much money. Most Jackpots, the winner wins around 30 to 60 million or more but let’s keep it in that ballpark. I would not invest it. I would not give it to charity. I would not buy a very expensive car over 100,000 dollars. I would not buy a million-dollar home. I would not give to any political candidate or party. I would not join a country club. I would not join any type of exclusive club. I would not give it to any college or university. I would not donate to a hospital. I would not start up a business or buy a company. I would not buy any commercial property. I would not buy an airplane. I would not buy a boat. I would not defer any money. I would not make any sports bets. I would not have more than one house. I would not put in a pool. There are probably other things I would not do but for right now I cannot think of any. That still leaves plenty of things that you can do with the money, that I am not going to divulge. All of this is a moot point because I never play the lottery. Come to think of it, I worked for 44 years and never played the lottery. Let me tell you what I did do with all the money I saved. Just kidding.

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The Present

Daily writing prompt
Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?
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You would think because I am old, I would spend more time thinking about the past. If I would hazard a guess, I would say I think about both, just about the same. There is no question that as a society we think about the future, to the point that I would call it an obsession. In fact, it is all we seem to think about. So much, for staying in the present moment. As soon as any event is over with in the world of sports there are immediate articles about who will win the next championship or will be the no. 1 draft pick next year. Who or what will, is the beginning of almost every sentence, when you read about anything related to sports. People start campaigning for office now almost 2 years before an election. Polls are taken anywhere from 18 to 24 months before an election. What is even more interesting about all these future thoughts is that we have become a society of instant gratification. If a new player gets off to a hot start over let’s say a 2-week period, then he is a future hall of famer. If another player gets off to a slow start over the same period or God forbid, even longer, then that player is a bust. Even news shows are obsessed with the short-term future because they keep telling you what is going to be shown in the next 10 to 20 minutes. Stay tuned is the number one phrase on the 6 o’ clock news now. A 90-minute newscast, between commercials, weather, and telling you what they are going to be showing you, is lucky to report on about 20 minutes of news. This obsession with the future is easy to understand. The fact of the matter is that most people think the present sucks. The future has to be better because the present can’t be any worse. Personally, I only think of the future when I am planning something. That something maybe simple like the meals for the week, or more complex like a big vacation. I only think of the past when I am looking at what I could do better or reminiscing about some good times. I like staying in and thinking about the present because that is where I am at. However, if you have a moment let me tell you about the next 30 blogs I have planned to write. The next one is titled My Life Sucks At The Present Moment.