Buying a Toothbrush

04_05_reachtoothbrush_lrg.jpgFor the past 3 days I have been trying to buy a toothbrush. I lost my current toothbrush when I was on vacation. It got lost at my sister’s house after I errantly left it on the bathroom counter, in full reach of the four girls all under the age of 8. After checking to make sure it wasn’t in the toilet (most such things end up there eventually), I gave up. I wasn’t planning on using it again even if I found it.

So the first night I returned from vacation, I got the toothbrush I always use, a “Reach” brand with gum massaging bristles. I put it in my cart, I purchased it, but while in a hurry to leave the store, left it on the checkstand along with my milk.

There’s 10 bucks I would never see again.

The next time I was at the store, I put it in my cart, but somehow it never made it to the checkout. I didn’t realize this until I was back home. I even checked my receipt to make sure I wasn’t charged (again) for a toothbrush I never received.

Third time’s a charm. Last night I finally successfully acquired my toothbrush, paid for it, and brought it home. I am very excited to use it today.

Small victories.

Mitt Romney: More than just a sound bite

Tomorrow, Iowa will be first in the nation to caucus for the next President of the United States. For those who’ve been paying attention, this race is certainly one of the most interesting in my lifetime.

The Republican camp has never been so wide open, with such a dizzying array of choices. Even the Democrat party, with presumptive nominee Hillary, is in a statistical photo finish.

I have been watching this race pretty closely since November of ’06. Having tired of our current president’s less appealing attributes, I got excited early at the prospect of a new CEO for the country. It was at this time that my uncle clued me in to Mitt Romney’s possible candidacy. At first I thought it was a fluke. How was this unknown supposed to make a run at the most powerful office against national names like Guiliani and Clinton?

After careful consideration of all candidates, both Republican and Democrat, today I am announcing the official WhiteEyebrows endorsement for the primaries in ’08 is: Mitt Romney.

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Why do I support Mitt?

  1. Mitt is articulate. This was the first thing that impressed me, mostly because it is the foremost attribute lacking in our current president. Mitt is able to clearly articulate his positions, and reasons and justifications for those positions. For example, Mitt was the first (and only) candidate to offer a reason why he is against same-sex unions: he says “because marraige isn’t about adult rights, it’s about children’s rights, and that [he] thinks every child should grow up with a father and a mother.”
  2. Mitt is smart. He loves data. He loves bringing in experts, not just to tell him what to do (like Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney), but to present every angle of the issue; to argue both for an against. This allows him to make decisions based on facts, rather than “gut”.
  3. Mitt is a true fiscal conservative. As a former CEO, venture capitalist, and turnaround artist, Mitt knows how to reign in spending. I heard an anecdote that when he took over the olympics, one of his first actions was to stop all expensive, catered staff lunches and only bring in pizza when necessary. Mitt will cut spending, duplication, and waste in the federal government like no other president. In one of his debates, he points out that more federal workers will retire in the next 8 years than ever before, offering a great opportunity to cut back on all these federal overlaps.
  4. Mitt’s got the right idea on social values. Mitt has been given a hard time on this, and the opposition will paint him as a flip flopper on abortion, especially. I’m talking about something more than an issues checklist (pro-life, judicial litmus test, same-sex marraige) though.  I think Mitt understands two things when it comes to social values, that his job as President will be to 1) promote the ideal, while 2) he works within the reality of the system as it exists today.
    1. Mitt is the only candidate who has said that he believes that we have a real education problem in the country, in that our children want to have babies out of wedlock. He wants to fix that problem.
    2. When asked in an interview why he doesn’t support a constitutional amendment banning abortion, he said that he believes the best next step in the national abortion debate is to repeal Roe v. Wade and allow states to legislate for themselves. He demonstrates a clear ability to understand the current state of government, and work toward the next steps on these social issues. (unlike Ron Paul who just wants to nuke 200 years of governmental evolution in his first 180 days)
  5. Mitt is young and energetic. If we elect McCain, he will be like 107 by the time he leaves office.
  6. Mitt understands the nuances of issues. As a moderate, this is super important to me. My problem with President Bush is that he will always do what he thinks is “right,” no matter the cost to the country. In my opinion, a president must do what is best for the nation, not necessarily what he thinks is right. For example, I don’t think the best thing for this country would be to outlaw abortion. I don’t think it is right, but there are certain times when it is the best available alternative (rape, incest, life of mother). Outlawing it would be more disastrous, in my opinion.
  7. Mitt is in it to win it. In 2007, Mitt went from 0% national recognition to leading the republicans in a national poll last week. Mitt will put up the best fight against any and all of the Democrats that could be nominated. He has no relatively little baggage, and is the republican’s best hope for keeping the White House.

