Update...and Link love for Lena. :)

I've been extremely busy this past week; not just with work...fun stuff too! I went to see The Dark Knight, (Which is extremely dark, but really good!), and hosted a party for an old friend, etc.

I'm catching up on reading and commenting. Also, thanks for all your visits. I will be replying to your comments in the next couple of days. :)

Now, some link love for Lena. Go read her writing at Peace of My Soul. She always has something insightful to say. I stumbled across her blog a few months back, and couldn't stop reading. You go do the same.

PS:
I would like to thank Adam Duritz, from the Counting Crows, for this post. Because if I had not been listening to his music right now...my energy level would have been -nil, which basically means--no post.

Musical Monday

I Like Giants
Kimya Dawson

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road, turn out the lights, get out and look up at the sky
And I do this to remind me that I'm really, really tiny
In the grand scheme of things and sometimes this terrifies me



But it's only really scary cause it makes me feel serene
In a way I never thought I'd be because I've never been
So grounded, and so humbled, and so one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything



Rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye



When I saw Geneviève I really liked it when she said
What she said about the giant and the lemmings on the cliff
She said 'I like giants
Especially girl giants
Cause all girls feel too big sometimes
Regardless of their size'



When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road and run and jump into the ocean in my clothes
*I'm smaller than a poppyseed inside a great big bowl
And the ocean is a giant that can swallow me whole



So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything



So I talked to Geneviève and almost cried when she said
That the giant on the cliff wished that she was dead
And the lemmings on the cliff wished that they were dead
So the giant told the lemmings why they ought to live instead



When she thought up all those reasons that they ought to live instead
It made her reconsider all the sad thoughts in her head
So thank you Geneviève, cause you take what is in your head
And you make things that are so beautiful and share them with your friends



We all become important when we realize our goal
Should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole
And yeah, rock and roll is fun, but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky



Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
And I don't wanna make her cry
Cause I like giants

Does Bank of America Suck?

I’m beginning to think so. And this guy has already determined that they do. (check out his site.)

I recently established a Bank of America checking account. (by recently I mean in the past eight months) Anyway, for years and years, I had maintained an account at a fairly small bank. They are established, but not growing like a weed. I moved, and circumstances led me to BOA.

I had been previously warned, by a few people, that Bank of America had screwed them in some way or another, but I didn’t heed their warnings.

Now, this week, I have spent numerous hours on the phone with them dealing with less than friendly customer service representatives trying to get unwarranted fines taken off my account.

I think the problem is finally solved, but my experience with them has been horrendous. It’s like they get the rudest people with the biggest chips on their shoulders, and hire them to represent the company.

While scouring the web I found many stories of people in similar, or worse situations with Bank Of America.

Tell me, have you ever had an issue with BOA? And are you happy with your current bank’s policies, and customer service?

This is So Weird...

Apparently, a man and his son were born on the same day, and at the same time 23 years apart. Pretty strange...I love stuff like this. :) The following was taken from here.

One day, Aevrik Murray may look just like his father, James. But they actually will share a lot more in common.

When Aevrik was born at 2:33 a.m. June 23 and measured 19 inches long, it turned out his father had all the same numbers 23 years ago, Michigan’s Bay City Times reported Tuesday.

James Ham, a professor of statistics at Delta College in Saginaw, Mich., told the newspaper the chance of that happening is 1 in 525,600.

"So it equals out to about 2 in 1 million that a father and son would share the same date and time of birth," Ham said.

"I just kept staring at Jimmy’s birth certificate," said Mary Murray, James Murray’s mother. "I said, 'Jimmy, you’re not going to believe this: You were both born at exactly the same time.'"

There was another birthing similarity, as well. Like his father, Aevrik was born a few weeks before his due date.

"I thought he was going to come out early because I was an earlier baby," James Murray said. "It was just a shock."

Warm and Fuzzy Video...Thanks Lauren! :)

Lauren posted this video for me today. I really needed it too...it's a great pick me up. Watch it, and I promise you will feel good! :D Go visit Lauren too...while you're at it.

Help...My Computer is Sick

It's Monday, and it sure feels like one!

One of my computers got a virus yesterday, and I've been working literally around the clock trying to fix it. I've managed to get most of it out...by scanning again and again with many security programs. The last little bit...is playing hard to get. I've been to chat rooms, etc, and nothing seems to work.

My problem is: getting rid of VISTA Antivirus 2008. This is a fake program that brings up security alerts, and so forth. (I don't even have vista.) Also...my tool bar shows Virus Alert! And the clock is reading military time.

If there is anyone out there that has a clue...please help. :) You can comment here, or just email me with suggestions.

Thanks.

Importance of Self

Lately, when I think deeply, or really-- philosophically, I keep arriving at the same end…in order to be happy, fulfilled thoroughly, and then pass on our positive energy, and love-- completely to others…we must look inward first.…ultimately, being happy and content with ourselves. (Comfortable in our own skin so to speak.) The bigger, but simpler picture that I see is “we” must know, and love ourselves fully and unconditionally before we can be there truly, and completely for someone else.

I’m not necessarily talking about romantic love. This philosophy can be applied to all relationships.

