howard stern is keeping me alive

Over the summer, I wrote about how pointless and boring life seemed at the time. Looking back, I think I felt the same way last summer, but for different reasons. I didn't take any classes over the summer, but I was really busy at work. Nothing was going right. I was working on the launch of a new product line and our supplier was terrible--dishonest, duplicitous and a disaster to work with. I managed to survive, however, and largely credited the exercise program I started over the summer with helping me to maintain my sanity. I lost almost 30 lbs before Christmas, which was great. I was feeling good and my wardrobe was growing by the day, as old clothes that hadn't fit for years began to fit again.

I've gained all that weight back since then, which sucks, but it's the story of my life--up, down, up, down, up. I usually end on an "up" note, unfortunately. School has been a major factor in that, and I'm not alone. Just about everyone I know that's doing a "part-time" program like I am has gained weight, though not to the level that I have, I think. While I realize that I should start dieting and exercising again, I just can't find the motivation. Or maybe I am motivated, but always at the wrong time. Call it a symptom of the "grass is greener" mentality, if you like. I frequently think about exercising, but only when it's impossible for me to do it, like when I'm sitting at my desk in the office and sifting through mounds of mostly pointless emails. I realize that better time management and diligence would fix this problem, but like I said, the motivation is lacking.

I realize that nothing has changed since post on boredom (I mention depression, but I'm sure that was there, too). My job is the same, I'm taking more classes now than I was then, I've gained more weight, I have no fabulous vacations in sight, and the economy is in the toilet. Strangely enough, however, I'm feeling great. I have more energy and I'm not particularly bothered by the stress of having so many things on my plate. I can only attribute the change in my mood and perspective to one thing: laughter. Let me explain.

I previously wrote about test-driving new cars. Despite having no intention of buying one, I did. XM radio, my favorite non-iPod companion for the road, wasn't offered in the new car. I was pretty disappointed about that, but realized that not having the entertainment smorgasbord of satellite radio at my fingertips was not an option, so I opted to get Sirius, which was offered with the car.


There are many things about the two competitors that are the same--dozens of channels of commercial-free music, audio-only broadcasts of major TV networks like CNN, stand-up comedy channels, etc. There are some channels, however, that are different. I was initially disappointed at the political talk radio channels being different. For the last year, I've listened to more political talk than anything else if I've chosen to turn on the radio. Left-wing talk in the morning, right-wing talk in the afternoon and evening. Sirius offered some of the same programs, but most were different and I didn't like that. Furthermore, I was starting to get sick of what I was listening to most: Sean Hannity. That guy hammers the same points, day in, day out. I get that Barack Obama is elitist and looks down on bitter Americans who cling to guns and religion. I don't need to hear it 20 times a day, five days a week.

So, I decided to change the dial. With dozens of other channels to choose from, there must be something else going on, right? That's when I stumbled on the Howard Stern show. One Sirius channel is devoted entirely to Howard Stern and his sidekicks. There's even a show after the show that talks about what happened during the show, if that makes sense. The show is repeated throughout the day, which means that I can hear it any time I want. I listened to Howard Stern briefly in 1995, when I was home from BYU for the summer. It was childish and fairly crude, but quite funny. And what had changed in the 13 years that had passed since I last listened? Nothing. Some of the stuff they say and do on the show is beyond idiotic, but it's funny. And funny happens to be exactly what I need right now. I even laugh when they're not saying anything at all and just laughing at each other. That laughter has totally recharged my batteries and made life bearable again. I haven't listened to political talk radio since I switched over to laughing, and I'm much happier for it.



I've been looking for other ways to laugh, too. Yesterday's post about John McCain was an example. Many other posts I've written would qualify, too. I crack myself up at many of the things I write here, and even if no one else laughs, that's OK--at least I do. I've also been looking for ways to laugh at work. Sometimes it's with childish things like purposely misspelling the name of someone I work with (his name is Stewart, and we're always confused about how to write his nickname. Is it Stew? Stu? We don't know, so I write it multiple ways, sometimes even in one email: the other two + Stoo, Stue, Steu, etc. yes, I'm sure I'm the only person that finds that funny, but that's OK), or goofing off with my boss and co-workers. I've discovered over the last month and a half that whoever said laughter was the best medicine got it right. It's been a lifesaver.

Now, if I could only combine an exercise program with that laughter...