Tag / Observations

by Greg

CraigsList or ebay? Pros and Cons

Jen & I both recently had a bit of success listing and selling stuff on CraigsList, and following that, a friend asked how I chose CraigsList over ebay. “Well,” began my reply, “I suppose there are a number of reasons to use either,” I explained.

And so there are. I figured it might even be fun to post those here! This might not be interesting to some of you, and it’s not typically the sort of content I post here, but figured it might be useful to some. So, here goes!

CraigsList.org

PROS CONS
You get the full payment, no fees. People like to “haggle” on CraigsList, no one thinks the asking price is the actual price.
Usually no shipping involved as CraigsList is a localized service. Smaller marketplace as CraigsList is mainly a local listing.
Instant gratification! Almost always a CraigsList sale is made (or not made!) within hours of listing.
Generally, fewer fraudulent transactions here. It’s “policed” by the CraigsList “community”, and the transactions seem to be a bit more “personal”.
Nicer for larger items that you don’t want to figure out how to ship!

ebay.com

PROS CONS
DEFINITELY the marketplace. You reach the world with your listing. There are fees, fees everywhere!
More reliable transactions… when you sell something, you can usually expect prompt payment. Shipping is involved. Figuring out costs, and then, actually shipping.
More anonymous transactions in a way… some people prefer this. Mentioned above, ebay is replete with Phishing scams, and other monkey business. (Of course, they have an entire fraud dept. to handle this, but it’s still much more prevalent.)
ebay has been around, so kinda back to marketplace, the buyers and sellers know first to look there, and second that the transaction can mostly be trusted.
PayPal integration is nice.
Even with associated fees, can often make more money on “sellable” items here, as there is the larger marketplace.

So, as you can see… it mostly comes down to: ebay = marketplace, and craigslist = faster/simpler transaction. At least, that’s how it’s been for us.

In fact… it’s just about time to list some more stuff right now…

by Greg

The Timeline

This morning I happened to catch a glimpse of a cute photo of our daughter, Julia. It was taken when she was two years old (she’s standing next to a gigantic number 2). She’s now three, and just as cute. Maybe cuter.

For some reason, when I saw the photo, I thought how it would probably make the wedding rehearsal slideshow for her someday. (If we’re still doing those with two dimensional photos…) I quickly followed that thought with, “That day better be really far off!” And I was satisfied with knowing that it is. When our baby Julia is getting married, “That will be so crazy!”

(What? Don’t you carry on conversations with yourself in your head?)

It seems like when our fourth child is of an age to be married, then we will be really old. How could life move along so far? How could we ever get there?

But then I remembered other milestones I thought were so far in the future we’d “never” get there. I thought it would be officially crazy when we had an eight year old. Don’t know why really… just thought that meant our kids were past the point of tiny. Well… we are nearly to our second eight year old, and seems pretty normal from here.

I turned 26 in the year 2000. I remember thinking (many years ago!) that would be really crazy, both being 26 and the year 2000. We’re at 34 and 2009 now and, again, all seems normal from here.

What about turning 30? That milestone came and went. Now I suppose looking ahead… 40 and 50 are coming in the not too far off.

These markers along the timeline are interesting, and fun to track… but it is crazy how life moves just slowly enough that once you get there, all seems about the same. Just, normal. I’m guessing once we get to seeing our kids marrying and starting their own families, it will be much the same. Not that there won’t be moments of reflection, and a few, “Wow, I can’t believe we’re really here!” But I imagine overall – as it has been so far – it will just be the normal timeline of life. All of the events that will lead up to that will bring us there together, and it will seem just… “right”.

So that day will come. As did 2000, and 30, and 8 almost twice. I’ll enjoy those when I get there. For now, we’re going to enjoy our three-year-old Julia. 🙂

by Greg

The Dichotomy of Trust and Control

Life is full of options. There are choices everywhere. I think maybe in America we are overwhelmed by choices. We have such an abundance of material wealth (yes, even in “this economy”) that we have probably thousands of choices to make each day.

But even though there are so many choices, for we who follow Jesus, they often fall into one of two categories: trusting, or attempting to control. That may at first seem oversimplified, but I keep noticing that most choices (on some level) lean one way or the other.

