An Irish Blessing

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone! In honor of my Irish roots, I'm posting this blessing to all who may stumble upon this blog today.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

We sang a lovely arrangement of this blessing when I was in high school concert and show choir. We always ended every concert with it. I absolutely loved the arrangement and have loved the sentiment since first hearing it. Have a wonderful day and don't forget to wear green!

going to do better

There was a time when I posted every single day. I'm going to get back to that now, I promise! I guess I haven't really felt like I had anything interesting to say lately. For awhile there, I couldn't say much about anything. At first, I didn't want to say anything during the job search because I was afraid that prospective employers might read something into what I said and not hire me! Then, when I got the job I have now (which I love, by the way) I didn't want to say much in case it didn't work out. Now that I've been in the job for almost a month, I feel a lot more confident about it and I feel like I can say something about it.

Did I even say where I'm working now? I can't remember if I covered that here or not. I'm the new Resource Development Manager of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. It's a step up, career-wise, and it's a truly great organization. I like my coworkers a lot, although I haven't had much of a chance to really get to know them. That will happen, though.

So what else is going on? I watched a new show last night. My Tivo recommended it. It's called quarterlife and I found it interesting. I'll watch another episode or two. I googled it after it was over and found that it actually started online, so now I'll have to check on that and see what it's all about. I used to know all this stuff, I was really up on everything that was going on - but now it seems that I'm more focused on the local happenings. I guess that's good, in a way, but it's also bad because I like knowing what's new in entertainment. Must make an effort to stay informed. Anyway, the show was interesting and I kept wondering how I knew the main actress. Turns out she was on an episode of Moonlight for about 3 minutes. Funny that I would remember her from that!

I'm still having fun with my Tivo. It recorded 4 episodes of The Outer Limits as a suggestion and I had a blast watching them last night. I have an inexplicable love for that show. It's a guilty pleasure. However, it also recorded an episode of Tyra Banks. I guess it can't be perfectly accurate all the time, can it?!

Gas prices are going up again. It's insane how much they are allowed to raise them without any kind of regulations. We are being taken for a ride, quite literally, by the oil companies. I really should have bought the hybrid version of my car. If I could do it over again, I would. The other alternative is moving closer to work, and once I've passed my three month mark, I will. I'm already looking at apartments. We'll see what I can afford when my student loans double in a few months. Stupid loan company.

Dona Nobis Pacem

Fly your peace globe today, November 7! I'm flying mine in honor of Blogblast for Peace and this is my post about how I feel about peace. My globe includes a quote from Elenor Roosevelt that I find particularly inspiring. It applies to peace in the world as well as peace in our own lives. It also applies to any positive change that we may be trying to create in the world or in our lives. It isn't enough just to talk about something, you have to believe in it. But you can't just believe in it, you have to work at it. How is that true for peace? I believe we can apply it in the same way that we apply another famous quote that I love, "Be the change you want to see in the world." We can't just talk about peace, we have to believe in it. I personally believe that if you believe strongly enough in something, you will work at it, simply because of your strong belief that it is right. What can we, as individuals, do to create world peace? We can start in our own lives by doing something kind to someone else. This may not be very profound, but I have discovered that it is pretty difficult to be angry or violent with someone when you have a "warm fuzzy feeling" because someone else just did something kind for you. Even if the person who was kind is not the one you may be angry or upset with. There's a certain symmetry to the world, where if you pay something forward, it will eventually come back to you. I think this can apply to peace. What is peace? It is a state of nonviolence, a lack of hostility. It's hard to be hostile when someone just baked you a batch of chocolate chip cookies! While that batch of cookies may not change the world, the kind thing your recipient does for someone else and the kind thing they do for someone else may eventually create a ripple effect that can be heard around the world. The smallest whisper can be turned into the mightiest roar with the right amplification. Send a whisper out into the world today. Show someone love and respect, and see what happens when they do the same for someone else and so on. It's amazing to know you're making a difference. Perhaps one day, the ripple will become a wave that will wash away all the war and hatred in the world. Perhaps one day, we will truly see world peace.

Moments of silence

I observed two moments of silence today for the people who were directly and indirectly affected six years ago today. One was private, a moment I took while getting ready to go to work. I felt it would be impossible to start my day without remembering and thinking of those who are still in mourning for their lost loved ones. The other was public, at a United Way kickoff rally that I attended as my organization's representative. There was something special about observing that moment of silence with a room full of people. It was good to know people still remember. It's important to remember.

To all those who are still mourning, to all those who weep, my thoughts and prayers are with you today, and everyday.