In a phrase, I support Mitt because there is more to him than just a sound bite. He has well thought out positions and often what he says right after the sound bite is just as important and well thought out as the sound bite itself.

See for yourself at http://www.mittromney.com/.

The Impossible Dream

don-quixote.gifHappy New Year from the WhiteEyebrows Blog!!! Isn’t it a great thing to take a moment in time to look both back and forward; back at the year we left and forward to the excitement yet to come.

Recently, during my holiday break, the course of conversation led a family member and I to start contrasting the way in which we fundamentally view life and people. He expressed to me how he typically distrusts everyone and everything, and how everyone is out to “screw him,” as he said.

It made me, for once, sit back and think about how I fundamentally approach life and people. I discovered in that moment that I have a pretty unique (but crazy) world view. I think most people out there live their lives pretty cautiously, like my brother, hoping for the best but assuming the worst of everyone and everything.

I seem to relate more with Cervantes’ Don Quixote. I have never read the book, but I thoroughly enjoy the musical Man of La Mancha, which is roughly based on the book. (So for all you Cervantes scholars out there, you’ll have to forgive me as I butcher these concepts to my own ends here today.)

In the musical, Don Quixote is a (debatably) crazy man who thinks he is a knight sent “to sally forth into the world righting all wrongs.” He gets his kicks by fighting windmills (literally).

In the course of events, he comes across the whore (hmm… not the PC term i was looking for…) Aldonza, who he renames Dulcinea, the most beautiful virgin in all the land. (a designation most of her ..ahem.. customers find quite humorous) He insists on protecting the virtue and chastity of this woman, much to her annoyance.

So, I kind of relate with Don Quixote. I’m a basically optimistic person, who doesn’t just hope good things will happen in my life, I expect them to. I expect the best from every person. I sometimes look past the glaring imperfections in others (and myself) choosing to only see what I want to see, and not necessarily what is there in reality.

By the end of the movie, Quixote, having been confronted with reality and seeing life for what it really is, becomes old, frail and weak. Before he dies, though, surrounded by his friends, he sings the most beautiful song “The Impossible Dream.” In that cathartic moment, we realize that in the course of his lunacy, he had changed the life of everyone around him. They had actually become the good people he projected onto them. Then he dies.

2007 was a doozie of a year for me. Honestly, I weathered some of my most challenging trials ever in this year. I can’t say it was a bad year though. Even though some of my Quixotian lunacy was brought abruptly down to reality, I can’t say that I’ve given up on the Impossible Dream yet. In fact, as I move into a new year, I am more ready that ever pursue that Impossible Dream.

So the question is, what is The Impossible Dream? To me, it is the expectation that everything will work out in the end, and if it hasn’t worked out yet, it’s not the end yet. It is expecting the best of each other that I mentioned earlier. I think it’s also making a difference in the life of someone else. That is the real impossible dream, that because of my life, someone else’s life can be changed. That even after my life is over, I will live on in the minds and lives of those I have touched.

So my New Year’s Resolution: to dream the Impossible Dream. No biggie.

What are yours?

