ackkkk...

For those of you who don't know, we are leaving in the morning for two weeks in Cape Cod, Massachussets, so I will not be blogging for a while or if I do it won't be much.

Mom has to get all of her bulbs planted before we leave and also since the grocery stores are so expensive up there, mom bought all our food here and we are going to make food and freeze it and bring it up there in the coolers.

But since she's planting, that leaves me to cook the food, since my brother and my dad are mostly useless in the kitchen.

I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as veggie lasagna because it just isn't lasagna without the meat. This is coming from the mouth/fingertips of a self proclaimed beef-hater. Take the meat out and its just a funny tasting casserole.

The other thing I have decided is that if God ever decided for whatever reason that I can't go to heaven, instead of sending me to hell he could just smother me with mozzarella cheese. It would have the same effect on my soul.

I can't get the smell off my hands. I have tried soap. I have tried lemon juice. I have tried vinegar. I am about ready to throw up.

Birthday weekend...

Ohhkay... I know you're all probably wondering what happened this weekend, and whether or not it was totally fabulously awesome.

So, Thursday I drove down to New Brunswick, with a car full of random stuff that Steve told me to bring. I already told the story of what happened Thursday night so I'll start with Friday morning. Steve had to get his insurance paperwork to the DMV, so he got up really early and let me sleep in. What I didn't know was that he was also running errands. He took my bikes which I had been storing in the basement to the bike shop and had them fixed up. I had been meaning to do that, I just hadn't gotten around to it. So, now I have two working bikes. When Steve got back, I still didn't know what was happening so he had to tell me what kind of clothes to wear. Good thing I brought a lot of options.

We went to the mall first because I've been meaning to get a new bathing suit... not that there's anything wrong with the ones I have... just... yeah... its a girly thing. Anyway the one I fell in love with was two pieces, and each piece was $80 marked down to $60. So I said forget that, I'll swim naked before I'll pay $120 for practically no fabric. This is why I hate bathing suit manufacturers. I could get a prom dress for $120. I could get a two hour massage. I could have food for twelve days.

So anyway when I was done non-shopping, we went to the park next to the mall and rode the bikes around. That was so much fun and its been so long since my bikes were functional.

When we were done biking, we sat near the car with a cooler of cheese, crackers, fruit, and sparkling cider. The ducks in the area decided they needed to be invited to this little picnic.

When we got back in the car, Steve made me put on a blindfold so I didn't know where we were going next. He stopped somewhere and said, "Just sit here, I'll be right back." In a few minutes he came back and said, "Ok they're being bums and think its silly that I blindfolded you. We're back at my house and there are people inside. You can take the blindfold off." I went into the house and I could hear that everyone was in the kitchen, except for Rod. I said hi, and we kinda talked a little and then a few minutes later Navin came out of the kitchen and said, "Oh! Waait! SURPRISE!!" So the whole night Navin kept "surprising" me at non-climactic moments. Anyway, the surprise was an Indian dinner masterminded by Anissa but cooked by everyone.

Left to right, you will see, in no particular spelling-correctness, papadum (Indian tortilla chips), egg curry, some sort of pea-tomato-paneer thing, tuna cutlets, a saffron-rice-raisin-cashew dish, chicken tikka masala, palapum (a crepe-like pancake thing made out of fermented rice flour), spinach with coconut, and chipati (kind of like pita bread).


Left to right, you will see: Taylor and Anissa; Taylor, Anissa, Navin; and Nick, Mike, James, Rod, and Steve.


After that, there was Mango, Chocolate, and Party Cake ice cream, and different toppings that matched the different flavors. And Mango Lassi, a yogurt Indian drink... kinda like a smoothie. While we were all crammed around the table Navin mentioned a movie later, and everyone told him not to give away anymore secrets, at which point he SURPRISED me again.

Later, Cara showed up to join us for the mysterious movie, which turned out to be Harry Potter. While we were there, we sat with Joyce, a former jujitsuka, and her boyfriend Lenny. I haven't seen her in a long time. That night I completely passed out, exhausted and happy that I got to see all my friends.

In the morning, Steve asked if I was interested in visiting some of his friends who were all planning on hanging out and playing frisbee. I said sure, so we went over but they weren't playing frisbee by the time we got there because I was so exhausted from Friday that I slept in really late. So we sat around and played Hoopla, which is a sort of extension game of Cranium. It was fun.

