Category Archives: problem solving

ironic musings, problem solving, rants

I don’t want to be a lemming

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Lemming was yesterday’s word of the day for me. I just felt like I spent my day surrounded by them!

Lemming: a member of a large group of people who blindly follow one another on a course of action that will lead to destruction for all of them

It started when I had to go to the bank. As I approached an intersection, I noticed the turn-lane was unusually full. I pulled in anyway — I had to make a left up ahead — but I left about half a car-length between me and the car in front of me.

The light turned green. I noticed two cars make left turns and the rest of us… sat there. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the third car had stalled or something. I waited to see if anyone went around… nothing. Our time with green was running short and still… we all just SAT there. With a glance in my mirror, I pulled out, passed about nine cars, and suddenly became the first in line for the next left arrow.

Now, in some ways you could say that was a very “jerk” thing to do. I saw it as taking initiative. For, you see, after I did that, several other cars followed suit. I refused to just stare at the car in front of me, waiting to do what they did. If I had, I’d have potentially been there at least three more light cycles!

I thought about it later and realized that I want to live my life more like how I drove today. Less “wait and see what others do” and more “taking initiative and pulling ahead of the rest.”

In the evening, I flew out of Nashville International Airport. My gate was at the verrrry end of one concourse. (Always is, right?) Gate C21, squished in with gates C20, C22, C23 and C24. Just as I sat down, it came across that they were changing my gate… to C20. I looked around and realized moving meant going maybe 10 – 20 yards. Nonetheless, about 40 people get up and move. Literally maybe three rows.

I blinked.

I snorted.

I shook my head.

I stayed right were I was, as the people around me shifted… and I suddenly found myself still sitting with flight-mates… just different ones.

Again I sighed to myself. All these people moved because it was implied they might want to do so. Not because they took any time to consider if they actually had to. (Granted there were a few people who really did need to move, because they were seated on the edge of C21 and C22, making it a fairly long distance. But on a whole, over half did not need to move. At all.)

I don’t know. I guess I get frustrated when I run into people not doing anything other than what everyone else is doing. Who aren’t thinking outside the pack and making their own path… or who aren’t standing firm and refusing to be swayed.

I want to be an individual. I want to make my own path. I want to only follow the crowd when it truly is what needs to happen… not just because its easy or implied to be “right.”

Anyone with me??

;-p

general-post, problem solving, random musings

Nap time

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I’ve been doing something lately that I never do.

I’ve been taking naps. And it is AWESOME.

Last week, I finally went and got strong antibiotics for a sinus infection I’d been fighting for a month, and therein lies where it all started. Just prior to getting the medicine, I would literally sleep a day away. A huge tip off that something was wrong, because… frankly… I am just not a napper. If anything I will force myself to live on a lot less sleep than I should.

I got my medicine and the instructions were to take it twice a day for 7 days, and due to the timing of when I took my first dose, I was set up to have to get up about three hours earlier than I would normally get up just to take medicine. So, I’ve been getting up earlier, having breakfast, taking my medicine and… I’m awake. No matter how fast I tried to do it before I woke up all the way, it couldn’t be helped. By the time I got it all done, I’d had enough sunlight, etc. to get my body in go-mode.

So the last few days, I’ve just stayed up and checked my email, etc. as I would normally do when I get up for the day. Putter around the house for awhile, then sleepiness would sneak back up. With the recent little heatwave, its worked out nicely. I go crawl back into bed and take a nap through some of the hottest part of the day, and then I get up just as its getting close to time to be able to go outside and get some exercise. It’s a total win!

Now, I don’t anticipate this being a steady thing. I mean, I do have to run some errands in the next few days right when I’ve been taking my little power naps, so its not like this is my new regular schedule. BUT I suddenly see the benefits of napping. I used to say if I took a nap my whole day would be wasted.

Just the opposite. I end up feeling like a million bucks after a naps! And I end up more focused and relaxed about the day. And as a result, I get more done in an hour than I would have done had I stayed up and tried to do it over the course of a few hours.

Naps are a good thing. Babies have it figured out. Cats have it figured out! I’m going to follow their lead a lot more and get more Zzz’s when I need them.