Things are a bit slow, so I thought it might be a good time to blog. Only problem is, I have no idea what to write about.
For most people who know me well, you know that I am a bit "celebrity obsessed". I keep up with what goes on in the world of celebrity and so on. Not something I am proud of, I realize there is more to life, and it's a waste of precious time to do so, but none of us can be perfect and that is one of my vices. So, lately something that has really been in the news a lot is the passing of Heath Ledger. He died, quite unexpectedly, at the age of 28 last week. I was pretty shocked when I first heard the news, and even a few days after, it was just hard to believe I guess. Now there is constant speculation in the media about why, and they are dredging up sordid details about his life. I feel guilty because in keeping up with this stuff, I am partly the reason that they do it. I mean, by showing an interest, they(the media) continue to try to find stories to offer the public. Unfortunately, while I can go a while without keeping up with it, I don't know that I will ever completely lose interest.
So this brings me to the idea of gossip. It really is so destructive and so unhealthy, so why is it that people love to do it? It is clearly the lower nature of man winning over the higher nature when we do gossip, or listen to it, etc.. So why do it? I mean what good could possibly ever come of it? Yet, it is probably the most common thing people do. Sometimes, I feel like, in order to truly live my life the way God intended me to, that I need to move to some deserted island away from the rest of the world. Obviously, that was not God's intention. But I find it such a struggle to live righteously in the current world we live in. Honestly, sometimes at lunch at work, people are talking about someone, or something that has happened, and I find myself battling with myself in my head, like "Zhena you know its wrong, don't say anything, don't add to the conversation, keep your mouth shut, stay out of it", but then what do I go and do, not always, sometimes my conscience does win out, but other times I partake of the gossip, and I KNOW its wrong... So WHY do i do it???
Gosh, it is so ridiculous that we know how to do things, and why even, yet, we just don't do it!!! Really, God MUST be merciful, because sometimes I think humanity is a lost cause... Ok, I don't really think so, but seriously, God must watch over us and just wonder sometimes " What is it going to take for these people to get it right? I send them the way, I tell them what to do, and STILL they just get it wrong???". Lord almighty, it's a wonder He hasn't gotten rid of the human race and started over from scratch....
Ok - this post took a turn I wasn't expecting, but I guess its what's on my mind today...
PS - I really DO have hope for the world, I just think its going to take a long, long time until we see some major changes in the world and things we, as human beings, place importance on and how we choose to live our lives...
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Geekdom
Ok - so I realize before posting this, that by doing so, I am revealing to the world that I can, at times, be a TOTAL geek/nerd whatever you wanna call it. So here's the deal. In school, I would literally get happy/excited/feel like I had really accomplished something if there was a really difficult math problem which I was finally able to solve after many failed attempts. I LOVED that feeling. Total Geek I know!!!
Ok so where am I going with this? Here is where. I work in Finance as an analyst and one of the things I heavily rely on at work are these reports in a tool the company built. However, for the past 6 months we really didn't feel like we could rely on the reports at first glance. There were constant errors, glitches, etc... One report in particular is very important in my specific duties and I really had to go to like 3 places just to validate the data, and I was never really sure if my figures were 100% right. Well today, I created a reconciliation between 3 different reports and I was able to tie everything together pretty much to the penny. I felt so proud of myself (i even found a glitch in another report created by someone else) and remembered the feeling I use to get in school when solving a difficult math problem. I created a pretty, color coded, reconciliation that I can send out to other members of the organization which they can use to gain comfort that the numbers are in fact correct and we don't waste hours upon hours trying to validate them in the future...
Ok I know this is probably something that is of little interest to anyone but me, but I just feel so good right now, I had to share... Oh and I LOVE my family, my sister rocks, love you kiddo!!! Just in a "sharing what's on my mind" kind of mood at the moment.. Hahaha, I am fairly certain my husband is dying of embarrassment on my behalf while he reads this post... its ok honey, i don't care if people know what a real geek i am...I am cool with it, so doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks... Love you all!!
Ok so where am I going with this? Here is where. I work in Finance as an analyst and one of the things I heavily rely on at work are these reports in a tool the company built. However, for the past 6 months we really didn't feel like we could rely on the reports at first glance. There were constant errors, glitches, etc... One report in particular is very important in my specific duties and I really had to go to like 3 places just to validate the data, and I was never really sure if my figures were 100% right. Well today, I created a reconciliation between 3 different reports and I was able to tie everything together pretty much to the penny. I felt so proud of myself (i even found a glitch in another report created by someone else) and remembered the feeling I use to get in school when solving a difficult math problem. I created a pretty, color coded, reconciliation that I can send out to other members of the organization which they can use to gain comfort that the numbers are in fact correct and we don't waste hours upon hours trying to validate them in the future...
