Letting Go and Moving On

Anyone who has ever visited this blog knows they can usually expect light hearted random trivial topics. I recently felt inspired to write about something of substance for a change. Warning-Today's post has a serious message. This is kind of like when Different Strokes or some other weekly show addressed a serious issue. Sorry there will not be the usual "what you talkin bout" punch lines in today's post.

I get along well with just about everyone I meet-unless they are a total jerk. I have friends with varying political, religious, and cultural views. I try not to ruffle feathers and strive to keep the peace and mediate between others. As an observer over the years I have noticed how some people have been offended or are angry from what someone did to them a long time ago. Occasionally others get obsessed with resentment and anger and as a result they carry around a lot of excess baggage. Their feelings may be caused by a misunderstanding or maybe they have a legitimate reason to be angry because they have been wronged. Life is not fair and people get hurt. Things like divorce, traumatic experiences, cruel peers, and abuse can hurt people.

I'm not saying "just get over it" because I know that can sound simplistic and unsympathetic, but I kind of am saying that just because the price of holding onto to the negative is too great. I have seen people who can not let go and they become the victim for as long as they continue to let those feelings control them. Some people refuse to let their situation get better and are like those who constantly pick a scab rather than letting it heal.

It is amazing to see how resilient some people can be and what they are able to bounce back from. I recently heard a neighbor share an account of Corrie ten Boom who wrote The Hiding Place. After the war she was on a speaking tour talking about forgiveness when she saw one of her former captors from a concentration camp in the audience. He came up afterwards and asked her if she was serious about what she had been teaching. She struggled for a while but after praying for help to forgive him, she was able to offer her hand out to him.

The key is moving on is often forgiveness. We are the only ones who get hurt when we hold grudges against other people. I know that there are many mean, rude, and hurtful people in the world. I hope they get their butts kicked some day when they eventually reap what they've sown, but in the mean time don't let them drag you down more than they already have.

Maybe we should have a national holiday when we forgive someone who has wronged us. If you have a grudge with someone try to forgive and forget. I know it's easier said than done but it's kind of like burning a wart off your skin. It's not the funnest thing to do but you will be happier once it's gone. Just an idea.

Things I Have A Problem With

I try to keep the peace and be somewhat diplomatic on this blog but every once in a while I have to speak out on some topics even if it means ruffling some feathers. I hope I don't offend anyone with the following items, but I have to get this off my chest. There are four things that have bothered me lately.

Conditioner-What is up with this? It's obviously a ploy by the hair care industry to double their sales. I recently ran out of shampoo and have been looking for more throughout my house. Each time I found a bottle of what appeared to be shampoo I noticed it was actually conditioner. Apparently we have a lifetime supply of conditioner. I have only used it a few times in my life and haven't been too impressed. Maybe if I had waist length hair it would be different, but for now it's just a container in the shower I will continue to ignore.

Reply to All-I often get e-mails that are going to many other people besides myself. I have no problem being on an a large e-mail list as long as it is from people I know and it's not spam or junk mail. What bothers me is when other people on the list reply to the original sender and instead of hitting the reply button they hit "reply to all" so I get to relive the e-mail and every response to it for several weeks until everyone on the list is done responding to the author. I understand there may be a time and place for the respond to all option, but it is frequently misused.

Mr. Darcy-I admit I'm prejudiced against this character created by Jane Austin, Emily Bronte, Louisa May Alcott or whoever the author was. Maybe I'm jealous of Mr. Darcy. I don't know why I would be since I'm not even sure who he is or what book or movie he is from. All I know is that if you wear clothes from the early 1800's, have a British accent, and proper manners, then chicks dig it. I wish I had a nickle for every girl I have heard sigh when his name is mentioned.

Constellations-These prove that our ancient forefathers were either very creative or extremely bored to be able to see such complex images in the sky. Can you really see a warrior fighting a dragon out of 7 random dots in the sky? Are you serious? By the way, the picture I have included above is a famous constellation and I'm sure some of my readers may recognize it since they are so smart, but there is no way the average person sees it. I will concede that the big dipper is a discernible constellation. It actually looks like a big dipper and it I feel like Carl Sagan each time I locate it. The rest of them are so forced that it sickens me. We need to get NASA to do something useful with their budget and actually make some good constellations that normal people can see without the aid of hallucinogenic drugs.

Sorry about the rant, but I can no longer stay quiet when it comes to the above topics. Have a great weekend.

My Fear of Water

I am grateful for water, but I have a love hate relationship with it. I understand we need it to survive. I drink water regularly and shower daily, but when it comes to actually getting into a large body of water I am not a fan of the stuff. I think one of the reasons I dislike water is because it is so difficult to stand on and breathe properly once you go underneath it's surface. Watching the Discovery channel has also educated me to the fact that there are millions of life forms that live in lakes, seas, and oceans that I want nothing to do with.

I am not the greatest swimmer and what compounds the problem is that I'm also sensitive to cold water. I remember going to a scout camp when I was a teenager. On the first day they had a mandatory swim check before you could do anything else. I watched all my friends in front of my jump in the water and start swimming. When it was my turn I jumped in and may as well have been hit by a car. I didn't realize that it was a glacier fed lake and as soon as I hit the water all my muscles contracted and I couldn't breathe. I thrashed around making embarrassing noises like I had the wind knocked out of me. After about 2 minutes of making a fool of myself much to the amusement of every scout in the camp I was able to acclimatize to the cold water and finish the swim check.

