Pensieve is a magical stone/bowl in the Harry Potter world that stores memory. Henceforth, this blog is merely the extension of my thoughts and being. Whatever I want to say, I use this blog as an outlet. Whatever I like to see, I post it here as a form of an album. Whatever I don't want to forget, it deserves an entry here.
- Stop praising a woman's particular dish, perhaps she might share her recipe.
- Just because nobody has the logical explanation does not make a thing/event necessarily of divine providence.
- Just because something is more than 2000 years old does not make it the absolute truth.
- Everybody have baggage, some baggage just don't fit in the overhead compartment.
- Having a serious illness (Aids, cancer, etc) does not make one an enlightened person. It is the hard realization of one's mortality that makes one seek enlightenment.
- The youth who can't realize that there is wisdom with age exactly proves the point that they lack wisdom to realize it to begin with.
This past weekend, I flew to Norfolk Virginia for the first time ever to that part of the country. Weather.com promised beautiful weather in Norfolk. High 80's and no rain. That was definitely something to look forward too. When I got to the Tazewell Hotel in downtown, I was pleasantly surprise at how nice the hotel was. High ceiling and it has an old world charm. For the priceline price of $45/night, I was pleased to say the least. And the hotel was centrally located too. Near the mall and restaurants. The Therapeutic taping seminar that brought me to Norfolk was a good one. I say I got a lot out of it. Some handy tricks to use on my patients.
My flight going to Norfolk was not the best flying experience I have had with United. The plane was delayed by 20 minutes due to the wait for take off in the runway. The plane was small with a only two seats on each side. The overhead compartment was also small that I have to check in our pullman luggage prior to boarding. And to top in all off, I was seated besides a big portly guy who had to pull up the dividing armrest between us so he can fit in his seat. Of course he was over flowing to my seat and it was not the most comfortable situation. I did not complain to the flight attendant cause I could not get myself to be mean to the man. He was genteel looking in his 60s with balding head. What remained of his hair was platinum white. He wore glasses and was dressed for business. Somehow he reminded of a nice grandpa that you want to respect and be nice too. So if I had complained to the flight attendant, he would have to be kicked off the plane based on the policy of UAL on over sized passengers. And the thought of him unable to go home with his grandma wife being worried waiting for him was too much to bear. So I bore it like a good obliging boy and just read my magazines.
As bad as my outbound flight was, my inbound flight from Norfolk to Chicago was a very pleasant one. The Nauticus that I planned to visit on the day of my return flight was closed. That left me with all the time to kill in Norfolk with nothing to do. So I decided to go early to the airport and go on standby for an earlier flight. Checking online showed that the earlier flight was not sold out. So I was hopeful as I checked in but at the same time ready to spend 3-4 hours in the airport in case I could not be accommodated. But to my surprised, I was able to board the earlier flight and my seat was economy plus too with wider leg room. And the fellow next to me was a nice average sized older chatty gentleman. I had my seat comfortably all to myself and all was well. Very happy to be back home early.
So was it Karma at work for my opposing flight experience? Or was it just coincidence and pure luck? Should I borrow a thought from Florine Maria when she was shipped by the Mother superior to be the governess of the Von Trapp children? Maria thought "When the Lord closes the door, somehow He opens the window". Whatever higher power at work or not, I am just very pleased to be back home to feed my fish and enjoy my days off.
This advertisement annoys me. First the woman is so defensive and insecure about her weight that she is reading too much in her husband's innocent remarks. So typical. And the husband is such a gutless man. Marriage is suppose to be an equality, not a matriarchal family.
Miss California Carrie Prejean was runner up to the Miss USA crown this recent pageant. Controversy around it claims that her answer to the question of judge Perez Hilton about her views on the legalization of same sex marriage may have cost her the crown. She answered "We live in a land that you can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what? In my country and in my family I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be between a man and a woman."
If there is truth to the rumors that her answer cost her the crown, then good for it. First she is not well informed enough to know that we don't live in a land where we can choose gay marriage. She should know that amid all the recent news on Proposition 8 in California where she hails from. And secondly, how can she say "in MY country"? Is she saying that the people who are for gay marriage does not belong in this country? As Miss USA, she should be smart enough to know that saying something like that does not embody the ideals of Miss USA that represent one USA. She does not seem to have a clear grasp on the fact that gay marriage proponents are not asking any religious entity to acknowledge gay marriage but for the state to grant the same rights and privileges as straight married people have. This was after all Miss USA and not Miss Christian USA or whatever. So she should have a clear grasp on the concept of the separation of Church and State. Not smart enough.
