Five things friday

I've thought about trying to establish these Friday posts around a sort of theme each week. That has proven difficult. So, until something changes, they will continue to just be a random five things I feel worth sharing or that I want to make note of. Here are this week's:

1. For quite awhile now (like, over a year) I've been on a kick where I eat oatmeal with blueberries almost every morning. I use the "quick oats," with a cup of milk (occasionally water), microwave for two minutes, then add a cup of blueberries. I've tried different toppings, but this is by far my favorite. Every now and then I force myself to eat something else, just because I've heard it's not good to eat the same thing all the time, but this tastes good, fills me up, and I think it's fairly healthy.
2. Jane and I often make fun of the stupid commercials on TV. There are a lot of them, you know. However, some of the ones we see when watching GRIT TV are real doozies. Especially the ones about buying gold. However, I read this week that gold prices have hit a record high, surpassing $2300 per ounce. And Costco is selling as much as $200M in gold bars per month! I suppose now is not the best time to jump on the bandwagon then, is it?
3. Speaking of records, the women's college basketball championship game last week between South Carolina and Iowa drew an estimated 18.9 million viewers. That was the largest in women's college basketball history - by a lot! And, yes, I was one of those viewers. Also, yes, more people watched it than the men's college basketball championship game. That's great. Really. I'm happy for women, women's sports, and I do have to say I am impressed with how much it has grown. It's all good! However... you know I'm annoyed with something, right? I'm not upset that more people watched the women's championship game than the men's. I mean, it's not really an even comparison. The women's game was on CBS at 3PM on a weekend. The men's was on a cable station, and at 9:20PM, on a Monday night for crying out loud! That's what irks me!! Why do they put the men's games on so late, on cable, and on Mondays? Isn't it the same with the men's college football championship game? And, I know, it's all about the money. It's always all about the money. And everyone will agree that that is what ruins things... but yet... it always still remains "all about the money." Argh.
4. Which leads me to... Are you a jerk? Am I a jerk? I couldn't help but read this article 'How to Tell If You're a Jerk.'  I don't know that it was the greatest article (they use a lot of big words) but it piqued my interest and has me wondering. They say, "The scientifically recognized personality categories closest to “jerk” are the “dark triad” of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathic personality." Also, there is apparently a difference between being a jerk and an asshole. Who knew? So, that's something I've been thinking about, and I really am trying to be less of... all of that!
5. I will leave you with this question posed by James Clear: "Is the situation actually complicated or is it really quite straightforward, but you're making it complicated because it requires a lot of courage to make the straightforward decision?" Hmm. That's good. Sort of.
   

Alrighty. I need to take a long walk to pick up my car that's in the shop, have a lunch meeting with a friend/pastor, and remember to pick up the wife this afternoon. All in a day's ... "work."