My Relationship with Stress

During the week my blood pressure was in the range of pre-hypertension. On the weekends it was normal. I got stress warts on my hand that only went away after taking a full weeks vacation. My job used to cause me a tremendous amount of stress. It wasn't worth it so I quit.

And so, for the past few years, my life has been relatively stress free. My job, money, working at church, my messy house, none of these things stress me out. Sure there are problems but I just deal with them because I am in control. I make the calls. I think that's why there is still one thing with the ability to control my level of anxiety. When I know that people that I love dearly are making poor or dangerous choices it stresses me out. Try as I may, I'm totally out of control. I can't make other peoples choices for them. My chest tightens and contracts, my jaw clenches, my head becomes cloudy, I have a hard time sleeping at night, but worst of all, I loose my appetite. The thought of food becomes distasteful and I  loose weight. Two days of stress and I loose 4 pounds. It's a strange feeling. Under normal circumstances the thought of going a full day, or even two, without eating would be horrifying. But when I'm dealing with a high level of stress even though thought of steak and shrimp is unappealing. 

And so, I question myself. If it's out of my control why do I let it affect me in this way? What does my worrying accomplish?  Aren't I just hurting myself?  If God is in control am I showing a lack of faith? Why can't I fix this? I just want to fix it. I've found that I can fix most of my problems in life by just working harder. But it doesn't work that way with people and it's frustrating. I was hoping that by the time I finished writing this I would have an inspirational ending, some closure, a solution but in the end I have nothing. In the end I'm just 6lbs lighter knowing that I really need to eat more.

facebook - Why I comment so Much

Why do I comment on so many peoples statuses, pictures, and conversations on facebook? I've given this question some thought and have come to this conclusion. I love people but I don't live with any. I work at home, I study at home, I eat at home, I sleep at home and all the while I am by myself.

I remember when I first moved out of my parents house.I went from living with 6 other people to just me and in my apartment. At home there was always someone to talk to, someone to sit with, and I never ate alone. There was constant interaction. But then I was all alone. I remember sitting in the uncomfortable silence thinking about all of the things that I wanted to tell people about my day. I would turn the tv on for background noise because I hated the silence, I still do. Sometimes I like to be alone but not for too long and not too often.

A normal week for me includes me hanging out with friends or family at least five or six nights a week. But still, I'm home all day. I'm not a huge fan of talking on the phone. I really only talk to four people and three of them are family. The only people that text me are my nieces. So what do I do? I use facebook. It gives me enough interaction to hold me over until I can be with people again. It gives me the opportunity to tell people about my day, tell a joke, talk to friends, interact with family. I think that that's why I comment so much on facbeook.

Selfish is As Selfish Does

"My Mommies not here tonight. She moved to Indiana."
"Oh yea, where do you live now?"
"I live with my Daddy. My Mommy left us for a guy. I don't see her anymore now."
"That stinks. If you were my kid I would never leave ya."
"That's what my Daddy says."
"It sounds like you have a good Dad."

A guy? How could someone leave their 10 year old daughter for some guy? This isn't the first kid that I've known whose mom left them for some guy. It makes me sick, it makes me sad, it makes me angry.  There are somethings that guess I will never understand.

self·ish: 

devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarilywith one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardlessof others.

McNasty?

Occasionally I will talk to someone who insist that McDonald's food is "nasty." Now granted, "nasty" is a matter of opinion but let's look at the facts. McDonald's sign boasts that they have in fact served billions of customers (68 million per day to be exact). If McDonald's food were nasty how could they have possibly served billions of customers? Whywould that many people buy "nasty" food? McDonald's has over 33,000 locations, of which I've personally eaten at a couple of dozen, and has been in business for over 70 years. How could a company that sells "nasty" food have so many locations and stay in business for so long? The answer is quite clear. McDonalds food is in fact both delicious and cheap. If you say that it is "nasty" than you are only fooling yourself.

The Kitchen Chair in the Bathroom

My house is messy. Strike that, I look like a hoarder. I've never been an extremely organized person but this is the worst that it's ever been. It's at a point where I won't let anyone but family inside my house. I've become very good at ignoring the problem. I've had moments in my life where my house was clean but they never last.

