Ramblings

Well I was trying to figure out what subject line to use. Should it be...

"My bus driver's trying to kill me" (reference to my commute this morning)
OR "No wonder young adults don't read the news" (reflection on something I learned last week and noted today)
OR "Resign from the impossible job of trying to keep everyone happy" (a Life's Little Instruction from last week)
OR "Casual Fridays... or not" (reference to Friday's Life's Little Instruction that I read today)

Ok, let me explain.

1) My bus driver this morning drove like a maniac. He just barrelled down Halsted (the street that connects me from my yuppie neighborhood of Lakeview to the Mexican haunts of Pilsen) and would have to slam on the brakes at the stops if someone was there or requested it. He was not cautious at all. He wasn't even running late, so I don't know what his problem was! At times I definitely feared for not only my life but any life that got in his way!!! Luckily, I arrived safe and sound at my stop and had a nice stroll down to the church. But sheesh, could they DRIVE a little bit better? You don't see semi-truck drivers being that reckless, not usually anyway! No wonder people think my bus line is one of the worst in the city. I'm beginning to agree! It really is a little crazy sometimes!

2) Last week I went to a meeting to talk about media relations etc. The presenter was saying that people in our demographic (18-35) don't read or watch the news, and that we "don't really care about the news." Well I definitely fit into that category, which I know is bad because it's good to be informed, but it made me think of the Red Eye advertisements. Red Eye is the FREE daily paper the Chicago Tribune publishes to give people a Cliff Notes version of the news. It also has a lot of pop culture and "stuff to do in Chicago" section. They have an advertising campaign with the tagline "To the Point." The ads have these super short 2-3 word headlines to sum up the content of the paper. So, why don't people our age read or care about the news? Because we can sum it up like those ads: "War continues. Health studies show. Politicians corrupt. Celebrities party. Celebrities marry. Celebrities divorce. Gang violence continues. Murder occurs. Robbery reported. Drugs involved. Someone sent to prison. Sports figure arrested. Sports figure gets bigger salary. Funding cut. Popuation increases. Religions clash. Governments clash." etc. etc. You get the picture. Our generation feels it doesn't need to read the paper because it knows what it's going to see -- variations on these themes and more. No solutions, just reports. Reactivity versus proactivity. It's sort of interesting, isn't it? Anyway, it made me think when I grabbed the Red Eye today. I don't usually read it unless the front page story catches my eye because the news feels like it's the same old stuff every day! Of course, that's not always the case, but you get the point. Kind of depressing, isn't it?

3) I think sometimes we forget that we can't make everyone happy. We feel like we're repsonsible for making sure our boss, significant other, friends, family, strangers on the bus, etc. are happy so as not to cause conflict. We think that if they aren't happy around us, it's because we're doing something wrong. What a load of pressure!!! Good grief! I know I'm guilty of this, but the LLI is true... you can't make everyone happy so you shouldn't overwhelm yourself with trying. I think the goal is to make sure we are each personally happy and that God is happy with our life and our choices. From there we can help others seek or find happiness just by our example. Their happiness should not be our life goal nor should it be a measure of OUR happiness.

4) The LLI quote says "Tell the manager where you bank that you abhor Casual Fridays. Anyone dealing with your money should be dressed in respectful business attire." I read this and immediately thought of my boyfriend in the banking business. When he worked at the bank building, he had to wear a suit and tie every day. Now that he's in more the financial analyst office, he wears business casual every day. They have "casual Fridays" but it doesn't include jeans. I personally don't abhor casual Fridays, and I think if someone is in khakis and a polo versus a business suit, that's ok with me. I guess someone wearing jeans in a bank setting would seem a little strange, but I would not "take my business elsewhere" strictly based on the person's attire.

Random thoughts for the day. Hope you enjoy!