Get laiD

I love Dial Soap. Especially the liquid kind because me having the humor of a 12-year-old noticed that when you put it upside down you can get "laiD". Something that is of interest to me when I'm trying to get clean. Keep that in mind next time you're in the shower.

6 Million Ways To Die...Choose One

Insects have it rough.

Not only are they food for like everything but think of the many ways in which you could die. I mean, people have it rough but I don't recall ever a time where you'd have to worry about getting smushed in some larger beings eyeball. How about getting flushed down a giant toilet? Maybe you're walking around looking for food and then out of no where something steps on you.

Not like I feel particularly sorry for them. Not a big fan of insects of any kind in my place of residence, and sure enough if I stuck my finger in a nest of insects to "pet" them, they'd do their best to kill me. So no remorse here...just interesting that there's a whole set of other problems to worry about when you're less than an inch long.

That applies in many ways but we're talkin' insects and not your sex life. Ha!

Whelmed, Legalized Gambling and Where's My Money Fooh?

Hey can someone be "Whelmed"? I mean you can be overwhelmed and possibly underwhelmed, but I never heard of anyone being whelmed. So what exactly are you over or under then?

That's a side issue. I'm a bit overwhelmed now. Mainly because I was looking at my benefits package (my 3-month grace period is ending this month and I'll be full-fledged at my company). Cool! To commemorate this momentous occasion I get to sift through the quagmire of my benefits package.
Giggidy!

So there are 3 Basic Setups: medical, dental and vision.

Within Medical there are 2 HMO programs and like 4 PPO programs.

Then you get a table and chart that outlines what can and can't be done, who the doctors can and can't be, what you'll be paying if you do X, and then you carry the 2...

One of the motifs in my life is that I'm all about choice. However, does this seem a bit like legalized gambling? Basically if you take one choice you'll pay less money per month, but if you rupture a spleen, you'll pay a lot more. You can pay more per month and if something happens you pay less at the office than you would on the other, but if nothing happens, you'll be out more money per month. Same goes for car insurance although it's not as detailed. I suppose it is gambling saying, "you have to pay us this amount but no matter which time you need it, you'll have access to the same amount".

I laugh at the terminology used by insurance companies:

Copay: No that's MY immediate payment and insurance is covering the other (which I and my company are paying for too...just more slowly). Don't distract me from the fact that I'm paying something! Just less if I were to not have a job...if anything it's a doctor visit discount. I'm not co-paying a hamburger if I use a coupon.

Contributions: Hahah...oh you mean what I pay per month to get this? Yeah I guess it's a contribution...to help my own cause with my own money in conjunction with a company that I work for. So... I guess that's not as much of a contribution as it is what I pay per month for this benefit.

Don't you just love euphemisms?

And I'm not a big fan of "copayment" anyway. I can deal with the 10 dollar doctor visits, but the car insurance is what I really get miffed about. By miffed I mean pissed. If I get car insurance, get in an accident and my bill comes out to be 300 bucks, but I have a 350 co-pay, that's wack! Why am I paying all this money for insurance? "In case of a major accident you'll be covered". Yeah, well that 300 bucks is still coming out of my pocket...cover THAT! I'm broke, my car is damaged from an accident, help me. Maybe then I can supersize my meals! ;-)

Ok, so back to the doctor visits...let's say you don't use any of these things. You're really healthy, don't visit the doctor, you poo honey and you're a borderline immortal. Shouldn't you get your money back? Or at least have it transfer to the next company you work with? Perhaps the account can be YOURS and you carry it over with you no matter what company you work for. But I guess that's part of the "package" you get.

I have a habit of oversimplifying things. But you know what...why do things have to be so complicated in the first place? People who aren't as educated, or don't have a lot of time, or don't have a lot of money or are lazy people like myself, don't always have time to sift through and learn all the red tape and loopholes associated with these things to understand which is better for them. This goes for taxes too...man is that a headache. But if you can afford to have an accountant, or have enough time to learn tax codes, you can really save a lot of money. So basically the people who don't necessarily need the cash can save a ton! Nice.

You would think that things are a matter of common sense, but something that I say often is "not all sense is common". I think Chuck D said that originally. Listen to Chuck D.

Pet Peeves

For the most part, I’m a pretty upbeat “glass is half full” kind of guy. In spite of the circumstances, I try to see things for the better. But some stuff is just crap. Here’s a list of things that sort of bug me that probably don’t bother too many people nor are they going to cause a socio-economic catastrophe should they not be rectified, but I figured I’d share them with the web-world.

People who leave the microwave on with a few seconds left - I often encounter, particularly at places of business, that people will be heating up their goods and don’t wait for the full eleven seconds to finish out, they remove their food/liquids and then don’t even bother to press “clear” or reset. I guess the time it takes to do that will impact their life significantly…I mean, they can’t even wait for a MICROWAVE to finish cooking their crap! “I don’t HAVE all MINUTE!!!”. Listen, if you’re life is that fast-paced where you need to take out your food that quickly AND you can’t even take the nanosecond it takes to press reset, you need to re-organize your lifestyle a bit.