Then we left and went back to Steve's place, where he told me I should change into different clothes, and get my cowgirl boots. I ended up with his Indiana Jones hat because its cooler than my hat, despite how cool my hat is haha. But I neglected to get any awesome hat pictures.

Anyway, once dressed up, we went to the Colorado Cafe, which is part restaurant, part bar, part dance floor, and part hicksville. We made it in time for some country line dancing lessons, and learned "Sundance" which is a 4-wall line dance, and "Blue Rose" which is a partner dance. We shared some buffalo chili and Steve had ribs; I had a chicken sandwich. Then we went back and danced a little more but mostly watched white people dancing (haha), and then Steve went on the mechanical bull and lasted 24 seconds. Note the bull's Jesus fish bumper sticker.



Then we danced some more, and watched people dance, making the total number of hours there about 6 1/2. It was kind of funny, there was one black girl, and one Asian (Steve) and one guy that looked like he was part Asian, part something European. Everyone else was white and usually had a beer belly. Yay for Hicksville! And for Day Two, Steve succeeded in completely wearing me out. Maybe he was trying to get me tired enough not to wake up so he could draw a moustache on me while I slept or something.

So, that was supposed to be the end of the weekend, but because we saw Joyce and Lenny on Friday, Joyce invited us to go to the shooting range with them. Steve is learning a lot of gun and knife defense techniques in jujitsu so he was really interested. I wasn't as interested, but still thought it would be neat to go.

Steve got a lot of bull's eyes, when he took three minutes to aim.


Steve with a .22, and a .45 (the same type used by James Bond in Casino Royale).



And me, taking my time trying to figure out how to hold and shoot a .22


So, that's not all the pictures from this weekend, but only the important ones haha. Anyway, I had a great weekend, and it was even better that some of it was spontaneous and a surprise even to Steve. Now he knows how it feels hahaha.

And thanks to everyone who came and made dinner. It was SOOOO yummy!

HENNA again...

This time, I remembered to do before and after pictures. These first ones are the "before." Note that my hair is brownish on my head but the very tips have been sun-bleached by my job into a bright orange color.




Once done with that, I went inside and glopped some green-chocolate-mud onto my head. Actually last night I did some research on henna and discovered the reason that henna is green but leaves a red mark on anything it touches when its wet. Henna is a plant, so its green. But inside the plant cells there is a chemical called lawsone (it has a red color) that is released when the cell wall breaks down, usually by hot water but sometimes with acidic liquids like vinegar or lemon juice which is why a lot of henna artists use lemon juice when mixing the henna.

I mixed mine with two teaspoons of powdered cloves because cloves contain the chemical eugenol, which is a brown color. There, now I feel smart. Back to normal me:

Thus, I now have auburn hair that smells like ham spice (the hay smell of the henna is completely overpowered by the cloves). No, I did not take a "during" picture. The henna was everywhere, and the camera's not mine.



There it is folks, the new soft-haired me. Really. Its very soft. Mmmm velvety.

Trip to the shore...

My mom and brother and some friends went down to my uncle's house at the shore on Friday. I followed, Saturday morning. Thought you all might enjoy some pictures.

Me on the lagoon:


Mr. and Mrs. Swan show up at the Cracker Cafe with baby Elizabeth. "Is it ok if she has crackers for breakfast dear? I think it should be ok..."


Elizabeth spit out the crackers so we gave her some grits. She liked that better.



Everyone is satisfied and poses nicely for a picture.


And Peter the most tame wild rabbit in the world munches on the new grass mom planted two weeks ago.

A trip to the Home and Garden Center

What kind of a vase would you use to display them?
I wonder if they come in different colors.
I wonder about the fragrance.
Who would help to put those preservative packets in the water?
Would they would look better on the kitchen table or in the entryway?
I wonder if they are cheaper by the dozen.
I wonder if they come with long-stems.

Captured at 115th and Allisonville Road in Fishers ( Indianapolis ). The sign is real and was up for about two hours before someone stopped and told them how to spell peonies.

Thoughts...

When the fire department throws a party to christen a new truck, or the EMT squad has a party for give-blood-day, or any emergency department has a non-emergency event that requires the use of their volunteers and vehicles, usually the neighboring towns are called on to cover shifts for a few hours.

