Bah Luvbug.

So, here it is. My least favorite day of the year. yup. that's right, I am going to complain about Valentine's Day. Feel free to skip this diatribe. It promises to be bitter.

I have two stories for you. They are both stories of unnecessary disappointment. Sit back and relax kiddos and let Bitter Betty tell you why she doesn't like Valentine's Day.  (Thankfully she only wants to visit and tell this story once a year!)

Tale number one: How it went when I was a kid.

      I am 8. (7,9,10) I spend half an hour in the store deciding which box of Valentine's to get. I settle on Care Bears.  I come home and carefully tear the Valentine's apart, separating them into neat piles. Filling out first the "Hooray, Hooray, It's Valentine's Day" cards for the kids who were mean, or smelled bad.  Savoring the moment when I would dedicate the "You make my heart happy" card to my future husband. The remaining cards were then split between my buddies. 
Once at the party I tore through my own bag of mandatory cards...searching for the one from my crush, knowing I would be reading it many times that day.  As I opened that, never sealed no matter how much you licked it, envelope, I would close my eyes and hope for the card that referenced our deep "Transforming" love for each other, but usually it was the penguin who says "You're Cool".

Tale #2: The four kinds of Valentine's revelers.
 
1.  The person in the "happy relationship". The person in the "happy relationship" has hyped this day up so much, they couldn't possibly be satisfied.  If this person happens to be satisfied THIS year, next year will probably disappoint.
2.  The person who is miserably single. I really don't need to explain this person to you.  Even the happiest of singles do not enjoy Valentine's Day. Which leads me to #3.
3.  The person who tries to "take back the holiday!" and make it about love in general. Listen, I have tried to be this person, but I never forgot what Hallmark wants it to be about. They had me at Care Bear. Therefore, this person is either: #2, who feels bad, understands that they shouldn't, and tries to fight it.
OR #1, who feels bad for you, because you are single, and should be pitied on this day.
4.  The exceptions to the rule.  Yeah, if you got pissed during the previous three, this is probably you.  Sorry. I am glad you had a wonderful day!

Life is Short. Let's Love.

This is the Photo of the Year 2011 from the World Press Photo Contest. 

"Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion" ~ Dalai Lama

Anyone who knows me, knows that I can't help but try to promote understanding and positive views of Muslims.  Blessed with the experience of teaching in a Muslim school, I have seen first hand the nature of the community.  Unfortunately, I was also witness to the despicable way that some of my fellow Americans treat that which they do not understand. Our fear, biased media, and general lack of knowledge about this particular group of people can lead to a dangerous perspective.
This picture is beautiful.  With the obvious parallel to the much beloved "Pieta", this picture invokes empathy.  I am drawn to it because it illustrates the simple fact that we are alike, not different. 
We all enjoy laughter, and children, and baby animals. We have all experienced loss and despair. We all seek understanding and acceptance. We all love and are loved.  Every. Last. Human.
The more I can remember that, the more compassion, interest, and light I can bring into the world.

The Law of Plans.

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. ~Albert Einstein

I have a CPR training Thursday evening.
My long lost little brother will be in town and wants to have dinner...Thursday evening.
My friend, who never does, needs a babysitter....yup... Thursday evening.
I literally haven't had plans on a Thursday evening in ....?....

Why does it seem that everything happens all at once.
Ok, ok Einstein, I realize that it isn't LITERALLY happening all at once....but,you can't deny that things do happen in groupings and waves and clusters. They come in packs and bunches and clumps and....you get the picture...
Sometimes it is many occassions all on one day...
Sometimes it is a string of bad luck, or to be an optimist, a string of good luck...(haaa. who am I kidding, it's normally just bad luck...I just said that good luck thing as a preventative...a pinch of salt over the shoulder...a knock on wood)

Is there some weird law of attraction that has to do with "abnormal" activity? Like, once something out of the ordinary happens, like minded out of the ordinary things will join it?

All I know for sure is....
I have a busy day Thursday ;)