The Onion is Funny

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The Office quote

I have a new favorite quote from "The Office"

"You cheated on me, when I specifically asked you not to?"

Like it's Your First

I don't remember if I've posted on this idea at all before, but if I have, forgive me, because I feel like talking about it again.

There are plenty of people who talk about living each day of our lives as if it is our last. I know what they mean, that they want to be uninhibited, do the things they've always wanted to do, but are normally too afraid to do, because they can't foresee all the consequences. They want to quit their jobs and go to Peru, or do something outrageous. And I think the most admirable piece of this position is that they want to live without worrying about tomorrow, like Jesus taught us. I applaud that, but I think they're missing the point of what Jesus was saying. I don't think Jesus was saying, don't worry about tomorrow, because I'll fix whatever stupid thing you do today. His words were a call to faith and obedience, both wholehearted and incredibly courageous. So mainly, I think this idea of living each day like it's our last is just too abstract; it's too confusing. It clashes with our reasoning.

I propose that we live each day like it's our first. Now, of course, I don't mean that we should live like we were just born, anymore than those others mean we should live like we were 110 years old, too old and weak to get out of bed. What I mean is that we should look at each day as a fresh start, a new opportunity. We should also approach life with a sort of bright-eyed "faith-of-a-child" attitude. Having that courageous faith I was talking about earlier requires us to approach life and God with an unadulterated mind, untouched by the cynicism of age. Now of course, this is just as much a specified analogy, with a lot of holes if you take it too far. We need wisdom and learning to guide us on our way. We need to learn from our experiences along the way, treasure the lessons and the memories. But here is probably my biggest point: we cannot be tied to what has happened before, as if that is all that can happen again. If you feel God let you down, let it go - it's a new day. If you are disappointed with your lot, let it go - it's a new day. Letting go of the past is essential to moving on to a new life, even if "the past" is five minutes ago.

As I'm making this distinction, I'm reminded of the movie Groundhog Day, which I'm sure most of you have seen since it's on TV every year in February, and not a few times on other days of the year. When Bill Murray starts out his cycle of Feb 2nd's, he suddenly realized there are no consequences. He lives each day like it's the last day of his life, stuffing himself, sleeping around, drinking heavily, jumping off cliffs, doing things no sane man would do, because he can. But as the days go on and on, starting over and over, he begins to realize that none of it was what he wanted. So he has to change his thinking. He starts to live each day fresh. He learns to play piano, he helps his neighbors, he does favors, he perfects the smallest acts of kindness, he begins to live each day like it's the first day of a bright and brilliant future. It's kind of a new look at that movie for me, and I like it.

Anyway, I'm realizing now that what I'm talking about is basically the cliche, today is the first day of the rest of your life, and I'm writing this to shy away from cliches, and that really pisses me off. Not really, but I think I have a valid point, because I'm tired of people saying to live today like it's your last. Because it's not your last, and you shouldn't live it like it's your last. But it is your first, in a very real sense, because you are not who you were yesterday - you've changed, you've grown, or maybe you've shrunk, you've learned, or maybe you've forgotten, you've eaten and pooped, your cells have died, and you've made new ones, you've had new experiences, even if they were similar to most of your other experiences, you're a different person, and today is a brand new day for you, so it is definitely a beginning. And if you think, I don't have to live today by yesterday's rules, I don't have to be today what I hated being yesterday, and I can plant a new seed in me that will grow tomorrow, then you've really started something. And I think we're here to start something, and if we end anything, I think it's mainly so that we can start something else. And that's a really positive way of looking at the world, which will only do us some good.

Juno

First of all, I wish to apologize to all my adoring fans for neglecting to post any blogs in the recent past. I know there are millions of you out there, just rearing to catch a new glimpse inside the brain of one Jacob Ulasich - or at least one or two. Frankly, I just haven't felt like I've had much to write about, and there's little worse in blogging life than going to post and feeling like you don't have anything.

So, Cassie and I watched Juno last night. I had heard it was really good, of course, but some people I knew said it was just okay. Personally, I think it's far better than okay. I loved it. It's awkward moments made me laugh out loud, it was filled with good characters, good acting, simple (probably realistic) interaction. It was just all-around really cool. But what I really liked were its really poignant moments where the story wrestled with the tough questions of love and of life and encouraged not only viewers to do so as well, but young people, who might relate with the fringe attitude of the main character, Juno, who relates "I don't know who I am anymore." It's not just about discovering identity, the cliche theme for troubled youth. It's about discovering what you're made of, what you really care about, what kind of choices you're going to make, what life means to you. Questions that go deeper than an eneagram test. That made it poignant. That made it gritty. That made it something to wrestle with, something to enter into.

