not enough time

Every time a variation of this phrase escapes my lips, I think I'm making an excuse. Everyone has the ability to choose those things that are most important to them. Then dedicating the time to it is something they figure out a way to do.

I love the idea of blogging, journalling, and writing creatively. The truth of the matter is, however, that there are other things that I have consciously decided are a better use of my time.

Working my job not only helps to pay all our living expenses, it also -- almost more importantly -- provides our health insurance. In my impetuous youth, that was something I didn't give high priority. So, leaving a stable job with that particular perk to move 'cross country didn't worry me. Now, I'm older (it's 14 years this month since my relocation adventure). I've seen first-hand how health insurance can prevent bankruptcy. And I'm not the only one to think about anymore.

That's just one example. There are others. The point is that I have a cyclical understanding that prioritization is a reality, a necessity. I must abnegate my dreams, and simply be thankful for a wonderful family, a good job, and a safe place to live. For their maintenance is not simple at all. It requires an allocation of time. Less important things mustn't threaten that.

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Oftentimes during my morning routine, lunch at my desk, or in other bits of time, I read a variety of information sources online. The New York Times is my favorite, followed closely by MSNBC.com, CNN.com, and NPR.org. There are articles and stories that intrigue me enough that I email them to myself with a reminder to add it to my blog. Well, as of today, there are 44 such reminders sitting in my box, waiting. I rarely make the time to add them here.

In the interest of respecting my own wishes, and with the above-mentioned realization that my priorities lie elsewhere, here is a small list of the topics I've hoped to blog in the past couple months.

• A cute blogging cartoon
• A nice tribute to Rotary International, an organization near and dear to my heart. I wish I had done this sooner, so the whole text of the article would be available for free. It has gone to "archive" status and requires payment to read in full.
• An article that supports my long-standing argument that the speed limit should be reduced to 55 MPH (I remember the two great reasons it was first reduced in the late 70's -- it saves lives, and it saves gas. Doesn't anyone else remember?)
• More ideas on how to conserve energy resources, oil in particular (Americans could save 50 billion gallons of gas a year by switching to hybrid vehicles)
• Blogger has its own blog. How cool is that?! I have to say that I love Google. And I'm not just kissing up because they host my blog. Their search engine, their maps, their free email, their philosophy, their doodles, everything.
• Stress and short-term memory (now I have an excuse)
• How technology can distract you from doing other... hey, what's that shiny website over there?
• The obsession with attractiveness (archive)
• More on fat hysteria (striking note: a study discovered that "overweight" workers are the recipients of more negative attitudes than ex-felons or ex-mental patients)
• More fat hysteria
• Still more fat hysteria (archive)
• The real reason behind fat hysteria
• More of the real reason behind fat hysteria ($46,000,000,000 spent annually in the U.S. alone on dieting programs and products that historically have a 95% failure rate within 5 years)
• Fat hysteria strikes again
• And again
• And again (no, that's not a duplicate of the last bullet)
• An organization striking out against fat hysteria (note: despite its best intentions, $600K isn't going to make a dent in the $46 billion diet industry, but I appreciate your attempt!)

There certainly seems to be a thread that connects the last ten points there. I really should prioritize the time so that I can craft a thoughtful, intelligent, and comprehensive essay on my beliefs where this topic is concerned. I touched only briefly on it in my entry a couple weeks ago, and there is more complexity to my opinion than that.

I was going to include a brief version of it here, but after about 10 bullet points, I decided that I simply can't do it justice. So, it will have to wait for another day. Probably some time in the future when I have vacation, so I can really spend a couple days on it.

To wit. I started this entry over five hours ago. Admittedly, I was distracted a couple times (see Point #7 above), but a significant portion of the time has been spent organizing bits and pieces and thoughts and ideas to create this mish-mash of a blog entry. Imagine what I could do if I dedicated all my time to it. Scary thought, eh?

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Post script regarding the articles that I linked above. There are four reasons I send myself these articles. [1] I agree with the content. [2] I disagree with the content, and want to explain why. [3] I learned something new from the content. [4] They are humorous (see Point #1).

It is important to note that a number of the articles I linked above fall into Reason [2]. It will be in my aforementioned essay that I will take the time to explain why I disagree. Please take into consideration when reading any of the linked articles that their inclusion in no way indicates my endorsement of the topic.