Well she has a right to her opinion no matter how ignorant. The judges has their rights to choose whom they think will best embody Miss USA. And it is clearly not her!
There are several story lines that will hook me on a TV show. One of them is a gay story line. If one or more of the characters are gay, it usually gets my attention. My examples would be Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters and Ugly Betty. All of these shows I follow and all of them have gay characters. Another story line that gets me riveted to the tube would be monsters/vampires/witchcraft. My examples for those would be Buffy, Charmed and supernatural. And another which is a given would be cute men. And if you get all three like in Torchwood, it's a blockbuster hit for me! haha
Both piracy and terrorism are veil activities some people choose to pursue. Although terrorism are motivated often by misguided religious or social reasons, piracy is motivated simply by monetary gains.
Piracy in the past have some romantic and adventurous connotation some old novels and movies portrait them to be. Who would not sympathize for Sir Walter Raleigh, the handsome pirate who raided spanish ships of its gold to give to Queen Elizabeth I? After all most history would portrait Spain at that time as this powerful bully trying to conquer England ruled by Elizabeth. Who would could not like Johnny Depp as this "good" pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean? What ever our image of pirates based on books and movies, modern day pirates are far from it. These recent activities of Somalian pirates holding people hostage in exchange for money are gaining more notoriety in the news. These pirate are getting too brazen with their activites that it is time our government should deal with them without mercy. Irradicate them I say! Kill first then ask later! Nuke their headquarters in Somalia! Afterall they have no qualms in announcing that they will kill as much Americans in the seas. Those kind of people don't deserve to be treated as human being. They are worse than animals.
I really hate getting ignored. I have broken up with an BF because he would ignore me if he thinks there is an issue he would rather avoid. He would not answer his emails or phone calls. He would not return my messages. He always said I would get over it but obviously I never get over it. I have cut off two "friends" because they have ignored my attempts to maintain friendship via emails, texts or phone messages. I figured if they are too busy or self absorbed for me, then they are not worth being my friend.
These new waves of getting ignored comes in the form of guy I chatted with in gay.com. On one occasion, this guy Johnny whom I have chatted with for a while finally agreed to meet for coffee or drinks. So one week leading to the said date, I gave him my email and phone number in case we don't get to see each other online. So there is a way to communicate. 4 days leading to the date, he discovered that I was eating fish for dinner. Evidently he hated the smell of fish on him and guys he kisses. So he told me not to eat fish on the day of our meeting. I was surprise for such an order that I told him I would not if I am planning on kissing him. After all I have not met him in person and we might not even hit if off let alone kiss. In hindsight, I now know this did not sit well with him cause he had since ignored my attempts to chat with him 2 and 1 days leading to the said date. He could have made a fake excuse of being unable to make it or told me the truth but he instead went for the ignoring me route. Oh well. Better know a major flaw now before I get too involved with him. Needless to say, he is no longer a chat friend of mine.
Another instance was with this guy Scott. We chatted and he suggested on two occasions that we should meet for drinks. So we exchanged text messages to have each others numbers. On the day of our said date, I texted him twice about it but got no response. That evening I saw him online in gay.com. I proceeded to message him but did not get a response also. But one thing I noticed, 2 hours after I first messaged him, he had added two new "friends" in his profile. So that meant he was in front of him computer and actively chatting that evening. So there is no way he could not have seen my attempts to chat with him. He just choose to ignore me. Perhaps he changed his mind about the date or perhaps he got too greedy with other prospective guys to "meet". But in either case, he choose to ignore me both online and via text. That is a major deal breaker. It shows no regards at all for my feelings. And that translates that he is an ASS.
As a decent person that I strive to be, I always try to put myself in another person's situation. Since I totally abhor being ignored, I would never do it to another person. In many instances, even if I had major reservations about a said blind date, I still went ahead and met up with the guy since I agreed to do it. I value my word of honor and these days some people seems to be wanting of this good quality. Some thinks that since it is just online, they can agreed to things they don't mean to follow through doing. That just shows a character flaw and frankly, I do not want anything to do with that kind of person.
