As a lifetime member, one might say that I stand more to lose from the closure of Xanga than the average person, but even that isn’t the biggest issue.

The biggest issue is how we react to the changes in our lives. We can accept reality, or we can lash out in denial of it. For changes that will come no matter what, lashing out is only hurting ourselves.

How will you handle this challenge?

Why is it that people, in the process of trying to be polite, say some of the most ass-backwards things? In the past couple of months I’ve heard:

“So you just call people. That’s not really work.” (Right; all those people at call centers must be volunteers then!)

“Oh, cool. Real estate. So are you like a slumlord?” (Said to a real estate businessman. A bit like asking a chemist if he’s cooking meth like the guy on Breaking Bad.)

“You’ve really restored my faith in your kind of people.” (Said with complete sincerity by a nice 79-year-old white lady to a minority. What, humans?)

“Oh, you own a business? So, you’re lucky.” (Said to an entrepreneur. And yes, successful business involves some element of luck, but it also involves smarts and hard work! This makes about as much sense as saying “Oh, you lift weights and are therefore strong? So, you’re lucky.”)

Most people manage to be gracious when they try. Some of the others should really just keep to, “Thank you.”