Holiday Gift Idea 15 (My True Meaning of Christmas)

withchild.jpgBeing that today is Sunday, and as a Christian, my 2nd to last gift idea will be religiously themed:

Christmas, after all, is a celebration of Christ’s birth; that “the Word was made flesh,” as John wrote. It is a celebration of the great step in God’s plan for the salvation and redemption of man.

I blogged earlier this year that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of its gift-less gratitude, and in recent years I have been the “scrooge” of the family, poo-pooing the materialism and gimme attitude that seemed to accompany each holiday season. Perhaps it was because of the poverty I experience in Brazil, or maybe it was just because I couldn’t ever seem to come up with an idea for any present anyone could give me that I would actually enjoy receiving.

Today, I have changed my mind. Christmas, I have decided, would be incomplete without the gift giving. I believe that gift giving in the correct way is critical to achieving the “true spirit of Christmas.”

Why do I say this when gifts seem to be the most prevalant evidence of the “commercialism” of this season? (Which I still think is a problem.)

I have come to a realization that true gift giving is not simply a celebration of the bounty of the year. It’s not fulfilling each other’s needs and wants. It’s not being surprised or thrilled on Christmas morning. It’s not giving to charities or causes to feel better about ourselves, or get a break on the imminent tax return. It’s not about waking up early and seeing what the ‘haul’ is this year.

Gifts, at the most basic level, are tangible expressions we make one toward another. Some gifts express romance (think of the jewelry commercials), others express friendliness. Some we give in hopes to receive reciprocal gifts, and yet others we give to show our creativity or to see the look of surprise on the recipient’s face.

The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas didn’t start with the 3 wise guys who travelled from a long way hauling precious metals and spices, as many would ascribe it to. The tradition of giving begins in John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

God was the first to give a gift at Christmas time. The gift he gave was his Son. The motive behind the gift was love.

Christ then grew and fulfilled his mission. He gave the greatest gift of all, his expiating sacrifice, which inexplicably and miraculously pays for our human flaws, drawing us back to God and his perfection.

These two gifts, gifts of true love, are gifts of self.

So this year at Christmas, consider giving an extra gift; give back to God the one thing we have to give, the only thing doesn’t come from Him in the first place and is truly ours to give; your will. Give something of yourself, your time, your life over to him. He promises that ‘he who loses his life for [His] sake will find everlasting life.’

…and it’s true.

Holiday Gift Idea 14

Well, we are into the 3 final days of shopping before Christmas. I am now all done with my shopping, and I’ll be avoiding stores as much as possible between now and January 1st.

However, if you are one of the unlucky few who still have gifts left to purchase, can I make a few final suggestions:

  1. Stay away from Wal-mart at all costs.
  2. Don’t go to Wal-mart no matter what.
  3. Keep away from any store named Wal-mart.

Thank you and goodnight.

Holiday Gift Idea 13

Magic 13 is a special one.  It’s not a gift, per se.  It’s more of a concept…

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Re-gifting.

I know this can be taboo, but what else are you going to do with all the stuff you get that you don’t want?  I suppose if the person was “modern” enough to include a gift receipt, you can return it for the cash, but then when you have to turn around and find a gift for someone else, you have to put in all this thought and effort..

All that gets easier with re-gifting. Not only do you save money, and give life to sometihng you would never use or don’t care for, you also save yourself the pain and agony of having to THINK about another gift.

Dreams and Dirty Bathrooms

I had a dream last night that some major VIP came to my house and used the bathroom. I can’t even remember who it was, but I know I felt embarrassed because I haven’t cleaned my bathroom in a few weeks. So now I guess I need to put on my to do list “clean bathrooms” before I leave town tomorrow…

One time I had a dream that someone very close to me died. I woke up very sad. It was a scary, freaky, realistic dream.

Usually I have totally forgotten the dreams of the previous night by the time I exit my ‘post-waking haze,’ and definitely by the time I get out of the shower. I think most of the time that is a good thing. Many dreams I have qualify as twisted, freaky night terrors than as anything at all ‘dreamy.’

I think I need my head examined.