I have been on a couple cruises and I enjoyed the food (gluttony) aspect of it but as you know I am a movie enthusiast and have seen too many scenarios from White Squall, Poseidon Adventure, Jaws, The Perfect Storm, The Day After Tomorrow, and Titanic. Luckily having a large movie repertoire to draw on also helped me when I got scared of the water. I would just recall scenes form Speed 2 which would snap me out of my fear as I broke into laughter. I did just fine as long as I was confined to the dining area but going out on the deck made me realize how much water was surrounding me.

Some people have accused me of being a little paranoid and neurotic when it comes to water, but there are lots of other people who wear life jackets to work too just in case a dam upstream happens to break.

Tiger Guy or Lizard Man?

I know some people identify with or can relate to a favorite animal. I've like the vision of a Hawk. I think that such wishful thinking is normal, but ccasionally some people feel the need to change their bodies to resemble an animal. I don't think this is a huge trend sweeping the nation, but just from the fact that these two are all over the Internet, it is a little disturbing.

These two guys have not only used tattoos, but have undergone many surgical procedures in their quest to achieve the look they are after. Imagine for a moment if these gentlemen created some momentum for their movement and animal transformations were not only socially acceptable but were mandatory and required by law. If you had to make cosmetic changes to your appearance to resemble one of these, which would you rather be, Tiger guy or Lizard man?

I'm sure at this point many of you have chuckled and are dismissing my question, but I am serious. I'd like to know which one you'd pick and why. I'm especially interested to see what the women say about this. The floor is now yours.

Extreme Sports Analysis

I am not a big motorcycle enthusiast. I'm embarrassed to admit I have never even driven a motorcycle before. I have only reached the level of motor scooter driver which is pretty low on the motorcycle hierarchy of coolness.

Despite my lack of biking skills, I am totally in awe when it comes to freestyle motocross athletes. I still can't believe what some guys like Travis Pastrana do at the X games. I think it is crazy enough to go off a jump, but to climb off your bike and do several tricks while in the air is insane. It's "look mom, no hands" on steroids. I could watch freestyle stuff forever without getting tired of it.

As cool as I think that is, I'm not a fan of most of the sports featured at the X games, which I would classify as part of the family of loitering sports (skate boarding, bike tricks, haki sack, etc). There just seems to be something about the rebellious attitude associated with these sports I don't care for. I suspect one prepares for these sports at an early age by cutting class, wearing baggy pants and doing skateboard tricks in the parking lot. How's that for a judgemental generalization?

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching these amazing athletes do their cool stunts and amazing moves on YouTube, but the extreme sports culture just doesn't appeal to me. The daredevil gene is very recessive in my family line, but we do have a strong preservation gene that keeps us away from most dangerous activities. It's things like a failed superman that keep me content as a spectator of these sports. I'm sure a lot of those bikers would be jealous of me if they saw how good I am at checkers and puzzles!

The Appeal of the VIN

I have been enjoying my weekend so much that I just realized I have not posted for several days. The topic I have chosen today is one you won't see many bloggers attempting to write about. For most people, writing about VIN numbers is usually certain death to your post. Since I have worked with them on a regular basis I think I'm up to the challenge. For those of you who may not be familiar with this topic, a VIN is a Vehicle Identification Number. It is a car's unique 17 digit serial number.

When listening to people read VIN numbers over the phone it can be hard to differentiate between some letters, especially ones like B & D, S & F, and M & N. If you don't have a clear phone connection these often get confused with each other. In order to avoid this, it is a common practice to say M like Mom and D like Dog so it is clear. I have noticed that there are basically two different styles for reading a VIN over the phone. The two groups of people consist of the serious prepared person and the intimidated confused person.

The serious VIN reader-I love these guys. They call in a VIN number like they are a military special ops team calling in bombing coordinates. They are very serious and use the standard military lingo-Alpha Tango Niner Niner Romeo Seven Foxtrot.... By the way what is up with all the dance names? Does that mean we are supposed to use Lambada for the letter L?

The intimidated people-They stress out because they know they are not familiar with the preferred army lingo. They hesitate and really struggle to come up with a word. They will say things like A ...like Alexander the Great, U.... as in uncertainty, M... like Marsha Brady. I am not criticizing them. I know it can be stressful to think up words that start with certain letters when you are on the spot.

In closing I have decided to write a short poem about VIN numbers. Please imagine a Celine Dion song playing softly in the background while you read it.

17 Digits, no more, no less.

What a combination of numbers and letters.

Your uniqueness is captivating.

You bring clarity and order to a confused world.

You are often audibly enigmatic.

Some wish you were shorter.

I say don't change.

I like you just the way you are.

My 100th Post

This is my 100th post on Chaka's World! Since I am dividing my blogging efforts among 3 different blogs I actually passed the 100 mark a while ago so this is technically more like my 179th post.

My High School English teacher would be proud of me....until she actually read my posts. I realize that I am still an amateur when it comes to blogging. Some people posts multiple times every day. I prefer to wait and let my blog entries age like a fine wine for 2 or 3 days before posting them. Ok... maybe more like a fine yogurt.

In the spirit of the Academy Awards I'd like to give my acceptance speech for reaching this milestone. I'm grateful for several things.

1. I'm grateful for spell check even though it doesn't help my poor grammar and punctuation.
2. I'm thankful for the freedom of speech or in this case the freedom of press. It is great to live in a country where I can express my opinions and write about topics like xxxxxxxx and not have to worry that the xxxxxxxxx will censor my controversial ideas concerning xxxxxxxxx.
3. I really do appreciate the followers of this blog even though the fact that they are following this blog does not speak very highly of them. You guys are awesome.

So after 100 posts you know my next goal is to get 100 followers. Once I achieve that my goal is to get 100 lords a leaping. If I can accomplish that then the sky's the limit.