What happens when every neighboring town is also involved in the same parade? I saw firetrucks today from towns I have never heard of. Some town called Murray's Island or something like that... I don't know of any islands around here except Manhattan. And Rochelle Park. I see their firetrucks every year, but I don't think I have ever driven through there.

In other news, my great uncle had a tree in his back yard cut down because it dropped a rotten branch in the yard. I counted the rings and it was 117 years old. Which means 1890. Thats pretty cool.

Anyway, I was gonna put a picture up of me standing on the tree trunk. But the scanner's not installed, the disk is missing, the film scanner's not installed but I don't have film anyway, and the digital copy is at my uncle's house in Maywood. So, short of taping the picture to my computer screen, I don't think I have any way to put it on my blog.

And that's all I have to say for now.

Because sometimes English isn't good enough

Many of you know (but some do not) that I minored in Italian in college. Through a random series of events I discovered a blog written in Italian and bookmarked it to glance at later to see if I understood any of it. What I found shocked me. I had forgotten how beautiful the Italian language is. I think the best way to describe it is that its an ancient language that has changed very little from its original Latin, and therefore, it is best used to describe old things, old memories, old friendships... its a language for memories. In fact, it has four different verb tenses for the past tense. Anyway, I hope the blog author, "Hanomalia," will not mind if I do a very poor translation so that (I hope) my English readers can travel with me as I reminisce. This is not going to be a word for word translation, because I can't say in English what it means as I understand it.

E' stato un ricordo che mi ha invaso come i raggi caldi di sole che c'erano stamani. L'ombra, il caldo, l'ora non lo so precisamente ma eccolo lì intatto.

She speaks of a memory that has penetrated her like the hot rays of the sun. The shadow, the heat, the hour, something is triggering it, but she doesn't know exactly what.

Le estati dell'infanzia quando alla fine della scuola ci si ritrovava con un appuntamento muto tutti insieme dopo un inverno da soli in appartamenti con la luce artificiale e i compiti da fare

She remembers her childhood, and the end of school, after spending all spring alone with the artificial light and the homework.

Ma a giugno cominciava l'estate, l'estate in strada perchè non avevamo parchi al massimo avevamo i campi in cui correre ed io cominciavo a starnutire e mi infangavo e cadevo e rompevo sempre i pantaloni

But June is when summer starts. There were places to run and play and fall down and always rip her pants.

E quell'ombra degli alberi e guarda che passa il primo amore il giallo dei campi il verde della cicoria gli occhi del diavolo e gli occhi della madonna Son stata felice e stamani in quel ricordo son stata felice ancora.

Under the shadow of a tree, look to see her first love pass by, the yellow of the fields and the green of the "cicoria," (I think that's chicory?) the dandelions and the violets. "I was happy and in that memory I am still happy."

Sigh. It makes me so happy to read it in Italian. Its only ok in English. You all will just have to learn to speak Italian. I miss those carefree summer days too. Summer rainstorms, and sitting them out under the trees by the water, waiting for the first love to come calling, playing games, ripping my clothes and not noticing till later because we were having so much fun, shaking sand out of my hair and getting tan instead of burned. Did you ever notice that when you hit puberty, your skin changes along with all the rest of you? In the summers, I was extremely dark... you'd think I had some Italian or Greek blood in me, in the summer, but nope... none of my ancestors had Mediterranean blood. Somewhere, somehow, my young childhood skin managed to be that skin I envy now.

Anyway... basta... enough. I'm going to bed with these summer dreams. Buonanotte.

An eventful day, in twos.

"If its one step forward and two steps back, perhaps I should turn around."

Today (which is now yesterday, because I waited to post this), a lot happened. I did two good right side stimes, and two good left side stimes. I was thrown by two different guys, and kazushied by two different women. I drove to two different places, was headbutted by two different goats, and worked in two different gardens. I even took two showers.

So, an explanation of all that, I went to work today and Betty noticed that Ebony's goat-bra was falling off. I am not kidding you, just like people, some goats get big enough to need a bra to hold it all on. So I had to climb the fence to hold her still, and thats when Glinda thought it would be a good idea to sniff, eat, and butt the back of my knee. Why the back of my knee, I have no idea, but perhaps she was in cahoots with Magenta, who thought it would be awesome to scratch her head on my butt.

