Just Asking

Would it matter if I said I miss you so much it’s like having a constant stomachache?

Do you want to hear me say that being without you means I am less than complete?

If I told you I would do anything for the feel of your arms around me, would you do it?

Would telling you that the sound of your voice in my ear makes me the happiest I’ve ever been make a difference?

If I tell you that the scraps you throw me are not enough but better than anything else on earth, would you give me more?

Do you want me to tell you that the smell of you, your eyes, your hair, and the feel of your skin are as close to heaven as I’ll get on earth?

Do you want to hear that you are the closest to happiness I’ll get in this life?

If I extend the invitation, will you accept it?

I didn’t think so.

Cuz you got to have friends

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. -Mark Twain

Good company and good discourse are the very sinews of virtue. -Izaak Walton

Tell me what company you keep and I'll tell you what you are. -Miguel de Cervantes

You are judged by the company you keep. -Old Saw

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. -Oscar Wilde


As I get older I don't have time to be friends with people simply because of how they dress or what kind of music they listen to, or what they can do for me. Oh, don't get me wrong - the career I have chosen means that I spend a lot of time pretending people I care nothing about are interesting for the simple reason that they have or may in the future give me money to do what I do. And I accept this process as the way that the world works. However, simply put, those people are not my friends.

I think the number one priority for me is the ability to laugh. All my friends make me laugh. Sometimes they even mean to. There are few things as valuable to me as a good belly laugh.. you know, the kind that makes you throw your head back and do not care how loud you're being. I love that. If I could bottle it, I would stop drinking forever. I love to laugh so hard I can't catch my breath and tears come to my eyes. There has been a period in the not-too-distant past that those kinds of laughs were absent, and I find that so sad. Happily, they've come back on a somewhat regular basis, and mean to ensure that they don't disappear again.

It has occurred to me today that I am truly lucky and blessed by the friends that I have. They are wonderful people and love me for me, not just what I might be able to do for them.
Maybe it's a sign of my own personal (slow) maturation, but even the flaws in people I love have become virtues. Everyone has their own special gifts that often are not tattooed on their forehead but make them special after you discover it.

This one: some might say she's nosy and makes mountains out of molehills, but she can read my mood and understand me from an expression on my face.

That one: some might say that he's a big baby, but that sensitivity is so welcome when my world is falling apart and he knows what to say or do to console me.

Him: has an infuriating way of not talking, but OMG is he the best listener in the world. Plus he always laughs at *my* jokes. Some say he's smug but I think he's spectacularly intelligent.

Next friend: some call her bitchy and confrontational but I see her as fearless and principled and she would fight to the death for me and those she loves.

This fella: yes, he dresses like a dork and he's a good hunnerd pounds overweight but he has the most charming sense of humor and always helps me see the other side of the equation.

She: never takes anything seriously but she helps me see the lighter side when I'm in my moods and she doesn't realize it but she's teaching me how to handle things more rationally.

The other guy: some say he's bordering on scheming but I don't necessarily think telling people things that make them feel good is a bad thing.

This girl: is guilty of long silences but also teaches me to stop and think first.

Yes, I have (one or two) more friends than that, but I think I've made my point. Though a little rain must fall into each and every life, we do have special people to grab our hand and see us through the storm. I love my friends dearly and I am glad that each and every one of them is in my life.

In Pursuit of Happyness

Maybe we are supposed to meet the wrong person before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

Maybe when the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has opened for us.

Maybe the best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

Maybe it is true that we don't know what we have got until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives.

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back. Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart; but if it does not, be content it grew in yours.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone that makes you smile because it takes a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real.

Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be; because you only have one life to live and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trial to make you strong, enough sorrow to make you human, enough hope to make you happy.

Always put yourself in others shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person too.

The happiness of other people doesn't necessarily mean they have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

Overheard

"I fell in love with you the first time I spied you through your bedroom window."

"I'm so glad the restraining order didn't keep you away."

The Great Bunny Invasion of 2007

Captain's Log

Day 1, 0100 hours:

We have been overrun by bunnies. This is definitely a danger of living in an unincorporated part of town that is quickly encroaching on wildlife's natural habitat, especially since the two housecats think they are predators. The first casualty is a small adolescent bunny chased into the house by Maxine, AKA The Terminator Cat. This poor victim, code named Hamartia, suffered greviously at the hands of The Terminator and was rescued by Number One. Number One forgot her years of Academy training when confronted with such inhumanity and panicked at the sight of the gaping wound in Hamartia's side. I took control of the situation and relegated both Hamartia and Number One to Sick Bay for the remainder of the evening.

Day 1, 0800 hours:

Number One left Sick Bay to go about her usual duties, leaving Hamartia in my care. Hamartia is obviously in shock, yet responsive. The bleeding has abated a bit and she is eating lightly.

Day 1, 1300 hours:

Number One has procured the services of a specialist to tend to Hamartia. Her code name is Mahoney and she has provided the young victim with commercial sustenance. Mahoney is an expert bunnyist.

Day 2, 1500 hours:

Hamartia has escaped Sick Bay. She must be aboard somewhere, as she is too small to jump out a window and too large to escape into the ship's ventilation system.

Day 2, 1530 hours:

Hamartia has been located under Number One's bed.

Day 2, 2200 hours:

Having just retired to Captain's Quarters, I was disturbed by The Terminator trying to get behind my bookcase. When I investigated the reason for this behavior, I found that The Terminator had chased another bunny into the house and the poor creature was seeking refuge behind my college Anthropology textbooks. I rescued bunny #2 by locking The Terminator in the john, and releasing bunny #2 back into the suburban wild.

Day 3, 0900 hours:

Number Two discovered two small bunnies hiding in the bushes under her window. This caused a stir and it took a while to get the crew back to their posts. No change in Hamartia's condition, though she remains under surveillance.

Day 3, 1000 hours:

Number Three discovered bunny #5 hiding in the milk box. Another uproar. The Terminator was predictably excited by this development and was again locked in the lavatory.

Day 4, 0130 hours:

The Terminator disturbed Captain's Quarters in the early morning. This time because bunny #6 got herself trapped in the window well and The Terminator was attempting to claw her way to bunny #6 through the glass. The Terminator spent the rest of the night locked in the lavatory.

Day 4, 0800 hours:

Ensign Haberman was dispatched on a rescue mission to retrieve bunny #6 from the ship's window well.

Day 4, 0900 hours:

Hamartia's condition is rapidly deteriorating. She is weak and not eating or drinking. I fear the worst.

Day 5, 0130 hours:

Number One has come to me with distressing news. Hamartia did not live through the night and Number One has again forgotten her years of Academy training.

Though I feel heartbroken over the loss of Hamartia, I recognize the end of The Great Bunny Invasion of 2007 and feel that overall, the lessons and techniques learned by the crew are invaluable.

Blond Wisdom

"Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill their husbands."

-Elle Woods
Legally Blond