April 2006 Archives

"At this point in your life, what do you treasure most - good friends, good food, good sex, or good theater tickets? Would you have answered this question differently a year ago? Five years ago?"
   Without a doubt - good friends. One thing I've learned in life is that good friends, truly good friends, are few and far between. Sometimes even people you think are your good friends really aren't. Part of life is learning to differentiate. Good food, sex, and tickets can all be bought and/or are fleeting. Good friendships are earned and are enduring. And it was that way a year ago, five years ago, and will be for a long time.
(source: Holderman, Jerry. Gay Questions New York: Alyson Books, 1998.)

   Taco Bell customer says to me in line, "I could just live on this stuff." Yeah, and probably have a stroke on it too...

   This was just too ironic to pass up. I was listening to Rachel Maddow this morning about what members of Congress were doing to react to high gas prices. Apparently the democrats took a photo in front of a gas station. GOPers drove about in hybrid vehicles to make a point. But this photo is of the Republican Speaker of the House getting out of the hybrid and going to his own car, a big honkin' SUV. I think it's symbolic of most of the leaders of our country... (source: AP Photo)

   This is one of those nights when sleeping just apparently isn't an option. My brain is just buzzing with all kinds of crap. Mostly it's about the community center - there's just so many things to do and so little time and manpower to get it all done. I tried writing it all down to get it out of my head - no luck. I figured at least my brain would stop thinking in circles, but I think I just write in circles. Working on a fundraising plan, volunteer programs, building renovation, major event planning, etc. Add to this, I have to be at work at 4am. I'd have time for a nap if my mind would shut up for a little bit.

   I was listening to a commercial over the weekend (which I rarely do anymore - thank you TiVo!) I heard the most ridiculous line... I can't concentrate. Could I be pregnant?.
   What happened to just being tired? Maybe a little stressed? Maybe you just haven't eaten recently. Perhaps you just need a smokey. The Swedish Medical Center has an article that states, "We can't focus because we're sleep-deprived, nutritionally deprived, dehydrated, unmotivated in our work and fatigued from juggling too many responsibilities." No where in there does it mention perhaps you are pregnant. This becomes even more of an issue if you are male.
   It's like those commercials for drugs now too.. "Do you ever feel sleepy? Then you need Slepophil!" Chose a problem that everyone has, right? So everyone will need your little pill. Or pregancy test.. whichever comes first.
(Sources: EPT commercial; Can't concentrate? Join the club)

   Have you ever thrown your coins into a wishing well? The idea of wishing wells apparently comes from times when water was quite a commodity, and people believed that deities had left the well there. They thought it had magical and healing powers, so if you repeated your wish three times it would come true. Of course that was only if you didn't spill the beans first about what you wish was to someone else. Back then I think you had to drink some of the water too - not something I'd recommend with most wishing wells nowadays. Some kid probably peed in there.
   When I was a small child I really believed the whole thing about the wish, even taking the time to be sure I was wishing a good one. Now that I know better, I seem to be missing the point. Sometime this spring, find yourself a wishing well and remember what it was like to believe without question that magic existed and wishes could be granted.

"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."
- William James

Some nasty weather went north and south of us this evening. Some lightning filled clouds were just south of us when I took this shot. I thought the 3 different colored clouds right next to each other were interesting. (Nikon D50, 1/50, f5)

   Last night around 1am I had the most excruciating pain in my side. It was so bad I had trouble walking and could barely talk the pain was so bad. Although I'm the last person to want to go to the doctor or hospital, I decided I needed to go to the ER. Conveniently enough I'd just had my health care plan changed. So I'm trying to figure out which hospital to go to thats in-network. I called the number on the back of my health card, and who do I get? The infamous electronic woman. Please say how I can help you. Most of those things let you talk with a person when you say representativeso thats what I said. She understood, but informed me that I would have to call back between business hours. Sure, so back at the main menu she asks again what I want. I shout back at her, Emergency room! Her response, I'm sorry, I didnt understand that. Yeah, I bet she didn't understand what I said next either.

