Half Empty for Now

Half Empty for Now

...but trying to see it half full.

Archive for November, 2011

What’s News?

Nov 27

Posted by Ms. HalfEmpty in travel | 6 Comments

Today Show

Ann & Matt co-host The TODAY Show; the crossed arms show that they mean business.

At home in the US, I generally have the TV tuned to The TODAY Show as I get ready in the morning.  It’s nice background noise, and informs me of a few current events as I eat breakfast, pack my lunch, and get dressed.

Before Mr. HalfFull changed careers and we were on the same morning schedule, he would also hear bits of TODAY in the morning.  For some reason, the content would drive him to yell at the TV.  He’s the calm, cool optimist, remember?

I am able to take The TODAY Show for what it is — some news with lots of entertainment and human interest stories.  But the segments on celebrities would drive Mr. HalfFull to shout, “That’s not news!”  I always found his vocal disdain for TODAY rather amusing and unwonted until we were in New Zealand for three weeks.

TVNZ Breakfast Show

TVNZ's Breakfast Show displays the serious side of journalism.

Three weeks of watching the morning show in New Zealand drove me crazy.  If Mr. HalfFull thought The TODAY Show was all fluff, I don’t even know how he would describe the Kiwi news.  It made me feel dumber by the minute.

At least The TODAY Show doesn’t disguise infomercials for sponsored products as real interviews during the show!  TVNZ’s Breakfast show interviewed life insurance people like it was serious Q&A, not a scripted commercial.  The Steam Mop was another favorite product for these fake segments.  But the worst was the Ahh Bra.  They showcased this product in a whole interview with a spokesperson and models.  Plus, they had regular Ahh Bra commercials during the breaks too.  After three weeks, I was definitely Ahh Bra-ed out!  Instead of a relaxing “ahh,” it was more of a screaming “ahhhhhhhhhhh.”

Hoda & Kathie Lee

Hoda & Kathie Lee hit the hard stories like tracking Santa Claus.

The other annoying part of the Kiwi Breakfast program was the incessant commentary.  I think it can be fun when anchors have a cute comment or segue, but when they chit-chat about nothing for minutes on the air, my nerves get frayed.  The Kiwis also love audience participation on various “controversial issues” they bring up on the show.  They display emails from people all over the country and discuss the different points of view.  I think that’s fine, but not on the “news” portion of the show.  At least TODAY has the decency to wait until the fourth hour when most people are at work.  Then they switch to Kathie Lee & Hoda, so you know the real news is over and can prepare yourself for fluff.

Perhaps after three weeks of the New Zealand Breakfast show, Mr. HalfFull will finally be able to appreciate the quality of TODAY.  Who’s being half full now?

  • Do you watch morning news programs?
  • Does the lack of hard news in the morning upset you?  Do you yell at the TV?
  • Has the format of news programs abroad surprised you?

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The Problem with Being Half Full

Nov 20

Posted by Ms. HalfEmpty in HalfEmpty, HalfFull | 6 Comments

Last week, I was particularly excited about Wednesday.  I’m not sure why, but I was feeling half full in spite of myself.  On Tuesday night, I even stayed up late with Mr. HalfFull to watch a favorite TV show that started at 10 PM — that’s past my bedtime!  We usually watch the show On DEMAND later in the week, but I had half full energy and knew I didn’t have to get up early on Wednesday.

When I woke up on Wednesday morning after a full night of restful sleep, I was still feeling half full.  It was raining, but even that didn’t dampen my mood.  I proceeded to the kitchen and flipped the coffee mug over from half empty to half full, just to certify my mood to all who entered.

I did not have a long to-do list on this particular Wednesday.  Plus, I was excited to go to a luncheon at my friend’s house.  I even had grand plans to blog in the afternoon!  It was going to be a great day.

damaged car

At least my car didn't end up looking like this.  Although, I'm not sure this was a particularly attractive car to begin with.

But the problem with being that happy and that half full is that something bad is bound to happen.  I’m Ms. HalfEmpty; the universe was out of whack.  So just to put things into perspective, my beautiful car was smashed by an SUV while I was enjoying lunch.

It was a craptastic event, but I think I handled it in stride.  At least I wasn’t in the car, so I wasn’t injured and didn’t have the stress of actually seeing and feeling my car get crunched.  Plus, the driver came to find me and her insurance company accepted liability.

Having a damaged car is a huge hassle with insurance, adjusters, repair shops, and rental cars.  That’s what I get for being too half full.

  • Is it possible to be too half full?
  • How do you handle car collisions?  Do you flip out or remain calm?
  • Do you believe that something bad is bound to happen when you’re too happy?

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Half Full Malfunction

Nov 5

Posted by Ms. HalfEmpty in HalfEmpty, HalfFull | 4 Comments

Last month, one of my dear readers (if it wasn’t you, it was the other one) brought an article to my attention that gave me some hope about my half emptiness.  In fact, I felt a bit vindicated.

The article is succinctly titled, “Is your glass always half full? Optimism could be down to a brain malfunction – and it may have caused the banking crisis.”  That’s quite an assertion!  Should I start to worry about my husband’s brain malfunction???

“According to research published today, blind optimism is related to ‘faulty’ functioning of the brain’s frontal lobes.”

Jumping in the Desert

Mr. HalfFull is quite optimistic despite being in a desert in the United Arab Emirates with temperatures over 100°F!

Whew!  I’m not so worried now because Mr. HalfFull doesn’t exhibit blind optimism.  He looks on the bright side of things and is generally a happy person, but still has a range of emotions.

During the brain imaging study in London,

“…all participants showed increased activity in the frontal lobes of the brain when the information given was better than expected.

However, when the information was worse than estimated, the more optimistic a participant was, according to a personality questionnaire, there was less activity in these frontal regions.”

Upset in Barcelona

After a bird poops on my foot in Barcelona, I'm not going to be optimistic!

I guess my frontal lobes are super active all the time!  Can you really fault me for responding to all the information?  I’m just exhibiting healthy half empty brain function.

I realize that optimists tend to cope better with life’s challenges and may be less stressed, but is that only because they are ignoring the facts?  Isn’t it good to see things as they are?  As a woman firmly entrenched in the half empty camp, I believe it’s important to acknowledge the negative too!  Perhaps you shouldn’t dwell on it, but ignoring it completely doesn’t seem like a good practice either.

  • Do you know a blindly optimistic person?  Is he/she annoying?
  • Are you worried about your frontal lobe brain function?
  • Do you tend to ignore negative information?
  • Do optimists have better coping skills and less stress?

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