It makes sense, too. Life with God seems to be all about getting to know him, and in that, learning to trust him. Jesus asked that we would have eternal life, and then he said, “And this is eternal life: to know you the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent.” (John 17:3, emphasis added) And from that knowing, that deeper relationship, grows a trust that allows us to follow his lead, his voice. Conversely, when we don’t know him, we can’t trust him. And so, we can’t live the life to the full that he has for us.

When we fully trust God, we don’t need to take or get for ourselves. Basically, that’s what sin is. Sin is when we take for ourselves something that God hasn’t given to us. That can be something tangible like stealing, or adultery, even murder. Or, it can be less obvious. It can be just trying to control our circumstances with a “little white lie” or gossip, or other forms of manipulation. But the heart that is content in relationship to our Father – completely trusting him in and for everything – I dare say, will not sin.

This dichotomy plays out through every facet of life as a believer. In your financial decisions, are you bearing the weight of providing for your family (or just worrying about how that will happen), or are you content, knowing God is the provider. In your schedule, do you have every moment of every day scheduled and planned even days, months, years out into the future, or do you wake up in the morning and say, “What do you have for me today, God?”

It also applies to life together as the church.

As a church, do we not attempt to control how God will speak to us, planning out lesson series and other structures that will ensure that everything that needs to be said, will be said? Even a whole year or more in advance? Don’t we attempt to implement structures that will ensure that everyone’s needs are met, spiritually and otherwise?

Also, do we not feel the need to keep people in line doctrinally, making sure that everyone is (as we see it) “right”?

Of course there is a balance in all things. There is nothing wrong with preferring to have a schedule versus not having a schedule. Life doesn’t always (or usually?) go the way you want it to, so flexibility is obviously important, but scheduling is not bad. Structuring your day so that everything can get done, including time with others and God, can be a good thing. It can become a bad thing though when structure becomes a substitute for the relationship(s) and even worse, when we begin to feel the need (in our own desire for structure) to begin structuring the lives of other people around us. (This is another example that can be readily seen in the “church”.)

I’ve been thinking about all of this a lot lately. I’m becoming more and more convinced that there are basically two ways to live … institutionally (implementing systems and structures attempting to control your surroundings, regulate your life, and the lives of others) and “organically” (though I don’t like that word much) meaning, I suppose, the opposite. Interacting with life as it happens, enjoying and living life in the moment, and allowing others to live their lives as God leads them – still alongside each other, but without the need to manipulate, intentionally or not.

I read an article (here) yesterday that sparked more thinking on this. Here’s a quote from the second paragraph of that article:

“It seems all of this stems from the fact that we really don’t trust that Jesus is capable of building his church—that he cannot give rise to the reality of his family if we don’t “start something”. It’s as if living loved and loving just won’t be enough to let him do all he wants to do.”

That’s another big piece of the dichotomy. Why would we not build systems and structures to accomplish worthy tasks unless we didn’t really think God was capable of it on his own… unless we didn’t trust him? And, conversely, why would we if we really did?

I posted a link to that article on Facebook, and a discussion ensued with a couple friends. I was going to pull out some pieces of it and then re-word it here, but I think I’ll just let you listen in if you’d like…

STEVE: Greg, I think you’re oversimplying things here. As I understand your position, there “ways to live” actually comes down to “enjoying and living life in the moment” and systems. This is too limiting. I would offer that there are many different degrees of ways to live, and our goal should be to strike a balance between the two extremes offered.

Structures are often lambasted and distrusted because they can be easily manipulated. Therefore, many Christians today are flocking towards a freer expression of faith. Yet purely organic expression can yield utter chaos and this is not part of God’s plan either.

Systems do not require that we constrict organic expression and growth. Here’s a not-well-developed metaphor off the top of my head: I can grow an organic garden and yet I need to be meticulous in my planning of the garden in order to get the most out of it.

ME: Hey Steve, totally agree on grey areas (life in between “extremes”) … but do you think that perhaps one could loosely say there are those two ways of doing life? One attempts to control/plan/structure it (to varying degrees) and the other attempts to not, instead following Jesus lead, and intentionally living free of structure and schedule and obligation, to be able to react to life as it happens?