I also liked how this film depicted the naivite of youth, without degrading or patronizing young people. It showed how young people were capable of making responsible decisions, but it also portrayed how adults realistically just tend to know a lot more about relationships, marriages, social do's and don'ts, and it's something you can only learn through experiencing the world. It struck me as a very good balance.

Lastly, the ultimate question of the film, can two people keep on loving each other indefinitely? On the surface, not the most groundbreaking question we've ever faced, but the film's response to the question? Basically, we hope so, and we'll sure try. And I really like that. Another balanced response, positive, without dismissing the realities of multiple failures in our culture. Hopeful, without pretence.

In the end, for me the film was about shedding the bullshit. Looking past the mood-swings, the naive idiocy, the strangling difficulties of relationships, and deciding once and for all, what do I really want to live for, and what do I really want to live with? All of that, encased in a charming, rootsy, kind of film, with an odd quirkiness that is totally my style and a fine-honed sense of humor that I found incredibly entertaining. It was great.

Europeans are Coming to New York to Shop

"Europeans are coming to New York to shop" -- Chris Matthews, Hardball

There's something appealing to me about politicians talking about politics, especially in layman's terms. I hear so much arguing about this or that person's record and this or that person's plan, but I rarely hear them duke it out over ideology in practical terms. I was watching hardball, and in the course of the conversation on economics and the drop in value of the dollar, the above quote was stated. It made me laugh, so I thought I'd write about it. The short debate was interesting, because they talked about the mortgage crisis and the supposed recession(s) we're having, and the talked about them in tangible ways. It felt like a conversation we could all join into (if they'd slow down and stop interrupting each other).

So really, should the government "bail people out"? Is it the government's job to stimulate the economy? I think it was Henry David Thoreau who said that the government that governs least is the one that governs best. Why can't we have republican treehuggers today?

Honestly, I really like the idea of helping the poor and those in crisis, but should it be the government that does it? And where do you draw the line? The free-market advocate claimed that the people stuck in the mortgage crisis are mainly those who made bad financial decisions, and if the government bails them out, it would be an encouragement to repeat those mistakes. In my opinion, he has a point, despite the numerous exceptions of people who made decent decisions and just got in a bind that they couldn't have foreseen. And the argument from there was, why should the american people, 90% of whom are not making those kinds of awful financial decisions, be responsible for bailing out those who are? The response is that it's in everyone's best interest for the nation as a whole to be doing well economically. Your neighbor forecloses on his home and your home goes down in value as a result, stuff like that.

Shift focus: the dollar. The Bush administration gets us into this war (approved by a majority of congress, lets not forget), and then cuts taxes, meaning we're going to war, but we're not paying for it ourselves - instead we're going to borrow money from China. Result that a twelve-year-old probably could have figured out: dollar loses value and "Europeans are coming to New York to shop." Okay, so props to McCain on this one, a republican who voted against the Bush tax cuts, claiming that if we're going to cut taxes we need to pay for it (ie. cut spending, which was not done) - seriously, other republicans criticize him for this? I don't know exactly what I'm getting at, but I think I'd mainly like to point out that we really need a sense of balance.

When I play monopoly, I borrow money all the time. I'll mortgage a property just so I can buy another one, because in the long term, it will pay off to have as many properties as possible. So I understand the idea of borrowing money. The problem I see is that people borrow money without the promise of that money making more. Kind of like how we borrow money (via credit cards) to buy ourselves "stuff." We borrow money to buy cars, which plummet in value the minute you drive them off the lot. If you borrow to start a business or to invest in a home or something that will raise in value, then it's understandable. So the question is: how much of the borrowed money the government accumulates is actually going to turn a profit in the long term. Considering the fact that we're funneling that money into war, education, health care... road construction? Who's to say what kind of profits those activities will turn? It seems to me that most of that money is basically being given away, kind of like buying a car. If the government buys bombs, it's not like they're just going to turn around and sell them for a profit. They're going to turn around and drop them in other countries. So buying bombs helps us carry on the activity of making war on other countries, which may or may not allow us to benefit financially through resulting economic deals or lack thereof. But there's no measurable expectation for profic, so what the hell are we doing borrowing money for it? It's ridiculous to me, and that's just in the economics of it. Keep praying for the end of all these conflicts. God save us.

