Thoughts for a Great Wednesday

The dark cloud over, or in, my head that was haunting me last week is gone, hooray!  Safely back on the other side of the doldrums, I can see clearly again and am more overwhelmed today by all the blessings surrounding me - blessings that I can usually see and appreciate - like the joyful noise of a chirping bird in the morning (seriously, this brings me such happiness on days that my mind isn't clouded), the appreciation of the beauty of a spring world awakening, a bright sun shining in the sky.  I often take for granted the many blessings that surround me - I don't see them.  But thankfully my eyes and ears have been opened.

So on to some thoughts for Wednesday....

1 - First, you have to watch this video.  It makes me so nervous just watching it - it's crazy...

2 -Second, no Lost this week, so y'all are spared my random musings....I know, I know, don't be so disappointed.  It's all good - it'll be back next week.  Then you will have to put up with my mourning after the show ends in about 4 weeks.  Tears spring to my eyes just thinking about it...

3 - I wonder what people used to do when they didn't have a way to get in touch with each other except through letters.  Explanation for that thought - Yesterday, I tried to get in touch with my brother.  I sent him two texts, a phone call, and even Facebooked him throughout the whole day, but heard nothing, at which point I started to get paranoid and immediately my head went to wondering if he's alive...has he been attacked? Did something happen to him in his apartment? Would his roommates check up on him?  Turns out he was fine - I got a Facebook message back from him, but I only got it the next morning when I turned my computer on (because I'm not like one of those cool kids who has a Facebook on their phone).  But how did people not go crazy when their brothers or sisters or kids or parents went off and were pioneers?  Did they just assume they would never see them again?  What is a brother or father was press-ganged into service in the British royal navy?  How did families survive in such uncertainty?  It definitely is a modern luxury that I take for granted, this instant accessibility of all my loved ones.

4 - There are some great and thoughtful articles permeating the interweb.  A few that I stumbled upon worth sharing...two thoughts from Donald Miller, one on confidence and faith and the other on successes and failures. 

This article is from the New York Times about the field of psychiatry and how many current psychiatrists are more quick to prescribe medication before actually listening to the problems of their clients - they only listen far and deep enough to diagnose a set of symptoms and then prescribe a set of drugs that will chemically alter the make up of their clients' brains, mixing and matching and medicating more if the symptoms don't resolve.  Hearing this admission from a doctor, a psychiatrist himself, really upsets me.  I don't have a problem with taking medications when they are truly needed to help a person.  But when it has been shown that a person listening to the patient can have the same effect as a pill, I ALWAYS want to have the option presented to me that is an alternative to drugs.  Anyway, it is an interesting article from an industry insider and well worth the time taken to read it.

Another interesting article that came out today on the evil of Powerpoint and its influence on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  I'll let Seth Godin take it from here.


And that is all for now because I realized that I ran out of time. Happy Wednesday!!

Thoughts for a Rotten Wednesday

First of all, I probably shouldn't be posting any kind of blog post about my thoughts this week because I generally try to stay away from blogging, or Facebooking, or any kind social media communication, or really any kind of communication at all, when I am in a rotten, depressed kind of mood because people generally take it the wrong way.  And I also don't believe in expounding ALL of my thoughts and feelings in Web 2.0 form.  So suffice to say, though I am having a rotten day, augmented by rotten, dreary, rainy weather, I will not dwell on the rotten state of my being for the rest of this post, and instead focus on the few things and thoughts that have crossed my path this week that I find worth spreading the word about.

1 - The concept of hope has been something that I feel has been coming across my path for the past couple of months.  To be honest, I've never really understood what hope is about - much like I never really understood what the concept of a heart was until I was enlightened through some of John Eldredge's texts.  For someone who can have a hard time in dealing with the abstract at times, something as nebulous as "hope" has always sounded like an empty sort of optimism - like it is a tireless attempt to always be positive and always an attempt to find the silver lining in whatever circumstance you find yourself in.  But I'm learning that hope is much, much more deeper than just a half-hearted attempt to see the bright side of things.  Through various readings I've run across, this concept of hope is slowly revealing itself to me.  One reading that I want to pass along is from a dear friend, Emily Thompson.  Her latest blog post poses some great questions and thoughts about hope.

2 - I've just recently started reading Donald Miller's blog and I have to say that I'm really enjoying it so far.  He had a really interesting post today about whether not our personality influences our theology.  Check it out and leave him a comment!

3 - Lost Thoughts:  First, I think you should check out Jeff Jensen's "Countdown" post on EW.com.  It is one of his better posts and thoughts about what is going on in said Lost world.  Second, I think the Willy Wonka poem that they are using in the promos offers a clue as to what is coming in the next few weeks.  Here is the verse in total:

There’s no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going…
Not a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
Are the fires of hell a-glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?
Yes, the danger must be growing…
And they’re certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing!

