YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Here's the whole thing:
KITTIES!
John and I have been discussing getting a friend for Smokey. The weekend before last we visited the Humane Society and met many nice mews that need homes. It was hard to see all those cats there, and to know that some of them might not find homes. I felt like I might cry the whole time I was there. There were some older cats, 7 or 9 years old, and I wanted to take them all home because I was worried no one else would. However, I don't think Smokey would like living with 12 other cats. Actually, I'm not sure how happy he'll be about one other cat... I wish I could ask him.
I thought a male, around one or two years old, would work out best. But John met a very pretty girl mew, and we considered her for a bit. She was tagged with the most unfortunate moniker: Football. She was far too pretty a kitty to be named Football! I wasn't sure how Smokey would get along with a girl, though. We left the Humane Society without adopting a mew, because we weren't sure yet what kind of cat would be best.
Then this past weekend we were vistitng John's sister Sue, and she asked us if we thought her little kitty Sidney was pregnant. We both said it looked like she was, and that we'd take one if she has a litter. Well, Sue called last night and said "my cat's in labor!" so, in a few weeks, I will have a kitten. I am worried that a kitten may annoy Smokey, or destroy my apartment, but there are already 4 cats living at Sue and Jackie's, so, these kittens will all need homes. I can't help feeling a little guilty about all those mews at the Humane Society, though... :(
You can have my share, I don't want it
This made me laugh:
According to Wcco.com: "No matter what we think about ourselves, we drink more alcohol per capita in Minnesota than almost anywhere in the country."
Essentially, I'm not a drinker. On average, I might have a drink a month. Some months, no drinks at all, other months, maybe a few drinks on a weekend. But on the whole, not a drinker. Neither is John.
So, who's drinking our share to drive up the average?
Financial Wizard
I bet you all think John is the brains of the operation here, especially when it comes to finances, but trust me, I have my moments. Take today, for example. Today I desire Benihana for lunch. However, instead, I'll be eating a .43 cent frozen burrito. That's a savings of about $12 or something like that. Yeah. Who's smart now?
Let them eat pretty cake
I've been having wedding nightmares (which would make more sense if I was actually engaged and planning one, but, whatever). I think it's rather telling that in the worst case scenario my subconscious created, the cake was ugly and the music was bad. That was enough to make me upset. Apparently those are my two main wedding concerns: cake and music. Sounds about right.
BLEEEEEEEARGGGGGGH!!!!
OH.MY.GOD.
I just looked at the amount in taxes coming out of my next check.
I feel like vomiting.
Robbery.
YES!
It's 45 degrees right now, and the high today is supposed to be 52. Hooray!
I think winter is good for us. It helps us appreciate the loveliness of mild spring days. 
My not-so-secret Secret
I wear a sports bra to work.
That's right. To work.
And I love it.
Look, maybe it gives me uniboob, but I really don't care. It's comfortable. Waaay more comfortable then an underwire digging into me all day long, or straps falling down constantly. I feel supported and secure and comfy. And if I wear a button down shirt, there's no gaps between the buttons any more. Yeah, the girls are a bit flattened down, but really, do I need to be boobalicious at work? No.
Cheers to you, sports bra. You make my work week infinitely better with your low key support and racerback straps. I love you.
Let's take a dip in the Strawberry River!
Last night John and I watched "Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny", and there was a part that made both of us laugh so hard that we cried. My jerk neighbor banged on the wall-- that's how hard we laughed (then the cat fell off the bed and we laughed even harder).
so money, baby
Ok, so, I know it's not really polite to talk about money, but, I am too pleased to be polite.
First thing this morning, my boss met with me to go over my direct compensation statement and let me say, it was a great way to start out my day! My raise is actually a real raise, and will make a bit of difference to me. This is the first time I've experienced a decent raise, and I have to say, I quite like it.
Another first: a bonus. I've never worked at a company that gave out bonuses, so this is pretty nice, too.
Icing on the cake, really.
It's only been a month or so...
So, I have a really slow wireless connection at my apartment, but I can't complain, because it's free. However, it precludes me from posting pictures on blogger, because it's just way too slow. It'd take all night to get one picture up. Anyhow, I'm at John's today, and so I can finally post some pics from when Whit came to visit.
someone's sassy!
all visitors must pass inspection
A series of pictures in which we make silly faces:
Whitney experiments w/my Mac's special effects:
Know This: it was a good times!
Snow Day!
Yesterday was a Snow Day, and it was fantastic.
First, I have to give props to the Buick-- say what you want about it, my car is awesome, especially in the snow. I never slip or slide. I was extremely proud of the Buick this morning, too, as I didn't even have to dig it out of the snow, it just plowed right through and I was on my way.
Twin Cities news was in a froth over the storm, so the night before I hit up the grocery store for Provisions, as well as the video store (very important), so I was well prepared for my Snow Day. I watched Dr Phil, I called my mom for a chat, and I called Sydne's mom back and we chatted, too. Then John came over after class and we watched movies and ate treats all day, while kitty snoozed (and occasionally attacked our feet). All in all, very cozy, and a nice little reprieve from the ordinary work week.
aaaaah....
I'd just like to share what a pleasure it is to meet my boss for my review without being nervous or anxious, and to be able to chat with her for an extra half hour. She is a peach! And my review was good to boot! Raise and bonus talk is in a few weeks-- looking forward to that, too.
Moral Obligations be damned...
Nothing improves a Monday like shoveling your car out from a foot of snow (seemed like more) for an hour before work.
I am a wee bit cranky.
