ice cream and sleep apnea

"Sleep, that deplorable curtailment of the joy of life." (Virginia Woolf)

Sleep is a luxury which most of us fail to acknowledge. Insomnia is a condition that imprisons more than 15% of our population. Not only do these people have to go about their every day tasks with their gas tank 3/4 empty, but every night they are haunted by the complete lack of control they have in accomplishing a seemingly simple task that everyone else seems to be quite adept at.
All that extra time they've got on their hands. And they have to spend it in the dark.
When did you last think 'If only there were more hours in the day I'd be able to dot dot dot.' Really that whole thought process is just to allow you to nod off without feeling lazy and useless.
All that dot dot dot can't be done without human aid. It's nothing to do with the amount of time you don't have. The bank, shoe repair, and soup kitchen kinda need to be running for you to be involved. See, humans like to think that they're independent. We hate to depend on others for services such as transportation, loans, and advice. Yet we have no problem relying on them for cell service, traffic reports, and corn syrup. Huh.
Sleep eating, on the other hand, is a win-win situation. You get to recharge your body and simultaneously eat your favorite flavor of Haagen Dazs ice cream. To quote Brian Reagan, comedian; "Can life get any better than this? I submit that it cannot!"

old sweats and play dough

"I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste." (Marcel Duchamp)

Humans are creatures of habit. You are either revel in change or you dread it. Do you need to take your 60% down feathers, 10% polyester, and 30% horse hair pillow with you whenever you sleep away from home? Does your breakfast consist of 5/8ths of a cup bran flakes with a third of a cup milk and 7 raisins every morning without fail? Have you been admiring the same decor in your home for the past 13 years?
Or.
Do you switch up your toothpaste 'cuz cinnamon flavor got boring? Do you meet up with friends to try out the new Indian restaurant that opened around the corner? Are you open to listening to Willie Nelson and Damien Rice even though everyone you know is obsessed with Lady Gaga?
Sadly, we are extremely malleable, and most of us are severely influenced by our upbringings. We tend not to question our personality. Instead we allow the cards to fall where they may. Forcing yourself to examine different nuances in your behavior can be annoying, time consuming, and painful. But pain is the only real proof of your existence.
Make a choice to be aware and you will release yourself from the Curse of Habit.

the cemetary beneath town hall

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." (Benjamin Franklin)

Often i ask myself what's the point of it all. In the end what it boils down to is that I'm dying. This is not a statement meant to induce pity, it's merely the truth. It's just a matter of perspective. You too, are in the throes of death. Really, as with all emotional conflicts within the human psyche, it's your mother's fault. For conceiving you that is. You were taken from sweet oblivion, (your own personal taxi service) and thrust into an environment which you will without doubt proceed to destroy in good or non-consciousness.
So why are people freaking out about the end of the world? Is it death that calls upon the fear or is it the question of what might be afterwards that causes them to build replicas of the Ark, stock up on cans of tomato soup, deodorant, and postage stamps.
How is it that with all the technology and wisdom we have, all the historians and researchers and advances in carbon fingerprinting, no one has figured out a way to develop a utopian society. Instead all our resources go towards starving children in third world countries. And your next door neighbor is sitting in jail for tax evasion. How often does the cost of the penalty (upkeep of the prison lawn, tax clerk's salary, central air for 106,000 IRS employees) exceed the price of the crime? I no longer wonder why the united states is in $14 trillion in debt. Is the rise of technology contributing to our feelings of fullfilment and happiness? Statistics beg to differ. Focus your intelligence on what matters- for tomorrow you may die.

blah blah blah

" Saying something is the easiest way to tell someone you are a fool." (8789 Words of Wisdom)