Ok I know this is probably something that is of little interest to anyone but me, but I just feel so good right now, I had to share... Oh and I LOVE my family, my sister rocks, love you kiddo!!! Just in a "sharing what's on my mind" kind of mood at the moment.. Hahaha, I am fairly certain my husband is dying of embarrassment on my behalf while he reads this post... its ok honey, i don't care if people know what a real geek i am...I am cool with it, so doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks... Love you all!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Lost at sea??
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I JUST finished watching a show on discovery called "Ultimate Survival" about a guy who basically throws himself in the ocean about 2 miles from a deserted island in the Pacific. He swims to the island and proceeds to show the audience what you do in this situation. he lives through it. He ends up building a raft out of bamboo trees and palm tree leaves etc. He goes about explaining basic survival tactics etc. At one point, when he is in the middle of the ocean, his raft is being circled by tiger sharks(these are very aggresive sharks). He talks about people who have been lost at sea for 100 days and all they had was their raft and a few safety pins, and SOMEHOW they survived.
When I watch things like this show, I just feel in total awe of people with such survival skills. I mean, honestly, I think if you find yourself in that situation, some kind of subconcious natural instict kicks in which you have had all along ,but never known you did. But honest to God, at this point in time, i could NEVER imagine myself capable of surviving a situation like that. HOW do they do it???How do people know how to live off raw fish and salt water for 100 days at sea???HOW???First, I hope i never find myself in such a situation, but IF i ever did, I sincerely hope those insticts kick in and I don't perish at sea...or worse at the mouth of a shark... yikes!!! see what happens when you grow up on the beach but have watched "Jaws" like 500million times....
When I watch things like this show, I just feel in total awe of people with such survival skills. I mean, honestly, I think if you find yourself in that situation, some kind of subconcious natural instict kicks in which you have had all along ,but never known you did. But honest to God, at this point in time, i could NEVER imagine myself capable of surviving a situation like that. HOW do they do it???How do people know how to live off raw fish and salt water for 100 days at sea???HOW???First, I hope i never find myself in such a situation, but IF i ever did, I sincerely hope those insticts kick in and I don't perish at sea...or worse at the mouth of a shark... yikes!!! see what happens when you grow up on the beach but have watched "Jaws" like 500million times....
The Emasculation Proclamation
OK I totally stole this post from my sister's blog, but I had to...
These are cute.The following excerpts are actual answers given on history testsand in Sunday school quizzes by children between 5th and 6th grade, in Ohio. They were collected over a period of three years by two teachers. Read carefully for grammar, misplaced modifiers, and of course,spelling!
**********************************************************************************
Ancient Egypt was old. It was inhabited by gypsies and mummies who all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert. The climate of the Sarah is such that all the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.
Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went upon Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandos. He died before he ever reached Canada but his commandos made it.
Solomon had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines. He was an actual hysterical figure as well as being in the bible. It sounds like he was sort of busy too.
The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn't have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a young female moth.
Socrates was a famous old Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. He later died from an overdose of wedlock which is apparently poisonous. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.
Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to bemade king. Dying, he gasped out "Same to you, Brutus."
Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was canonized by Bernard Shawfor reasons I don't really understand. The English and French still have problems.
Queen Elizabeth was the "Virgin Queen". As a queen she was a success. When she exposed herself before her troops they all shouted"hurrah!" and that was the end of the fighting for a long while.
Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipperwhich was very dangerous to all his men.
The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. Hewas born in the year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He never mademuch money and is famous only because of his plays. He wrote tragedies, comedies, and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter.
Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Since then no one ever found it.
Delegates from the original 13 states formed the ContentedCongress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin discovered electricity by rubbing two cats backward and also declared, " A horse divided against itself cannot stand." He was a naturalist for sure. Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.
Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest Precedent. Lincoln'sMother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Proclamation.
Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between he practiced on an old spinster which he kept up in his attic. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Bachwas the most famous composer in the world and so was Handel. Handel was half German, half Italian, and half English. He was very large.
Bethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf that he wrote loud music and became the father of rock and roll. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him.Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.
Cyrus McCormick invented the McCormick raper, which did the workof a hundred men.
Charles Darwin was a naturalist. He wrote the Organ of theSpecies. It was very long people got upset about it and had trials to see if it was really true. He sort of said God's days were not just 24 hours but without watches who knew anyhow? I don't get it.
These are cute.The following excerpts are actual answers given on history testsand in Sunday school quizzes by children between 5th and 6th grade, in Ohio. They were collected over a period of three years by two teachers. Read carefully for grammar, misplaced modifiers, and of course,spelling!
**********************************************************************************
Ancient Egypt was old. It was inhabited by gypsies and mummies who all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert. The climate of the Sarah is such that all the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.
Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went upon Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandos. He died before he ever reached Canada but his commandos made it.
