The Preemptive Lecture

If you've ever been a child, (and I suspect you have), you've been subjected to the preemptive lecture. This is the lecture that precedes you getting the keys to the car for the first time. It might happen every time you get the car - it depends on who you and your parents are. You also get the preemptive lecture before you go off to school, or your parents leave you alone in the house for the first time. I don't know anyone who likes being the recipient of this lecture. I'm not saying they're wrong or that they're not needed, but if you know what is going to be said, and agree with it and then have to hear it, it can be very annoying.

Well, here's something else that's annoying. Let's say you're a homeowner who religiously pays your mortgage. As a matter of fact, the mortgage is the only debt you have and your household budget balances to the point where you sometimes even have money to put away. Then along comes your boss who of course has a larger salary than you and a bigger house, but he doesn't have a budget that works and is "in debt up to his eyeballs." (To quote one of my favorite commercials of all time). He knows times are tight, and he has decided to give you some additional funds to help with what debt you have or perhaps for some additional expenses that have suddenly come your way. But as he holds the check out to you, he begins telling you how important it is that you spend this money wisely. "There should be no luxury items. I don't want to come over for dinner one night and see an addition on your house or a new swimming pool in the back yard! That's not what this money is for and I expect you to use it wisely!" After his rant, you're now annoyed for three reasons: For one, you know this money isn't for luxury items so you didn't need him to tell you this. Second, he's done such a poor job of spending his larger salary that he's in more trouble than you. And third, he handed the check to you in front of all of your associates as well as some of your customers. This last piece embarrassed you too, because none of them realize that you've actually been responsible in the past, and yet the implication is that you wouldn't be responsible for this money either.

Well, as much as I don't want to make political statements on my blog, I have to post this. This is essentially what the current administration did with state officials yesterday. The President and Vice President have been part of the federal government since this economic crisis began. No, they weren't the executives when it occurred, but they were in the majority in the legislature during this time, so they're not excused from the mess. Furthermore, the States seem to have in place more stringent measures to keep spending under control. I'm not saying the states are perfect, but yesterday, publicly, the President and Vice President gave their lecture to state officials. What's more, the president did something similar with the mayors of major cities last month. I'm not saying this shouldn't be said. I'm saying it should be said without the press present or with more tact if in public. Many of these states have been more responsible than the federal government.

Pair o' Dime Props: Jackie Andrade

A couple of weeks ago I was in a Faculty Council meeting here at the university. The agenda for this meeting included a briefing from the Chancellor, the Provost as well as the President of the Faculty. Since I am administrative staff, I am considered a guest of the meeting and I sit in the very back; sort of like a second class citizen. Well, as is often the case with these things, they tend to go on for some time. So I was back there with my paper, drawing away. Loops, boxes, faces, sometimes even the back of someone's head. It looks terrible, but it's what I do. Finally, one of my associates leaned over and whispered, "What is this, Art 101?" As for the quality of my drawing, I think she gave me too much credit, but more importantly, she caught me doodling. Immediately, I had that same wave of shame come over me that has happened times before. I remember being in church about 10 years ago, when during the message, my bible study leader who was a row in front of me looked back at me while I was busy illustrating and scowled. Seriously, I felt like I was about 7. I shamefully covered my sketches and tried to focus on the pastor. However, sitting still staring at a speaker doesn't help me very much. What a slacker I was!

So here's my confession: I doodle. Yes, I use an actual pen and paper and draw nonsensical shapes, and scribbles. If I'm daring I may try to draw someone's face. I tend to cover up what I'm doing when I can, but I'm frequently found out. You can sometimes make daydreaming look like you're listening, but it's hard to keep doodling a secret.

Well about a week ago, I was in a meeting again with the same associate mentioned above. This time I was asking her questions and essentially writing down my action items from the meeting. At the end I looked at my notes, which could be found with asterisks, arrows, and other meaningless scribbles and laughed. I showed her the page and mentioned the "Art 101" statement she had made before. She went on to tell me that she had read an article talking about how doodling isn't really a bad thing. She didn't remember the reference so I went and did a doodle google. (Yeah, I know…I couldn't resist). Here is a sample of what I had found. Thanks to the research of Jackie Andrade, it appears by doodling, one is able to retain more information than those who look like they're listening! All of this time, people were looking down their nose at me thinking, "How pathetic! A grown man can't even pay attention," while I was busy retaining the information they were missing while scoffing at me! Ha! I believe I may have to carry around a few copies of the actual abstract of the article so that I can pass them out to anyone who judges my scribblings as juvenile!

So thank you Dr. Andrade, for vindicating my years of drawing while listening.

NOTE: The doodle above is not mine but belongs to a friend who is quite the sketcher! If you click on the picture, you can see some much more impressive drawings.

Also, here is a link regarding this from Morning Edition as well.

Speaking of Hypocrisy

Since I just recently posted on hypocrisy, I just had to bring an observation from my drive in to work this morning. I try not to be overtly negative in my posts, but this morning I can't help myself. While traveling in to work this morning, A Ford Focus chose to make a U-turn and cut me and one other driver off on a large highway. The back of the car had a specialized "FP" license plate. (Meaning the owner paid extra money for the plate in support of the Fraternal Order of Police and are an active member of this organization). They also had a bumper sticker that said, "Have You Thanked a Police Officer Today?" So, after cutting us off, I couldn't help but notice as I drove in the lane next to the driver she had a cell phone in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. In case you're wondering, North Carolina does indeed have a cell phone law where you must use a hands free device while driving. Ha! Interesting. Well, it get's a little "better." Just before turning into the university, I watched as this driver, while still talking on the phone, flicked her cigarette butt out the window! Amazing! She obviously doesn't think cigarette butts are litter too. Hmmmm. Cutting off drivers traveling at high speeds while talking without a "hands free" on her cell phone and later throwing litter out the window. Too bad there wasn't a police officer nearby. I'm sure if she were cited, she would have thanked him for it.

The best I could do is grab the license plate and fill out this form. She'll get a letter asking her to stop.