I like to be polite. But i’m over polite conversation. I think people deserve the truth.

I didn’t say people deserve negativity, or truth told in a cruel way.

Here’s what got me thinking about this.

So, these kids came by the door yesterday selling magazines or something. And if they got 10,000 points, they would get a scholarship or something like that.

I don’t think this program is a good use of these kids time. So there is the truth. I’ll get back to it later.

So the kids had their speech down, and delivered it well, and were quite persistent, but the truth of my situation was I was home alone with three babies. So there is NFW, i’m going to leave my door open to two strange kids, while i get my purse to go write a check. for magazines i don’t want at all. So the problem wasn’t even so much the pitch, it was the timing of it, and also the product. I don’t want any magazines.

So then comes the counter pitch. Which was to the effect of, can you just support me then and give me an opportunity so I can work hard and achieve success like you did (man, they even write guilt into the scripts for these kids). But I come from a long line of master manipulators, and have survived and thrived at a corporate job, so I’m immune to bullshit.

Now back to that truth.

I don’t think this program is a good opportunity for these kids at all. They came dressed nicely, spoke well, and were persistent. Unfortunately, they we’rent going to reap much of the benefit of their hard work for themselves. If the goal, truly was a scholarship, then I would recommend putting that time into their studies. That way you end up with an enriched mind and the scholarship. I don’t know the details of this program, but i suspect that the bar to get the scholarship is high enough that very few kids, if any ever get it. So basically they sell some magazines for the company, and get nothing but “experience” out of the situation. Experience is good…but at that age, I really think they would have been better served investing that time into either studying or doing a free internship at a real business.

So that was my real opinion on their pitch. Is this an easy thing to say? No not really. You’re supposed to be polite and say, good for you! But is that really helping? I don’t think so. So I’d prefer to say something, in a tactful way, that I really think is helping.

so what’s the point? well, be honest. otherwise you’re not helping anyone.

I wish I could take credit for “Occupy yourself”. I can’t, so I’ll give credit to where I heard it.

Right now, and likely as there always has been, there is a lot of turmoil and suffering in the world. And I do think when possible you should help other people. But if you’re looking to “fix” someone, fix yourself first. Get yourself physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually in shape.

Have you ever noticed how when someone is out of balance they tend to just spread the misery. It may be in subtle ways, like overreacting to someone merging foolishly (i.e. cutting them off) and escalating the situation. Or it may be overtly, by yelling unnecessarily, hitting someone, etc. I don’t need to list it, you know d-baggery when you see it. When you’re balanced, it’s much easier to diffuse hostility and not escalate it. and isn’t that what the world needs right now?

at least i think it is. so i’m working on me. so i can stay in my zen and at best, spread the love, and at worst, just be neutral.

occupy yourself.

So, I understand being upset about things. But i don’t understand doing counterproductive things about it. The 1% is not bothered by you hanging around downtown oakland. And at best they are indifferent, and at worst they are laughing very hard at the fact that you’re inconveniencing the rest of the 99%, not them.

So if you hate the banks, might I suggest the following…

1) Switch to a credit union. For those in Washington, BECU is excellent.

2) Purge yourself of debt.

3) Don’t get a mortgage. If you MUST, get one from a local credit union and make sure they are keeping the loan on their own books. You’re still supporting a bank, but not one of the ones you hate.

4) Reconsider your retirement investments. Don’t let it just sit there as play money for an investment bank.

and the hard one…

5) Stop voting for politicians that support the bailouts.

Basically stop feeding the beast.

That is all. I feel your pain. I understand your frustration. But shutting down public schools and ports is not affecting the 1% you’re so mad at. And the ironic thing is, not only are they not suffering from your protests, they are using them for publicity

the mind is a powerful thing. it gives us context and frames our experiences for events that inherently have no meaning. it creates.

so you may as well spend your time thinking about something good.

and probably more importantly, train your mind to stop useless thoughts. worry, anxiety, stress, anger. all useless. but real. so try to remove the things that cause them from your life.

work out. build security for yourself and others. don’t start problems. don’t take random things so personally. eat well. notice the effect things have on you. avoid things and people that give you negative emotions. stop needing things. appreciate who and what you have.

namaste

If you’re looking for a concise explanation on how to make a class-like objects in Javascript, Doug Crockford has an excellent summary of one style here:

http://javascript.crockford.com/private.html

I found it when I was looking for a good explanation on closures. So that’s there too.

cheers,
aliseya

i’ve gone to quite a few hot yoga studios, and while they were all quite good, this one totally rocks.

i like this guy. he’s right, and he delivers the message with an appropriate amount of attitude.

http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/10/how-to-use-gratitude-to-get-rich/