Z is for.....

Zero: If that is your answer for how many resolutions you have kept on for 2008, then sit up and read on!

Now you have done most of the work and even more than most to make sure that your New Year's Resolutions have a fair chance of succeeding. You have made a list of what you did this year and your hopes for next year. You have made a list of what your goals will need as far as steps and dates.

Now you have to see why your New Years Resolutions will fail.

Yes I know that you have always been told to again be positive and just look at succeeding in your goals but the trouble is that some time next week or next month you will hit a wall of some kind. If you are on a diet you will see cheesecake, if you are quiting smoking you will walk into a crowded smoky party, if you are looking for a better job you will hit a bit of complacency.

So what can you do to limit these possibilities of failing in your goals? The best way is to look forward at what your weaknesses are (your failures from this year maybe?) and decide ahead of time how you will handle these problems and how to avoid them.

Another great way to give you a better chance with your resolutions and goals is to have both friends and family know very well what you want to achieve as they will know how to stop you from getting in those situations that will challenge your resolve.

One last thing! I think I have really milked this subject to death but.. write down all of your goals and tape them up everywhere you need to see them. Tape up your list of goals to your computer, fridge, bathroom mirror, car dashboard, put in your wallet or purse anywhere an everywhere so that you can always be reminded of what is important to you.

Y is for ....

Year-End Wishlist which is basically my resolutions for 2009. Most New Year’s resolutions share a common theme. Time preference, the principle that people, to varying degrees, tend to prefer satisfaction now over satisfaction later, is at the heart of economic thinking. The typical resolution for the upcoming year, whether it involves dieting, exercising more, being a better neighbor or putting more effort into work, is a promise to oneself to become more patient, to put some enjoyment on hold, to live more for tomorrow rather than today.

Over the years, I've found it really difficult to keep to any of the resolutions. In retrospect, I find that most of the ones that I made and failed to keep were ridiculously ambitious to achieved and somewhat cliched. This time around, the 2009 list is to simply promote self-esteem and to muster up enthusiasm towards an all-encompassing personal aspiration; preserving my sanity.

1. Read 50 books this year.
2. Take up 1 dance class.
3. Attend mass once a month.
4. Learn 1 new language.
5. Run twice a week.

Advice to Self - Stop Procrastination.

If you wish to get something done, stop telling yourself why you can't.
Begin telling yourself why you must. If you remember why you must--you will.

X is for .....X'mas!

Merry X'mas and may this blessed season bring you and your loved ones tidings of joy.

Christmas silliness

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door,that's the easy thing to do
I can see me now on Christmas morning,creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes to see
a hippo hero standing there
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too


Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegeterian
There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage

I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage
I can see me now on Christmas morning,creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy and what surprise when I open up my eyes to see
a hippo hero standing there
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles or rhinocerosesesI only like hippopotamuseses
And hippopotamuses like me too!

Tis the season to be puzzled..

To you and your family;

























From me and mine;

W is for....

What I want for Christmas

..a haircut..
..a business plan
..smaller waist
..a cat that will clear its own litter
..a healthy liver so I can drink at parties
..a two-hour massage three times a week
..to only need four hours of sleep a night
..a jacuzzi tub.

..and what I will probably get for Christmas:
..one day off work
..horrid wrapping paper that keeps tearing
..lineups in grocery stores
..a hangover or two
..no sleep
..a blasted cold
..an angry credit card statement

Do you believe in GOD?

When I asked if you believed in God, I rather meant God as in a deity, a higher power or being, or even gods plural if you wish.

In my mind there is a clear distinction between "deity" and "religion" ; as to me, the two are mutually exclusive. You can believe in both, in only one of the two, or in neither; you don't have to believe in religion to have faith in a higher being.

I'm not sure what I believe in. I've not seen or experienced any evidence of "God" and I certainly don't believe much in religion, however I'd like to believe we are all linked by some higher power out there... maybe Karma? I mostly do believe in a spiritual afterlife of sorts, of reincarnation and the like - but not linked to a God or to religion, if that makes sense to you.

And then again, this wavers depending on the events going on in my life at the time.

The funny thing is that close to 80% of the world's population have Faith, they maybe don't all believe in the same thing but they believe in something.

I don't mind being part of a minority, and I totally respect what the majority is doing as long as it works for them. Like they say: "Whatever makes you happy!" It's when faith and religion come to blows, browbeating and fanaticism - that's when I draw the line. Don't push your beliefs on others and everybody will get along just fine.

Atheists get crapped on all the time for being "religion haters" and whatnot but really, they represent 20% of the pie. How many wars can they spurn in the name of Nothing?

On the other hand, crusades, religious wars, sects, screaming preachers, kids with bombs strapped to their chests in the name of their God... the extremists that poison it for everyone. That's just wrong, plain wrong.

Love your Gods but please, respect those who love other Gods or don't believe in them at all.

Is that so difficult?

*crawls Back Into Non-Conformist Cave*

Dating is...

