Giggles

Didn't want to forget today's case of the giggles and the reminder of the gift I was given of making myself laugh, quite easily. Hopefully, I'll start to make a point of jotting these instances down, but I'm not going to jinx myself and will now just shut up and share...

My department at work has been joyfully force-feeding us Lean concepts and instead of tiring out our gag reflexes, most of us have become efficiency cum queens. I've grasped onto the fact that Lean's origins lie in Japan and have taken it upon myself to become my team's de facto Tokyo tourist guide. It started with being juvenile and looking up some Japanese slang (like aho = dumbass), but now it's becoming ingrained in my random thoughts... ultimately leading up to today's giggles.

An important Lean concept is "kaizen" (pronounced k-eye-zen) which loosely means "change for good", but was beginning to get confused and becoming synonymous with large-scale events designed to incorporate rapid change in large, inefficient processes. Well that was all cleared up today when it was explained that "kaizen" is any change that moves us toward an improvement, large or small.

So, leading up to the reason for my self-pleasin' and touching on my self-appointed role as Tokyo tourist guide, I now make a point to blurt out random Lean/Japanese terms to 1. try to be a team player and 2. entertain myself... and now, without further ado...

Top Reasons to Yell Out/proclaim Lean/Japanese Terms, as well as a possible term (in no particular order):

- Scream "KAIZEN" when changing any routine, such as putting socks on first or suddenly wiping back to front.

- Call everyone by their "Japanese" name by adding "-san" to folk's names (extra credit for bowing and slapping "Most Honorable" in front).

- Study some rudimentary Japanese and make lame rhymes out of it to confuse those not in the joke, which is probably most everyone, i.e. "ichi, ne, san - KAIZEN!!!" or "1, 2, 3 - Change for Good!!!".

- While doing said rudimentary linguistic studying, think out loud often.

- While it's probably elementary and campy, I can almost always make myself laugh by combining common foreign terms with stereotypical themes from that culture, such as doing lame kung-fu motions and mumbling foreign car manufacturers (extra credit for mimicking overdubbed movies where words don't match mouth movements).

Any and all suggestions that get you laughing in the middle of a team meeting are welcome and encouraged.

proof that stupidity is contagious

We've all heard about the Tiger Woods incident and if you haven't yet, then you're more of a hermit than I am. Well, his dumbass-ness has went all "H1N1" and affected others, like Brit Hume. On one hand, Brit's comments are further proof that religion can make people say and do asinine things. On the other, I hope it forces more people to broaden their perspective and read up a bit more on other religions and philosophies, instead of taking what mass media spoon feeds us. I think you'll be surprised at how much more similar they are than different.

With that said, catch some other opinions and as expected, the Daily Show segment is “spit out your food” funny.

http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=13907

New Year, New Rant

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone (even if I’m the only reader J)! My inquisitive mind always wonders why we make such a hubbub over each new year; however as I get older, I'm beginning to cherish this time and the opportunity it affords us - to look back at the challenges we faced (personally and as a whole), how we dealt with them, and how they molded us.

Granted, I never was one to truly question a reason to celebrate anything, as it was always a reason to laugh it up with family and friends. Yes, even this self-proclaimed hermit enjoys the occasional social event, although it does take me longer to regroup with each passing year.

Personally, I had my fair share of “experiences” that on any given day could be perceived as negative or positive. To summarize this in a cryptic and wordy phrase, the year was “a non-stop singular stroll through a somberly, progressive village where each passing window was a glimpse into different aspects of the soul of a man-child.”

And not to buck tradition, I’m finally ready to proclaim my 2010 resolution, which is two-fold:

1. 1. Make more of an effort to investigate and practice my budding interest in Buddhism.

2. 2. Enjoy life, no matter what it sets at my feet.

december

there's a chill in the air that hurts

through the layers, through the glass

bringing upon a painful numbness

that feeds on memories of significance past

a snowy day with lingering thoughts

sprinkled with doubts of years gone by

kids in gore-tex and feathered down

oblivious or naive, they're fortunate

as i watch them play, I

recall the dynamics of childhood

the drawbacks of change

the gift and the curse of age

beautiful spontaneity, limitless hope

empty black evenings and blanketless cold

striking contrasts with eerie similarity

a portrait encompassing our youth

solitude

Alone with you, I can't help but wonder

Are you the one or another blunder

Destiny's sense of humor has a way

of making the obvious "confidential" per se

Breaking the news once all but I know

Parade Grand Marshall of the idiot show

If why is what, then who is where

The joke remains and I stop and stare

At a train wreck, guilty as charged

Mirror images I ignore with disregard

Dance with me, for I know not why

Only that I'll find a reason for good-bye

Whether it be personal or superficial

You'll thank me as separation will be beneficial

Incurable cancer with a touch of hurt

Doctoral thesis for psychology major convert

inception to conception

raindrops bounce off headlight beams

shimmering reflections

illuminating fermenting dreams

cranial selections

subliminal choices i don't control

intriguing diversions

far too many thoughts to hold

impending dispersion

what sticks is based on days gone by

yesterday's erosion

remnants remain to answer why

eventual notion

tonight i'll sleep, tomorrow i'll awaken

continual conception

i pray i build upon the path i've taken

evolutionary perception

Seasonal Reasoning

The grey skies continue, both inside and outside my head. I would say the trend is now nearing 2 months of general sub-par emotions. I’ve cut back on my “bad habit” and have noticed little change, so not quite sure of the cause. With that said, the past weekend was a w.b. weekend, so I feel somewhat better, but know that an extended w/o. b. is approaching, and as a result - the need to entertain myself in productive ways.

I was thinking about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD – fitting acronym, huh?), since I certainly notice a distinct emotional drop-off in the past 2 months and the symptoms seem to match up:

Symptoms of SAD may consist of: difficulty waking up in the morning, tendency to oversleep as well as to overeat, and especially a craving for carbohydrates, which leads to weight gain. Other symptoms include a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating on completing tasks, and withdrawal from friends, family, and social activities. All of this leads to the depression, pessimism, and lack of pleasure which characterize a person suffering from this disorder (per Wikipedia).

Do I see my doc to get my meds re-adjusted or just see it through and let things play out? I see I asked myself the same question last month, so I think if something doesn’t give by Christmas, then I’ll proceed to option 1. If you’re reading and haven’t heard from me, then don’t take it personal… I’m avoiding everybody. You’re neither special nor shunned… just an unlucky acquaintance of a SAD patient.