Tubely is the Devil

After working at my computer doing mundane tasks for most of the afternoon, I received an email from a good friend. It was an invitation to be her friend on Tubely. Normally I don't click on those sort of things without doing at least a little research first. I had never heard of Tubely.com, but, I was tired, and my scam radar was down. She is such a good friend, and I would never want her to feel "reject"ed. I did the unspeakable - I clicked "yes"! Shocking, but none the less true!

They got me. The initial form required all sorts of personal data. I did the usual and left those areas blank. When they insisted these fields be completed before proceeding, I gave them fake data. When that didn't work (How do they know my phone number isn't 808-888-8888 and that I don't live on blank St.?? I could be that lucky. I really could!), my radar finally kicked in and I started looking for the chicken switch. I needed out of this line BEFORE the roller coaster took off!

The more I clicked, the deeper I plunged into the Tubely mayhem. I still don't know for sure what they are all about, but they certainly know how to program an infinity loop of chaos! I eventually found the escape hatch and canceled my account. Interestingly, it took at least twice as many steps to cancel as it did to sign up. I wasn't even sure I HAD signed up, since I never completely, or correctly filled out their stupid form.

Still dizzy from all the looping, I went back to my work. My inbox started filing up with Tubely invites - from myself, to myself. Apparently, somewhere along that journey the lovely dears at Tubely had hijacked my contact list. I use gmail, which like an elephant, never forgets a contact. Anyone I have ever emailed, or has emailed me, in the last 6 years got an email this afternoon asking if they wanted to be Wendy Minks friend on Tubely. Even the customer service dudes at Audible got that email.

I sure hope that no one was as blinded as I was and actually clicked "yes". Since I deleted my Tubely account, I am not sure what will happen if someone does, other than Tubely will undoubtedly ask for all of their deeply personal data and immediately start sending emails to all of their contacts.

Needless to say, I was most displeased. How totally embarrassing that every business contact for the last 6 years now thinks I want to be their friend on this stupid site. I wanted to send those jerks an email and let them know just what I thought of their business practices. The "contact us" tab took me to a reset password page. Apparently these geniuses think that the only reason anyone would want to contact them is to reset their password.

I found the email they sent me asking if I was sure that I wanted to delete my account for the umpteenth time, and hit reply. It probably goes into a giant spam folder, never to be seen by human eyes, but I sent it anyway. In that email I promised that I would tell all of my friends what I thought of their site, and encourage them not to sign up.


So .... I wrote this post, and I am telling all the world just what I think of Tubely. I hereby apologize to all of my contacts, everyone I ever emailed, or who ever emailed me, for letting the Devil, I mean Tubely, send you an email this afternoon. I sincerely hope that none of you liked me enough to go against your better judgment and click "yes", that you would be my friend. If you did, bless you for your kindness. If you are now in my shoes, feel free to pass this message on to your contact list. The madness has to stop somewhere!

NOTE: 11/1/2009 - If you are looking for the opt out button on Tubely, you won't find it. I was finally able to delete my account by going to the "help" tab, "FAQ's" and clicking on the "How do I delete my Tubely Account" link. They will then send you an email to confirm that you do indeed wish to cancel your account. Good Luck!

Wendy Minks has invited you to Tubely

	Wendy Minks wants to be your friend
WendyMinks 41/F/Ewa Beach United States	Do you want to add Wendy Minks to your friends network ? Accept Reject

Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Terms and Conditions Here is a funny one - Tubely auto sent an invite to my blogger email. This was auto posted to my blog within seconds! Hilarious!

Strive vs. Struggle

A man is struggling to climb a mountain. Each step on the path is steep and rocky. His footing is unsure, sometimes he slides a little sideways, or even backwards, yet he labors onward. The higher he gets, the more ragged his breathing, as each lungful has less and less oxygen. His face is hard with concentration, and grimaced bracing for the pain of the next step, the next breath. Ever onward, ever pushing, ever climbing, ever suffering in the struggle to reach the top. When he arrives his body is spent, feet swollen, muscles aching, head pounding, exhausted, he collapses to the barren ground, gasping for air.

Our journey through life can be a struggle. It can be just like this man climbing the mountain, full of hard effort, set backs, pain, and finally achievement of our goals by the sheer force of our will to succeed. We can set our foot on the rocky path, and steel our hearts for the long, hard journey ahead, knowing it will be difficult and full of adversity. At the end of our days our bodies and souls are broken and spent, full of the scars of our struggle, diseased and in pain collapsing into death, hoping for rest in the next life.

