New Year’s Resolution #1 – Minimize My Facebook Time

December 29, 2011 3 Comments

I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. I think they’re pointless. Each year people take an inward look at themselves, pick out the things they hate the most, and promise to do better next year. We all know what happens next…most people fail to change anything.

Why?

Because they don’t actually want to change. If someone really wanted to change, they wouldn’t wait until New Year’s Eve to decide to fix what’s broken. If they weren’t concerned about “the issue” prior to New Year’s Eve, they’re not going to be concerned about it for too long after.

Despite all this, I’ve decided that I’ll be making at least one resolution this year.

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I find it to be a valuable tool that allows me to keep in touch with friends, stay current with the news, and be in the know with all kinds of things. If it wasn’t for Facebook, I wouldn’t have met Marilyn Manson. The problem is that I waste a ton of time. Being so connected means I’m constantly being pulled in different directions, engaging in conversations (read: arguments) with complete strangers about politics, the environment, religion, etc.

I’ve found that being so connected has turned me into a bit of an asshole (some might say a lot of an asshole.)

By nature I’m a sarcastic person, and Facebook has given me a direct avenue to be a smartass (usually in a good-natured way, though it doesn’t always come across as such.) And for people who don’t know me well, my sarcasm isn’t appreciated. I’ve been unfriended on numerous occasions for a variety of reasons. I know I shouldn’t let such things bother me, but they do. I’m not a mean person in “real life,” but I am on Facebook.

In an effort to change all of this, as well as free up time that could be put to better use elsewhere, I’m resolving to reduce the time I spend on Facebook to one hour a day. While that might not seem like a big deal to some people (and to others it might sound insane), it’s going to be a challenge. Instead of logging on to see what people are doing, my time on Facebook will need to be productive. Say and do what’s important, and log off.

In order to keep me honest, I’ve installed a program (FB Limiter Pro, $14.99) that will automatically block Facebook after an hour of use. I don’t want to have to track my time, and I know that I won’t always have the willpower to shut shit down on time. This is the easiest solution.

I know I’m not the only person who wants to spend less time on Facebook…I mean, really, what’s so damn important? (Nothing.) Will you join me in this “revolution?” Just think of what you’d be able to do with all the extra time!

Filed under Resolutions Tagged with ,

A Year in Review

December 29, 2011 1 Comment

It’s hard to believe 2011 is little more than a memory.

I feel like the year was less about accomplishing things than preparing for the next phase of my life, which has now reached a precipice. 2012 will be an exciting year, filled with dramatic change. As much as 2011 was about preparing for the next phase, 2012 will be that next phase.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the goals I accomplished over the past year:

I started out the year in Paris at the Eiffel Tower for New Year’s Eve, and then spent the next two weeks riding the train around Europe.

My international travel this year was quite minimal in comparison to past years. After returning home from Europe, Erin and I booked a trip to Cancún, a place I’d never had any interst in visiting. Actually, we weren’t supposed to go to Cancún, but instead use it for a quick stop over on our way to Cuba. I chickened out.

So much of 2011 was spent trying to witness a Space Shuttle launch, it’s really a wonder I was able to accomplish anything else!

And, of course, a lot of effort went into applying for the Peace Corps this past year. Unfortunately, I’m not yet finished jumping through hoops. I just hope it won’t be for naught.

I didn’t accomplish all the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. I didn’t give away $100 to a complete stranger, though I did give away $100 to the winner of my What’s on Your Bucket List Challenge (something I enjoyed so much, I may have to do it again in 2012). I didn’t go skinny dipping, and I didn’t climb Devil’s Tower. I didn’t join CrossFit, nor did I kayak at the Apostle Islands. Actually, looking back at the goals I set for myself at the beginning of 2011, I didn’t accomplish many of the things on that list. And that’s okay. The things on that list weren’t really a priority when I put them on the list, so it’s no wonder they didn’t get done.

Next year will be huge…it may be the most important year of my life. I’m both excited, and nervous about what’s to come.

More on that later!

Filed under Updates

Poverty and the Environment in the United Republic of Tanzania

December 19, 2011 1 Comment

Until a few days ago, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to write this paper. But since my graduation depends upon it, I decided it’d be in my best interest to throw something together. Now that I’ve finished, I wish I would’ve put more time and energy into this paper as I’ve found the information to be quite interesting.

In writing this paper, I feel somewhat more prepared for the kinds of issues I might face if I’m offered a position with the Peace Corps in Africa. I’m also much more excited about visiting Tanzania, and if things don’t work out with the Peace Corps, it’s first on my list of places to visit.

