Downsides to letting your brain talk back to you

'me going up into the spider infested attic to fetch something for parents'

I'm fine, I'm fine.  It's safe, I'm safe--

'other half of my brain refuses to stay silent'

Lies.  Bold faced lies.

'whimper.'

Listen up, all you folks on the road!

(50’s radio announcer voice)  

A service announcement for all of you out on the road today: today is Bad Driving Day!  Ways of celebrating Bad Driving Day include making at least one bad driving decision every five minutes.  See someone on the road not making a bad driving decision?  Help them out by pulling in front of them without signaling!  It’ll really get them in the mood to celebrate Bad Driving Day properly!  Remember, you don’t want to get caught driving properly on Bad Driving Day.  So don’t drive safely, drive badly! 

Aieeeee!!!

As I travel abroad I fear for the safety and well-being of Roger and myself; it seems everywhere I look I see the black-striped forms of skunks--perilous as such a sight is, they are horribly adorable--and as they waddle away from Roger and myself I wait in terrified anticipation for the moment that tail lifts to deliver its near-fatal blow from which it will be difficult to recover.

I pray it never occurs.

Wednesday Word: Hiatus

Hiatus: a break or interruption in continuity.

If I'm perfectly honest with myself I need a hiatus from writing this blog.  I've managed to keep to my goal of six posts a week for six months--six months!  I know I've slipped up and sometimes done two a day to make up for it, and I'm really sorry about those days.  They seem to be happening more and more often.

I'm taking it as a sign that I need a short break to get my head back together.  I know it's probably just a brief downer spell--I feel as if I can't write anything worthwhile or interesting.  And lets be honest, most of my recent work has been less than good.

I'm sorry for taking this break on you all.  Lets give it a week.  Hopefully I'll feel better by then.

BBC is Proud to Present: Mark Gatiss--Everywhere!

If you are at all a fan of BBC tv shows, it's quite possible you already know who Mark Gatiss is.  Not only is one of the co-creators of Sherlock, but he also stars in it as Mycroft.  (a tidbit I recently learned and was slightly astonished by).

Not long after learning that Gatiss was both writer and actor I happened to rewatch a Doctor Who episode: third season, The Lazarus Experiment.  Imagine my surprise when I recognize the actor playing Dr. Lazarus--it's Mark Gatiss!  A fact which escaped me the first time around the series.  (and the second.  Shush.)

At times like these I find it impossible not to go onto Imdb and see what else someone's been up to.  Although since my quota for shock and surprise has been used up I was fully expecting what I found:  Mark Gatiss is in lots of things.  Lots of BBC things.  In fact he's in so many of them I wonder if he even bothers auditioning or if they just call him out of habit and ask him if he's feeling up for another role.

You never know.  Brits are awesome like that.

(and I use the term 'Brits' endearingly, if you'll allow it.  I've heard some find it objectionable, just like we americans are supposed to find being called a 'Yank' objectionable.  Although I've never been bothered by the term.  Isn't it sad that in our politically correct age we're not even allowed to have decent epithets anymore by which to call other people in other countries?  I'm not speaking in favor of racism and cultural bias--I'm just lamenting the lack of an easy term by which to call other people.)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

All right, worst things first:

I hit a bunny rabbit.  The one thing I specifically didn't want to to (other than hit a deer) was hit a bunny rabbit!!  And do you know what it did?  It ran under my tire!  It was horrible.  I was very very upset.  I might have taken out a little of my unhappiness on Roger (sorry Roger) and pounded his steering wheel several times.  This made me very sad.

But strangely enough the day had one good thing in store for me: my favorite flower is back!  I saw it blooming on the side of the road and I was soooo happy that the seasons have progressed enough for Chicory to bloom again.  Now I can look forward to an entire summer of seeing it everywhere.  :)  This is a good day.

Chicory!

It is my favorite flower ever.  I don't care if most people would call it a weed.  It is beautiful and it loves to grow on road sides where no other plant likes to grow.  Chicory thrives on bad soil and eventually makes bad soil into nicer soil where other things can grow.

Wednesday Words

Today I don't have just one word to share with you.  Today is one of those days where one word just won't do it.

Let me first tell you a short story.

