New Years 2011

So I usually take time on New Year's Day to talk about the past year, marking the highs and lows. Then dictating what I hope to accomplish in the coming year.

And while I am all for listing your hopes/goals on paper, I am not going to do that.

Instead, I am gonna be honest. You may have seen my previous post about how I love snow and the holidays...In short, I love what they represent: family, friendship and fun.

With that in mind, I always find New Year's Day a bit depressing. It's definitely bittersweet, as it marks the culmination (read: end) of my absolute favorite time of year.

While there will be parties and dinners with family and friends throughout the year, they just doesn't have the same emotional heft that sitting around the table at Thanksgiving carries with it. There is just a lil something in the air, where even perfect strangers will buy a coffee for the person behind them, “Just Because.”

And yes, I know people do good deeds year round, but I think folks are more attuned/open to doing such things during the holidays. I love the refocus on 'what's really important' that the holidays bring as the year draws to a close. But even as exhibited in New Years Resolutions, the move away from others and family, starts on January 1st as people begin looking at themselves and what they want for themselves.

I think that as the world continues to become more (seemingly) connected, folks are finding themselves more and more isolated. The holidays encourage actual face-to-face interaction. Hugs and laughter seem to happen ad nausem. Think about the good-byes after Christmas dinner versus those at a 4th of July Family Reunion and you'll get my point.

But I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. I love the optimism that the New Year brings. I love the 2nd Chance that it encourages. But I just miss the warmth that the passing season inspires.

So I'll just say to all of you. Remember who and what is important as you are lazing away an afternoon at the beach in August. Remember the smiles shared and the stories told around the holiday dinner table.

As for me, I definitely have some resolutions:

- Travel somewhere that isn't on the West Coast.

- Hit the gym a few times a week.

- Step forward in my career.

- Write a little more and read a few books.

- But most importantly, I want to put my words into actions and make more of an effort to actually see those who are important to me. And if nothing else, let those I can't see, know where they stand.

So I thank all of you for reading this and wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous 2011.

A simple Hello

So I had a nice revelation while riding the elevator in my building the other day.

The owners had recently started some maintenance on one of the two elevator cars, which I wasn’t too happy about. Even with both cars running, in an 18-story building, the wait time can be a little long. But I figured, maybe I’d get the chance to meet some of my neighbors.

While I am quite happy with my apartment and the amenities the building offers, my neighbors have left a bit to be desired. For the most part, folks seem to like to keep to themselves and are almost off-put by anything more than a head-nod or “Have a good day.” Damn that ‘Seattle nICE.’

That is, except for the cleaning lady.

She’s an older, petite, Asian woman, whom I see every morning on my way out the door. Her kind smile and friendly “Good morning,” make my commute a little more bearable.

It’s funny to see the little things that people pick-up on.

I never realized that I apparently respond to the cleaning lady’s morning greeting with a “Good morning to you, too.”

Until recently.

As I was taking the elevator downstairs, the cleaning lady got on a couple floors below mine. She usually waits for an empty elevator for her and her cart of cleaning supplies, but with one car running, she decided to hop-on. As she did, I said my usual “Hello.” And her response stopped me dead in my tracks.

“You are a good man.”

I was a bit puzzled and touched.

She went on to explain, “You are a good man, you always say hello to me. Thank you.”

Funny how that works. Two people, doing what they normally do, who see each other for mere seconds a day, are so affected by a seemingly innocuous interaction.

It was a light-bulb moment that illustrated the importance of paying attention to your actions.

You never know who’s paying attention or what the ramifications of your actions could be. Ask any parent and they’ll tell you that it’s amazing what kids pick-up on. I’d venture to say that idea permeates the ‘grown-up world’ as well.

It really doesn’t take much to smile and say “Hello,” to that person you pass everyday on your way into the office or to simply be kind to folks who cross your path.

Much as the cleaning lady’s simple “Hello,” makes my mornings, you could be doing something that makes a stranger’s day. I am pretty sure most of us have a stranger that we deal with daily who brings a smile to our face(s). Be sure to appreciate that little something as well.

