Progress

I am fully checked in for the quickly approaching Breast Cancer Three Day (www.the3day.org) and have my hotel room reserved at the Paradise Point Hotel and Spa (www.paradisepoint.com). It's right around the corner from the campground and I never would have thought to stay there. Just for giggles, I checked the government rates and THEY ARE THE SHIZNIT!! The only down side is the $22 bucks a night parking fee. Other than that, ther government rate is cheaper than the Holiday Inn.

Thanks to David who donated for the 3 Day! And it's not too late to donate. :-)

I was thinking today about my Cousin Thayer, and how she shaped so much of the way I feel about myself. She's actually my mother's cousin, but we've just always called her Cousin Thayer (and we always called her mom Auntie, though she was my mother's aunt). Cousin Thayer's family lived about 60 miles from where I grew up, and we spent every holiday at her home.

I'm convinced that Cousin Thayer actually converses with God. More than that, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if God talked to Cousin Thayer about his problems because somehow doing so is a sweet release in and of itself, mostly because she really LISTENS. But that's beside the point.

Anyway, every holiday we would travel to Cousin Thayer's, and every holiday we would attend their family's church, St. Michael's Espiscopal. One of my earliest memories is standing next to Cousin Thayer in the pew and being amazed at her incredibly loud, tuneless, off-key, and nasal singing voice. I had never heard anything like it, Still haven't. Her single voice could drown out an entire congregation, and St. Michael's is a HUGE church. It was easy to distinguish the visitors to the church because they would turn their heads slightly, trying to see who was making that infernal racket without being rude. Others had obvious looks of incredulousness on their faces and could be seen nudging their neighbors in disbelief. In later years (those awkward pre-adolescent years in which self-awareness translates to being embarrassed about EVERYTHING), I would cringe when it was time to sing because I was mortified to be standing next to Cousin Thayer and her powerful but rather frightening vocalizations.

But later, I admired her. Still do. And on the very rare occasions that I am now able to accompany her to church, I too sing at the top of my lungs and refuse to care if I'm out of my range, cracking, or off-key. Because we know that God doesn't care how we sound. We know that God expects us to do the very best we can with the gifts that we've been given. We know that God hears our joyous noise and revels in the enthusiasm of it. I know this because she knows God and God knows her and they are BFF.

Cousin Thayer's singing has been an inspiration to me, for she taught me that everything - every single thing - I do deserves the utmost effort, the utmost attention, and the utmost gratitude. Every little moment in life should be a moment of thankfulness and praise.

Same Shit, DIfferent Day

I dreamed that my teeth were crumbling and falling out. In my dream, MSU was indifferent and no one would help me. Here is what www.dreammoods.com has to say about it:

Dreams that your teeth are falling out are the most common dreams we here at Dream Moods receive. Common dream scenarios include having your teeth crumbling in your hands or your teeth falling out one by one with just a light tap.Such dreams are not only horrifying and shocking, but often leaves the dreamer with a lasting image of the dream. So what does it mean?

One theory is that dreams about your teeth reflect your anxiety about your appearance and how others perceive you. Sadly, we live in a world where good looks are valued highly and your teeth play an important role in conveying that image. Teeth are used in the game of flirtations, whether it be a dazzling and gleaming smile or affectionate necking. These dreams may stem from a fear of your sexual impotence or the consequences of getting old. Teeth are an important feature of our attractiveness and presentation to others. Everybody worries about how they appear to others. Caring about our appearance is natural and healthy.

Another rationalization for these falling teeth dream may be rooted in your fear of being embarrassed or making a fool of yourself in some specific situation. These dreams are an over-exaggeration of your worries and anxiety.

Teeth are used to bite, tear, chew and gnaw. In this regard, teeth represent power. And the loss of teeth in your dream may be from a sense of powerlessness. Are you lacking power in some current situation? Perhaps you are having difficulties expressing yourself or getting your point across. You feel frustrated when your voice is not being heard. You may be experiencing feelings of inferiority and a lack of self-confidence in some situation or relationship in your life. This dream is an indication that you need to be more assertive and believe in the value of your own opinion.

In the latest research, it has been shown that women in menopause have frequent dreams about teeth. This may be related to getting older and/or feeling unattractive and less feminine.

Traditionally, it was thought that dreaming that you did not have teeth, represent malnutrition which may be applicable to some dreamers.

Learn About the LHC and Decide for Yourself

I am once again struck by the fundamental dichotomies of human existence.

The thing we call “intelligence” is more of a curse than a blessing. Think about it before you disagree: You can thank your “superior intelligence” for your ability to completely blow off your body’s survival signals (humans are the only animals that will not respond to danger cues and remain in situations that have already been identified as dangerous or life-threatening). You can thank your “intellect” for such human wonders as suffering, envy, vengefulness, and guilt. Don’t forget to offer your gratitude to the “brainpower” that allowed you to be trained to never act aggressively enough quickly enough. It’s that “higher functioning” that lets you believe that no one really wants to hurt you.

The reality of “intelligence” is nothing more than this: we are trainable. As a matter of fact, we are so very trainable that we allow ourselves to be trained without even knowing or consenting to it. We are so very trainable that we allow ourselves to be trained by persons and circumstances that aren’t qualified to teach. And though we are intelligent enough to recognize poor training… though we are equipped with the tools to ensure that our training is relevant, fruitful, and constructive… though we are capable of conscious discrimination between what is creative and what is destructive… we all too often choose to “think” or “feel” rather than BE.

Ladies: do we honestly believe that it’s a credible, savvy marketing ploy for designers to display their creations on models whose bodies are representative of less than one percent of the population as a whole? Of course we don’t. As a matter of fact, each and every one of us recognizes the strategy as ludicrous. Each and every one of us recognizes advertisements in fashion magazines as misleading, unrealistic, confusing, and in some cases downright misogynistic. Yet 75% of us – yes, 75 f**king percent – feel anxious and unattractive after perusing a fashion magazine for 10 minutes. 75 f**king percent of us feel ashamed of OUR bodies after a few minutes with a magazine. OUR bodies = 99% + of the female body type range. Fashion models’ bodies = less than 1% of the range. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which ones are the mutants and it’s NOT US! And though we recognize the marketing strategy as ludicrous and hurtful, those designers – the ones who use the mutant models to SHAME us – are far richer than you and I.

I sincerely doubt that anyone reading this would pay money to watch a circus in which all the animals were trained to HATE THEMSELVES. Why? Because we are intelligent, because we can choose between innovative and inhuman options, and because each of us knows that having a purpose is singular to contented life.

No, we wouldn’t stand for that kind of circus. We would not endorse or support such a circus. We would be incredulous to learn that such a circus was wildly successful around the globe. Yet, we allow ourselves to be the circus monkeys of advertisers who have no qualms about using our intelligence against us. We’ve allowed ourselves to be trained not only to dislike our selves – our SELVES! The most marvelous gift of all!! – but to actually float an entire economy on our self-dissatisfaction.

Makes you go “hmmmmmm,” doesn’t it? Me too!

Well...

...my son decided he is ready to buy the Rogue. Which, of course, meant I had to find another mode of cheap transportation.

So I bought this:

No, not the Ferrari! But aren't they a beautiful matched set??