Isn't that great?? I think it pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about these final episodes - I have no way of knowing where we are going with this thing.  I'm just along for the ride at this point.  I have heard that some people will die before the show's end and here's my prediction for the next major death - Kate.  I don't think Ms. Austen is going to make it off the island, which sort of resolves the Kate-Sawyer-Jack love triangle, by removing the main element of the triangle.

I also don't think that Desmond is dead - I don't think Sayid shot him.  I don't think that FLocke appeared as Christian Shepherd to Jack - in fact, I don't think FLocke is any of the "ghosts" that have appeared on the show.  And I think that the real John Locke's soul is still within his body that the Man In Black is apparently inhabiting and maybe there is a war going on within his soul, a la, Stephenie Meyer's "The Host". 

4 - I hate answering the telephone.  Especially on a rotten day in which it seems to ring incessantly. (Whoops! Sorry, my rotten mood snuck in there - my apologies.)

5 - This past weekend I got to take a group of high school girls to DC.  I really had no agenda for the day, other than to go visit the National Gallery of Art, which I'm sure they were all dying to go to :).  But something that I've always heard, but honestly have rarely done, is that as part of "contact work" with high school kids, invite them along with you to something that you were planning on doing - even if it's a mundane errand like laundry.  Well I decided that I wanted to go into DC, and so invited them along, and wonders of wonders they all wanted to go!

Then the fun part started...

As we were Metro-ing into the city (and sitting in crowded trains waiting on track delays), the girls came up with a game among themselves in which if they didn't answer a question correctly, they had to ask a stranger to do something with them - like, ask 5 strangers for a high-five.  This quickly evolved throughout the course of the day from just a dare to assigning each of us with a task.  I just let the girls run with it - they were being much more creative than myself and were having a great time coming up with these tasks.  They assigned me to get a stranger to do the "Bend and Snap" with them, a la Legally Blonde.  I wasn't sure that we were actually ever going to do our assigned tasks - the girls were talking and talking about it the whole day.  But then, as we were walking on the National Mall, one of my girls took it upon herself to make her's happen, and promptly got a photo of a piggyback ride on a stranger's back.

The gauntlet was laid.  I knew that we now had to make this happen and everyone had to get in on the fun.  Please note - it is not in my personality to ask random strangers to do random things and take a picture of it.  But really the Holy Spirit must have taken over because there was an infusion of confidence and boldness that took over and helped the girls to accomplish their tasks.  It was an unexpected opportunity to lead them in something outrageous - something that only usually happens at Young Life camp.  It was so fun, really cool, and helped build a memory for these girls that we will always have.  It may not "look" like anything about Jesus was talked about, but believe me when I say, He was there.  That's probably the coolest thing about being a Young Life leader - you get to see Jesus show up in the most unlikely places and at the most unlikely times.

5 - More MuteMath love...they released a beautiful new song called "The Fight".  Check it out.




And that friends is all I have for this week.  Sorry for the rotten mood diatribe - this Thoughts for a Wednesday caught me in a funk. And so I'm taking Scarlett O'Hara's words to heart today..."After all...tomorrow is another day!" 

Thoughts for a Wednesday

1 - Ladies and Gentlemen, Oceanic Flight 815 is about to make it's final descent.  Last night's episode, "Happily Ever After" was my favorite of the season thus far (only equaled by Richard Alpert's backstory - oh Richard, how I love thee).  But any episode with my future husband, Mr. Desmond David Hume,  is guaranteed to be a great one - did you catch all the nuisances and lines from previous episodes and seasons that were uttered?  I'm glad to see that finally the Sideways world and the Island world merging and coming to a conclusion.  It's like "Yes, please tell me the end!!" intermingled with "No, I don't want it to end!!" I find myself living in between two worlds! (And apologies to all those who read this blog and that paragraph just made utterly no sense to you).

2 - I was driving today back from lunch and had this epiphany (I have a lot of epiphanies while driving) that I feel like I am finally growing up and becoming my own person, my own woman.  I feel like I'm beginning to finally understand "who" I am and what I want.  And I can't put this feeling into any concrete words other than just this general feeling of latent confidence.  I read all these quotes from fashion designers or stylists or magazine writers that say that confidence is the sexiest part of a woman, or as Nina Garcia says, "Confidence is captivating, it is powerful, and it does not fade - and that is endlessly more interesting than beauty."  I don't think I've ever understood what that means, to have confidence.  But I'm beginning to think that it's an attitude that understands who you are and accepts and loves yourself for who you are.  I can count on my hand the numbers of times that I've felt that way - most of them as a result of traveling somewhere by myself - but I'm beginning to feel this way in my everyday life.  It feels good to begin to understand who you are.