Solomon had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines. He was an actual hysterical figure as well as being in the bible. It sounds like he was sort of busy too.
The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn't have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a young female moth.
Socrates was a famous old Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. He later died from an overdose of wedlock which is apparently poisonous. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.
Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to bemade king. Dying, he gasped out "Same to you, Brutus."
Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was canonized by Bernard Shawfor reasons I don't really understand. The English and French still have problems.
Queen Elizabeth was the "Virgin Queen". As a queen she was a success. When she exposed herself before her troops they all shouted"hurrah!" and that was the end of the fighting for a long while.
Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipperwhich was very dangerous to all his men.
The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. Hewas born in the year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He never mademuch money and is famous only because of his plays. He wrote tragedies, comedies, and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter.
Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Since then no one ever found it.
Delegates from the original 13 states formed the ContentedCongress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin discovered electricity by rubbing two cats backward and also declared, " A horse divided against itself cannot stand." He was a naturalist for sure. Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.
Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest Precedent. Lincoln'sMother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Proclamation.
Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between he practiced on an old spinster which he kept up in his attic. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Bachwas the most famous composer in the world and so was Handel. Handel was half German, half Italian, and half English. He was very large.
Bethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf that he wrote loud music and became the father of rock and roll. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him.Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.
Cyrus McCormick invented the McCormick raper, which did the workof a hundred men.
Charles Darwin was a naturalist. He wrote the Organ of theSpecies. It was very long people got upset about it and had trials to see if it was really true. He sort of said God's days were not just 24 hours but without watches who knew anyhow? I don't get it.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday Ramblings...
Not really a lot going on today. I have a lot of meetings at work this afternoon, but not much else. This weekend was nice and relaxing. We got some good stuff at Ikea and spent sunday putting them together and rearranging the house a bit. It's fun doing stuff like that with P. We both enjoy it quite a bit. I also actually watched part of a basketball game with him and it was fun because I spent the majority of the time asking him random questions about sports. I find its enjoyable just being with each other, even if I am not that into the actual game...Bebo, that's our dog, was quite the cutie. we gave him this hand sized teddy bear which he is quite fond of and he just wouldn't let go of it all day Sunday. He would bring it to us to try to get us to throw it across the room so he could fetch it and bring it back and just everywhere he went, his teddy went too...It was fun...
We also saw the movie "Charlie Wilson's war". I quite enjoyed it. I don't think it is the kind of movie which appeals to mainstream America because , though its a comedy, its a bit on the intellectual side and I find it hard to believe that your average person from georgia or texas or kansas will want to see it, especially since it doesn't paint American tactics in the best light... Nevertheless, if you get the chance, its a pretty good film. It goes back to the idea of "seeing the end in the beginning". If the US gov't had done so in the 80's, perhaps the current situation in Afghanistan would be quite different, that is what I got from this movie anyway... It's got a great cast too! You can't get better than Tom Hanks!
Not much planned for this week. I am going to try to catch up on some readings and start preparing for a talk my parents have asked me to give when I am home in Puerto Rico. They hold gatherings once a month where they discuss a certain aspect of the Baha'i Faith with people who would like to learn more about the Faith and its teachings. So, they have asked me to be the speaker at their gathering next month, so that means I have to prepare...haven't quite chosen my theme yet, but i'll come up with something, i always do... If you aren't a Baha'i and have ideas of things that would interest you, let me know, or if you are Bahai and have ideas of interesting topics in the writings, let me know as well! I am totally open to suggestions!
Alright, that's enough rambling for now...have a great day!!!
We also saw the movie "Charlie Wilson's war". I quite enjoyed it. I don't think it is the kind of movie which appeals to mainstream America because , though its a comedy, its a bit on the intellectual side and I find it hard to believe that your average person from georgia or texas or kansas will want to see it, especially since it doesn't paint American tactics in the best light... Nevertheless, if you get the chance, its a pretty good film. It goes back to the idea of "seeing the end in the beginning". If the US gov't had done so in the 80's, perhaps the current situation in Afghanistan would be quite different, that is what I got from this movie anyway... It's got a great cast too! You can't get better than Tom Hanks!
Not much planned for this week. I am going to try to catch up on some readings and start preparing for a talk my parents have asked me to give when I am home in Puerto Rico. They hold gatherings once a month where they discuss a certain aspect of the Baha'i Faith with people who would like to learn more about the Faith and its teachings. So, they have asked me to be the speaker at their gathering next month, so that means I have to prepare...haven't quite chosen my theme yet, but i'll come up with something, i always do... If you aren't a Baha'i and have ideas of things that would interest you, let me know, or if you are Bahai and have ideas of interesting topics in the writings, let me know as well! I am totally open to suggestions!
Alright, that's enough rambling for now...have a great day!!!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Somewhat on the serious side...