People who spell “weird” wrong - I see it spelled “wierd” more often than not. Fortunately in Word there’s a spell check feature which actually corrected me from doing so, however, often on the web or e-mails I see it spelled wrong. And yeah I know there is a rule “I before E, except after C…” blah blah blah. But this is English…we break the rules perpetually. I would chalk it up to a typo but it isn’t…it’s just people thinking that’s how you spell it. I actually saw a website with that embedded in the URL. I’m not a big fan of sloppy spelling anyway, but when that word is misspelled it bugs me more than usual. Picky? Yes. But at least I’m not wierd.

People who say, “sorry I was just talking out loud” - Really…talking out loud huh? I think that’s the definition of talking, otherwise you’d be THINKING or you’d be a pantomime. Regardless I think the phrase is “thinking out loud”.

Chihuahuas – I dunno I gave them a shot. I love animals…I even like little toy dogs like Pomeranians. But every Chihuahua I’ve ever met has a mental problem. All those years of down breeding causes them to be skittish, shaky and wacko. Think of all the Chihuahuas you know that don’t belong to you. Are they friendly? Yeah some of them will come and lick you. And then lick you until you start showing bone through your skin! They don’t stop! Then they get all pissy for no reason; often growling when you’re like 5 minutes into petting them. I can’t get comfortable around those type of dogs…they don’t have much warmth except maybe to their owners. They’re like the dog equivalent of a temperamental feral cat. And if I were a cat, I’d kick a Chihuahuas arse on sheer principle.

One more - People who take forever at the drive thru - Ok, first off it's called Fast Food for a reason. I like the idea of having it "your way" but people really abuse that privilege. "Yeah can I have a hamburger but hold the onions, add 2 fluid ounces of mustard, slice 1 tomato but put it on the side, grate the cheese vertically, and instead of beef I need ground up wolf knuckles....etc." Then you get the others...they're not that picky but they forget what's on the menu. Bugs me especially at McDonald's..."listen lady that menu hasn't changed THAT drastically in eleventy years..." Sure take a bit of time but if it's a major life decision, go the F home and think about it so I can get my number 3 combo!

That's it for now. I'm sure there will be a sequel to this in the near future because the world is full of things that bug me. Lot of things make me happy too so I feel I've achieved a healthy balance. ;-)

Universal Logic Passed On By The Ancients

gno•sis (nō'sĭs)
n. Intuitive apprehension of spiritual truths, an esoteric form of knowledge sought by the Gnostics.

I’d like to give a special thanks to my friend Neil who actually introduced me to this word through a song he wrote years ago. It was something that I’ve always thought even as a youngin’ yet I couldn’t put into words. I believe this was the word I was searching for and have used it ever since. (By the way Neil is literally a musical genius…check out his stuff)

Intuition is an aspect of my life that is hard to control but one of those things that I have a high sensitivity to. I believe there are inherent spiritual truths that perhaps the ancient religions and civilizations touched upon, but often through the clamor of the outside world, we are desensitized or even unaware of.

Particularly when it comes to people, I can seriously point to times where I’ve been able to predict patterns of behavior based on a combination of heightened empathy and what I suppose is Gnosis. Some would see it as ‘future telling’ (I can’t do this with lottery numbers or gambling unfortunately). I believe that although the heightened sensitivity to people’s feelings guides me to look into them, often I see past that…into a deeper untapped understanding, that ironically I don’t quite understand. It’s like “seeing someone’s soul” and if you wanna get really deep, the soul can cross time barriers.

It’s that “uneasy” feeling you get when things aren’t quite right. Or the reason why you gel so well with certain people. Often you know things before you really know them. Have you experienced this? If you know me, I have you experienced this with me, or have I said something to you that relates?

My encounters with many of my close friends have been that way. I can remember the exact moments I met most of my good friends and it was a feeling that I had about them before I really even got to know them. Perhaps it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, or visual cues but I actually believe that we all generate a type of energy that can’t be observed except through a sensory organ that governs intuition. Some people give off that they need a certain type of people in their life and if we’re lucky, those type of people feel they need you as well. So we come together for whatever reason be it temporary or permanent; perhaps to teach each other a life lesson.

This energy is not only useful in meeting my friends but I remember a time where a friend was angry with me and I had no idea, and within a few seconds of being in close proximity, even with my back turned, I could sense something was wrong. Fortunately it was just a misunderstanding, but when it happened, it felt as if an energy was being REMOVED from my body. Almost as if a portion of the energy she had given me throughout our friendship was snatched from me. Interesting ish!

To say “everything happens for a reason” is a bit clichéd. And frankly some things happen for no apparent reason, but then think about it…every action has a REASON. So that statement is a bit…well, dumb.

BUT, I do think if you pay close enough attention you can experience a higher sense. It is through this that I met people that are instrumental in my life either now or for the future or both. Not only to meet people but to understand them. Gnosis will allow you to use your intuition towards understanding.

Pay attention!