SANTA!

I wish all the things you believed in as a kid were real when you grew up, especially Santa. I wish there was a Santa who had elves and a North Pole workshop to make toys to give to every kid on Earth. I remember the day I found out there was no Santa; my Debbie Downer neighbor playmate told me while I was rollerblading, and I had to run home through the grass to confront my mom because I wasn't even a good skater. Anyway, I refused to believe that my parents could pay for three kids every other day of the year, and then afford to throw in all those presents on December 25th. When I was little, I thought Santa was the ultimate justice for kids; I mean, he was the one thing that brought equality to children around the world for at least one day. The idea that someone was taking responsibility for the happiness of the entire world was so peaceful and reassuring, even when I was still a kid. I felt so much better allowing myself to think that an old man named Santa brought presents to kids who had no food, or house, or bad parents, or no parents; how had I gotten so lucky to go to bed every night with a Disney comforter and a handmade milkshake? The world just seemed so unfair, even as a kid I could tell and I worried. The problems of the world are overwhelming and exhausting just to think about, and it's hard to worry about things like poverty and disease when it feels like we will never find an end. When I still believed in Santa, I could relax and ease up on the worrying because he was taking care of everyone. I was such a little idealist; I wrote world peace on the top of my Christmas lists...and perhaps we can just ignore the fact that my request for peace preceded that for twelve different Barbies and a CD player. In the end, I always got some books instead-and no world peace.

Road Rage

Traffic is one of the most stressful things we encounter on a day to day basis. It is unreliable, unpredictable, and most frustrating-it is out of our control. It makes us late to some very important places, on very important occasions, with some very important people. The visual of bumper to bumper traffic in four lanes of highway can be quite overwhelming; still, the number of people in that many cars in one place at one time puts into perspective just how many people live in this world. Despite the massive amount of life existing and the monumental workings of society, I still get upset when I need to get somewhere, and all those people get in my way. With all the aggravation involved in getting from A to B on any road in America, I think we are all entitled to a little road rage here and there. Personally, I learned from the master of all things road and rage, my dad; seriously, I could swear from my car seat before I could walk. Sometimes when someone would make the unforgivable mistake of cutting my dad off, I would just take over and reassure my dad that, yes, they were an asshole...and that's how I learned survival skills for the real world! love ya daddy :) So what is it about being inside a car that makes people think they have no identity, and therefore, no accountability. There are always those over-enthusiastic speeders who weave in and out of traffic and cut in front of you as if they are completely anonymous. Just because they are secure in a box with wheels, where maybe no one can see their face or know their name, they act like there are no consequences for their angry actions. Behind the wheel, people take on completely new personalities because for the most part, no one you routinely come into contact with will ever know what you are like as a driver. So your reputation isn't on the line, and suddenly you are at liberty to claim the road as your own. I think our encounters with traffic contribute to an increased stress level in working people in contemporary society; however, we also make it into much more than it is. After all, we dodge cars like NASCAR (p.s.- not a real sport), but we obey colored lights lawfully and follow GPS directions down to the meter. So as much as we try to outsmart the system, we still get stuck behind fifty people all trying to "turn left on green arrow only" and listen to a machine named Tom. It is still reassuring that everyone gets stuck in the same stop-and-go Hell, even Lolcats...

Although I made this first post back in January, I recently saw an IBM commercial in March discussing just how much of a problem traffic is in America.