My friend Frank is currently dating Noel. Their relationship seems a healthy stable one and I am very pleased for them. Prior to meeting Noel, Frank was interested with this guy Andy. Andy did not return the interest so they just ended being friends. A few months later at Frank's Christmas party, Andy showed up with his new BF Mario. I have not met Mario before but Frank has. I was keen to observe that Mario looks just like Frank. They both have dark hair and eyes. Both olive skin and curly haired so common with people of Greek heritage. I could not comprehend how Frank can be Ok with this. I supposed that Frank have Noel so he is OK with Andy having Mario. But to my eyes, Andy's rejection of Frank and to date Mario who looks just like Frank is rather insulting. I would have avoided Andy if this happened to him. More like a self preservation instinct but Frank embraced Andy instead as a friend. Frank even invited Andy and his bf to go out of town for a weekend trip with him and Noel.
This situation I observed with my friend Frank made me rethink the way I deal with my own heartache. Am I being too proud that I am missing out on the bigger picture? Or am I being wise by avoiding things that reminded me of the cruel reality of life? I am inclined to be stubborn and do as I always do. But I knows that there will always be a voice in my head questioning my actions. Perhaps I need to be more like Frank. Or not...
Happy Easter everybody. Today the Christian world celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And to add some flare to this otherwise unadorned blog about Easter is this video from Jesus Christ superstar. I have always loved this song. It is quite catchy!
I do not like my upstairs neighbor but we have a stable relationship. As long as she does not complain on whatever sound I may create, I won't complain on her noise. As long as it is not the extreme. I will tolerate the normal stuff that one does inside their apartment. This includes normal music/TV, normal conversation, normal vacumming/cleaning and normal footsteps. I will even tolerate the yelling I hear when she fights with her daughter. And the colorful language I have heard from the 15 years we have been neighbors. Since the daughter was little, I have heard her scream profanities to the child the likes of "you fucking whore" "I hate you" "bitch". Let me not digress further. The only time I mentioned something to her was when her daughter was playing soccer inside the room. So I was hearing the ball bouncing back and fort on my ceiling. She has then instructed the child to cease that activity which was a relief. I still hear some unusual activity that I could not determine what. Like a dog chasing after a hard toy around. I let it go cause I am a late person by nature so I stay up till 1 or 2 AM usually. This means she may hear me walking around my apartment in the wee hours of the morning.
She has always been an odd person to say the least. One time when there was water leaking on the ceiling of my tub, I went up to inquire about it. I was thinking perhaps she forgot the water running on the tub or spilled a large amount of water in the bathroom. But she would not answer the door when I knocked. I could hear her moving around in her apartment from downstair so she is in the apartment for sure and awake. Another time I went up to discuss calmly the extreme noise her daughter was making and she did not answer the door then too. I know they were home cause I heard them yelling at each other. And in both of those instance, I was just normally knocking at the door and calling for her in a normal tone. I was not at all banging or yelling at her door. Another time, she was apologizing to me for parking in her space right next to mine. She normally parks in the street but decided to use her spot at that time. I was dumbfounded. Why was she apologizing for using her rightful space to park her car? Granted that it is easier for me to park my vehicle when she is not there, but I certainly do not have the right to expect her to park in the streets all the time for my comfort. Very weird.
"The surrey with the fringe on the top" song from Oklahoma.
When I take you out, tonight, with me, Honey, here's the way it's goin' to be: You will set behind a team of snow white horses, In the slickest gig you ever see!
Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry When I take you out in the surrey, When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top! Watch that fringe and see how it flutters When I drive them high steppin' strutters. Nosey pokes'll peek thru' their shutters and their eyes will pop! The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown, The dashboard's genuine leather, With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down, In case there's a change in the weather. Two bright sidelight's winkin' and blinkin', Ain't no finer rig I'm a-thinkin' You c'n keep your rig if you're thinkin' 'at I'd keer to swap Fer that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
Would y' say the fringe was made a' silk?
Wouldn't have n' other kind but silk.
Has it really got a team of snow white horses?