By acknowledging both the actions of others and making an effort to extend a kind demeanor…I think you’ll find the big, scary world to be a much kinder and gentler place.

If this sounds a bit like the ‘pay it forward’ movement, it pretty much is.

So the next time you see that stranger, simply say “Thank you.”

It’s a small gesture of gratitude that just may end-up making someone’s day.

Actively Inactive

So for those of you who are Facebook members like myself, you may have seen the following status come-up a lot lately-

“Enter name here thinks that no one should be afraid to go to the doctor because they can’t afford it, no one should go broke because they got sick, and no one should die because they could not afford care. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.”

The status update was a modern version of a chain letter. And while I agree with the sentiment behind the ‘movement’ I was really bothered by it.

So my response to the so-called movement was this-

JR. Cook People should die, because it is their time to die. If they want insurance, OK. But I recommend putting down the cheeseburgers, beers and cigarettes first. And try taking a damn walk.

My response garnered hot and cold reactions. Either folks were on-board or they thought I was the devil.

And I cannot lie, awhile after updating my status, I looked at it and was disappointed in myself. I sounded like a pundit for FOX.

But I, as with any of the letters foisted on society by these pudgy digits, stand by what I posted.

Logic trumps partisan-ism, at least in the world according to Homer. And my statement was based on logic.

Insurance is pretty simple. Risk versus reward. The more of a risk you are, the more expensive it is to be insured.

Cheeseburger lover? High cholesterol and heart attack are pretty sure to follow. Insurance cost uptick.

Smoker? Ahoy, Cancer and Emphysema. Bigger insurance cost uptick.

Beer? Well, I love beer. So I cannot knock it…but it is a less than healthy choice.

So the point of my Facebook status retort was to exhibit how personal responsibility cannot be substituted by government.

If I choose to ride a motorcycle at 140 mph and end-up crashing and dying, no one would feel sorry for me. That’d say that what you get for going 140 mph on a motorcycle -- Just a dumb decision.

The same can be said for the average American’s lifestyle. It’s comfortable, but not so healthy.

But the point of this rant is not to solve the insurance issue. I am not that bright of a bulb.

My gripe is not with the movement to insure all Americans, which by the way I don’t think is too bad. My issue is with this pseudo-activism.

Copy-and-pasting some text into a web browser does not an action make.

Much the same way no one is getting rich from the Nigerian lottery, nothing comes from a mouse-click and no action.

Such hollow moves just garner head-shakes by yours truly.

I respond to these copy-and-pasters the same way I responded to a mass of pissed-off parents who had gathered to steam-roll school district representatives when I was in the audience for a taping of ‘Town Meeting’ when I was in high school.

“How many of you are attending meetings? I see many of you here complaining, but how many of you are doing something to fix the issue?”

Being 17 at the time, I was written-off by the vast majority of ‘adults’ in the audience even as the show’s host gave me kudos for the cut-to-the-quick question.

And to all of you copy-and-pasters out there I ask the same thing-

What are you doing to fix the issue? (That you are advocating for/complaining about.)

I have no real issues with the system as it is. With the exception of one item- Prenatal care. If a gal is pregnant she should get anything she needs. It’s not the child’s fault they ended-up in a womb and properly caring for developing fetuses (not people, but that’s a whole other topic) can save everyone a ton of money by preventing issues after the child is born…again pure logic is pretty sound. And I sound like one hell of a nice guy.

But back to the system, I have yet to hear of anyone getting turned away from a hospital.

Though I have heard of many folks being in financial ruin as a result of not being turned away.

To which I note- They are still alive to be in financial ruin, a much better outcome than the alternative.

So yeah, I am not starting any petitions or attending any town hall meetings. So I am as guilty as those I am calling-out in this post…But then again, I am not complaining about the system as it is.

What I am complaining about is this faux-activism.

If you have a stance on something, make it known, in the real world. And do something about it.

Until you do, you are just an enabler for the status quo.

But then again, maybe you are fine with that.

CoffeerightInfringment

After reading a few of my posts, it may surprise folks to learn that for the most part, I am a fella who avoids confrontation (in the real world) like the plague.

