New Year, New You?

A new year brings new resolutions like a north wind brings cold. You are never sure how long of an impact either will ultimately have, but it seems a few days after either one, the end result looks uncannily similar to the previous conditions.
There are two days that to me, are vastly overrated by the general American public. The first is birthdays. When someone asks me on mine about how I feel now that I am a year older (btw, I'm 27, not trying to hide my age), my answer is always that I'm not a year older, I am only a day older than I was yesterday. Maybe it stems from the fact I was born so early in the morning (12:04 to be exact), that had I been born in western Nebraska instead of Omaha, my birthday would be one day earlier. The other, in case you couldn't tell, is New Year's Day.
The differences between December 31st and January 1st are so insignificant unless you work in the calendar industry. Daylight Savings Time inflicts more damage than New Year's Day. And, frankly, how many times have you written or said 2012 this year? My biggest beef with New Year's Day is the idea of resolutions. If you need a calendar based reason to change, it has been my experience that you won't have the longstanding motivation to accomplish real and lasting results. Plus, why wait until January 1st anyway? Let's say, for example, that your goal is to lose 20 lbs (a noble concept for probably 75% of America); how easy is it to take that number effective January 1st instead of December 23rd? The difference would hopefully be small, but it's probably fairly significant. Now, let's consider an actual example of how pathetic a one day difference makes. If the so-called "fiscal cliff" bill were passed December 31st, the bill would have increased taxes and decreased spending. However, since neither chamber passed the bill until January 1st, the bill cut taxes and increased spending. THE RESULT WAS IDENTICAL, but the spin doctors (or spin lawyers) in Washington love nothing more than to go to their constituencies saying they accomplished the latter. 1 day...overrated.
Don't assume that I think resolutions made during the calendar year transition is fruitless, I'm just advocating for a firmer foundation for change. The goal of this post is twofold: 1) reevaluate motives to work towards attaining sustainable improvement, and 2) reinvigorate any past resolve to make effectual change and improvement more frequently and with better reasoning than annually.
Here is this week's quotation: "The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others, but warm them as well" - Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926 - 2004)

Do you really need that...

One of the most difficult decisions 21st century Americans have to make is distinguishing between a need and a want. For example, 20 years ago, cell phones were high-class status symbols, and the size of a couple bricks. My first car actually had a car phone in it...but I won't mention the car was 13 years old when I got it. Nowadays, try going to the airport to pick someone up without one. A very obvious want quickly turned into a legitimate need. How about another example...Health Insurance. Say what you want about health care costs and proposed "solutions," no one today can correctly argue against the need for protection against life-alteringly high health bills. What was health insurance like 100 years ago...I won't speculate because I have no idea. 
However, there are plenty of things out there that marketers want you to think are needed, whether for convenience, fashion, "wow factor," or any other of a myriad of reasons that simply are not needs, they are wants. I have no profound advice on distinguishing between the two, not because I have no idea, but because I don't know anyone's circumstances (heck, I barely know my own). Do you need a computer? probably. Do you need a $3500 gaming computer? Probably not. Do you need nightly food? Of course. Do you need a nightly steak dinner? Probably not. Those are dichotomous examples I know, but I also understand there are people out there who can't even reach the bottom of what most of us consider bare necessities.
This is where philanthropy steps in. The old adage "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for life" plays an important role. Helping people out is one of the most gratifying experiences out there, especially when it is openly appreciated. Carrying people throughout their lives, however, is one of the most detrimental.
The goal of this post is not to say that people don't need help, or that deserving individuals shouldn't receive help, but that we can all use a little inventory check on our "need" list to see if some of those items belong on our "want" list. Here is today's quotation, attributed to Thomas Jefferson: "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Most things are overrated...

One of the most common sayings out there is "the grass is always greener on the other side," in other words, regardless of circumstances, something else always has the appearance of superiority. In the pursuit of happiness, a level of gratitude and appreciation will help focus thoughts and directives towards what we possess, not what we don't. The public perception will always push us to "keep up with the Joneses," but since the Jones family never runs out of money (or even worse, credit cards), it is all too easy to get wrapped up in warped perceptions of false facades of happiness created by the fleeting satisfaction of having the latest and greatest gadget, car, style, or fashion. A fundamental economic principle is that people have unlimited wants but limited resources. Tomorrow's post will expand a little more on this idea. Without further delay here is today's quotation. My apologies to whoever had this as their blogging signature, since I can't give you full credit (anyone who knows me would know that I agree whole-heartedly with half this statement, and vehemently disagree with the other half):

"The only two things in life that are never overrated are opening a brand new Apple device and lemon meringue pie"

A Brief Introduction...

After several delays, I have finally started to act upon what has been recommended to me by several friends and acquaintances...starting a blog full of observations I share with people when the appropriate occasion arises. First in order though, is, as the title of this post says, a brief introduction. I believe that anonymity is killing the internet (anyone can be brash behind the screen name redraider51180), so I will limit hiding behind any veils. I work for the city of Houston in the Public Works & Engineering Department, and I make fun of city bureaucracies and ironies in names just as often as the next guy. My goal is to make this a blog I update daily, with a weekly post for longer stories. Undoubtedly, there will be posts not everyone agrees with or likes, but my only plea is that you don't discard the proverbial baby with the bathwater, take and use what you like, ignore what you don't. With all that being said, here is today's thought:

People have their funny and clever ways of simplifying happiness and success into a handful of rules. For Example: 1) Don't sweat the small stuff, 2) It's all small stuff; or 1) Don't tell everything you know. Mine are a little more inclusive, yet just as vague, learned from a church leader while I was a teenager.

1. Be where you are supposed to be

2. Do what you are supposed to do

I have found that following these two rules prevents lots of hardships, and also promotes opportunities. Regardless of personal circumstances, these two rules can act as a simple, easy to remember guide.

This statement is in no way to be construed as a disclaimer