This does not mean there aren’t plans… it means the plans are secondary. It also is not limited to schedule. One of the big differences in the way we are living now, and the way I think I may have been living before is, I’m not trying to get anyone to do anything. I was before. That’s what structures do. They attempt to control the flow of life – including “organic” relationship… rather than let it happen, and let Jesus be the head?

You’re right… it is a broad brush. But I was only speaking in generalities here. Boiling it down to the very basic foundational paradigms … I really think there’s a lot of room for the church to let Jesus lead.

An interesting quote I heard recently… some Bible college professor I believe, said, “Churches are always looking for where God ISN’T working, and then they try to “fill in the holes” there, instead of looking/watching for what he IS doing, and following him there.” And that’s so true! If there’s a group of people, or some “ministry” that is lacking or falling behind, church leadership will attempt to address that “need” … rather than (I think) let Jesus lead his church, and do the work HE wants to do…

What do you think?

STEVE: I think the distinguished “two ways” of this discussion is based upon the assumption that truly following Jesus means freedom from structure. Does the sound right? I think this is assumption is based on our observance of Jesus’ life as described in the Gospels. He seemed to live his life like Forrest Gump’s feather, floating off from town to town however he wished (dated reference?).

Ironically, he see in the book of Acts and the Epistles that structure of the church is essential to its survival. I’m currently teaching through 1 Corinthians and Paul’s major gripe of that church was that they were essentially living in chaos. His demand of them was to get some structure in their church before God took care of it for them (specifically see that latter part of chapter 14).

I hope this isn’t getting too far away from your contention, because I do see your perspective here . . . The church growth movement was too heavy on specific structures for growth. The book of Acts taught us that God grows the church as he sees fit. This is why in our church, I have reacted much as you have described. We are in no way seeker sensitive but are resigned to simply being the church and being available when God leads. That’s what I meant earlier— we are striving to be structurally organic.

The structure is to ensure biblical accountibility. The organic is so that we don’t blaze a trail where God never intended for one to be.

MARCIA: I’m taking a break & thought I’d check FB while drinking my tea. You two are giving me a headache 😉 and getting too engrossed in analyzing this. I like what Oswald Chambers said “My Goal is God himself, not. . .” I long ago had the “revelation” that I shouldn’t get stuck on the “dos” and “don’ts” and “how-tos” but I should listen and follow the Holy Spirit inside me–then I will do right. If that means staying with a structure-fine; if it means something freer, fine

ME: Steve, good thoughts. Sounds like you guys are enjoying a good measure of freedom together as a church, that is cool. I think what you said is accurate, life with Jesus is about freedom (from lots of things) and that can include structure.

Like, the structures of religious obligations, either self-imposed, or imposed by whatever group of people (church) we have aligned ourselves with. It seems to me that anytime we “commit” ourselves to anything beyond living with Jesus and loving the people around us… it can become less than free, to varying degrees of course.

As for the “where God is working” thing, of course that’s right. I may be not perfectly quoting him, also. But the gist was re: what I said earlier, how churches seem consumed with “providing” for places where there are “needs” … when, maybe that is either not a “need” or perhaps Jesus is meeting that need in other ways.

ME: Marcia! That’s it! Totally it. And the point that I was agreeing with in the article I posted a link to. (Did anyone read that yet??) 🙂 “To each his own” would apply well here… and the issue is that we, the church, get bogged down in the “dos” and “don’ts” – especially for others! – and we forget to just listen to what God is asking us to do. Certainly, since he is the head of a body that is joined together, that could mean that groups of us may do the “same” thing together, but the problem arises, I think, when we try to capture that and structure that and put systems in place to make that happen…. often eliminating the believer’s need to listen to and follow Jesus – the Shepherd’s – voice.

STEVE: I just have to say, Marcia, that this SHOULD be thoroughly analyzed, even more-so than this. The issue is critical since there are many who simplistically respond, “I’ll do what the Holy Spirit tells me” but confuse those messages with birthed from their own will.