Happiness Is a Moral Obligation
Many of you have heard of my love for the book Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual, by Dennis Prager. I'm reposting an article he wrote regarding happiness here-- hope you guys like it!
Happiness Is a Moral Obligation
by Dennis Prager
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
For much of my life, I, like most people, regarded the pursuit of happiness as largely a selfish pursuit. One of the great revelations of middle age has been that happiness, far from being only a selfish pursuit, is a moral demand.
When we think of character traits we rightly think of honesty, integrity, moral courage, and acts of altruism. Few people include happiness in any list of character traits or moral achievements.
But happiness is both.
Happiness -- or at least acting happy, or at the very least not inflicting one's unhappiness on others -- is no less important in making the world better than any other human trait.
With some exceptions, happy people make the world better and unhappy people make it worse. This is true on the personal (micro) and global (macro) planes.
On the micro plane:
Consider the effects of an unhappy parent on a child. Ask people raised by an unhappy parent if that unhappiness hurt them.
Consider the effects of an unhappy spouse on a marriage.
Consider the effects of unhappy children on their parents. I know a couple that has four middle-aged children of whom three are truly extraordinary people, inordinately well adjusted and decent. The fourth child has been unhappy most of his life and has been a never-ending source of pain to the parents. That one child's unhappiness has always overshadowed the joy that the parents experience from the other three children. Hence the saying that one is no happier than one's least happy child.
Consider the effects of a brooding co-worker on your and your fellow workers' morale -- not to mention the huge difference between working for a happy or a moody employer.
We should regard bad moods as we do offensive body odor. Just as we shower each day so as not to inflict our body odors on others, so we should monitor our bad moods so as not to inflict them on others. We shower partly for ourselves and partly out of obligation to others. The same should hold true vis a vis moods; and just as we avoid those who do not do something about their body odor we should avoid whenever possible those who do nothing about their bad moods.
The flip side of the damage unhappy people do when they subject others to their unhappiness is the good that people do when they are, or at least act, happy. Just think of how much more you want to help people when you are in particularly happy mood and you realize how much more good the happy are likely to do.
On the macro plane, the case for the relationship between happiness and goodness is as apparent.
It is safe to say that the happiest Germans were not those who joined the Nazi Party. Nor did the happiest Europeans become Communists. And happy Muslims are not generally among those who extol death. The motto of Hamas and other Islamic groups engaged in terror, "We love death as much as [Americans, Jews] love life," does not appeal to happy Muslims.
Cults, hysteria and mass movements all appeal to the unhappy far more than to the happy. It is one more example of the genius of America's Founders to include "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence. No other major civilization so enshrined happiness as a core value. This American belief in the moral and societal merit in pursuing happiness is a major reason America has developed differently than Europe. The American emphasis on happiness is one reason no fanatical political or religious movement, Left or Right, has been able to succeed in America as such movements have repeatedly succeeded in Europe.
The pursuit of happiness is not the pursuit of pleasure. The pursuit of pleasure is hedonism, and hedonists are not happy because the intensity and amount of pleasure must constantly be increased in order for hedonism to work. Pleasure for the hedonist is a drug.
But the pursuit of happiness is noble. It benefits everyone around the individual pursuing it, and it benefits humanity. And that is why happiness is a moral obligation.
Dennis Prager is a radio show host, contributing columnist for Townhall.com, and author of 4 books including Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual.
Be the first to read Dennis Prager's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com delivered each morning to your inbox. Copyright © 2006 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.
Happy Where I Am
This morning I was telling a co-worker that I'd like to take a vacation to some place warm, like Hawaii or Mexico. About an hour later, I processed a claim for some poor lady who took a trip to Costa Rica in January and came home infected with some unidentified tropical disease. She has a fever every day, a rash, and excruciating muscle pain from head to toe. Her doctors don't know what it is. Hmm...Minnesota's looking pretty great right now!
Maybe I should just take the whole week off?
I've requested my Harry Potter time off-- July 23 and 24. I'm hoping that four days is enough time for me to finish the book (it comes out on the 21st). I really don't want to rush through it, as it's the final one (*sniff*) but I also do not want the book spoiled for me, which is what I anticipate happening. If Harry dies, I'm guessing there will be people talking about it-- at work, in the news, etc... When Half-Blood Prince came out, there were many stories in the news about people ruining the end for fans in line waiting to buy the book. If that happens to me with Deathly Hallows, I might commit some kind of assault against those individuals...maybe I should have John go out and buy the book for me? My plan is to seclude myself in my apartment until I'm done with the book. No tv, no radio, and no internet will hopefully equal no one ruining the end for me...
Who shares your birthday?
I share my birthday with these folks... I think this proves astrology/zodiac stuff is bunk, as the people on this list tend not to have a lot in common:
1504 - Pope Pius V (d. 1572)
1706 - Benjamin Franklin American statesman (d. 1790)
1763 - John Jacob Astor, American entrepreneur (d. 1848)
1820 - Anne Brontë, British author (d. 1849)
1899 - Al Capone, American gangster (d. 1947)
1922 - Betty White, American actress
1927 - Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer
1928 - Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist
1931 - James Earl Jones, American actor
1933 - Shari Lewis, American ventriloquist (d. 1998)
1939 - Maury Povich, American talk show host
1942 - Muhammad Ali, American boxer
1949 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d. 1984)
1959 - Susanna Hoffs, American musician
1962 - Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
1971 - Kid Rock, American singer
1980 - Zooey Deschanel, American actress
1982 - Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