On the other side of that same mountain is a man striving to climb the mountain. He has the same goal - to reach the summit. His path is equally as steep and the journey is long. He has invited his friends along, and they talk as they climb. At the most treacherous peak, he slips on the loose rocks and falls. His friends help him to his feet, placing him back on the safe path. They continue to strive onward, marveling at the beautiful vistas only visible from that altitude. As the air thins, the talking dwindles and the walking slows, but upward they strive. Breathing deeply, relaxing into the effort, letting their bodies set the pace. Going slowly they notice the rocks, before they trip. He is aware of the details of the great beauty all around, the plants the trees, the flowers and the rocks. As the man reaches the summit, he stands arm in arm with his friends, smiling into the warmth of the sun, surrounded by the majesty of all that lies below.

Our journey through life does not have to be a struggle. We can instead choose to strive for success with a smile on our face and loved ones at our side, enjoying the journey. Anticipate the joy and the beauty, rather than the pain and the difficulty. Aim high and strive with all your might to get there. But get there happy, and whole, surrounded by those you love.

"When we strive to become better than we were, everything around us becomes better too."
"When we love we always become better than we are."
Paulo Coelho, "The Alchemist"

The Quest

Much of the conversation of life is negative. TV is predominately negative, dramas about murder, news about natural disasters, crime, discussions about politics and the economy. It doesn't matter what your opinion is, or political position, the presentation of the information generally comes from a negative perspective. Even pure entertainment like reality shows focus on conflict, scandal, winners and losers.

TV and other forms of media are within our ability to control. All we have to do is switch the power off, or change the channel. Our daily personal interactions are a different matter.

Tomorrow, pay attention to all of the conversations you have from the moment you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Many of you will find that they are based in a negative thought or belief. Even this blog, in an attempt to stem the tide of negativity, is presenting the issue in a negative manner. I'm just not sure how else to explain it.

Hence the Quest, to change my daily conversations so they are mostly positive and eliminate as much negative as possible from life. Every time a horror story is retold, we give our time and attention to that negative energy. By so doing, we give it power to hurt us again. Sharing our unhappiness does not lift the burden, it spreads it.

Here is my plan:

1. Stop telling horror stories. No more retelling of how bad the accident was, or how rude the clerk was, or how terrible this thing or that was.

2. Listen more and talk less.

3. Do not gossip or listen to gossip.

4. Control my self talk. You know, that voice in your head that talks to you all day long, that tells you you are stupid when you make a mistake, or berates you when you are rushing and running late for not being better organized, the voice that scolds and whines and complains. The first step has been to stop them before they hit my lips. The next step is to stop them before I think them.

If I seem unusually quiet for awhile, now you know why. It may take awhile for me to figure out just what to say with my new set of rules.

Words have power, and the spoken word is incredibly powerful. We create our lives each moment by the words we speak and the words of others that we hear. My intention is to shift the energy of my life and the lives of those around me, into the realm of positive my changing the way I speak to others and to myself. Won't you join me on the Quest?

UPDATE:
10/30/2009

This is harder than I thought .....

Just today, I have retold my own horror story (or more correctly storIES - see the post above), complained (again I refer you to the post above), and berated myself for doing such. At least I haven't gossiped, or at least I think I haven't, and I have honestly tried to be a better listener.

More to come ....

Life is for Living

Life is for living, money is for spending, clothes are for wearing, and food is for eating.

There is always another day, the sun sets, the sun rises, each day comes with a new 24 hours for us to live. One day will be our personal last, but even then, the days will continue for others. Time does not run out, it continually replenishes.

The stuff of life is just the same. It is only an illusion caused by our fear and short sightedness that makes us think we might run out of something. The World is full of all the things we need and want. There is no danger of running out of food any more than there is any danger of time running out. Plants grow, rocks form, and animals are born. It happens continuously, without any effort from us. Each substance fills the measure of it's creation, follows it's divine intention to perfection.

An oak tree always starts as an acorn. There are not any oak trees out there that used to be rose bushes. Rain always comes from rain clouds and rain clouds come from evaporation. Rain drops don't start out as pebbles in a stream. So it is with us. We have always been who we are. Our divine and powerful nature is constant, only our fear makes us believe differently. Only mankind has this ability of self delusion. The rest of nature never has an identity crisis. Our mind is the most powerful of all God's creations, and our mind is capable of convincing us that God does not exist.