There's an old proverb about how to boil a frog. If you take a frog and throw him into a pot of boiling water he will immediately jump out. To boil a frog you have to put him in temperate water and slowly increase the heat until he eventually dies. That's my house. It starts out clean and organized but slowly and surely things get out of control. I have laundry hampers but my clothes are on the floor. I have a dishwasher but my dishes are dirty and in the sink. And in my bathroom there is a kitchen chair. You see, I put the chair there so that I had somewhere to put my laptop while I took a bath. I wanted to watch a tv show while bathing. That worked just fine but then I never put the chair back in the kitchen.

Adding to my dilemma is my chosen profession. I am constantly buying inventory but sometimes it comes in faster than I can list it on eBay. There are currently 20 stereo components in my living room. I have 20 more upstairs. My dad has stopped by my house a couple of times this week and each time he said, "Dan, you have to clean this up, you have to fix this." So, today I'm cleaning my kitchen. I've been working on it for 5 hours now and it's still not done. It still needs another hour or two of work but it's getting there. Clean and organized may be a pipe dream but better is a possibility. At least I took the kitchen chair out of the bathroom.

What Wouldn't You do for 3 Million Dollars

What wouldn't you do for 3 million dollars? A friend of told me this story.

It was years ago and he was spending some time in a half way house. At that point in his life he wasn't exactly the ideal citizen. One of his house mates, we will call him Ed, came from a very wealthy family. Ed was 30 and was to receive a 3 million dollar inheritance. In fact, he had been old enough to receive it for over 10 years. But there was a catch. Ed had to be clean. You see Ed was a crackhead and his father knew that if he gave him 3 million dollars it would end in his son's death. So one of the stipulations on the money was that he had to be clean for 2 years. Ed was always just two years away from being rich beyond his wildest dreams but the crack pipe was always much closer. So, Ed robbed banks. He would take a taxi to the bank, rob it, and then take the taxi to the nearest crack house for a fix. A fix, what an ironic word. He was always just two years away.

Sometimes I take Drugs

Last week, for the first time in my life, I took NyQuil. Well, it wasn't exactly NyQuil, it was actually the much cheaper store equivalent. I was coughing so much at night that I was waking up without a voice and cough medicine wasn't doing the trick. I took the NyQuil three nights in a row and I slept like a baby. I fell asleep quickly and didn't wake up until morning, 10 to 12 hours later. After three nights of taking the medicine I wasn't coughing much at night anymore and thus didn't need to take it anymore.

But, I thought about taking it. I thought about taking it every night for a week. I had slept so wonderfully that even though my cough wasn't a problem anymore I still wanted the NyQuil. I wanted a 2 ounce plastic shot glass of it's syrupy red goodness. I wanted to fall right asleep without thinking about the days events. I resisted though. I didn't take it. As silly as it may sound, I feel that taking NyQuil when I didn't need it would be a form of drug abuse. I don't want to depend on a drug, over the counter or not, to fall asleep quickly. I may be alone on this though. I don't really know.

Scrapping License?

In an effort to curb metal thefts, Cincinnati's City Counsel has recently considered an ordinance that would require everyone who scraps metal to be licensed to do so. Upon hearing this I couldn't help but to remember that last "profession" that Cincinnati City Counsel decided needed a license, panhandling. The panhandling license program was in short, a complete failure.

I don't often scrap, in fact, I've only scrapped once in my life. I had 150pounds of copper wiring that I had been saving in my basement. At $1 a pound it was worth the short trip. When I got to the scrap metal yard I was surprised to see how little metal some of the other people were scrapping. One guy and his young son had a handful of wire and two motors. The wire may have been worth $1 and the motors a couple of bucks each. Personally, I wouldn't bother to drive to a friends house to collect a $6 debt. But to some people $6 is a big deal.

I've been the victim of metal theft, three times in fact. The first time was the worst, they broke into my house and stole my copper pipes. The second time they stole a metal ladder out of my yard and the third time they stole some metal that I was going to scrap myself. Being robbed stinks. It made me angry and I felt violated. The crackhead motto is, "A quick buck for a quick hit."

Over the years Pawnshops have taken the same kind of criticism that Scrap Metal Yards are now taking. Pawnshops encourage theft. But do they? With the right regulations such as holding times and cooperation with local law enforcement. Licensing people to scrap is not the solution. Blacklisting repeat metal theft offenders, requiring holding times on payments, paying amounts over x amount of dollars in the form of a check, and other such policies are the solution.