I’ve heard many a person remark “well, this is what God told me,” when God would say no such thing. Hence, the importance of submitting to some sort of spiritual structure beyond ourselved and our biblical interpretations. Otherwise, we come perilously close to the sin of Eden (becoming our own gods).

MARCIA: I agree that this and many other things need to be questioned, discussed and analyzed. How can one know and grow in their faith without questioning, thinking? I’m a structure person & God knows that and, therefore, has kept me in the church I’m in (there have been temptations to leave in the past), BUT things can also be over-analyzed, over-structured, over-loose, etc., etc. I felt led to share my 2-cents worth, that’s all. Or I just wanted to butt it on an on-going conversation.

ME: This is exactly what I’m talking about! 🙂 Steve, I think you are saying that (totally my paraphrase), “People are going to get it wrong, and not really be hearing God when they think they are, or even just be deceptive about it, deceiving themselves and others, [implied here…] and God is not going to take care of that, SO we need to manage that with a system or structure to ensure that the good thing(s) happen.”

What I’m saying is, structures will never fix that. I think that Jesus cares about that. He wants each of us to live in Truth (which, I believe he said is… him) and the thing is, he is patient to ridiculous extremes. Way beyond us. So, he’s ok with people not getting it yet. But we aren’t. We want them to get it now, and not be self-deceived or otherwise. So, we create structures.

What we could do is, talk with the people God puts on our hearts. Share with them the life we know in him. Offer stuff for them to chew on – NOT stuff they “should” or “shouldn’t” do. Rather, we live in the freedom of just being loved by God (which includes him working in our lives to know him better) and loving other people whom he puts in our path, or even specifically asks us to do something for.

Structure can often eliminate God from the picture. It certainly does not always – as you said, “Is there anywhere God ISN’T working?” Of course not! But the issue I have been thinking on for a long time, and working out through Scripture and conversations with God and other folks is how do we live a life where we are so available to listen to the Head that whether it’s in the context of some structure we’ve made up, or completely separate from that, we ourselves have the freedom to act on it, and we also allow others the freedom to live and learn from the Master/Head/Shepherd himself, and his Holy Spirit, who “teaches us everything we need to know”

I think the issue is that, again, often, not always, structures end up becoming a substitute for that direct connection to the Vine, that each of us has, or needs to have. (This was mentioned in the article as well… structures becoming a substitute.)

One more thing I’d like to point out here. Structure, as I have said, is not the bad thing. When it is a substitute for what God has given us, it becomes a bad thing. There is structure to the body, the church. The fact that we’re referred to as Jesus’ body means that it is a unit, a container, with edges. It is not just an amorphous blob, but an actual entity. With Jesus as the head. That’s an important part that so many of the “churches” I have known are missing.

When we get into trouble is when we begin building our own structures and systems, and imposing those on either ourselves, or worse, on other people. Structures and systems are only meant to limit – even in a good way. Limits are not bad, either. Again, the problem for us is when these tools that we put in place become a substitute for our direct connection to our Father, through Jesus, the vine.

I’ll leave you with a few verses to chew on, penned by Jesus’ friend John… and I’m sure I’ll be revisiting this topic. (This seems more like a topic for a new book rather than just an article or two!)

1 John 2:27: But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

John 10:4: After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.

John 14:17: He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

John 15:1-5: “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

by Greg

Different View of Education

Last night—after much scheming and manipulating of time and space—we were able to attend a curriculum event for a home school group of which we are members. The event offered parents a chance to share curriculum they use, why they use it, and learn from other parents as each shared what worked—and doesn’t work—for them. Jen is more into the curriculum side of things, to be sure, and was looking forward to being there. She enjoyed it thoroughly. (I occupied the kids for the duration of the meeting in various other nearby locations, waiting to get to talk with everyone after the event was over.)

Once I and my five children in tow were allowed to mingle, I had an interesting conversation with a friend who got me thinking again about what education really means to us. About what we feel is important that we instill in, pass along to our children.

We were chatting a bit about how much home schooling seems to be focused around the Mom in the family. Most of the events are planned, executed, and attended by the moms. The dads are a very secondary—albeit supportive, encouraging—part of the whole home schooling process. Much of it is just logistics. Many of the home schooling families we know consist of the Dad working a full-time job outside of the home, while the Mom works very little (or none at all) outside the home, making her the one who “teaches” the kids.