One's like snow, the others more like milk.
All the world'll fly in a flurry When I take you out in the surrey, When I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top! When we hit that road, hell fer leather, Cats and dogs'll dance in the heather, Birds and frogs'll sing all together and the toads will hop! The wind'll whistle as we rattle along, The cows'll moo in the clover, The river will ripple out a whispered song, And whisper it over and over: Don't you wisht y'd go on forever? Don't you wisht y'd go on forever? Don't you wisht y'd go on forever and ud never stop In that shiny, little surrey with the fringe on the top!
I can see the stars gettin' blurry, When we ride back home in the surrey, Ridin' slowly home in the surrey with the fringe on top! I can feel the day gettin' older, Feel a sleepy head near my shoulder, Noddin', droopin' close to my shoulder, till it falls kerplop! The sun is swimmin' on the rim of a hill; The moon is takin' a header, And jist as I'm thinkin' all the earth is still, A lark'll wake up in the medder. Hush, you bird, my baby's a-sleepin'! Maybe got a dream worth a-keepin' Whoa! you team, and jist keep a-creepin' at a slow clip clop. Don't you hurry with the surrey with the fringe on the top!
I was totally aghast when I saw it the first time, but seeing it again on another person just left me confounded. I am talking about chest hair in women. I thought that is something you just see in a circus freak show but evidently it happens with regular folks. Two of my clients with substanstial bossom wore blouses that showed their cleavage. But both of them did not bother to wax, pluck or shave the visibly noticeable chest hair. Come on ladies... If you are going to flaunt it, make it aesthetically pleasing. Not repulsive.
Around 6 pm yesterday, the rain that was falling almost all afternoon turned into snow. The wind was blowing as you can see in the video. It was cold enough but not that cold. If this was in the fall, I would feel colder but this weather seems warm after the winter. Since I was still recovering from the cold and have nothing urgent to do outdoors, I decided to just stay indoor. Practiced a lil on my piano. Watched some HGTV. Read "twilight". Putz around in the computer. And coughed a lot. hehehe I guess I have the dreary weather to thank for forcing me indoors. This hacking is not attractive at all.
I thought this years sony ericsson open will be a total disappointment. With Serena loosing to Azarenka in the finals, Roger loosing to Djokovic in the semifinals, Andy loosing to Roger in the quarterfinals, Venus loosing to Serena in the quarterfinals and the Bryan brothers not advancing to the finals, I thought it was going to be an absolute washout. Thank God Andy Murray came to save the day. I am not a huge fan of Murray but I would much rather prefer to see him win than that obnoxious Djokovic.
Madonna is the ultimate performer in my opinion. She stages the songs visually with superb dancing, scantily clad men/women, appropriate stage design/costumes and good singing that flows brilliantly all together. Unlike the other divas like Janet Jackson or Cher, Madonna's concerts are much more interesting. Cher just over do the costumes and naked men. She hardly dances. And Janet, she does a lot of dancing with her stage design/costume wanting. Here is "Express Yourself" for your entertainment.
We are all aware of the major holiday like Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Labor Day and Memorial Day. There are holidays that are only a big deal for certain group of people like good friday, easter, rosh shashanah, ramadan, all saint's day, and lunar new year. Some less known holidays such are groundhog day, april fools, columbus day, flag day, sweetest day or president's day often skip our consciousness all together. And then there are those holiday that we did not even know exist. Did you know that there is a Trivia day? Or a Hoodie Hoo day? Or Left hander's day? Or Poinsetta's day? Most of us don't even know when these are celebrated and what they are for. For an extensive listing of holidays (ridiculous or not) around the world, click HERE.
There are some obscure holiday that I think are totally gratuitous. My two examples would be Doctor's day and Boss day. I think people who are already high up in the food chain of importance, power and money should not be celebrated anymore. If you work in a healthcare, you will understand that Doctor's yield such power and authority. Everyday with them is doctor's day. I could relate to a resident doctor or intern doctor day cause they are paid little and they work their ass off for the attending doctors and specialist. And as for boss day, I could relate to it more if it was middle management boss day. Sometimes these middle management boss are caught in between the conflict of higher management and the workers. So having a day to acknowledge their existence is sometimes needed.
