Patience of a Saint

Ok. As you have no doubt figured out, I really believe the universe is on its head. So instead of the sky being blue and the grass green, it's the other way around. Because of this, I have had to practice both tolerance and patience. I have talked about patience before and in the past week, mine has been severely tested. There are some behaviors and situations that I just don't tolerate very well and when those two things are combined, I have two options; defense or offense. Both options are preparations for war. In a defensive preparation, I practice patience, build walls and protect my buttons. In an offensive preparation, it's No Holds Barred. At anytime, the preparations can shift. As for my preference...I don't have one. It depends on the situation.

Can you tell I love "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu? Of course.

So it will be...

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
-- Douglas Adams

At least for now...

P.S.

The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.
-- Fran Lebowitz (1950 - )

Waiting only clouds the issues.

Dear Universe,

I swear you have been turned on your head. When it came to what I wanted, you decided to go with what everyone else wanted for me. Thanks. Unfortunately it wasn't what I wanted... So what do I do next? Rebuild walls? Disappear? Fight?

I know your answer...so it will be.

Me.

Thoughts in our heads

So why the quotes?

I get this question periodically so here is my answer. It's very simple.

Sometimes I want to rant, make a comment or question something/someone. I use quotes to keep things private. Why embarrass either myself or someone else. So if you want to spend the time guessing...go for it.

It's not getting any better...

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.
-- Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - 2008)

My Monday

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up.
-- Anne Lamott

Happy Easter!

I love Peeps. They are awesome. The chicks are cool but I love the bunnies better. Gooey marshmallow with sugar. Yes. But I am one of these people who buys them and then lets them rest. Pop a hole in the packaging and wait. What am I waiting for???? The meringue cookie like texture that comes from drying out. It takes great patience. So what do I while I am waiting? Eat the ones from Christmas. :-)

Got to love March Madness

I like college basketball. It is fun to watch and much more exciting. In March, there is tournament of 64 teams from around the country. You get to see small schools against the big schools. There is always the favorites from a number of the big schools. It is great to see the smaller schools or schools that are not normally known for their basketball prowess. There are always surprises.

I like watching the tournament. My family and I always fill out the brackets to see how we do. Sometimes I pick some strange ones. One year I picked Vermont to go farther than either my brother or my dad. They thought I was nuts. I still pick my bracket like I always do...from the heart than from analysis.

Today has been fun. I got to watch the games with my dad this afternoon and tonight. A lot of fun. I am not doing as well as I could have if I actually analyzed the match ups instead of just listening to my heart but at least this way, I have great discussions with my dad.

In one's....

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?
-- Sound of Music

Sometimes...

Too much of a good thing is wonderful.
-- Mae West

How to be...continued...

As usual...my brain kicks in during the middle of the night and I start thinking. It was still running a muck when I awoke at 3am because yesterdays posting was the last thing I thought about when I went to sleep. I did manage to get back to sleep and have had the day to mull over my thoughts. Life is interesting.

What are these paths that we are on and what keeps throwing forks in the road? Are we on paths like the interstate highway system or are we on just one road with little diversions like stopping for gas or food? I wish I knew the answers but instead I can only hypothesize.

I think it depends on our own belief system. Do you believe in fate or consequences? Maybe you believe in the idea that you decide your own destiny. A combination of all three? What ever you decide will shape your view of what your paths through life look like.

For a long time I always felt like my paths were similar to a major city freeway system with its traffic jams, road construction and changing of lanes. Some times my paths would take periodic jaunts into the country. But as my thought processes have evolved, my visual view of my paths have shifted. I needed to get off that super highway and spend more time in the country. I have changed my view of my path to a wooded setting that you can hear the stream trickle. I am slowing down. I am still going a hundred miles an hour standing still but at least I know when to stop and smell the flowers....trains are good for that.

Do you know how to stop and smell the flowers?

How to be...

Start at the beginning and find where to end is how our lives proceed. What happens in the middle is full of decisions about which fork in the road to take. We stand there thinking about the consequences of either path at that fork. At the same time, we don't know all of the consequences of the different paths we choose. So we make that choice and once we take that one step, you are now changed and that moment of time is gone and the other path disappears. So off we go and possibly for a little while the thoughts of that other path linger...

Did I think my life right now would be the way it is based on decisions I made a long time ago? Actually I didn't. I actually thought my life would be completely different than it is now. I accept those decisions I made. I can't change the past but I can change the future.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sometimes you need a laugh

Let's just say...tonight was hilarious. Laughing to the point of crying. I had a great laugh tonight and it was what I and a really great friend both needed.