My Bubby is 101 (coming up on 102) years old.  I love spending time with her because the wealth of her knowledge about the past and the nature of humanity is impossible to find anywhere else.  I remember hearing her stories about our family since I was very young.  I remember all the pictures in her apartment and could tell you all the stories about them.

But one day not too long ago I noticed something in her bedroom that I somehow had never noticed in all my years of visiting with her: a poster.  It was nicely framed and had a lot of words in it--but somehow I'd never 'seen' it in all this time.  A little bit surprised at myself, I stood and read what it had to say, never dreaming that what the words were saying would be even more surprising.

Here is what it says:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

I was pole-axed.  I had been living these words already for so many years but here they were written down in a beautifully clear form.  

I give them to you today as they were given to me: my Bubby had bought this poster nearly 80 years ago.  Today when I told her how much I admired it she told me I should take it home with me, that it was far better that I should own it because I valued it and could appreciate it.

Like me you may wonder who wrote these words and where they came from.  The Internet is a beautiful thing.  :)  

It was a man named Max Ehrmann who wrote this prose poem entitled Desiderata; meaning 'desired things' in Latin.  It was possibly written in 1927, and was only discovered years later.  I hope it gives you as much meaning as it does to me.

Things I've learned from jobs I've done

1. Always be polite no matter who you're talking to.
            --I knew this one already before I ever drew a paycheck but it really came home to me after I saw the sheer negativity you have to swallow down when you're in a job.  I've been a busser, a phon-a-thon caller, a cashier, a janitor (and many more) and I can honestly say that your day becomes a lot brighter and easier to bear when the people you're trying to help take a moment and say thank you, or just give you a nice smile.  It doesn't take much on your part to make someone's day that much better so why not take that extra second and be polite to your cashier?

2.  Always put your trash in the garbage (and always use a garbage bag).
          --Again, things that I knew already.  But when I was a janitor I learned just how many people didn't seem to care if they just left enormous amounts of old food and other garbage on every surface.  They didn't pick it up because they knew you would.  Please people, be considerate.  The garbage is right there.  It's enough work to clean a room even without your extra mess.  Also, don't ever put trash in a bin without a liner of some sort.  That gets disgusting really quickly and adds a ton of horrible smelling work for the person who now has to clean out that trash can.  I've been less than perfect with my cleanliness habits before and in places like hotels there is always the lazy impulse that 'someone else will clean it up.'  I've been that someone else, and I swore that I'd remember what it was like on the other side of that sentiment.

3.  Don't park in front of a mailbox.
        --Admittedly this is something I never thought about until I got a job as a paper-deliverer.  I never thought about mailboxes and how I should be careful not to park too near them because it would make it difficult for the person who has to deliver the mail.  Well, now that I'm the person who has to deliver papers, I'm thinking about it!  Isn't that the way of things?  We never really think about things until they effect us.

I feel a sappy movie night coming on

I'm a girl.

(That really shouldn't surprise you.)

I might like swords and knives (and guns!  practical clothing!  I hate pink!) and can avidly discuss the many different ways of using them on people's bodies but I have my softer sides too.  :)

I sew things.  I like to cook.  When I do decide to clean I do a good job.  In fact, my domestic skills are pretty top for this day and age and I'm really proud of them.  (thank you Mom.  You're wonderful).

And on occasion I not only am a girl--but I allow myself to act girly.

Cue my planned marathon of some of the most girly rom-com movies ever.  Some good.  Some mildly horrifying to the male gender.  Some that even other girls would consider going too far.

Guess what?  I don't care!  It's wonderful being me and I love all the differing facets of my personality.  Sometimes all I want to do is watch things blow up.  Other times I'm in the mood for heart-wrenching drama (although less often, to be honest).  I like fantasy, sci-fi, even a touch of horror, comedies, dramas, rom-coms, westerns--

The list goes and goes.  I was once told by a friend that I have one of the most eclectic movie collections they'd ever seen.  Whee!!  I love it.

Long ago I gave myself the freedom to not be ashamed of what I liked and let me tell you, life's a whole lot more fun when you enjoy doing what you like to do.

Movie list!!

Dear Frankie: this one tops my list of movies that I want to watch on my Sappy Movie Extravaganza.  It's wonderful.  You should see it if you haven't already.  Unlike the rest of the movies on this list it's actually good and members of the male gender might be able to tolerate it.