Fear and doubt are only products of the mind. They teach us to worry, and fret and otherwise stress. There is no productive outcome from fear or doubt. They do not help us. They do not save us from certain doom. They do not even put one more dollar in our pocket, or add one more minute to our life. They rob us of joy, and keep us from love.

Life is infinitely good. Eat the roast in the freezer. Saving it will only ruin it. Wear your favorite shirt, drive your car, pick some flowers, spend your money. Let them fill the measure of their creation. Let them fulfill their intention. Live life and fulfill yours.

21 Days to Create a Habit

As you know from my previous posts, I was attempting to run on my own with my dogs. I had a mixed bag of success and difficulties. My knees hurt, my breathing was whack, I bought new shoes, worked out the breathing, and bought a new leash that helped the dogs not get so tangled when I took 2 at once. My usual route covered 4 miles (2 out, 2 back), and I would run about half of it. Typically I would go around 6pm, and be home just before it started to get dark. I wasn't going everyday, too much of life is still happening at 6pm, and it is just not a good idea to be out on foot in my neighborhood after dark. There are no sidewalks, and cars go too fast for the narrow streets.

Three weeks ago my friend Cathy and I started walking in the mornings. I drop Quincie off at Seminary at 5:55am, go grab the dogs, and head out. I run from my house to our meeting point, and then we walk for a couple of miles and back to her house. After a brief, or sometimes not so brief, rest on her front porch, the dogs and I run home. The whole affair usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half, depending mostly on the length of the rest.

We walk every weekday, taking Saturday and Sunday off. This past friday was the end of our third week. The kids have been off school for Fall break, but we still walked at our regular time.

This routine is working well for me. I have not re-injured my knees. We walk fast, and for the first few days I had sore muscles where I wasn't sure I even had muscles. The combination of running and walking is good. I get my heart rate up and keep it up for the better part of an hour. The intensity of the workout varies over the course of that hour, and that is supposed to be positive for the heart as well.

Normally at that time of day I would either have come home and gone back to sleep, or would be sitting at my computer attempting to get a jump start on the day. I never have a conflict on my calendar at that hour. It is the coolest time of day to be outside. It is much warmer at 6pm than at 6am. Lately, it has been dark when I leave my house. I think it is pretty cool to watch the sunrise every morning.

Exercise, sunshine, and good conversation is an excellent way to start the day. It gives me energy, and enthusiasm that an extra hour of sleep just wouldn't. Trying to squeeze an extra early hour of work in just makes me tired an hour earlier. Getting outside, and on my feet with the dogs and my good friend, has been great! I actually go to bed at night looking forward to waking up and going on our walk.

I haven't lost any weight, but that was not my intention. My endurance has increased. The new dog, Shuggie, (I have agreed to call her this name in exchange for a car. I personally think I am coming out the winner in this one.) likes to bolt. If there is a crack in the door, out she goes. She is off like a bullet down the street. The other day I chased her at full sprint, for about 2 miles. I didn't get out of breath, my knees didn't give out, and I eventually caught the dumb little thing and carried her home. A couple of months ago, I am not sure I could have done that.

Consistent, daily exercise has calmed Charlie down significantly. Chester could run for miles and miles. He is up before my alarm and ready to go every morning. Neither of them understand that I take weekends off. They were up at 5:30am today crying. I was awake, but not crying. Experts say it take 21 days to create a habit. I think in this case, it just might be true. I am looking forward to walking again tomorrow.

I Don't Want to Be Grounded, or do I?

I was scolded yesterday for not posting a new blog in over a week. I was threatened with grounding, if I didn't have something up by tonight. I'm not sure just how Tif thinks she can ground me with several thousand miles and an ocean between us, but I don't like to get in trouble, so I am doing as I am told.

It has actually be over 2 weeks since I have posted anything new here. I am not sure why. I have been busy, but I'm always busy. That excuse just doesn't fly. My good friend Erin always says, "If you want something done, ask a busy person." She's right. Busy people know how to get things done.

I think maybe being grounded would be nice. If I had to stay at home, and even better, stay in my room, maybe I would actually make the time to write something. Maybe it would even be interesting, or creative. I would certainly sleep if I were grounded, and if I couldn't leave my room I wouldn't get distracted by the kitchen, and all it's demands, or even be able to do much work.

Well, Tif, here you go - not 1, but 2 posts for ya today!