-Filling up a glass over and over with water, yet still being thirsty

-Having a drawer-full of sexy underwear that has yet to see the light of day

-Telling myself (and my fears), in an authoritative librarian tone to 'SSshh!' overandoverandoveragain.

-Blowing $50, yet having nothing to show for it

-The optimists' version of insanity, only nicer

-Forcing me to like, or if not like, at least suffer, humble pie on a regular basis

-Not making me feel any better

-Opening a door I thought I had sealed shut

-Making me think I have lost my f*cking mind

-Learning to play a game with no clearly defined rules, no set number of players and oftentimes, no pretense of sportsmanship

-Becoming close, personal friends with the words, "What" and "If"

-A blow-out of a fight with my closet when it fails to produce, yet again, 'something to wear'

-Learning that it's oK to say, 'No,thanks' when presented with a chance to hear about someone's yeast problems

-Re-learning that it's still never safe to eat garlic or oniona on a first-date, the hard way

-Knowing the date and time for all CSI re-runs, even if that means Friday and Saturday night

-And finally...hopefully...romantically, Dating is possiblity. The possibility that someone else will also be so sick of this ridiculous list, they will want to jump out of the dating pool with me. Right here, and right now.

Oddly enough.

Self confidence. It's a strange and elusive thing at times. Just like a very rare creature, it only shows up once in a while, peeking its little nose above the bushes to investigate the surroundings, sussing out the environment, getting comfortable with its territory.

Then, once it's all settled in, it still doesn't show itself all the time. Once in a while something will startle it - making it dart back into its burrow to quiver and wonder about the cosmos. But most often it's out there - all proud and strong. That's when it accomplishes a LOT - making new friends, impressing its bosses, coworkers, and self.

Yet...Other times it seems like it went away on vacation.

Didn't you know? Self confidence is completely schizophrenic.

True friendship is seen through the heart, not through the eyes.

I said good bye to a longtime friend today, though in my heart there will never really be a good bye. I cried as people I've known since I was 7 or 8 years old stood up and recounted how my friend had touched their lives, I was way too much of a wreck to speak myself, I just couldn't do it.

He touched my life in so many ways and he was instrumental in my development as a creative person. I will never forget him and his influence on me is strong. I am a better person for knowing him but I am terribly sad tonight and my heart is a little more broken and beat up today then it was yesterday.

War is over?

Today was the 28th anniversary of John Lennon's death. Or more accurately, his devastating murder. Lennon's contribution to the world will keep him alive for generations to come. I never saw John in person, but as a kid I knew the words to more Beatles' songs than any other group. Even mom, who didn't quite care for rock n roll music would hum or whistle Beatles' songs. John's peace activism made him a hero in my book - give peace a chance, imagine, and power to the people are the peace anthems of our time. Every one is fighting these days. When will they stop?

Withdrawal Symptoms.

Seriously. I am not dependent upon my cellphone. I am not! Just because my cellphone is simultaneously my timepiece, my alarm clock, my window to the world, and the only way most people can get in touch with me does NOT make me dependent on it. And the fact that I LEFT IT AT THE OFFICE, WHICH IS LOCKED FOR THE NEXT SEVENTY TWO HOURS BECAUSE MONDAY IS A HOLIDAY is causing me to have mild heart palpitations doesn't mean I have a problem, does it?

Aimless.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance. Everyone is just waiting. ~ Dr. Seuss

... And this is what crossed my mind when I was waiting in line at the supermarket checkout line. The mind truly works in mysterious ways.

W is for ...

World AIDS Day




Not too long ago, I overheard a conversation. Two people were chatting about Aids, and about the attention the disease receives from the media."It seems they can't talk about anything else other than HIV and Aids. I am getting sick and tired of it."

The remarks made me sad. My opinion on the matter is quite simple: as long as people are still dying en masse, as long as the infection rate is sky high, as long as the illness robs children from their parents, and as long as grandparents have to take care of their grandchildren because their own children have died and unless there is not yet a cure HIV/AIDSshould get all the attention it can possibly get.

Because the statistics do not leave anything to the imagination: According to a report by the United Nations, an estimated 33.2 million people were living with HIV in 2007. Half of them were women, 2,5 million were children. That same year was good for 2,5 million new infections and 2,1 million Aids related deaths.In other words, each day 6800 get infected and 5700 die of the disease.

Although Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of the pandemic, the west is not spared by HIV/AIDS. In North America, for instance, 1,3 million people are living with the condition. Furthermore, 2007 was good for 46 000 new infections in this part of the world and 21 000 deaths.

One of the main conclusions of the report is that AIDS is global and not a regional problem, and that everyone can get infected. Old news? Definitely, but that does not make the message less important. On the contrary.

So pay your respects today during World Aids Day, and have a minute of silence to those affected: to the people who have died, who are infected, or have lost their loved ones as a result of HIV/AIDS. Because you know why? You could have been or could be a statistic too, whether it is a new infection, a new death or someone losing a loved one ...