But recently, I went counter to my natural inclinations and sought-out some controversy.

I found myself headed to a coffee shop that had become quite a central figure in a good old-fashioned dust-up here in our burgeoning ‘burg.

I headed to the epicenter of gentrified hipsterdom in Seattle, 15^th Ave on Capitol Hill. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun strip – such staples of (high-priced) Seattle-only greatness like Café Victrola and The Coastal Kitchen anchor this mostly chain/franchise-free neighborhood.

Decent food, good beer, high prices and snooty attitudes are all served here as the clientele is all-to-happy to pay the price to be seen.

If you sense a wee lil bit of distain, good. You should.

But back to the controversy. I headed to the area to visit a coffee shop- 15^th Ave Coffee & Tea. The faux independent coffee shop was nice enough, offering 15 kinds of whole bean coffee, numerous kinds of loose leaf tea and they even served beer!

So, you may ask- What’s the big-deal about this coffee shop? And what the hell do you mean by Faux independent?

Well this coffee shop wasn’t what it appeared to be. It was actually owned by none other than Starbuck’s. Yes, that Starbuck’s.

Per the Starbuck’s brass, this was Starbuck’s attempt to ‘blend into the neighborhood’ as opposed to simply running the local independent coffee guys out of town.

The fact that this shop was a Starbuck’s-in-disguise is what has the neighbors all riled-up.

Which brings me to my point: Since when did Seattle become populated by such exclusive unoriginal lameasses?

I headed to the coffee shop looking for a fight. This hipster idea of independent-or-die, just seems dumb to me.

*Disclosure: I am one of the seemingly few native Seattleites who unapologetically enjoys Starbuck’s. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around the idea of hating the big company simply because they are successful.

The Seattle I grew-up in while a bit stand-offish, was mostly all-inclusive. Especially when compared to the separation (by race, economic class) that I had seen in cities back East- NYC, St. Louis & Chicago.

At some point, Starbuck’s was a Café Vivace or a Stumptown. It still blows my mind to see the lil independent guy so revered, yet the local company who made good, so reviled.

Granted, this most recent attempt to ‘fit-in’ by Starbuck’s could have been handled with a bit more tact. Starbuck’s, a long-time staunch defender of corporate trademarks, pretty much ripped-off the design/décor of 15^th Ave Coffee & Tea from Smith, the bar next door. So creating a carbon-copy of the neighbor, all the way down to asking where Smith bought their awnings, was a pretty hypocritical move by a company known for suing TM-infringers.

All that being said, Starbuck’s as usual, did a fine job.

I used to be a coffee elitist, simply because everyone else was. In Bellingham, it was Tony’s Coffee, in Seattle it was Vivace and in Portland it’s Stumptown (though from what I hear, even the beloved Stumptown is beginning to get too big to be liked anymore). But after going to independent coffee house after independent coffee house, I realized something- The coffee at all of these joints was consistently horrible.

I began to ask myself: Why pay for an inferior product?

In my ‘independent coffee shop days’ was used to giving the glare as the soulless drones paid their toll to the Starbuck’s Siren.

Where it got a lil odd, was when I became one of the drones.

Trust me, I’ve noticed the glares, even got some nasty posts on my Facebook page when I noted that I was at Starbuck’s. The glares were even worse as I visited 15^th Ave Coffee & Tea on Capitol Hill. I purposefully sat outside on the street to see what kind of reception I’d receive. And the blind corporation-hating hipsters didn’t let me down. I got a lot of glares, a couple head-shakes and a few sighs…Just as I’d expected.

I wasn’t making any political statements. I just wanted a decent cup of coffee. I guess that’s the lesson to be learned-

Turns-out it wasn’t just the coffee that was bitter…and a bit of the Seattle I used to know and love seems to have disappeared just as the coffee in my cup had.

A Vick-tim?

As much as I hate to admit it, I have been pondering this Michael Vick situation all week.

For those who don’t wake-up daily to ESPN like me, Vick is a former NFL quarterback who was convicted of running an illegal dog-fighting operation out of one of his houses.