Two years after Hurricane Katrina

I was in Biloxi the other day, and it looked better, but there is still a lot of work to do. Not to mention the other towns in the area: Gulfport, Waveland, Pass Christian, New Orleans, etc.

Working at a disaster relief organization opened my eyes to the realities of what a storm can really do to a community, to a family, and to an individual. It is devastating. But do you know what else working in disaster relief has done? It revealed the inner strength of people to me. I have seen the most amazing determination in the faces of people who have lost everything. At a moment when I fear I would have given up, these people were helping each other so that they could all put their lives back together. This is why the communities affected by the storm will return better than ever. The people will see it through to the finish.

Today was not a day of sadness for me. It was a moment to remember the struggles and to applaud the people who are still there, still strong, and still rebuilding.

confusion sets in

There is so much confusion. So much I want to do, and I seem to be unable to do any of it. I am torn in so many directions that I'm not sure what to do anymore. I love working in public relations, and I absolutely adore working in nonprofit, but there is no future where I am, no way to advance beyond my current station unless someone quits or gets fired, and that's not going to happen. I want another job, one where I can continue growing. I also want to find something that will allow me to enjoy the other part of my life, the writing, the theatre, and the photography. It's odd... when I was in college, all I wanted was to find a job that consumed every minute of my life because I'm single and don't really have a huge amount of friends. But now that I've found theatre and the group of people involved in it, I want my free time!

Deep down inside, I yearn for the stage. I wish I would have gone after that when I had the chance. Now, I feel I'm too old and way too out of shape to try for anything professional in that area, not to mention the fact that most people in theatre/television/film are beautiful, and I'm average at best.

Why did I have to be cursed with so many passions? I want to do so much in my life, and now I'm too old to do some of them, and have too many financial obligations to pursue others. Like I said, I love my job and I love working with an organization that helps people, but my passions... they are my reason for living. I still want with all my heart to be a writer, and I'm trying to get that off the ground so I can do it fulltime. It'll be a few years before I'm able to go fulltime, though, so in the meantime I'm doing everything I can to get things started.

Still, the confusion remains, and I'm unsure what to do about it.

Do your thing

Chris and I saw this documentary last year at the Sidewalk Film Festival and I found it completely inspiring. I didn't know it was available for purchase until I googled it tonight and found a link to download it. So that's what I'm doing now! I need a little inspiration right now, especially considering a venture I'm about to start. More details on that later... For now, enjoy this preview and get this movie! It's wonderful!

Quotable

I haven't done a quote in awhile and this one really struck me.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things youdidn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream." - Mark Twain

Dona Nobis Pacem

I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower - 34th president of US 1953-1961 (1890 - 1969)

Dona Nobis Pacem - Give Us Peace. It's an interesting concept, isn't it? That people have the power to promote peace. That individuals, coming together as a unified voice, can bring about peace on earth. Is it possible? I like to think so. Today, bloggers all over the world are displaying their own peace globes, like mine above. Today, these bloggers have called their posts Dona Nobis Pacem. It is a cry, in a unified voice, for peace.

Allow me a moment to tell you about my peace globe. I received an email from Mimi about Blogblast for Peace a few days ago. I didn't know about this amazing effort until then, and I'm glad she told me about it. I went to the site to get a peace globe, intending to sign it and submit it like everyone else. However, when I copied the one I liked and signed it, I wasn't satisfied. I sat at my computer for a few long moments, contemplating what peace means to me, and what kind of message I could put on my globe to help promote world peace. World peace. Obviously, if I want to truly display a message of world peace, I would need to say it in languages other than English, so I searched for translations. I found a wonderful site, World Peace, that has the word peace translated into over 270 languages, including braille, morse code, American Sign Language, and.. if you can believe it... Klingon! I didn't include the Klingon translation on my peace globe, but I tried to represent as many different languages as I could. It became an obsession, really. I wanted it to look perfect, I wanted it to be just right. I'm pretty happy with the results, and I hope you enjoyed looking at it.

As you know, I usually don't get political here on this blog. I prefer to keep it light. However, I thought this was worth doing. So today, I raise my voice with the others and say "give us peace." I will end this post with some other voices and their thoughts on peace.

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.

- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

We look forward to the time when the power of love will replace the love of power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.

- William Gladstone

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.

- Thomas Jefferson

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

- Eleanor Roosevelt

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
- Mother Teresa

And here are the peace globes from others throughout the blogosphere. Beautiful, aren't they?

