mine is better than yours

i had an odd thought the other day: there's a thin line between bragging and informing. i often feel a little funny when i share particularly good news (and sometimes particularly bad, if it brings a sympathetic reply) with friends and family. for a few seconds, i worry about people thinking that i'm bragging, which was a big deal when i was growing up. my siblings and i were taught that bragging was a bad practice, and i've learned karmically that braggers set themselves up for a fall. so when people ask me what's happening, i always have this nagging feeling that i need to be somewhat humble. Oh, nothing much. Just tryin to make it.

i just finished a terrific book, fixer chao, in which the protagonist insinuates himself as a fung shui master upon the showy and snooty new york elite. among other things, this novel makes me wonder how much can one have and want to have, and what the difference is between being comfortable and being a showoff.

yet another connection to this stupid election. all of this we're better and smarter than middle america has bitten us in the a**. we need a preposition change on the left: perhaps we should work on being part of rather than above. hmmm. food for thought as i head home for the holidays.