The Bubble

The_bubble

I made a stop at the grocery store today and as I left I saw one of those toys in the bubble vending machines. I got one as a laugh but it reminded me how when you're a kid that bubble holds so much.  You anticipate how great the toy will be, how it's going to complete you in some unnamed way that you don't quite understand yet. Then, you open it.

Sometimes you're merely disappointed. You didn't get the one you wanted, the quality kind of sucks, the toy breaks. Your mom never lets you get two in one trip.

Other times, though you have this ennui that you can't quite explain.  Sure the toy sucks, but what is still in the machine will rock your world. If you could only keep getting into those bubbles, it's all there for you to get at.  It only costs a quarter.

A lot of people seem to live their lives like this. They pour their hopes into their own bubble, expecting it to pay out in some grand way. 

The point? We all get caught up in dumb crap all the time. Be it work, petty politics in our little sphere, things outside our control. The best thing we can teach our kids is to look in the little bubble, realize it sucks, and pay attention to the cool, important stuff. Use the grocery trip to ask your mom to make those pancakes you really, really like. It's a better use of energy.

Creative Surplus?

I've read a few ideas online that there is a creative or cognitive surplus going around. The idea (my poor synopsis) is that for years the sitcom has acted as a kind of lobotomy and as television dies, people are getting back brain power. The internet is a great place to pour that brain power and we're now reading, thinking, writing. In theory it sounds all fine and dandy, but I have one question: where's my surplus? As I've gotten older I've felt like the surplus I had in my 20s is vanishing. In my 20s I had time to read, think, write (though no where to publish), and do things.  I had ideas.  I had time, despite my job.  It was like the yoke of school thrown off was enough to free up the world.

Now in my 30s, I feel that the surplus is gone. I'm thrilled to watch 90 minutes of television in a day (sometimes I'm happy with 60). In my 20s I watched much more television. I watched enough television to make the claim (for 2-3 seasons at least) that I'd seen one episode of every show offered by the networks and could discuss the plot with people. Forget reading, a little before bed seems like a major victory.  

My take on this?  The surplus that many are seeing? Young people coming out of school with lots of free time. The difference? We're hearing from these Gen Y kids because they have a medium for broadcasting. I don't think as a society (and my incredibly scientific sample of one) that we have this great surplus of brain time that didn't previously exist. I suspect that the people who have it now have always had it.  We're just hearing from them now. Every. Single. Thought. 

Writing

Pencils

I've been thinking about writing more. When I say that, I don't mean that I'm considering putting the pen to page more. I mean that I've been thinking about the act of writing more, about writers, about books and magazines and blogs and words. Surprisingly, as part of all of this I noticed that I'm using pens less. I don't know if I can chalk it up to anything but I've been using pencils more and more on a daily basis. I'm not erasing more, I'm enjoying how they feel in my hand. I've liked how they mark a page and change as you use them more. Yesterday I wrote about media moving to new delivery channels, residing online. Yet today I'm feeling romantic about the pencil.