Ok, now if you were not [...]]]> Read the following using the typical sound that that letter usually makes.  For ‘i’, use the ‘ee’ sound, as in feet.Ai hav en aidea.  Lets updeit the inglesh leingwag so speleng matches the wei the words saund.  Thes wuld meik lerneng and ticheng inglesh so much izier.  Agrid?

Ok, now if you were not able to read that, here is what I wrote in the current, wacked-out, English language.

I have an idea.  Lets update the English language so spelling matches the way the words sound.  This would make learning and teaching English so much easier.  Agreed?

If you think about it, we are already changing the current English language due to communication media like cell phones, email, and instant messaging.  So now would be a great time to implement a complete overhaul of this bloated language that has more exceptions than I could ever count.

Sadly, this is something that I think about everyday at school while correcting a student’s spelling mistake.

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

I feel that a lot of people do not enjoy their lives. They focus on all of the bad things in their life or the world and miss all of the great stuff that happens around them. Or, they just seem to have lost all passion for life.

I feel [...]]]> What do you see?

I feel that a lot of people do not enjoy their lives. They focus on all of the bad things in their life or the world and miss all of the great stuff that happens around them. Or, they just seem to have lost all passion for life.

I feel that I can say this because I float between the items listed above often and this experience has taught me to see this occurring in others. So yes, there are times when I am down and out, but I do my best to look at the positive side or to figure out what I can do to make a situation better. I do realize that change is possible and I am not afraid to make a change. It might take me a bit of work to build up the courage to do it, but I am going to do it.

When I look at others, I get the impression that they a) are not aware of their state of mind b) have given up c) are waiting for something to happen that will supposedly fix the situation or d) are aware of their unhappiness but feel like they do not have the power to change.

Now, I know that it is not always easy to make a change. You may have a family, you may be taking care of other people, you may have a financial hardship, you may be afraid that if you quit your job you will not be able to find another, or any other worthy reasons.

But here’s the thing. This is your life and it is up to you how you live it. Regardless of whether or not there is an afterlife, or reincarnation or nothing at all, we are here right now and we should enjoy the journey as much as possible. We have no idea how long the ride is going to last so why waste it doing stuff that makes you unhappy, angry, miserable and/or unhealthy.

I have read stories of people that have worked all of their lives to save up for retirement to travel and do other fun stuff. But then, sometime shortly before or after retirement, something bad happens to them. Their retirement money disappears in a financial meltdown, they get severely sick, they have a seizure, they have a heart attack and/or they die. They worked their whole life so they could enjoy it later and then never got the chance to enjoy it. How sad is that.

I keep this thought in the back of my head all of the time and I use it to help determine my actions. If someone asks me to go out but I am exhausted, should I go anyway? There is a job overseas, but I will not be able to see my family or friends for a long time, should I go? I am in a job that anyone with computer knowledge could do, should I stay in this job? Every time I spend time with this person, I am not happy so should I continue to hang out with them? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

I read something a couple years ago that was interesting. It is a test to do with yourself. Stand in front of a mirror and stare at yourself. Look yourself in the eyes. Keep looking. Can you look at yourself for longer than 10 seconds? 30 seconds? A minute? More? How do you feel? What do you see? Do you smile and laugh? Do you frown or cry? Whatever, the reaction, take time to figure out why you had that reaction and what you can do to like what you see in the mirror the next time you do this.

I did some searching for writings about happiness and found a few little articles that had a good insight into happiness.

• Look inside to find happiness:

  The key to finding happiness is to understand that happiness is a choice and not the result. If happiness can be found as the result of an acquisition, meeting a goal, or having anything, then a person’s happiness will always be subject to something else.

• Five things happy people do:

  Cobbled from the Greek eu (“good”) and daimon (“spirit” or “deity”), eudaimonia means striving toward excellence based on one’s unique talents and potential—Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life. In his time, the Greeks believed that each child was blessed at birth with a personal daimon embodying the highest possible expression of his or her nature.

• What it takes to be happy:

  Who are the happiest people in the world? Within the past couple of years a United Nations study announced that Nigerians were, as a people, the happiest. This despite poverty, sectarian strife and tribal animosities in the oil-rich African nation.

  They think happiness. They act happiness. They believe in happiness. They teach happiness as a way of life to their children. They value the happy times of their lives.

A [...]]]> About this time last year as I was getting ready to leave for Portland and my year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA member, I was staying at Jason and Kim’s house. Now, as I am getting ready to leave to go to the Republic of Georgia, I am back at their house.

A few days before I left last year, their water heater broke and water went everywhere in the garage. Can you guess where this is going? So today I get a notice from the City of Tempe about my townhouse and that they noticed I used an exorbitant (my word, not theirs) amount of water compared to last month. What? The place is empty right now. Oh crap!

I go online and check out my bill. Yep, there is a prob. The bill is over 10 times what I paid the previous month. Well, I have been wanting to go visit my place this week so I guess now is a good time.

I get there and check all the fixtures, toilets, dish washer, water heater, showers and then I double check the water heater. I check out the backyard to see if someone forgot to turn off the hose, but everything looks ok. Well, so far so good – no major destruction is visible to the naked eye.

I give Tony a call to see if he knew of anything. He said that when he recently checked out the place the toilet handle was stuck up and water was flowing. Ok, problem found. I try with the handle and sure enough it does not like to fall down. After some deep meditation (i.e., jiggling and moving stuff), I move the chain that connects the handle to the stopper and try again. It works. I try again just to make sure. Still good. I wait 10 minutes and try again. Still ok.

Cool, now I just need to pay that damn bill.

While I am at it, I should probably start saving up for whatever is going to happen next August.