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It’s worth your while.

I have been yearning for a valid reason to post again. Today is worthy of the few minutes it will take to write this out. I am ecstatic that today is Election Day. I am glad to be alive at this time in history. I am hosting an election party tonight – before that would have been relegated to political geeks, now it seems silly not to have one this time around.

Question of the day: Is blogging a potentially “constructive” way to procrastinate? Only a recovering procrastinator would ask such a question.

Some of us get fifteen minutes, and others of us get even less. And unfortunately I can’t measure my fame in minutes, but in clicks. One click to be exact.  Just yesterday I blogged about my friend getting a rejection letter from the FBI. Before the day was over I got a passionate response from a random woman. Her response to my comments about their rejection letter being harsh read as follows:

“Harsh? What are you…10? My husband WAS recruited by the FBI and I know lawyers and accountants are top priority. The sun doesn’t rise to shine on you OR your friends so if a circular file letter upsets you, better toughen up. It doesn’t get any easier.”

I think all I had to say to that was “WOW,” and then I did not approve her “comment” for posting. But instead I chose to quote her in here because it made for a more compelling story.

Nonetheless, I have to thank this lady for writing me because it was her rant that led me to investigating how she got to my blog in the first place. I thought perhaps she was blog surfing on WordPress, but that was unlikely because she responded so soon after I posted. The timing of it all was not probable. Then I thought that it was a friend of a friend who subscribed to my blog, but that too was unlikely because I have been so silent in my blogging for months. Silence doesn’t seem like the magic formula for creating a cult following. So then I checked my blog stats, and found the most unexpected data in my research. I saw that CNN.com was a referring site to my blog.  Really? Yes, really.

Here is a screen capture of the web page. It was an AP article entitled “Artworks in NYC collection were stolen, FBI says.” At the bottom of the screen there was a “From the Blogs” section. This blog listing is probably time sensitive, so I highly doubt this older blog post will be listed after today, therefore I had to preserve it for the ages:

(Click on it for a larger view)

So thanks to CNN.com for partnering with Sphere.com to post blogs on their site.  I am not sure if Sphere even read my blog before they put it up there, but I am not too concerned with the process because I love the result.

Am I getting too pumped about something small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things?

Yes.

But lets be for real – don’t you want your blog to appear on CNN.com someday?

Click the picture for the full article.

This may sound horrible, but this is something I would expect from the US, not China.

Apparently its spelled FBI. A good friend of mine just got a rejection letter from a position he applied for at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The text of the letter reads “Thank you for applying…Your application was not referred to the selecting official for further consideration because you were not among the best qualified…”

Is it me, or was that a little harsh? I get what they are saying, and many letters have said it, but I haven’t seen it worded exactly like that. I suppose all the other rejection letters were basically saying that, but they just didn’t come out and use the language of you are among the less qualified.  Instead, most have opted for something along the lines of “we went with another candidate who is a better fit, etc.” I know it may seem like a nuance, and maybe that’s all it is, but I feel there may be a slight qualitative difference. Given my employment search as of late, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to receive such responses. Just think about the amount of time and money organizations and businesses will spend to reject you.  The resume weeding out process, emails, letters sent in snail mail on official letterhead, etc. What an investment.

I am still not sure if experiencing rejection helps decrease or increase my fear of it.

Nonetheless, these are the building blocks of life.

Traditionally in sports, the term “choke” is used to explain the inability to perform under pressure. This time around it may refer to the inability to perform under smog.

I am not sure if liking the Olympics makes me geeky, but it is what it is.

So what is my review of the Vivanno? Well the fruit (banana and mango?) blend is worthwhile.  The chocolate is pretty unexciting.  After getting a half of a days worth of calories from other chocolate looking things from Starbucks, its hard to turn that memory off and consume the chocolate banana Vivanno. But if you are into a blander chocolate drink, this ones for you.  Both are pretty filling, and they claim to be healthy (at least healthier than some other things you can whip up behind that counter of magic).  Check out the nutrition facts on your own, this isn’t a commercial – plus I am too lazy to give you the link.  OK OK, here is one.

I probably should have saved this post for next week to prolong my comeback.

So do you have to explain your absence when you come back?  Can you justify four months of being away from the blogging world? No, not really.  I had a crossroads to face: I wanted this blog to be reflective, interesting, and not really superficial and fluffy.  But writing mini articles of interest takes time, and the last four months has had me making other things a priority.  Nonetheless, since I have been accosted verbally and in online print form (click here to read, pay attention to the end of this linked post), I have come to a new stance.  I will write about nothing, like a lot of other people do, and it will be less pressure to throw something on here at random. I suppose peer pressure does still have its rightful place in society. But stay tuned, you never know when you may need to think and reflect if I put something up here worth pondering.

Thanks for the 2 faithful people who checked this at random (or was it one person checking twice a day?)

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I have a burden to communicate openly, honestly, and bluntly when necessary. I like to be a “what you see, is what you get” type of person, and I find that I am drawn to others whom exemplify similar traits. It seems like “tell it like it is” people are really hard to come by. Therefore, we spend a lot of time guessing about what people really mean by what they say or don’t say.

I realize that when you become more transparent you risk being misunderstood and being understood correctly and not receiving favorable feedback can be equally painful. With a misalignment in worldview or expectations, one can suffer losing favor with the people around you (the heat from the judgment of others burns us all at times, see figure above). Yet even with the aforementioned and unmentioned risks, I believe that transparency about who you are and what you think is the most fulfilling way to live. I do believe, however, that honest communication is not a valid excuse to be a jerk. You have feelings, and other people do to.

As a Christian and as one who feels a call to pastoral ministry, there are certain expectations that come with that role. These expectations often cause clergy and “religious” people to hide certain aspects of who they are out of fear of rejection and judgment. Yet in my life I have come to find that being transparent and “putting it all out there” is a very liberating way to live. So don’t be surprised if I bring up things that you wouldn’t expect me to. I don’t think everything I say and do is right, but some things are sure to make for a stimulating discussion. I believe transparency is helpful because admitting where you are gives occasion for life change. It’s often hard for me to determine if another person is wrong, or if I have a misinformed or uniformed perspective. I trust that dialogue with you will bring some more clarity to my life.