The Lake House: irredeemable horrible rom-com fun.  Well, sort of fun.  They mess up the time travel logistics!! ARRGHGGGH!!!  But for some reason I still really enjoy it every time.  Not recommended for casual viewers.

Aeon Flux: horrible.  Terrible.  Everyone hates this movie.  Technically it's a sci-fi action-y flick.  But that parts kinda rubbish (pretty though--that set design!  Those production values!  The costuming!).  In point of fact, my favorite part of that movie is the love story which is very well acted out.  Do not see this movie unless you have a very high tolerance for bad.

Perhaps I'll also pull out my Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan collection.  Because you see, I'm in need of some sappy ridiculousness.

:)

I'm going to have so much fun!

Movie: The Siege

I don't know if anyone remembers this movie.  I don't know if it made much of a splash when it came out in 1998.  I certainly don't remember anyone talking about it then or now.  I might have seen part of it on tv once: one of the scenes was slightly familiar.

But watching this movie now from the vantage point of 2012, all I can think is how horribly predictive it was, and how heart-breakingly sad it is to watch now.

The plot is simple: there are arab terrorists in New York and they are using bombings to try to gain the release of their religious leader whom the American military kidnapped after he directed a bombing on an army base in the middle east.  The FBI (headed by Denzel Washington) does its best to discover and take care of these many threats but they are hampered by both the cultural differences and the US military when martial law is declared in New York city.

Arab extremists.  Bombs.  Hundreds dead.  Terrorist cells.  All of these things made more haunting by the occasion wide shot of New York city with the two towers still standing.

1998.  All this in 1998.  And seeing how Hollywood works, this script could have been in production for up to ten years.  Maybe less, maybe not.  I couldn't say.

This movie--while powerful--wasn't spectacular.  I can see why it isn't particularly remembered now.  (Although Denzel and Tony Shalhoub turn in some great performances)

The reason I tell you of this movie is because it represents something of our history.  Not only 9/11, but of WWII and the camps that interned innocent Japanese Americans.  This is what we can become when fear rules  us.  It is a good thing to be reminded of.





And a very Happy Birthday to Liam Neeson and Karl Urban!  We are glad you are alive and making wonderful movies.  Well, I say we.  At the very least I'm glad.  :)

Things my mind comes up with at 5 in the morning

I have a job now.  Jobs are cool.  But my job requires that I stay up very late/early and go to sleep at 6-7 in the morning when I finish my job.  So while I'm out there driving my paper route and doing my best not to hit things while simultaneously rolling papers and sticking them into boxes and reading my directions and being very thankful that no one else is on the road at the same time as me--I often have strange thoughts pop into my head.

Not that that's all that different from other times.  I think we all know that my head is very strange.

But the very strange thought that popped into my mind was this:  'Oooh!  Bunny!  Don't hit it!  Wow, bunnies are fast...bunny races!'

In case you didn't follow that: I almost hit a bunny (there are so many of them and they are all so cute and fuzzy and their little tails are so adorable I could just die.  That is all) but managed to avoid hitting it not only thanks to my excellent driving skills (aaaaaaaahhhhhh don't hit the bunny!) but because that rabbit was just so ridiculously fast.  Which led to the inevitable, 'I wonder how fast they can run,' which led to the, 'It would be so cool to see two rabbits race each other,' which will eventually lead to my convincing a good friend to let me borrow her rabbits and try to race them.  Please?

I have a job!

Oh Frabjuous day everyone!  With joyous glee I announce to all my loyal readership (there's at least one of you, right?) that I have a job!  Yay!  I will be making money again!

Not in ridiculous amounts, but certainly better than nothing.

What sort of job is it?

Umm, well, it's a paper route mumble mumble...

But I make money!  And not half bad either.  Even though the amount of driving I'll be doing every day is sort of evil.

And when I say day I mean night.

And when I say night I mean 2-6am.

So yeah.  Sleep is becoming interesting.  I've been trying to rearrange my sleep schedule so that I fall asleep around 6:30 and sleep my 8/9 hours until 2:30/3:30.  No such luck yet.  But taking a 'mid-day' nap is helping me not be completely exhausted.  Yay!