3 - If you read this blog at all, you know my love of dance.  Well this weekend I had the pleasure of watching another dance performance, this dedicated to the art of tango.  It is a beautiful, sexy dance that makes me wish I could move my feet with any kind of rhythm (in my Sideways world life maybe?).  But what is even more fun to have a tango attitude - overly dramatic, sexy, stalking-esque, and lots of pointed toes.  And when you try tangoing inanimate objects, life becomes very fun.  Point in case, this photo of me "tangoing" my wall, or as my friend said, my self-timer - either way, a tango attitude brings a lot of sexy to a moment.

4 - You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child?  I would like to coin a new saying, "It takes a village to take care of a single woman."  Because without the generosity and love of my family and friends, I wonder how I would eat or exist and live the amazing, wonderful life I am blessed with.  The only reason I can begin to have confidence in who I am is because of being loved by all the wonderful people who I am lucky to call family and friends.

5 - I hope everyone had a wonderful, blissful, and blessed Easter this past weekend!  I was blessed to spend the entire day with my family (minus my sister who is living Down Under) and most of that day was spent outside on my parents' new screened in porch and patio that they added to the house right before winter came.  This was the first weekend that we all got to sit out there and it was so lovely.  My parents even got a fire pit and we got to toast marshmallows (or actually, as my mom and prefer them, marshmallow a flambeau) and sit around the fire pit enjoying each other's company and the beautiful night time sky.  It was the perfect day and a memory that I will always treasure.

6 - WWWWWAAAAAAHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!  Yes, folks, I did indeed triumph and win my office's NCAA pool!!!  After 5 1/2 years and coming close a few of those years, I finally won!! Unreal.  It marks the second time in my life that I have won an NCAA pool and so awesome.  The ironic thing is that I missed the entire tournament - I did not watch one single game, not even the championship game.  Yes, seriously.  Hey, what can I say - I'm a busy girl?

7 - And Hallelujah, Baseball is back!!!!!! A piece of my life that was missing is finally back.  Long summer nights, dramatic games, every pitch meaning something, the entire pace of a game switching in a heartbeat - there is nothing more excitedly boring to watch than baseball.  My goal is to make it to a Yankees game this year, as well as more than one Nationals game.  I probably have a better chance of succeeding at making it to a Nats game than the Yanks, but who knows?

8 - And spring is officially here!  Really and truly, my heart was rejoicing this morning as I was driving into my office.  There is nothing more beautiful than seeing the trees blossom into amazing green goodness and beauty, interspersed with flowers everywhere - pink, white, yellow, purple - all these amazing gorgeous colors.  The beauty of spring truly makes my heart sing.  Allelulia - the long winter is over and the promise and hope of resurrection yet again bursts forth with song and beauty.

Thoughts for a Wednesday

Grrr...I am so mad at my computer.  I was in the middle of composing my post when inevitably some error occurred that wiped out some of my thoughts!! The nerve....so apologies if this isn't a very good post - blame it on my pc...

But life must go on I suppose, so without further ado, here are some thoughts for this week's edition of Thoughts for a Wednesday.

1 - April 13th!  That's the date that Deadliest Catch premieres!  I am so excited, though very sad because one of the main captains, Captain Phil Harris, passed away during the filming of this season.  It is one of those rare times that a reality show becomes actually real.  Maybe that is why I love this show so much - its authenticity versus the stories that other "reality" shows can create through careful editing.

2 - While I am talking about TV shows, I have to mention Lost and how I can't believe that there are only 6 episodes left.  That seems so unreal to me.  Will we ever figure out who is good and who is evil?  Will there be any concrete answers given to us, the ones loyal enough to stay with this show through all the mysteries and questions because we knew that an ending would come?  Or are we being set up for a non-ending, something along the lines of Sayid "I don't feel anything...", no more pain or joy or anger at the mysteries of the show, but just numbed to oblivion by all the ones left unanswered?

3 - And also I just want to give a shout out to "Kell on Earth", the reality TV show that just concluded on Bravo based upon Kelly Cutrone and her business, People's Revolution.  I think you either love or hate Kelly.  I happen to be in the camp that really likes her (to be honest, I have to admit that I have loved her ever since her appearance on "The Hills" - she was one of the best things about that show with her no bs attitude).  She really is a remarkable businesswoman, with an amazing combination of both vision and implementation, which has made her very successful.

4 - Speaking of women and business, I just recently finished reading this book called Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids, and Life in a Half-Changed World.  I read it on recommendation from my two best friends, and it really was a mind-bender.  I'll save my review for another post, but suffice to say that it made me think a lot about the life decisions that I face as a woman in my late twenties, approaching thirties.