When I finished with the gardens for the day, I went to jujitsu and for some odd reason, I was focused and awesome. I was happy with a lot of the techniques I was doing, and in Barb's words, my stimes were "damn good." Which is an incredible, but pleasant, surprise. Especially on the right side, because so often I find my head grazing the mat (for you non-jujitsu people, that means I'm an inch or two away from a concussion or a neck compression). But she said I had good height going over (don't know what changed). The bridge falls... well, I did one semi poorly... it was halfway between a stime and a bridgefall. But the second one, I managed to get half a hop in, which was just enough to qualify me for a genuine bridgefall, and my feet moved together, which was better than I was hoping for.

The rest of practice was good as well. We touched on every list except Goshin, and at the end, Barb said that at the level of blue belt, we should be capable of leaving our crap off the mat, but bringing our entire selves and our entire focus onto the mat. When we get that and are confident in the way that we move and do things, then we will be acting as the green belts do. So for tonight... I had that green belt mentality, even before she mentioned it. But I wonder, what put it there? And how do I keep it there? Lately its been as random as the weather. I go one day and class sucks, my techniques suck, my mood sucks, the whole entire world sucks because when one thing sucks it snowballs and drags everything else with it. And then the very next class will be awesome. Its like my jujitsu life is manic-depressive. Its either very very good, or its very very bad. And there's no way to predict how to keep it going.

My mom says that a person's outward life is a reflection of what's going on inside, and that is why the living room table looks like it does. But if you look at my room, its cluttered, there's stuff in boxes everywhere, and stuff in the closet, and I have more clothes than I thought I had, and I don't have the umph to clean or give away stuff. I don't want to touch it. And then look at my dream life, I have had so many dreams that started when I moved back home, and they are all cluttered with stuff and events too. My jujitsu life is scattered and slightly manic-depressive, and that all makes me wonder how I'm doing emotionally. I think I've closed off the window to that area so I don't have to see it. It makes me wonder, if I clean my room will that give me the drive to go into my emotional room and fix things up? Or is it that my room and my jujitsu will struggle until I've clean up inside? Which comes first? Or is it that I'm just a scattered person and it has nothing to do with my emotions? Maybe nothing is connected at all, its just a coincidence that everything is getting all scattered at once.

Now I'm just letting my thoughts wander. I'll stop now.

today...

I went to the goat farm today and they all wanted food because I was pulling weeds and they could smell the weeds on my hands... then I went with my mom to check on our friends' dogs, and they smelled the goats and went crazy. Then I went to see Sister, who is living in a palace that the vet calls the Taj Mahal. But she's used to being outdoors so she's bored out of her mind. But the woman who is taking care of her has 6 cats, and they smelled the dogs. So basically my day was a bunch of animals smelling me.

We saw a mother bear and two cubs on the way up to Shoprite today. The guy who lived there was standing on his deck banging pots, so my mom helped him out by honking the horn. The cubs ran to a tree to climb it but the tree was too big so about 4 feet off the ground the first cub realized he couldn't go any further, and started looking around for mommy. It was funny. Didn't look comfortable.

The last comment for the day is this: I hate undefined pronouns. Example: "Jenny was chasing Forrest across the field and it was all she could do to keep up with him." It what? WHAT was all she could do?? Why is "IT" such a big secret? Why won't anyone tell me so that I, too, can keep up with Forrest?

Ok now I'm done.

3 accidents in 6 months...

On New Years, my mom's rear windshield was smashed by a Corona bottle. In February or March, my dad was rear-ended while driving my brother's car. This morning, my dad and brother hit a deer on the way to work. In my dad's precious Honda.

Let's hope its not contagious. There are no more cars in the family left to smash up, so hopefully, I don't have to be involved in any deer rear-ending.

In other news, somehow the town animal shelter heard Sister was pregnant and begged my mom not to abort them. Apparently they have a kitten waiting list. So, Sister is going to spend the next 9 weeks in a large animal shelter cage so she can give birth and nurse her kittens, and at the end of it all she will be spayed and when the stitches heal, she will be released back at our house where she can continue being a feral cat who is afraid of people. Hopefully the animal shelter people will make her a little more trusting of people. Mom doesn't think it will happen but oh well.

Anyway, here's hoping Sister eats enough to actually survive her inbred pregnancy. If the kittens even survive they will probably be of that three-eyed variety. Cool!

So...

My mom neglected to tell my dad that Sister is going to have kittens. Instead she called him at work and said "You're gonna be a grampa!" Now he looks at me funny.

