Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Avoid Disappointment and Future Regret. ACT NOW!

A New Year's resolution, perhaps: Avoid disappointment and future regret. ACT NOW! Say it louder. It's actually a line to get you to buy, among other things, the Jesus Coin, which is a way to love God and money, too, even at the same time. I forgot to put it on my list. For the record, I try to just substantially appreciate and like money in a strictly platonic manner. My non-love may be true, or I may just be a bad suitor because it ain't returning the love.

My big haul at Christmas featured two head lights (lamps strapped to you head, more later) using multiple LED bulbs. And finally a record player to play the few records I have collected and been unable to play.

My life has more of a "Seemed like a good idea at the time" feel than "Avoid disappointment and future regret." I don't know how you can avoid future regret, a phrase designed to create current anxiety about future feelings related to current decisions. Decisions branch our lives out into multiple paths, some of which close off other branches. At some point, we are going to wonder about the branches not taken and mentally wander into a maze of what-ifs.

I can have it both ways. I'll worry if I buy the coin or if I don't buy the coin. Okay, not the coin, but most other stuff. Maybe that's why it's comfortable to watch infomercials - you can be as a certain as a Texan buying a gun that not buying the infomercial product is the right decision after a half hour of cheesy hard sell tactics. (This vacuum cleaner can roll in 4 directions while others only do 2 directions, a tragedy!).
Some comforting rituals avoid a little anxiety with premade decisions: McDonald's, a number 10 meal with sweat and sour sauce, for here, swipe credit card, fill drink, grab meal, sit in my regular table, watch CNN and old men arguing at big table. If I go to Subway, I have to decide about meats, cheeses, breads, oven options, toppings - it's too much like a job.

Okay, let's stop here. The moral of this post: don't forget that doing nothing is a viable option. Acting now doesn't always move you ahead.

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I have to share more on the head lights:
I had unclearly asked for at-least 4-LED lights, which I thought meant one headset with several LEDs. I can see now how this could be interpreted as 4 sets of headsets, especially in my enthusiasm for the functional, if not fashionable lighting solution. So I was lucky to get only two, but still pleased because you can never have too many, so that you find at least one when you need it.

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