5 - So in other news, I have started another blog, this one dedicated to all things style and fashion and my thoughts and outfits that I choose to post.   I've just been reading too many of these fashion blogs for my own good, because obviously they have inspired me to start my own.  So come stop by Small Time Style when you get a chance and leave a comment or two or become a follower if you'd like!  Any and all suggestions for posts are more than welcome!

6 - I am Number 4 in my office NCAA tourney pool and the ONLY one to have picked Duke to win the championship.  SO I potentially have a shot at emerging as the winner of the office pool.  It is an admittedly loooonggg shot, but it's as close as I've ever gotten in my office pool (with the exception of winning the first round of picks one year) and would mark the second time in my life that I would win in my pool!  If you hear a loud shout of "WAHOO" come next Monday, my apologies in advance.

7 - It seemed as if I blinked and Easter is already this weekend!  Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, and one of the traditions of the Catholic Church is that every Palm Sunday we read the Passion of Christ.  The congregation participates in the actual reading, which is always poignant for me, for it reminds me that I too was one of the crowd yelling "Crucify him!" to Pilate when he wanted to release Jesus.  It happened that I was just finishing the book of Mark at the same time and so read the Passion again the next morning.  This time in reading it, I was struck at how easily Pilate gives in to the crowd.  I know that Jesus's purpose for taking on human form was to bring us salvation, but it struck me that Pilate could have not given in to the demands of the Pharisees and others who wanted to kill Jesus.  Pilate could have stepped in and saved an innocent man - he KNEW that Jesus was innocent - and yet he washes his hands, saying that Jesus's blood is on the Jews.  His indifference to an innocent man's fate and willingness to give in to a crowd just makes me wonder about myself and the world that I live in.  Would I be willing to save an innocent man even if it went against everyone's wishes?

8 - Lots of thoughts this Wednesday!  One more for today - if you've been reading this blog for any length of time at all, you know that from time to time I like to give my thoughts on foreign affairs and various international relations.  The recent wave of suicide bombings in Russia have me concerned and wondering how Russia's reaction to these latest bombings is going to affect the greater world balance and what actions they are going to take to stop "the terrorists".  But this is a case of journalists choosing words - are these suicide bombers terrorists or are they Chechen freedom fighters?  Separatists longing for their own freedom and territory or people bent on inflicting destruction on others for no good reason?  Check out Kevin Sites' video on Chechnya that he filmed while on his "In the Hot Zone" documentary and then form your thoughts.

And that's it folks!  Coming soon, a book review on Flux and maybe a couple other pictures that I snapped last week.  And who knows - maybe I'll have some thoughts on another day than just Wednesday!

Thoughts for a Wednesday

1 - I am learning a lot about myself.  I tend to get frustrated very easily.  Stressed a lot.  Annoyed by lots of little things.  Overwhelmed by big projects.  Stuck in an endless cycle of procrastination and un-movement.  Held hostage by what Seth Godin would call my "lizard brain" (see this book for more on the lizard brain: Linchpin:Are You Indispensable?).  And he would be right.  I am stuck by my lizard brain.  But what does it take to get unstuck?  What's the first step? Is it acceptance? Patience? Gentleness?  How do you not become the person you see yourself becoming - how do you stop?  And so I am learning.

2 - For all of my Lost aficionados - Are you in love with Richard Alpert as much as I am?  The Office's own, Rainn Wilson had this to say about last night's episode: "''Tonight's episode was one of TV's greatest of all time. I'm gay for the eternal Richard Alpert. There I said it.'' (thanks ew.com for that :))  I heart you Ricardo.  I heart you.

3 - Oh spring, spring, spring, spring!!! Green, green, green, green, green, green. Sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun. Warmth, warmth, warmth, warmth. Finally, finally, finally, finally.

4 - Do headbands with flowers and bows attached to them connote a desire to be a kid again?  Or are they just a playful adult way to convey whimsy?  Either way, I love them and am incorporating them into my wardrobe this spring.

5 - This is an interesting article on the recent healthcare bill that was passed.  Other than this, I don't have much to say about the bill right now.  I don't think it's evil, but I don't know that I think it's all good either.  Maybe it's my recent interactions with the banality and inanity of local town government, and thus have a hard time seeing how a federal government can make an industry already inherent with banality and inanity better due to its own shortcomings.

6 - This is also an interesting article I ran across through a blog that I once in a while read called The Great Deception.  She is uber-conservative and Catholic and while I don't always agree with what she has to say, every once in while I come across something that is thought-provoking that she's posted. This is such an article.

And that is all for today.  Right now I am carrying on a project over at my other fun blog, Ruminations and Reflections in which I am going to be doing some multiple quote postings each day.  This is really in part due to the fact that I am cleaning my desk in order to prepare for an imminent cubby move, but want a way to capture all this wisdom that I have come across over the years.  So swing on by if you get a chance to check out some wise thoughts from other random people!