Anyway, the latest update is that we have a sedated pregnant cat living in a birdcage on our porch. She's not healthy enough to survive a litter of kittens. Still it would be so much fun to have kittens again.

And in more animal news, my goats are doing well. If you didn't know or are a recent addition to my blog readers, I used to work at a goat farm, and have agreed to go back there one day a week. I used to help feed the goats and horses, muck stalls, and then keep the gardens weeded and planted. I also rebuilt a rock wall that had fallen down. The first few days I worked there, Dora escaped her pen as she was accustomed to doing and broke into her mother's pen to nurse. When she was full, she left mom's pen and came over to make sure I was planting the right plants. She was a runt, so the following year when I worked again, she was still only half grown. But now she's too big to break out of the pens and she's nursing her own. She looks beautiful, like a show goat. And amazingly, the horses, Danny and Sisco, are still alive. They are probably older than I am. Apparently, goat farms are the "Florida" of the retiring horse world. Boober is also doing well. Why do cats like to roll in gravel? I never did figure that out. It looks like it might be fun. Maybe I'll try it sometime to see what the big deal is.

I'm hungry. Bye.

Hicksville!!

I threw on an old pair of jeans today so I could go out and work in the garden. They are pants that I regularly wear to garden in, therefore, the knees are worn away. As in, completely gone. All the way to the seam. So... maybe I should just make shorts out of them. That way I won't have a sunburn on my knees only, my whole entire leg could be in agony. Great! I went inside and grabbed some scissors and just cut the excess material off my legs. Kinda uneven... oh well.

The rest of the day included making jokes about cut off jeans. The epitome of hick jokes went like this:

Me: Yeah sorry about this Mexican bean and rice thing, I don't normally put that much rice in it.
Mom: Do you normally put it on your hot dogs?
Me: Not really but I'm wearing cut off blue jeans, I figured I HAD to have a chili dog.


AAaannd since my dad has a new digital camera and I've finally figured out a system for putting pictures on blogger... Here's my dad trying to outdo my hick pictures.





Just kidding.

Simple math for stupid drivers

Since I am in my first year of unsupervised driving, I am one of the few New Jersey motorists who has actually read the most up-to-date driving manual, a handy little booklet that states the laws of the road, the breaking of which can lead to fines which are also stated in said booklet.

It is all very scientific and easy, yes, I did just use "scientific" and "easy" to describe the same subject.

Rule 1. Car A is stopped at a red light. Car B is stopped at a red light. Cars A and B lie on the same line, in the same plane, but are facing in exactly opposite directions. The lights change, and both cars proceed into the intersection. At this point the math looks like this: Car A = Car B. However, Car A intends to turn left while Car B intends to go straight. This means that according to the driving manual, Car B > Car A, and gets "right of way." Car A also intends to turn left without signaling said intentions. This means that Car A should drive off a cliff. (Car A = die, moron)

Rule 2. The posted speed limit is X mph. This does not mean you should drive at (X + 10) mph. This also means that I will be going at X mph. This also means that when you are driving behind me, your speed ≤ X mph. You can not drive through me due to the Pauli Exclusion Principle (thanks D.C.!), but that's more complicated math which most drivers I have shared the road with are too stupid to understand.

Rule 3. If I am driving X mph, you must stay a safe distance away from me. "Safe distance" can be properly defined as (X ÷ 10) car-lengths away (average car-length is about 13.12 feet). Because a car > 12 inches in length, 12 inches ≠ safe distance unless X = .76 mph. To quote a bumper sticker I once saw, "get off my rear unless you are a hemorrhoid." Although if you are marking up a $15,000 vehicle with a $3 tasteless bumper sticker that allows hemorrhoids to remain on your rear, you are probably also a stupid NJ driver.

Rule 4. Driving is not a thrill ride for me. In fact, its not even close. Therefore, I will not allow it to be a thrill ride for anyone driving behind me either. If you tailgate for 15 minutes straight and do not even think about passing even when you have several opportunities, I will feel no remorse at choosing to remain within the limits of the law and NOT driving at X + 10 mph.

I think thats enough math for the day. Perhaps I will add more rules as I feel led, but in case there are any "stupid NJ drivers" who happen to come across this on the internet, I will refrain from overwhelming them with rules explained by simple math.

