So lets try this one last time:
http://midnyghtchilde.blogspot.com/

Then a woman said, “Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.” And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

-Khalil Gibran

1. Eat when you are hungry. Stop eating when you are full.

2. There are no “good” or “bad” foods, so eat lots of different foods, including fruits, vegetables and even sweets sometimes.

3. Eat different types of snacks: sometimes
raisins, sometimes cheese, sometimes a cookie, or sometimes carrot
sticks or celery dipped in peanut butter.

4. If you are sad, mad or bored, find something to do other than eating.

5. People who exercise and stay active are healthier and better able to do what they want to do, no matter what they weigh.

6. Try to find a sport or activity that you like, then do it.

7. Good health, feeling good about yourself and
having fun go hand in hand. Try different hobbies, such as drawing,
playing music or making things.

8. Remind yourself that healthy bodies come in all sizes.

9. Some people believe that fat people are bad,
sick and out of control, while thin people are good, healthy and in
control. This is not true. And it is hurtful.

10. Do not tease people and don’t laugh at other people’s jokes about fat (or thin) people or short (or tall) people.

Hattip to The F-Word, who found it republished at the Sacramento Bee but is originally from the National Eating Disorders Association.

It's sad these are not common place.

Now its time for delicious shrimpy stir fry.

I broke down and joined the masses - I bought an iPod.

I got a Nano. In my stereotypical black (though I almost got the blue or green...but meh they don't look at sharp). the new 8 gig one, though I don't need that big, its silly to get half the storage for only 40$ less. It's a treat to myself from my tax refunds. I like the shuffle...but I really want to have multiple play lists.

Um...I've been toying with Pirates of the Carribean online because A: It's free and B: several coworkers play. And it's making me sort of want to try WoW again. But seeing as how there is still no expansion pack, I know better...when there is a new one...I might try it again, but only seriously casually.

Amalythia was talking about a game called Aion as an MMORPG ... it sounded awesome. She posted on girlsdontgame.com about it (apparently she's an author there, which is sweet).

Time to go relax now.

And thusly the colors changed.

And thusly the theme remained the same.

And thusly it was awesome, as am I.


:p

So I saw a meme floating around the internet, which I'm too lazy to copy for word for word. The short of it is "Ask me something outside of my comfort zone that I don't normally blog about, anything at all. Just let it fly, and I'll devote a post to it." So go ahead and ask away, it will get me to post more.

In terms of life updates...

The One Year Anniversary of Dad's death passed quietly. We were home for the weekend, Trysten and I. It was nice and quiet, and uh, snowy. I cooked some stuff from my healthy cookbook that was delicious.

I recieved a 9.5% pay raise for my review. Mind you, this was the Annual Review, but in my case, was written based on only 3 months of work (it was written in December, even though it gets HR Processed and I don't get it until March. Gogo HR delay power!). So 9.5% for 3 months isn't bad. I also recieved verbal confirmation that I am up for a promotion as soon as they get around to it. Hopefully it is sooner rather than later, maybe by summer. That would bring with it another pay jump and a cross into the Real Real World - salaried instead of hourly. In reward I treated myself to a very pretty black and red and white dress at Dress Barn. I even kindly weasled my way into a 20% discount by asking what the coupon on the mailing list had been (which I had thrown out, not realizing that DB even carried my size, and when in fact, they do, and their sizes are generous - my dress is a 14, and that is the smallest size I've been) and then sighing and saying I would have to come back with my (nonexistant, but I thought I still had it) coupon. The lovely cashier laughed and said she had extra and I shouldn't waste the gas money, thusly turning my 70$ dress into a 58$ one with tax. Score. I tried to find a picture, but their catalogue won't let me save the image, how lame. http://dressbarn.richfx.com.edgesuite.net/catalog/media/DB_DBW/ is the spring catalogue, and the second set of images, the handkerchief skirt is what I bought, except in red, not pink.

I also filed my taxes online, it wasn't too bad. I'm getting 650$ back, yippie! And will be getting an iPod (breaking down finally), probably a shuffle, for listening to at work, and with my refund this summer, probably a real digital SLR camera (low end, though, I don't have 2k to drop on a camera, unfortunately).

And uh, that's about it.

Edi: I reread this and realized I missed 1/3 of the title. I was going to comment that I have begun exercising with Trysten. We go 3-4 times a week to the little work out room in the main building for the complex, after work. I have found that the elliptical machine is quite enjoyable. It's not aimed at weightloss, but just at being a bit more active - especially since its cold and that makes me want to nothing but curl up inside with a videogame. After almost 3 weeks of said working out, I can notice how much more e nergy I have - despite the apparently conundrum of exerting energy to have more, hah.

The Dash, by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved her

Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;

The cars, the house, the cash,

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.

Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left,

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what’s true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read

With your life’s actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

Dear Vermont Person,

Thank you for returning my lost wallet. It even had all the cash in it. You even paid to mail it to my house, without any name so I can not thank you personally. But thank yu for returning it, and for renewing my tiny little hope in humanity.


Sincerely,
The Unlucky Atheist

So....

I got a little journal to jot down story ideas in. Hopefully it will lead my somewhere towards my enjoyment of being a writer. It's been many months since I did any real writing, and many months before that. I miss the inspiration that free-form text role play in various chat rooms used to give me, but I don't have time for that and whenever I seek an RP-By-Email partner I can't find one.

I am hoping this weekend works out and I get to see Lishug, yay! I even got an EZPass so I get cheaper tolls.

Tristen got Lost Odyssey for Xbox360, it's a sweet ass game. I'm still lose in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - a few more tasks and the Mages Guild shall be mine!

I am crossing my fingers for a raise and promotion at the end of the month. I know my review is awesome, and there have been a few hints of the desire to keep me around, in a "we'd like to see you be a manager one day" sort of tone. If my raise goes through as I am betting, I would suspect that by the end of summer this year our gross apartment-income will be about 80k/year. Purdy good for one year out of college I'd say.

And the Winter of Crunk party was awesome. I was drunk enough to be social but not enough to make an idiot of myself, thusly it was perfect. I really like my coworker's girlfriend, she's funny. I am hoping that we'll get to do something else some other time again, maybe Guitar Hero. I did not win the pimp cup contest, but that's ok....my gems were falling off the cup half way through the night anyways, lol.

And that's about it. This weekend is another party - though it will be far more lowkey than the Winter of Crunk. But zomg two parties in a row?!