8 December 2006
Oh, It’s the Friday 5, 5, 5, 5…

Filed under five

(I just made that song up right now.)

Here’s this week’s Friday 5, from the fabulous folks at Friday5.org.

1. In what way is today better than yesterday?
   Yesterday I was slightly stressed-out about school. Today, I’m slightly less so.
2. In what way is this year better than last year?
   They’ve both been really, really bad years for me, but to keep it positive, this year I feel quite a bit more on top of things in my life.
3. In what way are you better than you were six months ago?
   I’m making much healthier choices at the table than I was before summer vacation. Try to make sure I have one healthy meal (at least) per day, and am eating lots and lots and lots of fruit.
4. Besides technology (because that’s so easy), what’s better about the world today than the world you grew up in?
   Oh, I know I’ll take some heat for this, but the ubiquitousness of Starbucks cafes (and some of its ilk) means people have places to go, to hang out, to converse, and to be alone, even, out in public, out in neighborhoods without having to go to bars. People want that: It’s why video rentals will never kill the movie theaters and why convenience food of ANY quality will never kill restaurants. Even when we wish to be alone, we often desire to be so in a public place, where we are part of a community, even if we don’t know the names of its members. Likewise, the while the rise of the big-box bookstores has meant the demise of the neighborhood bookstore, it has brought more books in a more comfortable environment to the masses, and that’s a good thing. People still think of books as places to get information, and they can count on finding something relevant at Borders or Barnes & Noble. Anything that encourages regular people to pick up books is a good, good thing.
5. In what way will you make (or have you made) someone else’s day better, today?
   I consider my job a daily opportunity to make someone’s day better, just by my doing it, but I think I’ll think of something outside the ordinary. I think today I’ll make a donation to a person I only peripherally know online: He lost his wife unexpectedly and has a daughter to take care of, and one of the online communties I participate in has set up a special fund in a bank in Europe (the guy lives in Germany) as a gesture of love. I don’t even know the guy, but he’s an enormous fan of one of my favorite musicians and he’s my age. I can’t give very much, but I’ll give something.

2006-12-08  ::  me