Disclaimer: 3/4 of this blog post was about speed. I do not intend to suggest that people should drive like a geezer and hold up a lot of traffic, nor do I regularly do this, or drive slowly to incite road rage. Its been said that the "safest speed is the speed of traffic," and I try to keep (X ± my speed) balanced between the speed of traffic and the frequency of police cars in the town in which I am driving, so that my wallet ≠ 0,-0 (or wallet > 0, for those who are picky about mathematical correctness) and so that the number of points on my license = 0.

Alice in Wonderland meets the Matrix

I have just seen the coolest movie ever. The plot, without spoilers you will understand:

(see if you can identify a little of every movie genre)

"Even the five court ladies danced in sync to the frog's flutes and drums. The whirlwind of the recycled paper was a sight to see. It was like computer graphics! That I don't support Technicolor parfaits and snobby petit bourgeois is common knowledge in Oceania! Now is the time to return home to the blue sky! The confetti will dance around the shrine gates. The mailbox and the refrigerator will lead the way! Anyone who cares about expiration dates will not get in the way of the glory train! They need to fully realize the liver of the triangle rulers. Now, this festival was decided by the 3rd grade class with the telephoto camera."

A machine allows scientists to experience the dreams of their patients. But a psychopath gains access to the machine and forces people to dream even when they are awake. (sci-fi)


"You're a feisty country girl I saved some time ago. How are you? If he was not home when I passed by around 7:30 then he probably disappeared into the instant noodle soup."

A scientist and the dream image of herself work together to find out who is behind the crimes, and stop them. (mystery)


"The ecstasy that blooms in synapse is paprika-brand milk fat! Five percent is the norm. The safety net of the ocean is nonlinear, even with what crabs dream of."

She finds herself trapped in a dream, and rescued when one of her patients unlocks the secrets in his own dream. (Romance)


"The number you called for assisting young children is not available because of crowded tires in the Pacific Ocean starting at 7:63 AM."

Suddenly the dream world begins to break through into reality! (fantasy)


"Today's weather is dreamy, and will clear up after a sunny sunny sunny sunny sunny day. The dream I had yesterday and today. The happy and mundane world will vent their anger. The dreams will grow and grow. Let's grow the tree that blooms money. Its most valuable while its still a bud. That's right, so we shall preserve the memory forever. If there is no flower there will be no fruit. If there is nothing then I won't do anything. If you're unhappy, please put a vote in this eyeball. Who would give up this throne? I am the emperor..."

The dream characters are going to take over the world! (apocalyptic/ horror)


"The one I've been waiting for since historic times! Your flute's melody is a sound for sore neurons! A fragrant fat is a first class lunch! Well-rounded achievement is missing a spice."

Finally, something which I will not tell you happens, and there's a happily ever after ending with awesome techno music. (melodrama/ fairytale)

Kudos to the Japanese for reaching for the moon instead of the sandbox shovels.

aghhhh...

So I felt fine last night, but I woke up this morning with a pain and stiffness in my neck. I touched the offending spot to see what was the matter and *gasp* there was a tumor! After hearing Steve's voice in my head (and half a dozen other guys I know) saying in an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, "Ees not a tumah," I convinced myself it was a swollen lymph node.

What?? After 23 years of allergies, ear infections, and sinus problems, my body has finally decided to swell a lymph node? Why now, body? You stupid.

Now it feels like an ear infection that somehow slipped down my eustachian tubes into my neck. Either that or someone moved my ear. One or the other. I keep doing the reflexology points for lymphatic cleansing, and the gland feels tingly when I do. But I can't spend my entire day rubbing my hands and feet. Time for the echinacea/goldenseal/vitamin c/ ginger/ garlic bombardment!

Uhh... hearing and swallowing hurts.

I just need to grumble... I'm ok I think. Back to planning dinner. Bye.

Thoughts...

I remember watching a movie once where the characters describe the taste of a pear, in depth (not just "it tastes fruity") and then commenting on it and other tastes in my blog.

I realized it has been a while since I have described the smell or taste of something, and have found the perfect item to describe.

Dhaval introduced us to an Indian treat called pan. Its basically a lot of sugar, spices, and peppermint, wrapped up in a semi-bitter leaf called a beetlenut leaf. How to describe the taste? Hmm... It has the same effect on the tongue that a Monet painting has on the eyes. Mixed with incense. Yeah, it is kind of like eating incense.