So maybe I can start paying back my college loans a bit.  This is a good plan.  :)

Delaware is EVIL.

Sorry all of you who live in Delaware.  Perhaps on other days of the year the state does not actively try to suck out your soul and feed it to the seven devils of the bottom most levels of hell.

But not today.  Today those devils feasted on the anger and horror and bad driving skills of hundreds of people.

I went on a road trip to a wedding.  I knew today would see heavier traffic than normal because it was a holiday weekend.  I was not prepared for ultimate evil.  (eviiilllll!!!!)

As soon as we got off the Jersey Pike we were in a traffic jam that didn't move.  For at least ten minutes our car didn't move an inch.  Then we were able to move a car length.  Five more minutes: another car length.  Then we had to defend our place in line with risky driving behaviors because other people were trying to cut in front of us (okay, I'm sympathetic to people who 'just need to merge,' but I can sniff a line cutter a mile off.  Yes, I'm talking to you Mr. I-just-drove-past-all-these-schmucks-and-now-I'm-cutting-in-at-the-last-minute).  The next hour was filled with horrors unimaginable to people who weren't there.  The road had widened to about twenty lanes to allow for a toll, and then it narrowed back down to maybe five lanes total--and mostly just the two lanes that everyone wanted to be in.  Our lanes.  The lane lines were unclear.  They would often disappear and reappear sporadically.  You'd find yourself in two lanes simultaneously without any idea what had happened.  And even when you got out of the merging merge from merge hell, the entire rest of the state also seemed to be in one constant condition of merging from one lane to another.  It wasn't until we got to Maryland that the road magically opened up again and we could drive above twenty mph.

Evil evil Delaware.

I just hope the devils are sated with their toll of blood and human suffering and will let us pass without incident when we return the other way.

My Dentist has Taste

I say this because he gave me a Steampunk dental tool.

See?

I don't think that was his intention, but what else am I to think when I get given a copper looking metal tool-y thing that looks like an obscure sort of probe or mini-blowtorch?

The mundane definition for it is a tool for cleaning your gums and the areas around your teeth.  Yay healthy teeth.

I prefer to think I'm dressed in a dashingly brown coat studded with rivets and I'm trapped in the iron fortress of Gaspard Henessey and I have only my easily concealed mini-blowtorch to help me escape.

That's a far more entertaining picture than me sitting on my computer picking my teeth.

Sorry.

(oh!  And my name could be something exciting like Riviera Washington, or Four-Shadow Sue.  So much more fun!)

Ode to a Chiropractor and My Future Car

Oh Chiropractor, my chiropractor,
You make me feel so wonderful.
You crack my back in different ways
So that I don't feel any pain.

Oh Chiropractor, my chiropractor,
Without you life would be so hard.
I'd never sleep or walk or move
Without saying, 'Oh Aargh arrgh--'

Oh Chiropractor, my chiropractor,
I wrote this ode with you in mind.
For though I'm glad that you exist
I wish you were less arrogant.

Oh Chiropractor, my chiropractor,
I found a song which sounds like you.
So I thought I'd give you compliments
Before I showed all your defects.

Oh Chiropractor, my chiropractor,
I hope you are not too offended.
Because I really need your expertise
Even if my back is not the only thing that needs adjusting.

But in all honesty, I really do like my new chiropractor.  He's very very good at what he does and I'm very grateful that I won't be experiencing spine-crushing pain every so often.

I just get the feeling sometimes that his ego is very very large and he thinks of himself as a 'man's man' who likes manly things.

Not that I have anything against manly things.  I do lots of them.  But I do them because they are fun and I'm good at them--not because they are 'manly things' and I want to be 'manly.'  Or be seen as 'manly.'

So it's pretty minor overall--no real complaints to speak of.  He just reminded me of that song a bit.

Fun song!

(fun fact about song--the first time I remember hearing it was during a Supernatural episode--season 4 episode 17--where it's playing over alternate-Dean's morning routine.  I fell in love with that song as well as the entire episode.  One of my favorites.  :)  )



Now onto my new car!

Not that Roger's doing badly--he's still a picture of health, as much as a car with over 210,000 miles on it can be.

But my future car isn't being produced yet so I still have some time to give Roger a natural death before I get a new one.