So now the Canadian dollar is worth more than the American. Hmmm... it amuses me that we find that to be so ridiculous. The power of the Euro didn't really bother us, but the Canadian dollar? Now we know something's wrong. So... how do we get out of this mess? I honestly don't know, but I think a balanced veiw of our nations leaders is also called for. Just from this small glimpse of what's going on, I get the picture that there are numerous factors to watch out for, to manage. Sometimes we bring a lot of criticism to politics. I know I just said that what's been going on in the past several years is ridiculous, but let's remember that even the best economists in the world would be hard-pressed to manage it all properly, and we don't have control over all the factors that decide our fate. So I say we pray, we love one another, and we hope for the best.

I'm in the middle of reading the Bourne Identity. I don't have anything profound to say about it - I just wanted to make note, because I'm enjoying it. I've also been spending lots of time recently playing music. I need to learn as many songs as I can, so that I can get gigs to play in various restaurants and bars. Wednesday night Cassie and I visited Dave, and I played several songs, and I really enjoyed it, and the assistant manager liked me, and so I'm supposed to go back tonight (Dave's playing again) and play so that the manager who overseas entertainment can hear me. But I have to have like 40 songs down, so that I have a full set where people won't hear repeats. That might take while - I think I'm approaching close to twenty, if you include a few of my own that I would throw into the set. So if I learn two per week, it would take around 10 weeks for me to be ready. I'm enjoying it, though. When I play guitar and sing, I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile, like I was meant to do it. Sometimes I doubt my guitar-playing abilities. I have a great ear, but... it's just hard to be confident, when I see people playing stuff I haven't learned to do yet. But I am confident in my voice. People like it, and I really enjoy that. It's especially fun when I play a song people know and they get that look on their faces, the one that says "ohhh, yes, I love this song!" and then their heads bob along with the music and a few of them mouth the words. I know I'm helping people enjoy their day, and it's uplifting to me as well.

Other thoughts? ... Well... I'm still trying to figure out life. You know, I spend day after day after day attempting to be positive about everything. And sometimes things at work bother me, and I've been pretty good about taking a moment and turning my thoughts around on the issue, whatever it may be. I try to think how I do the same thing as the person who just did something I didn't like, only maybe in a different way. There are times when I don't listen to others, or when I get in their way or when I disregard their feelings, or whatever, so that reminds me that we're all the same, and I have no right to judge. So I can thank God for the reminders I receive from others that I should listen and I should watch out, instead of being all high and mighty and thinking that they should. But then I have these spells, sometimes. After a whole day of staying positive in an environment I dislike, I can come home and be irritable, even though I'm trying to practice the same things. I don't want to be fighting this battle all the time. Maybe some people will say that it just is a battle and it will be for your whole life, but I can't believe that's how it's meant to be. As they say, practice makes perfect. I should think that doing something over and over and over again should make a difference. And maybe it already has. I think about the past times when I've been irritable, and I'd have to say I've come a long way. But when you're aiming for perfectiong, it seems you can never be fully satisfied. I'm sure there's a balance somewhere. Keep hoping, keep living with faith and love, relax, trust, give thanks, believe. The days will get better and better. They already are.

What's with Today, today

I don't have a ton to write about right now. I have a short story based on one of my main characters from my novel, and it's up for critique on a critiquing website I joined a month ago. So I should get several critiques on the story in the next week, which will be really cool. I've already gotten one, and the feedback was good. I'm hoping someone will read it who will want to publish it in some magazine or something. If not, I'll probably submit it to one after I'm done editing it. It's a fun story, about how Onefist Jel first became a big name in the outlaw community of Moorlick. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's just too bad. You'll have to buy my book when it's finally published. Who knows when that will be.

I'm still trying to live in thankfulness. It helps to remind myself "I live by the grace of God." This phrase reminds me that everything I have is a gift, Everything I have I've received. It takes away feelings of entitlement and encourages feelings of trust. Entitlement often leads to bitterness, anger, resentment. Whereas trust leads to happiness, joy, and love. So I thank God for everything I have, because it's all a gift. Life is a gift, and I plan to live it gratefully.