The problems in Tanzania are real. But in researching this paper, despite all of the challenges facing the country, I believe things will improve. Slowly. The government seems to place a high value on the natural resources, and the environment. Unfortunately, it’s been difficult to enforce the policies that are designed to protect the environment because Tanzanians struggle with poverty. People who live hand to mouth are concerned with survival, and convincing them to look beyond today is a challenge. Some big changes are required, and investments to infrastructure will need to be massive.

But I have hope.

“The environment provides the basic resources for virtually all socioeconomic activity in the country, and is a foundation for the eventual alleviation of abject poverty.” ~The Government of Tanzania

With thirty-six percent of its population living in poverty, and an economy based on fragile natural resources, the nation of Tanzania faces a unique situation: balancing economic growth with environmental stewardship. Because all the main economic sectors of Tanzania – agriculture, mining, tourism, wildlife, forestry and fisheries – are based on natural resources, that growth must be done in a way that preserves the environment.

In fact, the environment is so important to the economy of Tanzania that, while considered to be one of the major contributing factors of poverty, it is also seen as the “foundation for [the] eventual alleviation of abject poverty” (Tanzania National Website, 2011).

Environmental policy objectives have been set forth by the Tanzanian government, and are designed to:

  • Ensure sustainability, security and equitable use of resources;
  • Prevent and control degradation of land, water, vegetation, and air;
  • Conserve and enhance the natural and man-made heritage, including the biological diversity of unique ecosystems of Tanzania;
  • Improve the condition and productivity of degraded areas including urban and rural settlements in order that all Tanzanians may live in safe, healthful, productive and aesthetically pleasing surroundings;
  • Raise awareness and understanding of the essential linkages between environment and development, and promote individual and community participation in environmental action, and;

Despite the policy objectives set forth by the Tanzanian government, Tanzania faces environmental problems that threaten the growth and development of the economy. The current levels of consumption of natural resources are unsustainable. Soil degradation, deforestation, desertification, and loss of biodiversity all threaten economic growth, and further degradation of the natural environment will only exacerbate the issue of poverty. Therefore, it is vital to find ways of implementing policies and enforcing mechanisms for sustainable exploitation of the natural resources (Tanzania National Website, 2011c). Read more of this post

Filed under Environment

Picking up Pennies

December 15, 2011 7 Comments

If you see a penny laying on the sidewalk, do you pick it up?

And, if thirty seconds later you found a nickel, wouldn’t you also pick that up and stick it in your pocket for safe keeping? I know I would. What if, rather than coins on the sidewalk, the money was virtual? No coins, just digits on a computer screen? Would you still be willing to pick up those “coins?”

About a week ago I discovered a website that pays its users to watch advertisements. Since starting, I’ve earned $8.38. During that same time, I’ve found ten cents on the sidewalk.  A dime here, a nickel there might not seem like a lot of money, but over time it really begins to add up. Through this website, you can earn up to $520 a year by spending five to ten minutes a day watching advertisements.

What could you do with $520?

The commercials are from large companies and each one is between thirty seconds and a minute long. Sometimes you’ll earn six cents for watching a commercial. Other times you’ll get more. Sometimes you have to answer a couple of questions about the commercial, but most times you don’t.

Obviously you aren’t going to get rich by doing this, but after a year you could earn enough for a plane ticket, a new snowboard, or you could use the money to help pay rent or tuition. It’s worth my time, maybe it’s also worth your time!

Click here to visit the JingIt website to learn more!!!

Filed under Product Reviews

‘Tis the Season

December 11, 2011 4 Comments

You may have noticed that we’re balls deep in the holiday season, that wonderful time of year when mindless consumerism becomes even more socially acceptable than normal. Traditionally, I’ve opted out of the holiday season, asking that people don’t buy me any gifts. I’m fortunate to have everything I could ever need, and most of what I want.

I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them. ~ John Stuart Mill

But it’s not because I have everything I need that I opt out of the Christmas gift exchange. It’s because I feel like the meaning of the season has been lost. And every year it just seems to get worse. Since I’m not a religious person, it might be ironic or even hypocritical that I complain about the meaning of Christmas being lost. I don’t celebrate Christmas because it’s Jesus’ birthday, the true meaning of the holiday. Like many people, I celebrate because Christmas has become a part of the American culture, whether you’re Christian or not. I can only imagine how Christians feel about the current status of their holiday as an excuse for hordes of shoppers to pepper spray each other over an Xbox 360.

Christmas is about people, though you’d never know from all of the commercials where it’s all about the HDTVs, iPads, Victoria’s Secret lingerie, diamond necklaces…the implication being that to show your love, you must do so with material possessions. Have we really lost all capacity to express our love and affection for one another without the exchange of gifts?

Can you even remember what you got for Christmas last year?