Top 10 Stinky Fart Foods

Some foods cause very distinctive smelling farts. This is my top 10 list of those foods.

Top 10 Stinky Fart Foods

10. Onions

9. Brussels Sprouts

8. Tacos

7. Cauliflower

6. Cheese

5. Cabbage

4. Broccoli

3. Bologna

2. Egg Salad

1. White Castle Hamburgers

God and Fools

Without out looking at your past I have no point of reference by which to judge your character. If you find yourself saying over and over, don't judge me by my past than your present probably isn't too impressive.

I shouldn't need to be verbally reminded that you are a different person than you used to be. Your actions should be proof enough. If you feel the need to remind me that you no longer do the things that you used to do than perhaps your time would be better spent working on the person that you are today. I'm not going to pat you on the back for your no longer being a scum bag because that is not remarkable, that is average at best. Be the best father possible, be a loyal wife, give money to the poor, build a pretend rocket ship out of cardboard, kayak down a river, run a race and win. Do something worth talking about. Quit complaining about how people judge you by your past. Only God and fools don't consider someones past relevant and of the two only God can see the future. Today is tomorrows past so build a past that your proud of and quit talking about the one that your not.

828 Questions About Me

There is an app on facebook that allows people to answer questions about their friends. For every question that you answer you earn points. You can then use those points to find out who answered what questions about you. So far my friends have apparently answered 828 questions about me. Being a bit compulsive at times, I took all of those questions and put them into a spread sheet and here are some of the results:

Do you think that Dan is a good friend? (19 Yes - 0 No)

Do you think that Dan can drink a Gallon of water? (6 Yes - 0 No)

I am pretty quick http://youtu.be/l1435m9z3w8

Do you think that Dan could be a Celebrity? (9 Yes - 0 No)

And as soon as I track down and marry a Kardashian I'll be one.

Do you think that Dan dresses well? (17 yes - 6 N0)

73% say yes. That's better numbers than the Kardashians are pulling.

Do you think that Dan should sing Karaoke? (3 yes - 0 No)

I have. I sang "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. It was terrible.

Do you think that Dan can dance? (9 Yes - 9 No)

Half of you are wrong.

Do you thin that Dan is fun to be around (23 yes - 0 No)

23 of you are correct.

Do you think that Dan cried while watching the Titanic? (9 Yes - 0 No)

Oh yea, well I've never even watch that movie so shut up.

Do you think that Dan has ever had stitches? ( 3 Yes - 6 No)

Maybe this will answer the question. http://vimeo.com/2855753

Do you think that Dan has ever lied in an interview (6 Yes - 6 No)

I have never interviewed for a job that I didn't get and I didn't lie in any of them.

Do you think that Dan has ever played beer pong? (6 Yes - 0 No)

I don't think any of you know what beer pong is. I don't drink.

Do you think that Dan has ever punched someone? (3 yes - 3 No)

Yes I have. I once punched my brother Phil in the face. He still fears me. Bahahahaha

Do you think that Dan has ever used steroids? (0 Yes - 12 No)

Girl look at that body, girl look at that body, I work out....

Do you think that Dan is a good athlete? (6 Yes - 0 No)

Not only that, I'm steroid free as well. Amazing I know.

A Yuppies Guide to Rap Music (A top 10 list of Rap Music Themes)

Many of you have by now probably heard of a new musical style known as "the rap music." As I am sure that none of you are interested in listening to said music I have taken it upon myself to share with you a little about this emerging genre. The following is a list of the most common themes found in said "rap music." I hope that you find this list as helpful as I did when relating to those in the "ghetto" culture.

TOP 10 MOST COMMON THEMES IN "THE RAP MUSIC"

10. Their relationships with Friends and Family

9. Acts of civil disobedience

8. Illegal substances such as "the weed"

7. Having fun at a friend's house or a local establishment

6. Their favorite color of rag (as to what they do with these rags still remains a mystery to us)

5. Diversifying their investments in things such as automobiles and precious metals

4. Drinks made of Alcohol and the many ways by which to consume them

3. Entrepreneurship, the act of making "the Benjamins"

2.Their Female associates and the many activities that they participate in

1. Their current and past position on the socioeconomic ladder and their many feelings relating to such