redstar402

The cyclone derives its powers from a calm center. So does a person.
~Norman Vincent Peale

heard about the free Philharmonic Orchestra concert in Central Park just before leaving work and thought, hey, why not?  was too absorbed in reading to pay attention to the trains and got on the express train instead of the local; had to backtrack forty streets to the proper station.  couldn't find a seat on the grass; sat on the fence instead.  was just starting to make friends (I still desperately need those in this city) with another girl sitting on the fence when the guards chased us off and we lost each other in the crowd.  sat under a tree.  was just leaning back, closing my eyes and relishing in the night air, the fireflies and the music when a pigeon shat on me--not once, not twice, but four times.

so I spent the night of my one-month anniversary here washing pigeon shit out of my nice work pants.  my feathers are surprisingly unruffled by this; after all, this is Bastille Day (whatever that is) and in France it's good luck to be shat upon by pigeons.  so here's to a lucky month numéro deux!

a whole lot of stuff has gone down that I haven't updated about.  suffice to say: it's been up, it's been down, and it's been really busy.

I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him.
~Galileo Galilei

A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world; everyone you meet is your mirror.
~Ken Keyes, Jr.

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.
~Maori Proverb

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
~Rabindranath Tagore

Swallow a toad in the morning and you will encounter nothing more disgusting the rest of the day.
~Nicholas Chamfort (My 7-year-old nice loves this one, lol)

I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.
~Arthur Rubinstein

There are two types of people - those who come into a room and say, "Well, here I am!" and those who come in and say, "Ah, there you are."
~Frederick L. Collins

Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.
~Alice Walker

Nothing is interesting if you're not interested.
~Helen MacInness

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky." - Buddha

"There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way." - Buddha

"Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day." - Indian Proverb

( more! )

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." - Buddha

"By letting go, it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning." - Lao Tzu

"Riches are not from abundance of worldly goods, but from a contented mind." - Mohammed

"The purpose of our lives is to be happy. It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and long term for both yourself and others will come." - The Dalai Lama

( a bunch more under the cut! )

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm possible'!" -- Audrey Hepburn

Why are feminists so irritating sometimes.

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/141135/

I especially love the comments, such as the one:

After a commenter says that the relationship is not as bad as the writer of the article says, you get this lovely response...

"honey, it's simple literary criticism. you're skimming the surface and just soaking up/feeding into what stephenie meyer wanted for you to."

First off, I hate the use of honey is a condescending way. It just bothers me.
Second, does anyone else find it the least bit hypocritical that the responder is accusing the original commenter of "just soaking up/feeding into" what someone else says on a feminist review of a book? I wonder if the second commenter actually read the book or was she just "soaking up/feeding into" what the article's author wanted her to.

I love how...
If a man is being aggressive, it's sexist.
If a woman is being aggressive, she's asserting herself.

If a woman is being meek or a housewife, she's been indoctrinated and oppressed.
If a man is being meek or a house-husband, he's spineless and a wimp.

I was unaware until this evening that making cocaine is an alarmingly horrific process. One that is filled with ammonia, sulfuric acid, and gas - or maybe diesel, I'm not quite clear on that, but it's unimportant. Anyway, I mean, I knew it was not the kind of thing you might cook up in home ec 101, and that "rainbows and sunshine and unicorn farts" are not on the shopping list, but I am in fact surprised at the actual procedure.

And so I am left with two questions. One, who the hell said "I'm going to go through this ridiculously contrived procedure of combining these leaves with all kinds of wacky chemicals to see if it gets me anywhere"? And two, who after that moment said "you know what, I think I am going to inhale this. I think it could be a hoot, despite the fact that it is the result of GALLONS of things that could KILL ME IN A HEARTBEAT"?

On Monday, I saw a meteor, almost got hit by an ice cream truck, and picked up a hitchhiker named Brian who looked like he was about eleven years old.

All three of these things happened to me while I had the radio tuned to religious talk shows.

What do you think that means?

About an hour ago, as I was driving through where Maryland meets West Virginia on my way back from Pittsburgh, I saw the biggest and most fantastic meteor I've ever seen. It seemed small and slow-moving at first, but as I kept driving, instead of fading, it got brighter until it soared over I-70 and landed behind the trees to my left. It was AMAZING and HUGE.

So if some kind of alien monster destroys the world anytime soon, you'll know it started there.

Update: I wasn't the only one awake to see it! The Baltimore Sun reports.

You see these? You see these naked, helpless, alien-looking blobs?

One of them is mine.

Help me with names?

LUNCH ON SUNDAY! It is my opinion that we should go to Fernando's Cafe. Noxal heard it was good, and it seems to be laid-back, inexpensive, and within walking distance. There seem to be a couple vegetarian options (pizza, for example), but if you're vegan you will probably be stuck with salad. Does meeting at 1:30pm in the lobby of the Westin work for everyone who wants to go?

Slowly but surely, I'm making progress on my projects. But I'm pretty stressed out over looking for other employment opportunities and housing. I need a roommate, but I don't think many strangers would be willing to put up with birds. Then there's the fact that, according to ApartmentRatings.com, there isn't a single complex in Baltimore County that isn't infested with roaches or mice or bedbugs or all three. And, with an African Grey, I simply can't move into a place with a mold problem. Blargh. Where should I live?