last day of 2010

 Ok, here it is, the last day of 2010.  It is Clear and Cold outside this morning; a rime of frost coats the cars in the lot downstairs.  It’s 27 degrees F – below zero C.

Wow, what a year that was.  S t r e s s f u l.

This summer, when K* was visiting from Japan, this diary had had 98,000 page views.  I bet her I’d make 100,000 before the end of the year… and I guess I won that bet, or maybe lost it; I hit 100,000 page views by Halloween.

In fact, sitemeter is at 104,555 – more than 7,000 page views since the first week of September.

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I didn’t know quitting a bad job would screw Unemployment for me; most of the year I had a part-time job part of the week and lived off of Unemployment the rest of the week.  The part-time job went bad and I quit/got fired and that screwed the pooch for Unemployment.

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This is K*’s message for New Year’s:

Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers…
 
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in

a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front

of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large

and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
 
He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the

jar.. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas

between the golf balls.
 
 
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of

course, the sand filled up everything else.
 
 
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a

unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured

the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between

the sand.
 

The students laughed.  ‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided,

‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things—your family, your children, your

health, your friends and your favorite passions—and if everything else was

lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and

your car. The sand is everything else—the small stuff.
 
 

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the

pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have

room for the things that are important to you. 

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children.

Spend time with your parents.

Visit with grandparents.

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another 18.
 

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care

of the golf balls first—the things that really matter..
 

Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.
 

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer

represented.
 

The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows

you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a

couple of Beers with a friend.

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID!
 

LIFE ISN’T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS……
……IT’S LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Like Sheryl Crowe says in one of her songs:  It’s not getting what you what, it’s wanting what you’ve got.

 

 

*****