Now I wasn’t debating the morality (or immorality) of dog-fighting, (I am whole-heartedly against it, BTW) but more of what is next for Vick?

When I first heard of Vick’s conviction, I was dead-set against his return to playing professional football. In my mind, playing pro football is more a luxury than a right.

Why give someone another chance after they had thrown away a once in a lifetime opportunity? Aren’t they just going to do it again?

I was so enraged at the atrocity of his actions that I thought 2 years in prison was not enough.

But as I really thought about it, it was jealousy that fueled my anger.

This guy was not only an NFL player, but a starting quarterback in the NFL…there are only 32 of those guys in the entire world. How could Vick not appreciate what he had been given? How could he throw it all away just to ‘keep it real’ for his buddies?

Ok, I had to cut that last paragraph short as I could go on for awhile.

As a dude, being a pro athlete is pretty much what you aspire to do from birth. But as you get older and come to grips with your own athletic mediocrity, you gain a certain appreciation for the guys who made it happen.

So to see Vick F-it-all-up is infuriating.

All that being said, you’d think I am still against Vick being allowed to return to the NFL.

But I am not.

Vick was convicted by a jury of his peers and paid his debt to society.

To further penalize him would be unfair and well, un-American.

We are a country based on the rule of law, (unless you rich/white or poor/minority- OJ doesn’t count) and for me to say Vick cannot return to the work that he is best runs counter to fundamental American faith in the justice system.

Do I think Vick is sincere in his volunteer efforts with the Humane Society? Hell no.

But it doesn’t matter.

The terms of Vick’s conviction were to spend two years behind bars. Vick was an NFL star(ter) at the time of his conviction and the lost wages/revenue from endorsements over that time period is more money than most folks could make in 4 lifetimes. So he’s paid his due both fiscally and physically.

I thought the whole idea of the justice/penal system was to rehabilitate. To further punish Vick by keeping him from doing what he does best, which is play football, just seems like cruel and unusual punishment.

We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all had to ask for forgiveness. We’ve all had to grow-up.

It just seems unfair to make an example out of Vick after he’s come clean and paid his due.

So I think Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL. But that doesn't mean I'll be very happy about it.

For a look at some of the reactions to Vick check-out this site:
- http://www.cosellout.com/?p=100

Where's my 15 mintues of fame?

So I have to admit it, I have been paying a lil attention to the NBA this season.

I know, I know, I swore-off the NBA when they screwed us and stole the team formerly known as The Seattle Supersonics.

But I am a basketball fan. I love the game and just can’t stay away.

But I digress, back to my point.

I was watching a playoff game between the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic earlier this week. During an intense play, Celtics forward Glen Davis spilled into the first row of the audience and bumped one of the fans. The fan just so happened to be a 12-year-old kid.

Let the uproar begin.

The ‘altercation’ garnered national attention, as the father of the ‘victim’ demanded an apology from Davis, the NBA, President Obama and God himself…

How dare a professional athlete come into contact with a member of the audience seated mere feet from the court.

The father referred to Davis as an ‘out of control animal.’

Can you believe the audaciousness of Davis?

Hmmm, last time I checked, chasing down a loose ball was called hustle.

This incident is yet another example of the ‘Hey look at me!’ desperation sentiment that seems to pervade American society.

From the Octuplet mom to Youtube, the idea of ‘15 minutes of fame’ is entrenched nowadays.

For the record, Davis issued an apology to the little fella, who was no worse for the wear.

But the hullabaloo raised over such an innocent mistake, has me shaking my head.

This was totally blown out of proportion by the so-called victim’s father and in-turn the media.

I am pretty sure that there is a warning on the back of the ticket stub expressly stating that this is a live sporting event and that items/people may come flying off the field of play. So it’s not like this should have been a surprise to the spectators, especially considering these were court-side seats.

Instead of a making this a once in a lifetime experience for his son, the father chose to ruin it, by exploiting it for attention in the media.

I’d like to say I am surprised.

But I am not.

Sigh.