This morning I am sitting in bed using the computer while P sleeps in a little longer since he stayed up later than I did. As I sit here thinking, I am remembering the fun things we did together this weekend, like working out with each other, playing some bball, going shopping for house stuff(we found some cool things), and just enjoying one another's company. I think about it and I consider those some of life's simple pleasures. But then I think about the Baha'i Faith and how the writings say that if we had so much as a needle's eye view of what the next world is like, how we would forsake all we have in this world to join that one immediately. Like imagine how wonderful it must be if in the blink of an eye you wouldn't hesitate to just leave everything, and everyone to join the spiritual world. Then I think about the three attachments we are told exist, but mainly I focus on the idea of attachment to the things of this world(material things). I think about why is it that KNOWING material things don't matter, that the pleasure they bring is fleeting and superficial, why do I still get any kind of joy from them whatsoever. I mean I won't deny it, I try to avoid attachment to "things", but i definitely still like "things" quite a bit, especially if they are glittery "things", hehe, but really why is that?? I mean I guess I don't really know at the end of the day how I would react of i lost all of those things, and that is where my character would be tested and where i would learn how truly attached i was or not, but still why is it?? And why is it that knowing the next world is so wonderful and that the best way to progress in it is to serve humanity while i live in this world, why don't I spend literally every waking second serving???It's like I know what to do, but not how to get myself to do it... Sort of like going on a diet... i know i need to, and know exactly what to do, but getting to that next step is dang near impossible!!! Frankly, my personal opinion is that the world we live in right now is so drowned in materialism and the fleeting pleasures of this world, it is very easy to get caught up in it, and that I just need to remember that I was put on this earth for a reason, and while I can enjoy to some extent what this world offers me from a physical stand point, that I MUST nourish my spiritual side 100 times more than my physical and that I need to accomplish my purpose of exisiting and do so through obedience to God's commandments and service to humanity. Lord help me because sometimes I feel like I am failing miserably!!!
Friday, January 25, 2008
something funny for the weekend...
Here is something to lighten the mood since its the weekend... Disclaimer: I take no credit for these, i found them on the following site http://www.coolfunnyjokes.com/
WARNING - a bit on the dirty side:
Poor guy
A man escapes from prison where he has been for 15 years. He breaks into a house to look for money and guns and finds a young couple in bed. He orders the guy out of bed and ties him to a chair, while tying the girl to the bed he gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up and goes into the bathroom. While he's in there, the husband tells his wife:"Listen, this guy's an escaped convict, look at his clothes! He probably spent lots of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck." If he wants sex, don't resist, don't complain, do whatever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is probably very dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us. Be strong, honey. I love you."
To which his wife responds: "He wasn't kissing my neck. He wwas whispering in my ear. He told me he was gay, thought you were cute, and asked me if we had any vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. I love you too!!"
Money Talks!
During the wedding rehearsal, the groom approached the pastor with an unusual offer: "Look, I'll give you $100 if you'll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I'm supposed to promise to 'love, honor and obey' and 'be faithful to her forever,' I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave that out." He passed the minister a $100 bill and walked away satisfied. On the day of the wedding, when it came time for the groom's vows, the pastor looked the young man in the eye and said: "Will you promise to prostrate yourself before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life, and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?" The groom gulped and looked around, and said in a tiny voice, "Yes," then leaned toward the pastor and hissed: "I thought we had a deal." The pastor put a $100 bill into the groom's hand and whispered: "She made me a better offer."
WARNING - a bit on the dirty side:
Poor guy
A man escapes from prison where he has been for 15 years. He breaks into a house to look for money and guns and finds a young couple in bed. He orders the guy out of bed and ties him to a chair, while tying the girl to the bed he gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up and goes into the bathroom. While he's in there, the husband tells his wife:"Listen, this guy's an escaped convict, look at his clothes! He probably spent lots of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck." If he wants sex, don't resist, don't complain, do whatever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is probably very dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us. Be strong, honey. I love you."
To which his wife responds: "He wasn't kissing my neck. He wwas whispering in my ear. He told me he was gay, thought you were cute, and asked me if we had any vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. I love you too!!"
Money Talks!
During the wedding rehearsal, the groom approached the pastor with an unusual offer: "Look, I'll give you $100 if you'll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I'm supposed to promise to 'love, honor and obey' and 'be faithful to her forever,' I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave that out." He passed the minister a $100 bill and walked away satisfied. On the day of the wedding, when it came time for the groom's vows, the pastor looked the young man in the eye and said: "Will you promise to prostrate yourself before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life, and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?" The groom gulped and looked around, and said in a tiny voice, "Yes," then leaned toward the pastor and hissed: "I thought we had a deal." The pastor put a $100 bill into the groom's hand and whispered: "She made me a better offer."
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