Memorial Day

Nation's Largest Food Drive

Tomorrow will be the nation's largest annual food drive, so if you are reading this, and you live in the US, please consider finding out how you can participate. It's so easy! All you have to do is put a bag of food out by your mailbox and your letter carrier will pick it up and take it to a local food bank. If your letter carrier doesn't pick up the food, you can take it to a local post office and they will take care of it!

So join the largest food drive in the nation, and help people in your community who need food!

World Aids Day

Today is World AIDS Day. Take a moment today and think of all the people affected by AIDS, and consider making a donation or doing something for your local AIDS group.

Will people ever learn?

Warning: Rant to follow.

This is making me crazy. A mom in Georgia is trying to get the Harry Potter books banned from her child's school. Read the article here or check out other news stories about the banning of Harry Potter books here. Banning books is not the answer. In fact, it's the problem. It's ironic that this news comes only a short time after Banned Books Week. Remember that the American Library Association is available to help you if someone is challenging a book in your community. Go here for more info. So to do my part in speaking out against censorship, I offer these two images, from the American Library Association. I may eventually put them on my sidebar with all the other things I think are important, because fighting censorship is an extremely important battle.

Ten ways to celebrate diversity

I've been thinking a lot about diversity and equality lately. It's extremely important. I found this neat list of 10 things we can do to celebrate diversity, so I wanted to post this. It was on the University of Alaska Web site, if anyone is curious.

10 Ways to Celebrate Diversity

1. Respect Everyone. We're all human beings, and we're all equal too. Treat others the way you want them to treat you.

2. Make the connection. We are much more alike than at first it seems. We all have hearts and minds and dreams.

3. Be Proud of Your Heritage. You are special - don't keep it inside. Share your culture background with pride.

4. Keep an Open Mind. Listen to what others have to say. You're sure to learn something new that way.

5. Learn About Other Cultures. Explore the world that we all share. It's you world, too, so show you care.

6. Avoid Sterotyping. Don't judge others based on their looks. It's what's inside that matters - just like with books.

7. Enjoy Multicultural Activities. Go to cultural festivals, concerts, and more. The world's full of interesting things to explore.

8. Study Another Language. You discover other cultures as you learn what people speak, whether it's Japanese, Spanish, Swahili, or Greek.

9. Reach Out. Friends of all backgrounds bring something new. Get to know people different from you.

10. Build Peace. Kind actions and words help spread peace with ease. Tolerance, love, and trust are the keys.

interesting article about the word "sucks"

I happened to look at this today and thought it was so interesting that it deserved a mention here. I've battled with my mother on the meaning of the word "sucks" so often, even in adulthood, that it is refreshing and wonderful to see someone write so intelligently about the origins and uses of this word. I personally never use it in professional settings, but it is so useful in my personal life. Yet when I do use it in front of my mother, she still makes a noise of disapproval. I plan to print it out and give it to her so she can see that I have no ill intent when I use this word. It's just so appropriate in some situations...

Dreams

I had the dream again last night. I was in school. It was high school but on the campus where I went to middle school. I'm late for class, but I have to get my books from my locker. I go the the locker, but suddenly realize I don't remember the combination. So many people are around me, my friends from all the years I was in school and people I knew. But there are people from my adult life there too. I bang on my locker, but can't get it to open. Nobody else has any trouble with their lockers. They get their books and go to class. People are bumping into me and pushing me out of their way as they hurry to their destinations. I know I need to go to class, but I can't go without my books. I know that I really need what's in that locker to get to where I need to go. After trying to open it for what feels like a long time, I decide to go to the office and get my combination from someone. When I tell them the problem, the secretary looks down at me and says, "only you can do it." I tell her I can't remember the combination and ask her again to please look it up. She says, "nobody can do it for you. only you can do it."

Then I woke up. I have been having this dream for the last few years. It started when I was in college and hasn't stopped. I have it about once or twice a month.

One day I'm going to have this dream analyzed. I'm fairly certain it has to do with a goal I want to reach and am relying on others too much to help me reach it. I think it's probably a reminder that I am the only one who can do something about my life.

So what's the reason for having it now? It's something to think about.

I did some work on After the Storm today. I also got a little brainstorm about Deadly Council, so I worked on it a little. It's easier than I thought to juggle two projects. I thought I'd get the two confused and it would mess up the tone of the different works, since they are so different, but they haven't bled into each other yet. That's a very good thing. I'm going to bed a little early tonight. It was an exhausting day and all I want to do is sleep.

So goodnight!

Why???