Our philosophy is slightly different. It may just be semantics, or a mindset, but we really try to “home school” as a family. Not just Jen. Not just me. But really, more as a way of life. As the Campbells.

Once on that topic, my friend asked, “So how do you do that? How do you get involved in the school part?” He really wants to, but again, logistically, just can not. Having tried many different approaches, he has resigned himself to the fact that most of the teaching has to be done by his wife, who is home with the kids.

So, since he asked, it caused me to think about what I really mean when I say that we home school as a family. I mean, I work full-time (and more) though, thankfully, it’s mainly from my home office. But I can’t be involved in the “table time” as Jen calls it. I smile at the stuff that is learned and produced there, enjoying the stories told by our kids who love such academic exercises. But what I explained—and understood better in my head as I did—was that the key is what we think of education.

Many parents who choose to home school feel varying levels of frustration because they are trying to do school at home. I’d say a lot of people assume that’s what home school is. The same subjects, courses, lessons taught by the institutional public school would also be taught—even required to be taught—to children who are “home schooled”. This is not entirely true. While it is true that we must report to the local school district what we are teaching our children (by the way, a “requirement” of which I am not all that fond) there is a good degree of latitude allowed to us in the interpretation of what meets those requirements. And, Jen is very good at assigning various things she teaches at table time, or we learn at other times, to those “requirements”.

But the best part is—and what I told my home schooling Dad friend—that stuff… the “required” learning by the state… that’s really the bonus stuff. Sure, our kids need to learn the basics. Reading, writing, arithmetic. That’s a good deal of what Jen does in “table time”. But the real education of our kids is so much more.

We want our kids to know God. We want them to know Him, not just about him. We want them to know how life works, how to treat other people. How to consider others, treating them as you’d like to be treated. How to learn discipline, and self control. Big stuff like that.

We also want them to know little stuff like how to take care of the stuff God gives you. How to cook, clean, build, repair. How to grow, prune, trim, weed. How to run a business. How to pay bills. How to not take more than God has given you (credit cards, anyone??)

Why do we think that learning ever starts and stops? We don’t take summer breaks. Or winter, or spring. We don’t take weekend breaks. Because from the moment we wake up in the morning, to the time we go to sleep…

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)

That’s a good verse that many home schooling families use, but I think it applies to our view of educating our kids, too. (Though I wouldn’t say it’s complete. That covers the big stuff, as I said earlier.) But it really is an all the time, everywhere thing. And in that way, I—as much as Jen—am an active part of the education of our children. (And even of our family. Just as our children are always learning, aren’t we all? I know I am.)

Jen even actually puts stuff on doorframes. For real. 🙂

So, it’s not perfect. We don’t have all the answers, but perhaps you’re reading this because you home school, or want to, and you don’t feel qualified. Or you don’t feel like you know where to start. I think if you are a parent—and especially a parent who loves their kids, and are trying to help them “grow up right”—then you have most everything you need. All the other stuff is pretty easy to find these days. Not only do you likely have a library nearby, if you’re reading this, you also have access to the World Wide Web. (Not a bad source of information…)

Academic learning is great, and has a place. But it is not education. I still feel that is the bonus. Get the other stuff right, and then the academic stuff is icing on the cake. Build character and integrity into your kids, and even just the confidence of knowing they are loved and accepted, and the rest of the stuff will come as it needs to. And, ultimately, we don’t want our kids to just learn facts and details they can parrot back to us, we want them to learn how to learn. That will serve them much better.

I could go on about personalities and preferences (every kid is different, and we really try to follow what each of our kids is interested in, help them explore those things more) but … this post is already longer than I intended.

These words are meant as encouragement, not to condemn a different viewpoint or methodology. If you have a format (or a curriculum!) that works for you, keep at it. One of the greatest things about home schooling is that it really gives you the freedom to educate your kids as you see fit. So go for it!

