I wonder...20:55 Mar 26 2011
Times Read: 723
Alarm goes off. Hand shoots out from pillow to hit SNOOZE. Alarm goes off. One eye squints. Leaping out of bed and running in circles. OhGodohGodohGod. Meeting in 10 minutes. Brushing teeth while pulling pants on. Gonna be late!
I'm assuming that I'm not the only person to ever have a morning like this. It's almost as bad as being in the dream where you show up at school naked. The thoughts going through your mind are all centered on how quickly you can drive and whether you can slip in unnoticed.
Yesterday, I was wondering if this has always been part of the human condition. Do farmers freak if the sun is already up and they overslept past dawn? Did ancient people have this same fear? I mean, for me, 5 minutes freaking matters. 10 minutes late, and I'm knocking on the unprofessional door. How late could you be if you measured time by shadows? Was it a bit laid back when you set meetings, or was it more familiar to us...
Did you wake up and glance over at the shadow on the sundial? "Oh sweet Jupiter! LetThereBeCloudsLetThereBeClouds! Anus Rodentum, who invented the toga?! I'll be pleating it until Saturnalia! Merda!"
You know the water clock is already going for your speech and the other senators are bored. Cicero is telling another one of his tired jokes to kill time. You imagine the sound of the *drip drip drip* as you dash across the Via Sacra, sandals flapping, leaping over urine puddles as you go. Time is literally running out. Do you KNOW how hard it is to sprint in sandals while one hand clutches your freaking toga?!
You skid to a halt and eye the steps to the curia. Flop sweat breaks out coldly on your forehead as you promise to sacrifice to Saturn if you can just make it past the Back Benchers without a snicker. Taking the steps two at a time, stumbling through the door, you try to get your cool on, only to run into this guy:
16:17 Mar 24 2011
Times Read: 763
My daughter and I were watching a show on terraforming Mars. It was really interesting and we both enjoyed it very much. I love shows that spark good conversation afterwards.
She asked me if I would choose to go. If all things were relatively the same and you only had the choice of staying here or trying life on Mars, would I go?
I loved that question and we had fun discussing our answers and the whys behind them.
So, I ask you - Would you go or would you stay? what factors might sway you? Possible thoughts: economics, distance/visit challenges with earth friends and family, incentive packages, employment opportunities, fully terraformed planet or enclosed climate-controlled settlements, your age at the time of the option to go.
What might you miss if you left? What might be such a huge factor that you could never conceive of going? What factor might make it so desirable that the only choice is that you do go?
Another ChasingTheGhost Entry
00:58 Mar 23 2011
Times Read: 818
I recently proposed to ChasingTheGhost in her journal. She had posted about a delicious meal she was slowly preparing with love and joy, the ingredients she seems to bring to every aspect of her life. The recipe called for a wonderful assortment of spices that she was grinding together, enjoying the full experience rather than taking shortcuts. I could just imagine the incredible smell of those exotic spices mixing together. How could I not fall in love with her?
I wanted to issue a challenge, though. My favorite food in all the world is actually not a Cajun dish, but a Vietnamese one - Phở (pronounced fuh). For those who have never had it, imagine a fragrant brothy soup served piping hot with thinly sliced meat, white noodles, and an array of fixings like lime, fresh cilantro and basil, bean sprouts, hoisin and sriracha chili sauce. It is my ultimate comfort food. I grew up on the West Bank of the Mississippi River and in the 80s, we had a huge influx of Vietnamese people who brought their culture and food with them. Phở shops, little hole-in-the-wall dives that only served this beautiful soup, sprang up overnight.
My father, a High School English teacher, was charged with teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to the teenagers. Trouble is, unlike Spanish, there were no teachers who spoke Vietnamese...no bridge to help both sides understand one another. The kids were bright and Dad was resourceful. They figured it out. He fell in love with them and soaked up everything they eagerly shared about home and culture. They especially shared their food, the historic tried and true path of hospitality, of breaking bread together, became the bridge.
Phở has a distinctive smell, like no other. It is aromatic, carrying the fragrances of ginger, anise, and allspice. It makes me drool and whimper. For all its humble origin, it's not easy to make. So, ChasingTheGhost, birra, and all you fancy schmancy cooks, I challenge you to try your hand at this long-simmering brothy bowl of heaven! Let me know how it goes. I've made myself hungry now, so I'm going to go get some Phở!
Aspire Technology Solutions04:51 Mar 20 2011
Times Read: 852
Birra and Morri don't know I'm going to do this, but I wanted to review my experience with their company.
We have a website for the Center and I switched hosting from Go Daddy to Aspire some time ago because Go Daddy just did not represent us with the direction they're going with Marketing. I've been very happy with Aspire.
We designed our site and liked it, but it wasn't easy to update the content frequently. After talking with birra, it was an easy choice to go with Aspire to help us get the site where we need it. I cannot express enough how different the experience was. I spoke directly to him and he quoted a price based on our individual needs. Then, they quickly ran with it and our site looks great. It's easier to navigate, looks more professional, and...right.
Next, we'll talk about how to log in and change areas of content like what we need in the food bank, pictures, etc... Morri is amazing. I'm so happy and because I know them, their professionalism and work ethic, I'm worry-free. From hosting to web design, these guys will do it the way it should have been done in the first place. I've even bought equipment from them, and the help and advice FROM THE OWNER, HIMSELF, is an experience I have never had before.
Two thumbs up...WAY UP!
22:01 Mar 15 2011
Times Read: 888
You guys like reading good journals? I have one for you to add...but don't just add her, read her. Now, by "good" you have to mean "quality" and not bickering over who is the biggest asshole on VR. If that's not your standard, you can leave now. It only cost you a click.
She lives an ordinary life...extraordinarily. She will make you wish that you were loved the way that she loves those who are precious to her She will inspire you to cherish the ones you are so blessed to have in your own life.
ChasingTheGhost is a remarkable woman. I am reassured just by knowing that she is out there in the same workd as me, living, loving, hoping, and creating. Anyone who reads her journal will be enriched by her honesty and beauty.
21:44 Mar 15 2011
Times Read: 897
Who doesn't get all warm and feel butterflies in their tummy when that special someone whispers words of love in your ear?
My husband, the romantic:
S: I have blossomed in the compost of your love.
J: ...
COMMENTS
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Enepsigos
21:04 Mar 31 2011
I saw those too. Makes you want to scream, doesn't it?
meeper
01:17 Apr 02 2011
Special people there.
birra
23:19 Apr 02 2011
Ow. My brain. It hurts my brain.
Ow.
LiamK
23:05 Apr 04 2011
Intruiging... if some people can mean ass people, can *I* mean ass people? I think if I tried I might get arrested, so it might be better not to find out.
Joli
23:32 Apr 04 2011
mabe we talk about it 2marrow bcuz tired and bored bcuz takes 2 long and sooooo bored