Fun Friday 1

Since I’ve been sadly remiss in putting out regular posts (mostly because I’m too concerned about being solid and good), I decided to do a bit more of a quick and dirty, lighter reflection on Fridays. I’ll pull this one from a Facebook post I put up last night when I got home from teaching Taekwondo classes. Of course, I offer some comment/elaboration on my brief Facebook statements.

1. A good night of Taekwondo classes is great! Elaboration: Classes were lighter than usual due to the state’s MEA days/weekend (Minnesota Education Association). Teachers get training days, schools close, and everyone takes off work and disappears somewhere. It’s like Greece. (wink)  So, the smaller groups of tykes, youth and adults (range: 5 years through 60 years old) got more personal and intensive training than usual, and some alternative training at that. As a wise Grand Master once said, “Practice is perfect.” Time spent in even moderately focused practice is great. Show up, work at it, and keep moving forward, no matter what it is. You’re ahead of everyone who stayed home.

2. I think you’re stupid if you ride a bike with no reflectors down a dark street at night, wearing dark clothes.  Elaboration: I don’t have much to say about this. However, since our state passed legislation  that requires motorized vehicles to yield for pedestrians at all times (not that it was ever OK for cars to hit people . . .), it seems more pedestrians just walk into traffic thinking that cars have to stop for them. Technically, jay walking (or whatever it’s called) is not allowed, but now people are more empowered to be idiots. Not that this was on the cyclist’s mind; I think he was just trying to be cool. Or stealing something. 🙂

3. A Wendy’s grilled chicken sandwich with a side of chili and a wild berry tea tastes pretty good, and isn’t too bad a healthy choice in the overall schema of things.  Elaboration: It was a long day. I had just finished more than three hours in the evening of teaching and leading Taekwondo classes. I was heading home and wanted to watch the Cardinal’s baseball game. I didn’t want to deal with making food at home. I made a relatively decent fast food choice. I didn’t give into getting two Big Macs, a Blizzard, or whatever was on the eye level shelf at home. Lesson: Even under adverse conditions, don’t chuck it all out the window. Do you best to make a half way decent choice on the fly.

4. If you can’t drive normally and attentively while talking on a cell phone, then you should be barred from ever being able to have a passenger in your car. It’s not that hard, lady.   Elaboration: It’s simply about focus and concentration, in my opinion.  I never understood the problem with talking on a phone while driving, when people routinely drive with kids in the car, for Pete’s sake. Yet why, when talking on a cell phone, do some people’s brains get pulled out of their ears into the phone and all sense of being able to process things like green lights, acceleration, turning (or not) in front of other vehicles and other simple and habitual matters of driving disappear? I observe two basic sets of people: one focuses intently on the call and drives like zombies; the other focuses on driving and may seem a bit spaced out or preoccupied to the person on the other end of the phone. We don’t need laws that ban cell phone talking and driving; we need campaigns that teach people to look more and listen less. If we can’t do that, then all vehicles should accommodate only a driver and no one else, and maybe even not have radios.

5. THE CARDINALS LEADING THE GIANTS 3-1 IS AWESOME!!!  Elaboration: Perhaps even more awesome: the Tigers taking down the Yankees!!!!!!!  Beyond that, watching a baseball game (which is a rather laid back experience) while staying off the computer and not looking at the phone (and while eating that Wendy’s meal) is a good and proper experience of living in the moment.