Be aware of your surroundings
Even as a blogger I do value the MSM (main stream media*)for reporting on things beyond my general vicinity and digging deeper on things that are going on around me, but lately I think MSM has lost its ever loving mind. The message I've been getting is that nobody getting lent any money, my bank is going to go bust, and the world as we know it is going to end.Take a deep breath and try to match that with what you can ascertain yourself, match that with what is going on around you. I know Poets and Bustboys just opened up a location this week near the Shiney Swanky Safeway, a Safeway mind you with a nut bar, a counter just for nuts. That does not signal a bad economy. Yes, there are foreclosures and short sales on my street. However, several of them involve investors, and there are many more failed flips several blocks around. Their stupidity, bad judgement, and poor cash flow makes me as sympathetic to them as I am to SUV drivers who are suffering due to the high cost of gas.
My bank, unless they are lying to me, is not going to shut down. I belong to a credit union. A boring, fuddy duddy, pain in the butt to get to, non-sub-prime credit union. And the credit union is still offering car, boat, student and house loans, as well as Wachovia, were I keep my food/mad money allowance. When the Wachovia branch at Dunbar and Penn Quarter shut down or cut back, then I'll be concerned. I also own some shares of Wachovia, but their value is pretty much the equivalent of dinner for two at Equinox.
I also have stocks (also the equivalent of dinner for two at a good restaurant, tax, tip and wine included) in Pepco and Washington Gas. I'll worry about them if I can't have lights and there is no heat this winter. And we all have no light or heat then the price of the stocks are the least of our worries.
What of development in Shaw? Well considering all other sorts of other things can stall that, like the developer saying the community can't agree on what design of ugly the library should be, being one example. Or a crazed puppet-regime ANC, throwing a wrench in the works. Or Jemal doesn't feel like it. Or insane taxes on an arts venue.
Take a deep breath. Take a good look at your surroundings. Take off your ipod buds and hear what's going around you, on your street, in the store as you shop. Get off the damned phone and be observant, factor in that people are still driving (like maniacs), they are still fixing up their yards, or still ignoring them like before. People are still walking around, going out, still illegally parking, still doing stuff that does not signal the end of the world.
If you are aware of your surroundings not only do you reduce your risk of being a crime victim, you also may keep yourself sane.
*If I fall into the jargon abrev. trap bring my attention to it.
posted by Mari @ 26.9.08
7 Comments:
Conversely, in suburban Detroit, a friend of my mother's has made it her mission to rescue abandoned pets in abandoned homes.
People are walking away from their homes in large numbers, moving out of state in search of employment, and leaving their pets behind.
A friend from high school did just that; packed what belongings would fit into his car (along with his wife and kids), left his house keys on the kitchen counter, and drove away, heading to Florida. He and his wife are likely to find service sector (waitress, auto mechanic) jobs there, at the very least. Not so in Michigan.
Your friend's mother is doing a very good thing. It undermines the statement people make about their pets being a part of the family. You don't abandon your grandma.
Anyway, I think the point I was trying to get was that MSM can be drama queens. I don't deny that bad stuff happens. However, don't ignore the information that helps you judge the degree of the bad, which is why I'm focusing on the local. Keeping it local we have a better clue to some of the back-story. If people are abandoning homes in the DC metro area but most of those homes were in Woodbridge, that's a whole different story than if those homes were in Rockville, or Langley Park, or NE DC. If people were abandoning Woodbridge, VA in droves I'd not worry.
do you really mean "men who have sex with men" ? I guessed this based on the drama queens comment but not sure if that is what you were talking about?
No. See definition of drama queen.
What erica says is true. I work with ASPCA and AVMA people and it's a bit of a problem. When you're in foreclosure, the pets needs come second, 5th or even unnoticed.
MSM: Mainstream media, in this case, not Men who have Sex with Men.
The other day I saw a man in my alley with a giant rainbow afro wig, and big giant sunglasses. He somewhat resembled George Clinton. I was sure it was a sign that the end is near.
Thanks, Jim. You get free homemade pudding, I've been making batches of it all week. And you've spotted a gentleman called Hollywood, pronounced HOLLYwuuuud.
I have never heard that abbreviation used for "main stream media" -- some readers were raising their eyebrows!
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