This one!

They're going to start re-releasing Deloreans!  And they're making them electric!  Who on earth doesn't want one of these?!?

(link)

So yeah.  Future car here I come!

The Grandparent Scam

When I opened the front door to my Bubby's apartment this morning I was greeted by an unusual sight: my Bubby was standing near the phone instead of sitting in her chair where I usually find her on my visits.  I asked her what was going on. 

I'm so glad you're here, she said.  I didn't know what to do. 

What's wrong, Bubby?

I got a call from your cousin Nora about an hour ago.  She said she was in jail in Mexico.

What?  Why?

She said she was just vacationing with some friends in Mexico when their car got pulled over and they were all searched and the police found drugs in the car--they weren't Nora's--

Of course they weren't.

But she didn't even know they were there, her friends had bought them--but the police arrested them all and now she's in jail and she was crying so hard--she's so scared--and she told me she couldn't call her mother, she didn't want to upset her--

All right.

And then she put this other man on the phone and he said that she was going to be held for up to two months if someone didn't pay the bail.  I said I would pay it, it was only $2,700.15.  Of course I'd pay.

Of course you would, Bubby.

But then he said he had to put me on hold and then the phone cut out and he hasn't called me back and I don't have his number and I have no idea how to reach him or Nora.  That was over an hour ago and I've been standing by the phone waiting for him to call back--why hasn't he called back?  I'm so glad you came.  I wasn't sure what to do.

Don't worry, Bubby.  Don't panic.  We'll figure it out.  There has to be something we can do.


Cue three hours of panicked phone calls with family members while we all try desperately to find my cousin Nora and try to get her out of a Mexican jail--wherever it was in Mexico.

Where did we eventually find my cousin?  In northern California staying at a friend's house with poor cell service. 

Not in a Mexican jail.

Not needing bail.

She's just fine.

So what happened?

My friends near and far--my Bubby was nearly the victim of a scam.  It is in fact a well-documented scam but it's not one I've ever heard of before.  And it is so easy to believe.

It's called The Grandparent Scam, and it seems to have reared it's ugly head not so long ago but it's quickly become very sophisticated thanks to the internet and all the information that's out there on all of us.

Someone calls a Grandparent and claims to be their grandchild or niece or nephew and begs them to send money because they've been arrested/gotten in a car accident/been mugged.  And don't tell my parent's because I don't want to upset them.

That all sounds horribly familiar to me who just spent three hours with my Bubby trying to figure out what had happened to my cousin. 

The strange part about the phone call is the fact that they didn't actually get to the part where they told my Bubby how to send the money.  She said that the man on the phone (whom she thought was a lawyer/representative/police man) asked her a few questions and then put her on hold before they got to the money part.  When I asked her what the questions were, they sounded all right enough--but then she said something that surprised me.  She said that somehow her age had come up (she's 101 years old, soon to be 102) and it was right after that that the man had placed her on hold.

Whereupon he hung up on her not much later.

These people are successful criminals.  They steal money from old people all day long.  They seem to have no qualms about it.  They cry and they lie and they take your money and it's lost forever. 

So why did they stop this time?  Why didn't they continue the scam and steal my Bubby's money?  I mean, I'm so very grateful that they didn't--but why did they stop?

Is it possible that they have scruples about stealing from a 101 year old, but not a 70 year old? 

I just don't get it.  But I'm grateful all the same.

So please everyone--I beg of you--tell your grandparents about this scam.  Let them know that someone could call them pretending to be you and asking for money.  And if they tell you that of course they would never believe it, that of course they would know that that wasn't your voice--please tell them that they're wrong.  It is so horribly easy to mistake one voice for another on the phone.  Especially when that voice is crying and sobbing and begging you to help.

It's enough to make me want to start using secret pass codes when I talk to my grandparents: just to let them know that it is indeed me. 

Because I never want to spend another day the way I did today.  And I don't want anyone else to go through this horrible experience of worry and fear and terror. 

Tell everyone you know about this.  Tell them to tell everyone they know.  And maybe we can put these people out of business for good.

Mmm...

Dill Triscuits.

Yes.  They exist.  And they are soooo very tasty. 

You should eat some.