Quick rant: I was flipping through a book at a store today. It was a book on how to find a man worth keeping or some such nonsense. I don't read books like this because I think they are silly, but this one was from a Christian perspective and I thought it might have something interesting in it. This book went so far as to say that a little plastic surgery wouldn't be a bad idea to be prettier so that men will notice you. WHAT?? I mean, I'm all for "getting pretty" to go out so that I'll look nicer in case I see someone I know or in case I meet someone interesting. But to me, "getting pretty" means putting on some makeup, maybe putting some kind of product in my hair, and wearing cute clothes. It does not involve invasive surgery just to impress men. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! And the book is from a Christian perspective. Whatever happened to inner beauty? It just strikes me as odd that a book from a Christian perspective would be telling women it's a good idea to get plastic surgery to improve their apperance, when we are supposed to be focusing on our inner beauty and the condition of our souls. Every Mother's Day, my pastor preaches about Proverbs 31. They don't say much about the outward attributes of this woman, but they praise her for who she is and what she does. They say she is worth more than rubies. She is trustworthy, productive, intelligent, energetic, strong, compassionate, talented, responsible, positive, respected and wise. They call her The Virtuous Woman, not The Beautiful Woman. In fact, one of my favorite verses is from this passage: "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God is truly charming and lovely." I guess my point is that it seems very extreme for a book from a Christian perspective to tell women to have plastic surgery to improve their looks when we are actually supposed to spend more time on what's inside rather than what's outside. It just sends the wrong message. Needless to say, I did not purchase the book. Personally, if the choice comes down to getting plastic surgery and finding a man or not getting plastic surgery and being single for the rest of my life, I'll take being single. I'm happy with myself the way I am, and if people don't like it, they can keep walking. Sure, there are things I need to work on... I need to lose weight and I want to grow my hair out, but I wouldn't have surgery to fix anything on me. Don't get me wrong, sometimes surgery is needed or wanted, and I would never judge a woman who chose to get surgery for herself, so that she can feel better about herself. But I don't need surgery to feel better about myself and I sort of resent that book saying I should consider it just to "snag a man." Actually, I don't believe in changing anything about myself just for a man. I did that once and will never do it again.

Okay, rant over. Sorry about that.

So today... worked on one of the three grants I'm trying to finish. This one is due Friday, which means it's actually due Thursday because I'm going to our Florida office (to work on the other two grants) on Friday and won't be around to submit it that day. It's been great working on this grant. I'm actually creating a program for it, a program we've been wanting to create for awhile now, and if we get the funds we will be able to do it. It's a nutrition and fitness program, to help combat the problem of obesity among poverty-stricken families. The program will be geared toward the kids, with handouts they can take home for their parents. I've been doing a lot of research on the issue and it seems that a lack of education among low-income families contributes in part to the obesity problem in those families. If we can just show them that they can eat healthy without spending more money, we've at least done something. We're also considering doing a gardening program to show the kids how to grow their own veggies, and a junior chef program to teach the older kids how to prepare simple, healthy meals for themselves. So you can see where this particular grant would be a lot of fun to write. I'm looking forward to seeing if we get the funds so we can start the program. It's going to be great!

An odd thing happened today. My boss, who is a really incredible person and a great mentor to me, got an email with job listings today and we were looking at them in her office. She found one that I actually qualified for and mentioned I would be good at the job. I laughed about it and asked her if she was ready to get rid of me. She said no way, which was funny. But thinking about it later, I find it odd that she would mention I would be good at a job that isn't the job I have now. She's very cool about those kinds of things, though. When I was hired, they told me they were aware that this job would be a stepping stone for me and that I would probably move on in a few years. Obviously with the salary they are able to give me, I will have to seek other opportunities in the future, but usually bosses don't like to talk about those kinds of things. So anyway, it was a strange moment. I hope I'm not getting fired or anything, lol!

The editing is still going well. I'm finished with chapters 1 and 2, but I think I'm going to go back to chapter 1 and adding something that might make things more interesting. Still determined to finish the first five chapters by the end of the week so I can send the package out on Monday. As for the writing, I'm gearing up to start on it again. After the Storm has been difficult lately and I'm sure it's what I said before. It's hurricane season, and not even a year since Katrina. The subject matter is still too close to me. The first passage I wrote was about the smell on the Mississippi coast, about how it was the smell of death, even a week after the storm. The smell was so strong and overpowering that it seeped into your clothes and even in your skin if you were there for any amount of time. When I read back over that passage, the memory of that smell and the feelings I was having at the time just came flooding back to me. It was almost too much to bear. I have to get over this thing, or I will never be able to write the story. And I really want to write this story.

Okay, so I've gone on and on forever tonight, so I'll leave it for now.