   Spring has officially started because today we turned the pond pump back on. It was so nice to take the netting off the pond and start getting the yard cleaned up. The sun was shining and it was almost warm there for awhile. The fish were swimming around and our frog, which has grown to be huge, was looking for a place to sun himself.
   Something odd - I had no idea that some plants start sprouting in plastic bags in the dark. A coworker had given me some Black Eyed Susans last year - I totally forgot about them. They ended up in the garage. So today I saw the bag and figured, well they must be dead. I'll throw them out. So I look in the bag and surprise they're sprouting away. So now they're in a planter by the deck - we'll see if they make it. Sad though, one of our weeping willows didn't make it through the winter. (they're little ones) The other one is blooming already though.
   Looking forward to a warm week after a lovely, restful weekend. Maybe I'll get out and take some pictures!

   I was reading a report about how the "ex-gay" movement is targeting youth. How ironic is that? Isn't that what the homophobes accuse queer folks of doing? You know, convert a kid, get a toaster. What do they get? A slow cooker? Apparently there are numerous facilities that exist nationwide to expose these LGBT youth to an "alternative lifestyle." I'm thinking But I'm a Cheerleader. Apparently parents are supposed to watch out for "effeminate" behavior. In a better world, parents would spend more time making sure their kids were doing well in school and getting everything they need for the future.
   Wouldn't it be great to actually target kids with things that are worthwhile and useful?
(source: Youths the target of "ex-gays", The Advocate, April 11, 2006, pg 26.)

   If you could take a pill that would magically make you whatever you wanted to be, would you? If a pill would make you straight would you take it? If a pill could make you suddenly glamorous and rich, would you swallow? If a pill could make you taller or thinner, would you partake? I watched a movie called Hard Pill the other night about a gay man who takes an experimental pill to make him straight. It made me wonder.
   Really, at this point in my life would I take such a pill? I would honestly have to say no. I have a wonderful partner, a good job, a home, good friends and a wonderful family. Tearing at one thread in the fabric of life can ruin the entire tapestry. Would I have taken the blue pill years ago? Perhaps, perhaps not. But are these little miracle pills that we would take to become different really the answer?
   Part of reaching goals in life is the journey. Actually doing what you set out to do changes you, so the simple fact that you got where you wanted to be doesnt negate the fact that you had to work to get there. If you want to be thinner, you have to work at it. If you want to be successful or rich or famous, you have do work, make sacrifices, and learn about life along the way. Quick fixes are for people with limited attention spans and lack the drive to persevere.
   Now Im not talking about microwave dinners, overnight shipping, and a cigarette buzz. Those are all symptomatic of something else entirely. But the drive to be better than we are, to make the most of our lives, is not something that comes in a capsule. Its what defines a person, and makes us strive for more throughout life.

   Meetings of any group of people are almost always quirkily interesting to me. I always notice how people have such varied communication styles and manner of presenting themselves. On one hand you have the spunky, random person and at the other end of the table the focused, logical one. The dynamic between the two can be enough to make your head spin as you watch them go at it. Interestingly, it was a very productive meeting.

   The other day I was doing my "not-really-shopping" shopping when I happened upon a find. Now I know I'm getting older when this item is a "find." It was on clearance - 50% off and I was delighted. This new toy of mine, an iron.
   Now it's not that I didn't have an iron before. The problem was that it was like 25 years old. Ironing was such a chore laboring over one shirt for half an hour. This lovely jobbie does it in like 5 minutes. It actually heats to the right temperature, lets out the right amount of water, and if you want a blast of steam it puffs like the little engine that could. It has a titanium plate so it glides along like Mary Poppins in a breeze. And it decalcifies itself as your work so you don't have to mix a magic potion to clean it out. I think I just ironed everything in my closet it was so much fun.
   Now once the novelty of having a new iron wears off, it'll be a pain in the ass once again.

   My grades suck... So disappointing. On to the Spring Quarter...

Potential presidential candidate John McCain says he longer considers evangelist Jerry Falwell to be one of the "agents of intolerance" that he criticized during a previous White House run.
   In other news, McCain has admitted to having difficulty hearing clearly...
(source: McCain Softens Language on Jerry Falwell)