If i were someone who tended to take the advice of my elders seriously i would have taken it upon myself to become a selective mute like a decade ago. Which in a sense is just a form of intense observation. For those of you who are familiar with selective mutes, you may have noticed that they tend to be more intelligent. (I wonder if any of them grow up to be mimes. Talk about channeling your personality.)
It's nearly impossible to talk and do an activity that requires serious brain work simultaneously. Hence the following scenario. Mom is talking in the phone and fails to notice that three feet away one (or two) of her offspring are happily disposing of three dozen eggs by dropping them through the balcony railings of her two story apartment.
True story.
Had her mouth not been in a state of frenzied blabbing, she might have been more aware of her surroundings and would have prevented a very expensive hat from being shellacked with animal protein. In the end though, I'd say it was mostly the pompous bald man who looked foolish.
What's so bad about being a fool anyways? They get away with so much more than everyone else. It must be something to do with disciplining youngsters. Imagine if they all had a don't care attitude towards being a fool.
Teacher: "Taking state tests is the most accepted way to convince the government that their money isn't providing breeding grounds for Fools."
We would rename institutes for education circuses and charge an entrance fee instead of making the public pay taxes.
Foolishness is not over-rated- why else would there be a day of the year in its dedication? Humans thrive on foolishness. There are website and stores dedicated to these shenanigans. Stick out your tongue if April Fool's isn't on the top of your '100 Best Days of the Year'.
Yea. That's what i thought.

don't be e-stranger

“ 'Strange' is merely an uptight term for 'misunderstood' ” (Flip by David Lubar)

Before reading this I couldn't comprehend for the life of me why anyone would aspire to become a politician. What was even more puzzling were those who took their aspiration and went on to ignore all sense of reason, all the heavy tomes of history telling them in gravelly dusty voices to do something else with their lives, and actually became politicians. But now instead of thinking of them as boring people with no life and have an innate need to create chaos, I have taken on a new perspective.

How many of us have entertained the thought of fame at some point in our lives? All humans have a desire to be recognized. Have you ever thought what it would feel like to be renown celebrity? How it would feel to Google your name and have the whole page fill up with websites other than ones that try to convince you to sign up for social networks such as Linkedin and Facebook?

Why do you think people blow up buildings or murder children? Don't be so quick to judge. They want attention just as much as the next one. Unfortunately, no one taught them proper social etiquette so they might have veered a tad and chosen the road less traveled. Condemning them for being brainwashed or having a hard childhood is a more reasonable way to respond to society's indulgence in crime.

Don't look at people with mental illnesses as aliens just because you can't understand where they're coming from. They're crying out for someone to take notice of them, to listen to what they have to say, to lend them a shoulder to lean on. Instead we exile them, placing them in hospitals, sending them pitying looks through the post and talk about them in third person when their standing two feet away.

Homosexuals. Vegans. Circus performers. Homeless. Why do people make such a fuss? Is society's immune system so weak that it can't stand anything but a plate of stereotypical with a side of normal? It's as if we reject anything that rocks the boat even a tad. Calling all humans! The boat was made to be rocked. Embrace the movement of the waves and make an effort to understand where Spitzer and Weiner were coming from.

React to my rant below.

old school education

"...not the sort of rubbish they teach you in schools. That's the trouble with schools these days. All they care about is money and exam results. Churning out more investment bankers and certified accountants, as if the world needs any more of those. Take my advice. Education is something you'd best give yourself." (The Akhenaten Adventure/P.B Kerr)

There are a myriad of different ways for one to obtain an education. The most common way is through the stereotypical schooling process. Schools are chosen based on their policy regarding attendance in hope that this will scare the students into showing up for class. It's no wonder so many people avoid college- after being force fed information for 12 years why would anyone in their right mind pay (an exorbitant amount of money) to be put through all the writing and testing and possibly failing again?
I suppose part of it is a matter of survival, the need to make a decent living and support oneself in a comfortable manner. Some people do it for the prestige and the title (What are you up to these days? Oh me? I'm in school to become a Veterinarian. My house was a zoo anyways growing up so i figured if i could survive that then real animals would be a piece of cake. And my mom likes the sound of 'My son the doctor' so i have to stick it out- at least until she dies or something) There is a minority though, that goes forward because they believe they can make a difference. They have a driving passion propelling them forward to learn and soak up all the information that they can. But any specified degree won't necessarily improve your ability to think creatively, broaden your range of random knowledge, or expand your vocabulary (unless you count words like sterno-cleido-mastoid).
And yet, these are the best ways to contribute to conversations, sound intelligent, and nail a job interview. Rattling off quotes that twist people brains into Gordian knots, using words that cause your associate to whip out his iPhone to check up the definition and make sure you didn't just totally diss him, and winning the next argument with your nearest and dearest. The plan is to learn new words, "quotables", and delve beyond the surface until your brain hurts. Be prepared to give yourself the best education around.
Feel free to post your opinion below.