Life (cf. biota) is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not.

SELF-sustaining. Keyword. Operative.

Have you ever wondered how children perceive the world differently? The majority or kids are happy, right? You give them a Barbie or Optimus Prime, let em snack on a chicken nugget or two, and they're off. Aside from a skinned knee or stubbed toe, boys and girls don't talk to their mommies and/or daddies about the economic crisis or Chick-fil-a... Children don't understand more than whether or not something makes them happy.

Pleasure seeking. Id, Ego, Super Ego. Debunk Freud if you must - that's neither here nor there and I'm not even getting into penis-envy. But really, what's so bad about playing dumb? Do you ever want to look at yourself in the mirror and channel the late, Mr. Ledger - "Why so serious, Ricky". Feel free to use your own name.

Personally, I'd consider myself emotional - empathetic to my environment. I'm the type that cries at strangers' weddings and when I see a stray dog. Overly sensitive? Maybe, but I'd rather that than the cold, unloveable opposite.

Easily daunted? Probably.

My head hums with "what if??" "What if I make an omelet for breakfast? Eh, then I have to wash things." "What if I wear THESE shoes? Eh, then people might think I'm loserly." "What if I sell out and make a ton more money so I can afford the 4k a month apt downtown that I'd looooove to show off to my pals. Eh, but then I'd have to... Do things." Push or pull today? It's a mixed bag.

So what's the harm in playing dumb? If every now and then we just shut it off. All of it. Instead of thinking about work and money and showmanship and competition, we simply ask ourselves "what will make me smile, today?" What would happen if once a day everyone did just one thing that really made them feel it... Like a kid at McDonalds in a pit filled with Hi-C covered balls. Ahhh, the good life. Easy, simple, sticky.

And a vacation doesn't count because your life always sucks when you get home. Vacations are like diets - you get immediate results that don't last very long.

Today I decide to play dumb because I played smart this entire week and I barely remember any of it. Be a doll and throw me that Barbie. I'm taking a Simple Pleasures Day. If you need something, please call my assistant. Her phone number doesn't exist.

So I'm at Barnes & Noble on State, looking for a book so Eric and I can start our book club. I make my way to the "New Fiction" table and read the back of one book before a woman walks up to me.

"find anything good yet?" she asks with a smile.

Me being me, I immediately run the gamut of possibilities through my head; she's a creep, she's homeless, she's a lesbian, she's hitting on me.

So then I stop myself to give ol girl the benefit of the doubt. I figure I maybe could use a new friend... She seemed ok... Hangs out in bookstores so she's probably at least a little smart.

So I talk with a girl for ten minutes. Thinking I made a new friend - she tells me about the business she has with her husband. "We work with big names like B&N, Best Buy, blah blah blabbity, and they share part of the profits with us. We work with a great team of experts who show us how to do everything! BTW, would you be interested in making extra money on the side?"

Bitch. I thought you were about to be my new friend and you only talked to me bc you thought I looked like a network marketing go-getter.

Met your husband on a bus here in Chicago. You might wanna reevaluate your future with a man who makes money by convincing others that he has happened upon the greatest opportunity known only to a select privileged few.

At this point my feelings are hurt and I stomped out bookless and in the rain.

Network marketing. At its finest. A total stranger makes you feel like they're interested until they dupe you into joining their team of sick and tired professionals just looking to change their stars. Aka- a group of phonies on the search for other phonies who alienate themselves and everyone around them along the way.

The next time you go out "recruiting", remember this - pretending to give a shit about someone so they come to a business seminar, PBR, networking party, or webinar makes you the kind of person who would rather meet someone for financial gain than to find a common interest and make a friend.

And at a Barnes & Noble, connected to DePaul University? Why don't you just carry around a sign that says "College Is A Waste Of Time! Calling ALL Simpleminded and Easily Influenced!" Try the self-help section at the local library. They might have their guard down enough to let u more easily, weasel in.

Anybody else been had??