Being content, complete, and happy with one’s self is not an easy task. In fact, at times it occurs to me that absolute self knowing, and self love might not be humanly possible. But, me being a glass half full kind of girl, I will say I think we can come damn close.

For me, it’s an upward battle that I’m constantly struggling with. However, it is a good struggle, and somewhat reassuring because it is so constant.

Below are some works that speak to this topic. Please take a moment to enjoy them.

The first, is a quote from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love.

“Tonight, this strange interior gesture of friendship—the lending of a hand to myself when nobody else is around to offer solace—reminds me of something that happened to me once in New York City. I walked into an office building one afternoon in a hurry, dashed into the waiting elevator. As I rushed in, I caught an unexpected glimpse of myself in a security mirror’s reflection. In that moment my brain did an odd thing—it fired off this split second message: “Hey! You know her! That’s a friend of yours.” And I actually ran forward toward my own reflection with a smile, ready to welcome that girl whose name I had lost but whose face was so familiar.”

Now Private Party by India.Arie:

[Chorus]
I'm having a private party
Ain't no body here but me, my angels, and my guitar singin' baby look how far we've come here
I'm havin' a private party
Learning how to love me
Celebrating the woman I've become, yeah

I tried to call my mother, but
She didn't get where I was going
I called my boyfriend and he said
Call me back a little later baby
I hung up the phone, I felt so alone
Started to feel a little pity
That's when I realized that I
Gotta find the joy inside of me

[Chorus]

I'm gonna take off all my clothes
Look at myself in the mirror
We're gonna have a conversation
We're gonna heal the disconnection
I don't remember when it started
But this is where it's gonna end
My body is beautiful and sacred
And I'm gonna celebrate it

[Chorus]

All my life (all my life)
I've been looking for (I've been looking for)
Somebody else (else)
To make me whole (ooo)
But I had to learn the hard way (ooo)
True love began with me (ooo)
This is not ego or vanity (ooo)
I'm just celebrating me

[Chorus]

Sometimes I'm alone but never lonely
That's what I've come to realize
I've learned to love the quiet moments
The Sunday mornings of life
Where I can reach deep down inside
Or out into the universe
I can laugh until I cry
Or I can cry away the hurt

[Chorus]

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday

[Chorus 2x]

And finally a poem by Derek Walcot that I posted here last year.

Love After Love

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Derek Walcott

Stop Puppy Mills

One of the things I'm passionate about is caring for dogs in need. Helping to stop puppy mills falls into this category. I was ecstatic to find out about the huge raid the Humane Society made at the end of June. Below is information about Puppy Mills from here.

Life Behind Bars

The life of a puppy mill dog who is used for "breeding stock" is particularly shocking and sad. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, a treat or a toy. Breeding animals are commonly killed after their fertility wanes, or they're abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is an estimated two to four million puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems.

There are thousands of stories to be told from those who have suffered because of puppy mills. The HSUS has compiled both heartbreaking and hopeful stories from dog owners whose dogs either suffered at puppy mills or were born at one.

Cruel and deplorable places puppy mills continue to thrive because they prey on unwitting consumers who are smitten by too-cute-for-words puppies in pet store windows and on fancy websites.

Behind the friendly facade of the local pet shop, the pastoral scenes on a website, or the neighborhood newspaper ad, there often lies a puppy mill.

What You Can Do

The number one way consumers can help shut down puppy mills is to avoid purchasing dogs from pet stores, and adopt from a local shelter or rescue group instead.

Watch this video...it is pretty touching. These dogs need all the help they can get, especially because thy can't speak for themselves, and all they want is love.

Note: Some of the text wasn't formatted correctly in my original post, so I have updated. I'm not sure if the feed itself will update.

What I'm Doing Right Now

Contemplating why it is that the cops are always spending their “on duty” time chatting with the waitresses outside of Hooters. Our tax dollars at work!

Wondering why it never fails that when I go out to eat…whatever I order they happen to be out of. (this happens 3 out of every 4 times I go out to eat) lol

Thinking about how great it is to wake up every morning with a clear head, and a clean slate…to do with whatever I wish!

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Now playing: India.Arie - This Too Shall Pass
via FoxyTunes

Coming Clean

Today, this blog is going to take a little side trip into the world of pop culture.

You know, I don’t care about people and their reactions to what to what I read, watch, listen to etc. I not embarrassed about anything. I just am who I am, and I do what I do.

That being said…I have been keeping something from my readers, so I figured I might as well come clean. :D

One of my must watch TV shows is The Two Coreys. If you don’t know what it’s about here is a short, but very complete synopsis of the show:

Two Coreys= Corey Haim & Cory Feldman child stars from the 80s.
Were in a few movies together…they were friends, but became estranged as their careers went downhill.

In its second season…the show is basically about them finding their way in Hollywood again, and trying to rebuild their friendship.

I started watching last season because I was curious, yes, but probably more because it just looked like something to laugh at. (Which it is!) :) I NEVER thought I would be a devoted watcher into the second season.

Despite, the obvious overacting and pre-doctored scenes I am drawn back every week. And, get this, I’m even concerned for their rocky friendship, and for Haim’s mental health. Who would have thunk it?