For us, the Campbells, we are enjoying the journey of life, and loving training our kids in the way they should go.

by Greg

Made Me Smile…

Kirstie's Signature
On a lighter note, on my way home to my family yesterday afternoon (from my work that morning) I spotted a piece of paper with some drawings our five-year-old had made sometime earlier that week. I smiled at their amorphous cuteness. Fun to see what her mind and tiny hands had created.

But then I spotted her signature. Somehow, my heart welled with emotion and my smile got even bigger. (It is again as I type this.) There was something about the little dot over the “i”, and the backwards letters. The determination and pride with which they were applied to her creation, yet the beautiful, innocent simplicity in them. It was just perfect and made me so love that I get to be her Daddy. 🙂

Made me wonder if that’s how our Daddy feels when he sees our creations? Does he love to see the creations of his creations? They aren’t always spectacular, but they are unique and a piece of who we are. Doesn’t have to be art… can be anything we do or say perhaps. But is bears our signature.

And I just bet it does make him smile.

by Greg

Twitter Craze

I mentioned Twitter here a few posts ago. I think I also mentioned that it’s not a technology I’ve found much of a use for. There is definitely a place for it. It’s a pretty good way for a business to handle things like press releases. By creating a Twitter account, and then advertising that on your website, email, and other avenues, people can subscribe to any updates you send out over the service (updates which are often viewed by the receiver on their mobile phone, so you can catch them anywhere) and if there is a related link, you can even include that.

The concept is decent, but the implementation has been … well, almost to the point of annoying.

It started in 2006, and I, being a fan of tech podcasts have followed it from its infancy. The tech show hosts were (almost) all infatuated with it at first. All they talked about was Twitter! It was crazy! But then it died down, and they referenced it on a more normal scale… probably using it for what it is best used for – short, to the point, news bulletins. (Some even use it as a resource. For example, they are traveling, in a city they don’t know, and they ask a question on Twitter, and then anyone “following” them who has an answer replies back. The downside is, people who check their Twitter feed less frequently reply many days later.) 🙂

I signed up for an account sometime in 2007, just to see what all the tech buzz was about. I had also created a Facebook account that year, as that was another thing the tech shows could not stop talking about! I took a look around both and found that, basically, Twitter was a one-function service that was nearly identical to one of many that Facebook provided. Facebook allows you to “broadcast” a status message – much like Twitter’s “tweets” – that anyone who is on your list of friends can see and interact with. But as I mentioned, Facebook has much more to offer. Much easier to share information, photos, videos… you can even play virtual games with friends. (I like to play Scrabble…) 🙂

So, with much more “real” interaction with people on Facebook, and no need to duplicate that using Twitter, I chose to use Facebook. (I need to also say that I do not have a cell phone. Twitter might have more draw to someone sharing info over a mobile device.)

Now, sometime last year, Twitter “hit the mainstream”. Not only are more people using it, but it’s becoming popular, and even a “credible” source of information. (See more about Twitter here.) It’s even gotten so popular late last year that Hollywood celebrities are now “Tweeting” their every move.

Fascinating.

I’ve definitely never caught on, as you have probably guessed. But, a client of mine joined the Twitter community last year and has really had some interesting adventures using their service. (You can find his Twitter info and “follow” him at his website: acemarketingagency.com.) I added his Twitter feed to my RSS folder and follow along. There are some extraneous comments directed to other people, but his general posts are often links to articles or other web content worth viewing. Today he posted a link to the following video that I thought did a pretty good job of summarizing the Twitter experience. 🙂

Enjoy…

by Greg

Microblogging

Have you heard the term “microblogging” bantered about these days? Perhaps you’ve heard of the most popular microblogging platform, Twitter? It certainly has some legs these days. There are all sorts of options out there, Twitter and Tumblr are two popular ones I have tried. (I really don’t use Twitter, and I have stopped using my Tumblr page long ago…)

Microblogging is generally 140 characters (though this varies) of anything at all, but it’s intended to be used as a conversation. Whether you are disseminating information – like web links to sites or articles of interest – or actually mentioning or directing the conversation to specific people, it’s a quick way to keep a constant stream of content going.

And nearly always, microblogging begins with the question, “What are you doing right now?”

