Happy 2013

2012 was a rough one and I'm certainly glad it is over.

As the year came to an end, things have started to look up.  That whole end of the world thing did not happen (worst apocalypse EVER), and I discovered online shopping really is the only way to go when one is doing their Christmas shopping (read the fine print so you do not get beat down by a courier looking for brokerage and customs taxes).

There are no resolutions this year.  It really seems rather pointless and feels like I am setting myself up for failure.  "Do better" is this year's mantra... just do better and be better, in all ways.

One of those ways is my commitment to getting those Pinterest projects done.  Tonight I made this very moist very delicious chicken.  Quick hint: make sure the chicken breasts are snug in the baking dish or the topping will slide off as the chicken comes close to being cooked.  This chicken goes great with pasta and vegetables like asparagus, mushrooms, onions, and peppers.

PS: Glad your back Captain Celery.  I have missed you dearly and love you still.  This year is our year.

300 Really Is Too Many

I was bullied in high school.  Not because I was gay, but for being short, for being fat, for being smart, for being ugly, for being poor, for coming from the wrong part of town.  And while I am not gay, having been bullied, I can sympathize.

The "It Gets Better" campaign always seemed to fall short to me; celebrities appealing to kids they have never met that sunny days are ahead.  Kids staring down the barrel of a gun that they themselves are holding know that more often than not, that celebrity is just jumping on a band wagon and that the words being said are being read off a cue card that a publicist approved.  Nobel idea, sure, but it still smells like a steaming pile of bullshit to me. 

Before I finished grade 11, two kids I knew blew their heads off with shotguns.  I was 17 then.  I am 40 now.  Things have not got better.

As Mr. Mercer says, we have to make it better now.

Blessed

It's only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others.  It's only when you have opened your own heart that you can touch the hearts of others.  When you feel centered and alive, you are in a much better position to be a better person. ~ Robin Sharma

Blessed

"Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let him resolutely pursue a solitary course; there is no fellowship with the fool." ~ Dhammapada 61

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

I know you're watching from afar.  I suspected you might be.  Or that you would at least pop in for a look.  Or eight.  Don't ask how I know, just understand that I do.

It's cool with me.

The way you left things isn't.

After all that happened, I really do deserve some kind of explanation.  Don't forget, above all things, we were best friends.  I was there for you even when you believed no one was.

I know you have your reasons.  I understand I may never fully understand those reasons.  Why not give me the benefit of the doubt and at least try to explain?

This silence, it smacks of cowardice.  I don't want to think that about you.  You're so much better than that.

I'll be honest -- it sucks that you would rather cause me misery, would rather have me believe you are dead, than tell me the truth.  I can handle the truth.  On many occasions it has been served up to me in large doses that would destroy most people.

I can handle the truth.

Question is, do you have the fortitude to say it?

I dare you to prove me wrong.

Oh ya, I went there.