Unless you are somehow allergic to dill.  Which is very sad. 

Can one be allergic to dill?  I suppose...one seems able to be allergic to just about anything.

(pause for internet search)

One can!  Lookie!

Apparently Dill is from the carrot family (I had no idea dill was related to a carrot.  Huh) as well as parsley, coriander, parsnip, celery, fennel, and anise.  (yuck, anise)

Did you know that people in this world are allergic to pumpkin?!  Sad day!  (especially sad Thanksgivings)  And pumpkins are related to cucumber and watermelon!

All the things I am learning today!

Now I will go and eat a Dill Triscuit. 

Sorry all of you with dill allergies.  They taste so good.

Traffic is Evil!!!!

I wanted to go to the chiropractor's.  Simple, easy, 30 minute drive.

For instant chaos, just add rain. 

Immediately half the world forgets how to drive properly and accidents are springing up like mushrooms in a boy's shower. 

Where am I?

Driving down the highway blissfully unaware of the horror I'm about to enter.  For an entire hour.  (it should have only taken 10-15 minutes)

There was a really big accident on 395 today--so big that they closed down the southbound lanes and shunted everyone off onto rt 32.  Which then became as proper a mess as any god of Chaos could wish.  Because they also had accidents and stoplights and more than usual numbers of people driving on it because the main highway was closed.

Traffic is evil.

Really really evil.

And all I want to do is curl up under my covers and never come out again.  Unless someone offers to take me to see Avengers.  But they'd better be driving.

My Hovercraft Is Full Of Eels

If you are confused by that statement above, be not ashamed.  A very short time ago I was also as ignorant of it, but I can promise you enlightenment if you read further.  

I happened across this phrase I know not where.  It might have been in a movie or a tv show I watched.  It could have been on a blog or in an article I read.  But wherever it was that I heard/read it, the phrase was unexplained and completely inexplicable.  Being curious I looked it up and found far more than I bargained for.

This video will explain.  (and for those of you who need to know what something is before you watch it, it is a Monty Python sketch.  As such it is somewhat naughty.  Just so you know.)

As you can see, the trouble arises from a phrasebook that does not give accurate translations.  Ha.

But as I was learning all about the mysteries of the Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook, I also was made aware of a real life equivalent: 'English As She Is Spoke,' a Portuguese phrasebook which was published in 1883.  Not only does this book actually exist, but its phrases almost surpass the carefully planned idiocy that is the Monty Python sketch.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Help-to a little most the better your terms

Have you forgeted me?

Dress my horse.

Why you no helps me to?

Take the bloom’s perfume.

You hear the bird’s gurgling?

        ‘For A Conversation With A Hair Dresser’

            -Your razors are them well?

            Yes Sir.

            -Comb-me quickly, don’t put me so much pomatum.  What news tell me?  All hair dressers are news-mongers.

            Sir, I have no heard any thing

Who I would be if I was know it!

It is difficult to enjoy well so much several languages

He sin in trouble water

He has a good beak

With a tongue one go to Roma

Take out the live coals with the hand of the cat

Burn the politeness

This wood is full of thief’s

He has spit in my coat

I have mind to vomit

Have you understanded?

Go Here if you would like to read the entire book in all its glory.  

 

And if you didn't laugh a single time while reading that then you must have had your sense of humor surgically removed by angry clowns.  I'm so sorry.

So as I leave you now I must ask, 'Have you understanded?'  For 'It is difficult to enjoy well so much several languages.'

:)

This wood is full of thief's.

Heehee.


(and congrats to me!  This is my 100th blog post!  Whee!!!!)

Forever Grateful

There are few things better than an evening with friends. 

I had the great fortune to go to a college where I met so many good people and made so many good friends that I don't know if life can get any better than that.  But college ended (as it always does) and the lot of us have scattered across several states and it's rather rare for us to see each other anymore--we who had been so close and practically inseparable. 

But what is taken away is occasionally given back--even if it's just for a short while.  So I was able to spend this evening with three very good friends from my college days; talking and laughing and playing games and generally behaving as if no time at all had passed since we saw each other last.  It didn't matter that our lives had moved on in different directions and with varying successes.  We were still friends, and that's all that mattered.

And I almost won our game of Risk.  Boo-yah!