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t exchange gifts. Rather, it’s a plea that we lessen the importance of the gifts by refocusing our energy on the people. Besides, it’s a little too late to thrust it upon your family that there won’t be any presents under the tree this year. It’s hard to change tradition. I know, I’ve tried.

Here are a few ways to lessen the importance of the gifts by refocusing our energy on people:

  • Open gifts Christmas night instead of in the morning. Instead of opening presents in the morning, and then having everyone absorbed with their new toys for the rest of the day, open them after you’ve eaten dinner.
  • Spend the day together doing something as a family. If you’re fortunate enough to have a white Christmas, you could have a snowball fight, go ice skating, or you could spend the day sledding, skiing or snowboarding.
  • Volunteer. What better way to focus your energy on people than to volunteer to help those less fortunate?
  • Go caroling. Your neighbors will love it!
  • Watch Christmas movies. Snuggle up on the couch with your family with cups of hot chocolate and candy canes. Some of my favorite movies are National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and It’s a Wonderful Life.

Changing tradition can be difficult, but it’s worth it. There’s nothing more important than family, not even that new iPad under the tree.

What Christmas traditions do you and your family celebrate?

Filed under Christmas, Holidays

Quitting a Job I Wasn’t Hired to Do

November 12, 2011 8 Comments

Sitting alone in a parking lot on the outskirts of town, I waited for a man I’d never met. He had a job for me. As I checked the time yet again, a car turned the corner, its headlights casting a pale yellow glow as they approached. When we’d spoke on the phone earlier that day, he told me to be there at 1 a.m.

He was late.

I stepped out of my car and stood there watching him cleaning the piles of garbage from the passenger seat. He unlocked the door, and waved me inside. The air was thick with the smell of coffee and stale cigarettes. I reached out to shake his hand, but he seemed disinterested. “Are you ready?” he asked. Only a few minutes earlier I’d been asking myself what the fuck I was doing waiting for a stranger in the middle of the night, almost in the middle of nowhere. “Am I ready? I don’t even want to be here right now,” I thought to myself.

“Let’s go,” I said. There was no turning back. We drove off into the night, disappearing down a back road. “Here’s where we’re going,” he said, handing me a list of addresses, “and the newspapers are in the backseat.”

I spent the next two and a half hours riding around the countryside on the wrong side of the road, delivering newspapers. Not exactly my idea of a dream job, but when I’d answered the ad I thought it might be an easy way to make some extra money. About half an hour into the drive, I knew it wasn’t for me. After we finished the route, I asked how long he’d been delivering papers.

“Twenty years!”

Twenty years? I couldn’t handle two hours. “So, what do you think?” he asked me. “I don’t know,” I said. “I guess it’s alright.” I felt compelled to lie to him. I didn’t want it to seem like I was insulting him by saying that I thought it was a horribly boring, mindless way of earning a paycheck.

“Will I see you tomorrow night? You can ride along again.”

“I’ll have to think about it. I’m not really sure,” I admitted, feeling guilty for wasting his time. I knew that after he dropped me off at my car we’d never see each other again. The rest of the ride was quiet. I knew that he knew I wasn’t coming back, but when he dropped me off at my car, he told me to call him and let him know about tomorrow night. I said I would, but I knew I wouldn’t. Maybe if I don’t call he’ll get the message.

I’m not very good with disappointing people.

Filed under Life

Going Through Changes

October 28, 2011 5 Comments

In less than two months I’ll graduate college.

This marks a significant turning point in my life since I’ve been a college student for something like six years. Not being in a classroom will be a huge change. And considering that I’m being thrust into the worst economy of my lifetime, I’m a little nervous about entering back into the “real world.” There’s not much reassurance that everything’s going to be okay.

Two months ago I was telling you that I thought I’d wait to join the Peace Corps, and instead go to graduate school. Despite thinking that now wasn’t the right time to join the Peace Corps, I decided to continue the application process, just to see if I’d receive an invitation to serve or not. I submitted my medical information at the end of September, and a few weeks ago received this update:

Peace Corps received the results of your physical exam on October 5, 2011. If the program you are nominated for is not scheduled to leave in the next 4 months you may not hear from Medical until the time of departure is closer. Currently those programs scheduled to leave in the next 4 months are being reviewed. For applicants leaving within 4 months Peace Corps may request additional medical information. Please respond quickly to these requests.

The program that I’ve been nominated for (Environmental Education/Awareness in Africa) is scheduled to leave in April so I don’t expect to hear anything until December or January. Since submitting my application, I’ve had a lot of opportunity to think about what I’d do if I actually did receive an invitation to serve, and I’ve decided that I’d be foolish not to accept it. Now I feel like my life is on hold while I wait…

And if I don’t get an invitation?

