There is only one problem–people who tailgate.  I REALLY don’t understand the logic of tailgating in the carpool lane. What are they trying to accomplish?  I can’t change lanes and let them pass because it is illegal to cross the double lines–this is only allowed every few miles so people can exit and enter. I suppose they just want me to go faster and close any gap in front of me.  For what purpose, to save one or two seconds?  These people really should do the math and realize that those few seconds are not worth the risk of traveling 70mph and leaving only a few feet of clearance between cars–particularly MY car.

When people tailgate me in normal traffic I simply move over and let them pass.   In the carpool lane I simply slow down.  The closer they are the slower I go.  This serves two purposes.  First it limits my risk by lowing both of our speeds.  Secondly, it sends a message.  Most of the time these people back off.  Sometimes they get angry and leave the car pool lane.  Either way the problem is resolved.

Have you ever experienced this?  What do you think?

“There are only 3 colors, 10 digits, and 7 notes; it’s what we do with them that’s important.”
Jim Rohn

This quote says so much.  What we do with the simpliest resources can greatly impact our lives and the lives of others.  Create something good with what you have right now!

• Do toilet seat covers really protect you?
• Spring knows nothing about the 2011 economy.
• 2011 has been a very difficult year!
• What to do when life kicks you in the stomach.
• JONESVIEW passes the 200,000 page view mark.
• More about people who don’t want to work.
• What’s with all the tornadoes?  Global Warming?
• Why can’t the Republican Party produce any serious candidates?
• What’s up with high gasoline prices?
• The world didn’t end in May 2011–now what?
• Why you shouldn’t make fun of short people and others.
• Why it takes a lot of faith to be an atheist.
• Favorite practical jokes.
• 10 ways to ruin your life.
• The principle of grace.
• Why are there so many movies about alien invasions of Earth?
• Why giving is good for you.
• The age of video.
• The abuse of power.
• How you handle privilege says a lot about who you are.
• Thank you John McCain for launching Sarah Palin (sarcastically said of course).
• Life by the numbers.
• My favorite foods.

Maybe you’ll see one of these topics in my next post.   Which ones sound most interesting to you?

Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.

John W. Gardner

A radio psychologist that I listened to frequently in the 80′s used to say that “life was not a dress rehearsal”.  This is so true.  We only have one opportunity to move through life.  With this in mind, make sure you live each day to it’s fullest,  not spending a lot of time and energy going to the “woulda coulda shoulda” place.  We all fail, make mistakes, and end up with regrets–this is life. Learn to forgive yourself and others; giving yourself grace and permission to continue making mistakes while growing.

Live in the past and you’ll get stuck.  Live in the future and you’ll miss opportunities that are happening now.  Seize the moment and you’ll have a richer, fuller, happier life.  Don’t be afraid to made decisions, step out in faith, make mistakes or fail.

This will keep you moving forward.  Remember, life is a journey and you never know what is just around the bend.

Keep drawing!

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

Charles R. Swindoll

The way we react to any situation in life  impacts the ultimate outcome.  We get to choose how we will respond.  Life is full of disappointment, rejection, and failure.   What we do with all of this ultimately determines our destiny.   Be open.   Use each experience as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

- Melody Beattie

Here are some of the things that I did:

• Took both cars in for service
• Visited the mall
• Went to the dentist
• Watched TV
• Fixed a few things
• Thoroughly washed and cleaned both cars
• Went to the doctor’s office
• Opened a new saving account
• Hung out at the coffee store (drinking decaf)
• Spent some great time with my daughter
• Had lunch with my mom and son on different days
• Slept in
• Watched Oprah (while drinking a beer)
• Did some grocery shopping and prepared yummy dinners for my wife and I
• BBQ’d
• Twittered
• Watched movies
• Experimented with Jacuzzi chemicals
• Sat on comphy chairs at Nordstrom people watching
• Watered the lawn and flowers
• Reflected on my life and prayed

I know it sounds boring but having time to do these things was so great.  I think I may take another week sometime to do this again.  I highly recommend staycations.

• States are forced to deal with this problem because the Federal Government has not acted.  Arizona’s law is modeled after the Federal law.
• Changing the law makes sense.  The problem lies with our laws, not the enforcement of our physical borders
• If the laws are written well, people who are in the US illegally will not be able to work or receive social services.  Citizenship should not be automatically granted to children of illegal immigrants born in the US.
• More than 50% of American’s do not pay any income tax.  I wonder how many of these are illegal immigrants?  The problem of illegal immigration is costing our country millions of dollars and the average tax payer is paying the bill.  The US cannot afford this problem.
• Other countries  have strict laws regarding immigration and citizenship.  Why doesn’t the US?  See what happens in France if you try to get a job or receive social services without any identification.  In fact, go to Mexico and see what happens?
• For reasons I don’t understand, Illegal immigrants have a sense of entitlement and believe that the US owes them a life.

If you liked this song, you might also enjoy the one I posted last year at this time.   Here’s a link.

I’ve been told that I will actually feel better once my body adjusts to this change.   After the initial shock, I’m hoping to have more energy, etc.

Here are some of the things that I am experiencing on this first morning.

• Tired – I fell asleep during a weekly company meeting this morning.
• Cold - My body temp is down this morning.
• Headache – Not so bad, thought it would be worse.
• Thinking slower – life feels like it’s going in slow motion.

I just finished a cup of herbal tea (caffeine free) and that seems to help.  If you’ve been through this already, post a comment of encouragment–I may need the support.

This headache, well known among coffee drinkers, usually lasts from one to five days, and can be alleviated with analgesics such as aspirin. It is also alleviated with caffeine intake (in fact several analgesics contain caffeine dosages).

Often, people who are reducing caffeine intake report being irritable, unable to work, nervous, restless, and feeling sleepy, as well as having a headache. In extreme cases, nausea and vomiting has also been reported.

Caffeine and Health. J. E. James, Academic Press, 1991. Progress in Clinical and Biological Research Volume 158. G. A. Spiller, Ed. Alan R. Liss Inc, 1984.

UPDATE 3/11: The headaches are not as intense today–probably 50% less.   Overall, I feel pretty good.  Needed a pickup this morning so I stopped and bought donuts for the office .. yum.

UPDATE 3/12: The headaches are gone–I think I’m done.  Amazing!

UPDATE 3/15: Slight headache this morning and over the weekend.  Not quite finished yet.

UPDATE 7/12:  Life is good.  So far no earth shattering results from giving up caffeine.  I thought my body might react more without caffeine but so far it’s business as usual.  I still have a cup or two of decaf each day because I really like the taste of coffee.   I probably should change the title of my post to limiting my caffeine.