Anyway, Steve and I were invited to an Indian dinner and were told not to bring anything. Not to arrive empty-handed, we brought pan, and it was a great success, thanks to Dhaval's introduction to it.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. The water pump in the house broke Thursday night while I was in New Brunswick for jujitsu, so I'm staying down here until I know I have access to a hot shower up north. So that's what I've been up to.

Goodnight

Had to quote it...

Send this pestilent traitorous cow-hearted yeasty codpiece to the brig!
~Cap'n Jack Sparrow

I love it.

Fun or Funny...

Making fun of Paris Hilton. I have recently discovered that she is the same height as me (5'8") and yet she weighs 15-20 pounds less. People tell me I'm too thin, so she must be on the brink of death or something.

And the other thing is this: A farmhand is hired for 60 days and is provided with a cottage to live in for the duration of his work period. For each day that he works, he will be paid 6 units (of whatever our currency happens to be). For each day that he does not work, he will have to pay two units to cover the cost of accommodations while in the cottage. At the end of the 60 days, he has 144 units of currency. How many days did he work?

I have the answer, I just don't know how one would arrive at the answer, so if anyone out there is smarter than me, please help. Thanks :-)

tears

I came across some interesting stuff... I'm not in the best mood right now but the things I am finding are helping me.

This guy is writing about his travels and some of the things he is finding in the museums:

Psalm 56:8 "Put my tears into your bottle; are they not in your book?" As we toured the National museum in Tehran looking at history dating back 6,000 years. I was amazed to see some odd shaped bottles and read the information and heard the guide's explanation. When a husband went off to war the wife or loved one would weep their tears in a bottle, upon their return they would show how many tears they had cried, they were kept in a bottle. David cried to God "put my tears into your bottle". God knows your every pain, your grief. He knows every injustice, hurt, and feeling in you. He keeps your tears as your treasure of love. The hurting lover would hand to her beloved the bottle of tears - they spoke louder than the words ‘I love you'. Everything you've gone through in life for God is a treasure for Him whom you love - and He knows it.

This other woman (I think from India) is writing about pain (I added ellipses in places where I have shortened the passage to save time):

What is pain? Is it inevitable? Is it a corrective process? Or just something that happens with no special meaning, which one learns to sometimes live with? ...it seems to me that pain and sickness among other things, are part of a process that helps your mind and your psyche to expand. When you say "Yes" to life, you are basically saying yes to all that it wants to show you, to teach you. And then life shows you what it has to, in its own way. Sometimes the learning process involves joy and ecstasy, sometimes it involves pain and when you get down to a deep enough level you see that there is actually not much difference between the two. The only difference is in our reaction: we accept the one state and reject the other and the rejection more than anything else is what brings suffering.

...In some mysterious way, pain, when approached in the right way, opens up the mind and heart and you realise that there could not have been any other way to get to where it takes you.

Some questions regarding the learning process:

...When you reject pain what are you really rejecting?
Do physical and emotional pain mirror each other?
Isn't pain (at the emotional level) often a by product of having to face a new situation in life?
Isn't suffering a result of not being able to let go?
If I were able to let go of the past, of how it used to be, and of future images of how it ought to be, would I still suffer?
...

I cried when I read it because it struck a chord in me, but as I read it again, I realized she didn't answer any of those questions. But in the end it doesn't matter, as long as I know that there is someone out in the world who is asking those questions too.

Overall... I'm not sure why I hurt sometimes, or where the pain comes from. I just know that it comes on me suddenly, and then I don't know what to do with it.

This one is for NAVIN!!!

Watch for this scam. I don't know how many of you shop at Wal-marts, but this is how I became a victim of this scam.

Two seriously good looking well-built cowboy type guys come over to your car as you are loading your purchases. They are both shirtless and start wiping your windshield with a rag and windex with their highly defined chest muscles and rock-hard abs. Its impossible not to look. When you offer them a tip, they say "No" and instead ask you for a ride to another store. You agree and they get in the back seat.

On the way, they start talking dirty about what they want to do to you. Then one of them climbs over into the front seat and begins kissing your neck and begs you to pull over so he can make love to you! While this is going on the other guy steals your purse!!!

I had my purse stolen last Tuesday, Wednesday, twice on Thursday, again on Saturday, and also yesterday and most likely tomorrow.

(This came to me in an email so if anyone wants it in email form let me know and I'll send it to you.)