So to you, I thank you. Tonight will always be just between you and me. :-)

Cost Plus

I am so glad we are slowly getting more choices to shop in town. We now have a Cost Plus. It is one of two stores I always have to visit every time I go to Phoenix. It is a cross between an import store and an international food stuffs store. Today I went with my friend Laurel. It is great to go shopping at places that your friends like to go. I could have easily spent a good chunk of change but I was good.

Now....My life would be complete if we could just get a Trader Joe's.

It's Pi Day

Ok I am a little geeky today. But instead of making pie for Pi day, I made these lovely cupcakes for a colleagues birthday...chocolate peanut butter cupcakes..... yum!

A great evening

Tonight was Bunco Night. I love when this comes around once a month. It is my time to get in a lot of laughs, hang out with great women and some times win a little money. No money tonight but what a blast. I am blessed to know all of them. We have all had our trials and tribulations these past few years.

My prayers are with Linda who soon will be crossing that great divide. I am happy I got to know you through Bunco and that you lived life with a smile.

When it's right...

...it's right. When it's wrong...it's wrong. So why is it wrong when it is right? Any answers?

Happy Birthday!

Today is my brother's birthday. Although I live 500 miles away, I do think about him all the time. It is hard to believe that he is turning 37 today. Getting ever closer to that big 40! Well I can't say much on that, I have just over 5 months to go until I hit 40. So on that note...

Michael,

Happy Birthday!

Love, sis.

And...

Yep, it continues.

Sometimes...

There will be a time when loud-mouthed, incompetent people seem to be getting the best of you. When that happens, you only have to be patient and wait for them to self destruct. It never fails.
-- Richard Rybolt

My Dad

My Dad is hilarious and today has been especially fun.

My Dad purchased an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier unit. Now I know that when you purchase something new like that, there are things called manuals that come in the box. While it is true that some manuals are written for those who may find reading the foreign language sections to be much more interesting, they are there for a reason. The reason you ask...you need to read and use them. Well like many of the men that I know, my dad doesn't read the manual either. Today it was my dad versus the scanner. He called me for help. First off, I don't own one of those units and second, I am 500 miles away. It was a blast talking to him on the phone and walking him through the steps. We were both laughing. After that was completed, I had to talk him through a zip file I sent. Wow....it was fun.

I am writing this several hours later...I am still laughing. Thanks dad for being you.

Whew...

At long last it is Friday. I thought this day would never get here. It has been a hell of a roller coaster ride this week. Work has not been much fun. My patience has been thin and I have allowed little things to drive me up a tree. Some of the things have been related to respect and the fact that I am working through this cold. I know I am on the downhill run now!

The weekend should be a quiet one full of being a couch potato and watching the food channel. I know I should be doing more. Maybe I will and maybe I won't...we'll see.

One of my good friends also has a blog. You can find the link to her site under links there to the right. Today either one of her colleagues or one of her students took one of her McFarlane action figures and left a ransom note. My reply....no more food for you guys. Too me, this steps over the line of respect. So people...please grow up.

Life's paths

But if you do not find an intelligent companion, a wise and well-behaved person going the same way as yourself, then go on your way alone, like a king abandoning a conquered kingdom, or like a great elephant in the deep forest.
-- Buddha

The half way point

I can not wait until this week is over. A combination of things is hanging out and running a muck in my mind which isn't making it easy to sleep, kill this cold or be less grumpy. I want tomorrow.

Grumpy

Oh the grumpiness continues....I need a change. I need a walk. I need to get rid of this cold. I need a life...

Oh wait I have a life. Maybe that is part of the problem...my life...which incorporates my work...which incorporates my life...which incorporates my friends...which incorporates my life...which incorporates my family...which in corporates my life...yep a never ending circle...you get the picture.

Then what do I need to do to squish this grumpiness???? I probably got it right in the beginning; I need a change, I need a walk and I need to heal from this cold. I did get the walk in but what about change and this cold? I seem to be in a never-ending cycle of change and last year I was sick a lot. I think I am experiencing both of those more than most. Well we'll see about tomorrow since today is nearly over.

Today is a Monday.

What a way to start the week. I have a cold and I made the mistake of reading my work email. Things went rapidly downhill after that. Why people have difficulties doing their job annoys me. So now I am grumpy.

Sunday...Sleepy...Sunday

I am working on the poaching method to get rid of this cold. You know...seriously hot bath and a good sweat. Which seams kind of odd...sweating in water. Cold still out of my chest but the gunk in my sinuses is not pleasant. I know...too much information.

Argh...

I have a cold. I am not happy. My plan this year was not to get sick since I was sick 11 out of 12 months last year. Stress? Maybe. Too many other people sick? Probably. You have got to love those Vicks infused tissues.... ahhhh....