Facebook (my social media platform of choice) has a similar feature. It’s called a “status update.” I am pretty good at updating mine throughout the day, with a thought or a posted link at times … it’s interesting, and it does start conversations as people can comment on these “status updates”.

What I thought recently was, I don’t have time to sit and craft a blog post of all my thoughts, but I apparently do have time for “microblogging” (via Facebook status updates). So what if I turned all of these “microblogs” from one week prior into a regular blog post here at GregsHead.net?

Below is what that might look like… all the things I took the time to post to my Facebook community. Very interesting…

(Note: I put some of the posts late at night on the “day” that they were for me, rather than the actual calendar date. 1:30am on Thursday is still Wednesday night for me…) 😉

Feb 4
Greg is not used to being tired so early in the evenings. (Crazy early mornings!!) :-). 1:42am

Feb 5
Greg is starting his 12-hour work day. 8:30am
Greg is saying hi to the Vs. 11:06pm
Greg is going to have a full day in his office tomorrow. 12:14am

Feb 6
Greg is working on many projects today. 11:51am
Greg is finally done working, and now very thankful for our awesome babysitter, Kristin! (Taking Jen out for a burger!) :-). 8:21pm
Greg is stuffed full of Red Robin and now going to sleep for a few hours. Early shift at Apple tomorrow. 12:25am

Feb 7
Greg is not sure why the 6am hour exists… 6:46am
Greg is heading to Apple for the day. Well, the very early part of the day. :-). 6:57am
Greg is home. For this later part of the day. 5:23pm
Greg is tired. 6:55pm

Feb 8
Greg finds it intriguing that not one of his friends would be on Facebook at 6:45am on a Sunday… :-). 6:46am
Greg is back from the quarterly store meeting at Apple, and looking forward to a fun day with his family. 11:49am
Greg is baking brownies. 2:35pm
Greg is TiVo-ing the Pro Bowl, so we can fast forward the commercials! 5:20pm
Greg is about to play backgammon with Jen. She likes it. 10:35pm
Greg had a good long Sunday. Time to sleep a bit, and start another week! 2:48am

Feb 9
Greg has gotten a slow start to the morning so far… 9:28am
Greg is trying to fit everything in. 10:12am
Greg needs a sabbatical. 11:06am
Greg just made a pretty crazy culinary creation. Ingredients: curry, onion, tomato, peas, oh… and… pheasant. :-). 10:43pm

Feb 10
Greg was just outside, and thinks it is much too warm for February. 8:12am
Greg has a meeting with a new client. 8:53am
Greg is getting to work on many different web projects. Full day! 10:16am
Greg is eating more of his culinary creation from last night… mmmmmmm. 1:34pm
Greg is enjoying some afternoon tea, and shifting to a different project. 2:56pm
Greg is still here… working. 5:26pm
Greg is going to go cook for his family. Fun! 6:02pm
Greg is hanging out with the Races! Love impromptu visits :-). 8:53pm
Greg was a cooking machine tonight! A cool taco-meat pasta dish, my famous Texas-style chili, and now slow-roasting a turkey overnight! Three meals in one night! :). 10:09pm

Feb 11
Greg officially declares mornings are evil. (Sorry morning people…) :-). 6:26am
Greg is considering options. 7:00am
Greg is back to work… and Emma is joining him this morning. :-). 8:56am
Greg is baking bread. 10:04am
Greg is feeling a tad overwhelmed by everything today. Time for some tea. 1:46pm
Greg has made good progress through his inbox, and enjoyed his tea. 4:09pm

Yeah, that’s kinda neat, but I hope to create more time in my schedule to work out some bigger, more cohesive thoughts. I have them, and get to “work them out” in conversations with friends throughout the week, but… well, more to come here soon.

by Greg

Not Relaxed

I never feel relaxed. Ever. I have been noticing this for a while now. It’s rather disturbing, actually.

I can’t pinpoint the exact reason(s) for it, but mainly it stems from the fact that I never complete anything. I always feel like there are 7 other things I need to be doing at any point in time. I bet some other people feel that way, but I wonder if they really do have that many other things they need to be doing? I am beginning to feel quite alone in that way.

