How Many Of Us Can Adhere To This?

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
- Dorothy Nevill

Temptation is a bad thing, lead by ego. The worst is the temptation to say something knowing it will bring someone else down, and having that end be the goal.

Ach-choo!!.....Or Not.

You know the feeling you get when you're going to sneeze? Your nose itches, your eyes nearly water, you immediately have to stop what you are doing and prepare. You might grab a tissue, or put your arm or hand to your face, or merely turn away from someone or something. You wait for it...and nothing! How annoying is that?! You could even try to force it, mimicking the body movements associated with the sneeze, yet still...nothing.

I have decided that this "feeling/annoyance" would make a perfect and non-lethal means of torture. What if a shot was invented to cause such a feeling, that lasts for a long period of time, only stopping with an antidote? The Federal Government has been under fire recently for less than moral/constitutional practices when it comes to interrogating terror suspects in prison. I am not sure on my personal feelings on torture, I hate violence/war, but if someone is a known terrorist...well, we have to do something.

The "Not-So-Sneeze" shot would drive someone nuts and I don't know about you, but I would confess all my sins to make it stop.

Holy Crap!

The Powers That Be posted a note in each of the bathrooms in corporate asking people to please adhere to personal hygiene expectations. ARE YOU KIDDING? Am I the only one who is embarrassed that a message had to be posted at all? We are all adults, working in a corporate/professional atmosphere, yet we have to be threatened with Human Resources Repercussions if we are caught being less than cleanly. Now I am not saying that the note was not necessary, because sadly it was. I work on the third floor and go down to the first floor to use the ladies room. Granted, I originally began this practice for the exercise and chance to get away from my desk, but now it's a necessity for my physical well-being. Like I told my co-worker, the 3rd floor ladies room consistently smells like someone ate roadkill for lunch and then was kind enough to excrete it and the foul odors associated in the bathroom. It's un-freakin-believable. No one's "shit" smells like roses, but DAMN! The third floor lavatory is far from perfect, as I found a floater today on my last trip in there...eww, but still, it's far better than suffering through the third floor! One day I walked in there out of utter emergency (would not have made the trip downstairs) and was nearly blasted back out by the odor, letting out an unconscious "holy shit, what a stench!"..not realizing the potential culprit was still occupying one of the stalls. Oopsie. Oh well, I don't care, watch what you eat for goodness sake!

The World's a Mess

Work has been pretty damn slow lately, which despite threats from corporate, has given me time to puruse the internet in search of interesting news stories. What are the most prominent stories out there? Sadly...Britney Spears is right on top after a fiasco last night. The elections in Iowa, though I do not see their importance in this election, seemed to have topped the charts. A teenagr was mauled by a tiger and is now being hailed a hero, despite evidence he and his friends were taunting the animal. Bombs are going off all over Turkey and Pakistan, but those stories have taken a back-burner. Worst of all, HUNDREDS of people are dying in Kenya and I have yet to hear it mentioned on the television news. I heard about Britney first thing this morning, I heard about the idiotic results of the Iowa Caucus and I heard how cold it would be when I got outside...but nothing of the murders in Kenya.

This country is a mess. We would rather read about the foolishness of celebrities than have an ounce of concern for innocent people in other countries. We are pissing and moaning about gas prices, yet we do nothing about it. I read an article on Discovery.com about the fact that the raise in oil prices is a blessing in disguise because it will force us to look at alternate fuels. The trouble with that logic is that Americans are too slow to change. We are too lazy to do the research, we are too busy in our own small lives to work as a whole and change our future for the better. Other countries have already gotten on the bandwagon of alternative fuels, but it was hard work and we can not possibly stop reading about Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohen long enough to make our concerns known by more than just some meaningless bitching to our friends/co-workers/neighbors.

The more I watch the news and the more I read online, the more discouraged I am about the state of our Nation. I can not speak for other countries, as I do not know what happens there, but I hope they are different. The spoiled, self-centered behavior of our country is depressing. Yes, I am one of them. I bitch about gas prices, I read about Britney and Lindsey and I do not vote, so should shut my mouth about the elections....That does not mean I am proud of it.