I’ll apply to graduate school at the University of Colorado – Denver, and continue my education in Environmental Science, specializing in Environmental Health (if they’ll have me, that is.) Moving to Denver without a job or a place to live is scary, and in some ways, it’s even more frightening to me than moving to Africa for two years. It’s not the moving that concerns me, but finding a job to support myself. I have some money saved up and will be able to survive for a little while, but without an income, it won’t last long.

I guess if all else fails, I’ll starve to death…

Filed under Graduate School, Graduation, Life, Peace Corps

Perspective

October 3, 2011 5 Comments

Instead of comparing yourself to people who have more than you, try comparing yourself to those who have less…

Filed under Random Thoughts

What’s on Your Bucket List?

September 30, 2011 94 Comments

Thanks to everyone’s who participated in the contest! The response has been terrific, and reading everyone’s goals has been so inspiring! I wish I could give everyone $100, but alas I’m not a rich man! Congratulations to our lucky winner, Kristen Schoonover! I hope you’ll find a way of putting the money to good use! Thanks again everyone for making this contest a success!

I want to help you accomplish your goals, which is why I’m giving $100 to one lucky reader! That’s right! Cash money, to do whatever you want. All you have to do to enter the contest is:

  1. Tell me what’s on your Bucket List! Leave a comment below, and/or;
  2. Share this contest on Twitter! (Please post a link to the tweet.) Just retweet the following:

I just entered to win $100 with @HundredGoals ”What’s on your #BucketList?” contest! Enter here: http://wp.me/pqt96-1zu

  1. And/or, blog about this contest and leave a link to the post in the comments.

The more you do, the more chances you have to win!

To get things started, I’m going to share the Top 5 goals on my list:

  1. Join the Peace Corps - If you’ve been following Hundred Goals lately, you know that I’ve been a little confused scared shitless about leaving the comfort of my life for two years to do volunteer work in Africa. I think I’m finally over it, and I’m ready to go! I’m just waiting for my invitation.
  2. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro – I’ve done a lot of amazing things in life, but I don’t feel like I’ve been pushed to the edge of my limits by any of it. I think climbing Kilimanjaro might do that. Besides, Tanzania looks like a beautiful country…and who doesn’t love that!?
  3. Earn my Bachelors Degree - Graduation is just around the corner…and I’m ready! Come December, my entire life is going to change as I’m thrust into “The Real World.” And it’s going to be amazing!
  4. Travel to Cuba – If there’s one thing I really hate about being American, it’s that my government forbids me from traveling to Cuba. But I’m not going to let that stop me. I will go…oh, yes…I will go.
  5. Throw a Hand Grenade - This is the most recent addition to my list, and it’s one that I’m really excited to accomplish. It just seems like a lot of fun, kind of like jumping out of an airplane! The rush of excitement, the adrenaline…I live for that!

Now it’s your turn! What’s on your Bucket List?

The contest will run until Friday, October 21, 2011 and a winner will be randomly selected using a number generator. The winner will be notified via email, so be sure to enter a valid email address when submitting your comments.

Good luck! And thanks for entering! If there are any questions, please feel free to contact me directly!

Filed under Contests

The Duality of Man

September 25, 2011 6 Comments

Moments after announcing the addition of my latest goal, Goal #160) Throw a hand grenade, a reader pointed out that such a goal seemed at odds with my ambition of joining the Peace Corps, saying:

“Hmmmm.  I thought you wanted in the PEACE Corps.  I sense some irony here…”

And (undoubtedly) what they meant by “irony,” was actually “hypocrisy.” By definition, hypocrisy is claiming to have certain moral standards or beliefs to which our behavior does not conform. But does the appearance of being at odds make them so? Would throwing a hand grenade make me a hypocrite? What about the intent behind those actions? Is it possible to throw a hand grenade and promote world peace and friendship?

When I first read the comment, I was reminded of the scene in Full Metal Jacket when Private Joker is asked why he’s wearing a peace button on his jacket, and has “Born to Kill” written across his helmet. “I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir.” The duality of man. The internal struggle between good and evil. Is my desire to throw a hand grenade some sort of manifestation of my “evil” side? I doubt it. Isn’t it just possible that I want to throw a hand grenade because I think it’d be fun?

“It is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.” ~ William Shakespeare

There are those who claim money is, or that guns are, evil. I don’t believe either is true. Guns and money have no capacity in and of themselves for good or ill. They’re inanimate objects. In the wrong hands, both can be used to cause harm. The capacity for humans to do evil things doesn’t make the objects with which they carry out those actions evil.

And a hand grenade is no different…

Filed under Hand Grenade

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