Not sure what can possibly change. We have expenses, and we need income. My seven (plus) endeavors don’t bring in enough money (individually, or cumulatively), so I continue to seek out more sources of income.

“It’s a bad economy,” you might say. And some do. And, to an extent, it is. But the “bad economy” is not personally affecting me. This is just how it has always been for me. I’m not good at making money. I’m very good at everything I do, but not good at translating that into a fair wage. Which… is frustrating.

So, I continue to work insane hours and days… and I am tired, and my family is tired (from not having me around much). It’s an endless cycle it seems.

We are investigating a few potential new sources of income. Hoping they will bring enough money for time invested so that bills can be paid, maybe hours can be used differently, and maybe… perhaps… I can ever relax?

Not sure about that. That might be more of a condition of my heart. But whatever it is, it’s no fun. Not at all.

I just needed to say all that. If I ever learn anything from it that’s helpful… I’ll share it here. For now, I’ll just keep feeling not relaxed.

by Greg

Bailouts

As you are well aware, I do not frequently comment on things in the political realm here. Mostly because it either seems irrelevant to me, or too annoying to talk about anyway. (Or, too volatile to post thoughts here… why are some people so tied to their political thoughts/beliefs/affiliations??)

But today I saw the first “bailout” news I really felt I could applaud.

I’m sure you are well aware of all the government efforts to “bailout” various private institutions. Banks, mortgage lenders, other creditors, and most recently, the auto industry. Chrysler announced cut backs, extended layoffs, and various things indicating they are in serious trouble. The thought behind these bailouts is that if these giant foundational pieces of our economy were to “go under” then our entire economy would collapse. And, that would be bad.

But not entirely.

When poor choices are made, the consequences of those choices are bad, painful, difficult, hurtful, etc. What the government is doing is trying to avoid the natural consequences of these poor decisions. But the problem is, they are just borrowing more money (in the trillions) to “bailout” these large industries. Who is going to bail them out? Who is going to bail us out??

Who is going to pay this debt, and how?

So, when I saw this headline (thanks to a Twitter post by Scott) I felt good about one company in America. I was proud to see Ford state publicly that they do not want/need the government’s short-term financial assistance. Their plan is to restructure their business and make wise choices to keep going – without a hand out from the federal government. And I applaud them.

I don’t think it would be a bad thing if these institutions were allowed to suffer the consequences of their spending choices. All will balance out. Someone new will rise to the occasion. Jobs will be found. The economy will get over the bump in the road. It may be a big bump, but it might be a deserved bump. Dumping more money (that doesn’t really exist) into the problem will only exacerbate the problem.

So, I applaud Ford, and though my loyalty has been to General Motors, thanks to my Dad’s working for them for 31 years, I admit to adding a big star next to their name on my imaginary star chart on my wall. They are now (if they stick to this) one of my favorite American companies.

Maybe one day the government will stop meddling in private sector business… but I’m not thinking it will stop for at least the next four years. Hopefully more of the private sector will say, “No thanks.”

by Greg

Tired

As you the readers of GregsHead may already know… I am busy. Busier, more stretched-thin, and just more tired than I can ever remember being. Maybe it’s just cause I’m getting old?

Maybe I’m still trying to do too much.

But last night, as I was reading the day’s emails, news, and various things around and about Facebook, I found myself being fed up. I felt fine overall, but I might describe the emotions I felt toward some emails, news headlines, Facebook status messages, and even just general life circumstances as “despair”. I was just tired of everything and wanted it all to go away and never come back. Inside I was shouting, “I just don’t want to deal with this anymore!!!!”

Then I had to chuckle. I thought it was pretty weird (and slightly humorous) how being tired can make you feel despondent like that. 🙂 I realized cognitively that was the case, I was just extremely over-tired. And, I did feel better this morning. But, I’m starting to feel the drag again tonight.

Probably something needs to change. I still haven’t figured out what. But every day I am tired. Every night I am more tired. I miss having fun. With my family, with friends. I miss relaxing. And even weirder, I end every day feeling un-finished. There may have been many great things that day, but there always seem to be so many more left unfinished.

So… kind of a funny story, but really a greater, overshadowing reality.

I’m tired!