ath3na's talking points

So it's been a while since my last post. And by while, I mean.... like 6 months (give or take a week or two). I could name many reasons for my delay in posting... and I think I shall name a few:

1. It gets a little discouraging when you feel like no one reads your blog, or is interested in anything you have to say. I suppose this isn't the best reason in the world, because by stopping posting, I've inevitably caused those people that did read to now stop reading...
2. I was particularly busy in the spring months, what with Michele graduating and my best friend and another good friend moving to town and my service calls on the side, in addition to my nearly 35 hour (yes, I'm still part-time though) work week. Sure, I guess you could say this isn't the greatest reason either, but it's a reason nevertheless. I was busy, no joke.
3. There's really not a 3, because the first two really covered many different reasons, so I'm just gonna leave it at that. Besides, you can't really have a list without having at least 3, imho. Been busy, been technically/bloggingly (yes, I'm perfectly aware this isn't a word... but you understood it didn't you?) discouraged. End of story.

So there's your reasons for my not posting until now, and I will understand if you don't read this until a month for now, or even a few months from now, since I essentially did that to you, if you were in fact a reader before. Hopefully in the future though I will have plenty for you to enjoy. Hit me up in the comments should you want some words of wisdom on a particular subject, after-all the comments are what keeps me going. ;)

Thanks be to Blake for sharing this comic! Seriously funny stuff! I've now subscribed to an RSS feed of their comics, 'cause they srsly make me lol. Find more at http://xkcd.com

Yes, there was an earlier post with the same slideshow (just less pictures), but for some reason it doesn't seem to be working so.... here he is again. More pictures! And, just after his trip to the groomer! Yay!

[Click to make it bigger.]
Thanks Joel! Sometimes we all need a reminder. =)

Because I've had a lot of change going on in my life recently, I thought it appropriate to summarize my recent experiences with a collection of quotes I've found, and comment on them.

“We take great pains to persuade others that we are happy than in to think so ourselves.” - Confucious

This quote is so true to how we all feel, I believe. Confucious has this way of touching the part of our persona we don't let out much. He's very right though, we go through these acts, with the world as our stage (Shakespearean, I know), playing our lives out, vying to convince the world that we are something we aren't [always]. For once in my life though, I've convinced myself (though temporary it may be), that I am indeed happy.

"Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever." - Kerri Russell

Isn't this the truth? It's often the smallest decisions that make the biggest impact on our lives. These decisions are also, often, the decisions we spend more time acting on rather than thinking on. Aren't we a genius species?!

“All of life is a journey which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there.” - Anonymous

I'd like to reference the Confucious quote here, because it's pertinent to this particular quote as well. I'd also like to make note of the last phrase of this quote: We determine...how happy we are when we get there. It's not the world that needs convincing of our happiness, it's ourselves. Once you convince yourself that you are indeed happy, then the world will know, without your effort.

“The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life.”- Hugh Walpole, Sr.

Isn't it wonderful to find another person in this world with whom your soul can agree? It's such a rare occurrence, and one that you can never expect or plan for. This is most definitely the most wonderful of all things in life.

“Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.”- Marcus Tullius Cicero

True friendship is hard to find, but easy to keep. Once you find it, it's like enlightenment, it is pure joy (which is the name of this post, in Simplified Chinese).

I hope that if you know me already, I've helped you find some joy, and if I ever meet you, that I can help spread the joy that has been endowed to me. I hope that I can choose to be as happy with life, as I am right now.

It's one of those days where you wake-up, and only because the phone was ringing, relentlessly. You look at the clock after bolting to answer the phone only to realize that it's 7:45 and you're supposed to be at work by 8, and it's a 20 minute drive there on a good-day, with no traffic. Yep, this is how my morning began. Late. So, I get to work, with no breakfast -though I must admit that my brother was particularly nice to me this morning, which is in itself different- just to be sent out to Hardee's to get everyone breakfast. Now I'm not complaining about this, as I wasn't looking forward to the Strawberry Pop-Tarts my brother tossed me from the front door. So off I go for breakfast, and I still can't seem to get woke-up completely. You see, my Mom finally turned on the air condition last night. I must say, it was the best sleep I've had in weeks. So, with all that being said... show me some love, I need it today. =D

**Edit: What do you think of the new template? I thought I'd change it so that mine wouldn't be just like another certain unnamed bloggers (who's name starts with an M and ends with an ike). Like it or should I go back to the other one? I did like it. Your opinions please...

So, I had intentions of posting this yesterday, but it didn't work out for me, so I'm a day late and a dollar short, but my intentions are still good. Yesterday was the Day of Silence... below is more about it. I like to be aware of all that goes on around me, and this is one of those things...

The following was taken from the Day of Silence website at DayofSilence.org.Please read on for more information...

About Day of Silence

Founded in 1996, the Day of Silence® has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. From the first-ever Day of Silence® at the University of Virginia in 1996, to the organizing efforts in over 1,900 middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities across the country in 2002, its textured history reflects its diversity in both numbers and reach.

Here's a brief history.

1996 - The Day of Silence® is born. Students organized the first Day of Silence®, its original name, at the University of Virginia. With over 150 students participating, those involved felt it was a great success. The Day of Silence® received extensive local press coverage and a positive response from the UVA community members, motivating Maria Pulzetti to take the Day of Silence® nationally.

1997 - From one, to one hundred, National Day of Silence® takes off With a web page and much dedication, Pulzetti and then 19-year-old Jessie Gilliam, developed the project to be used in schools across the country. It was renamed the National Day of Silence®, and that year nearly 100 colleges and universities participated. Some schools in Australia heard about the project and modeled a similar day for Australian schools.

1998 - The Day keeps growing, the Project begins Pulzetti and Gilliam realized they could not expand the National Day of Silence® alone, so they organized a team of regional coordinators who could assist schools better by working with and understanding local networks. Expanding from a one-day vow of silence to include additional actions and educational events, the Day of Silence® was officially inaugurated. That year, for the first time in a recognized number, students in high schools joined the organizing efforts, helping double the number of participating schools to over 200.

1999-2001 - More people, more time, a message of unity sets in Through the sponsorship of Advocates for Youth, Gilliam worked part-time over the summer of 1999 to maintain and expand the Day of Silence®. A first in the project's history, a team of volunteers met for a weekend in Boston to discuss strategy and develop future plans towards assisting schools. The Day of Silence® continued to support high schools, colleges and universities around the country with volunteers led by then 18-year-old Chloe Palenchar, as the National Project Coordinator. Over 300 high schools participated that year.

2001 - Day of Silence®; still growing, still strong Chris Tuttle, GLSEN's National Student Organizer, Gilliam and Palenchar developed a proposal to provide the Day of Silence® with new funding, staff, volunteers and an official organizational sponsor, GLSEN. To ensure its success, GLSEN developed a first-ever Leadership Team of high school students to support local high school organizers around the country and a partnership with the United States Student Association, to ensure colleges and universities receive equal support.

2002 - Making noise, making history In what has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools, the April 10th Day of Silence® was organized by students in more than 1,900 schools across the country, with estimated participation of more than 100,000 students. Representative Eliot Engel introduces the first ever resolution on the Day of Silence® in Congress, which received support of 29 co-signers; additionally, Governor Gray Davis of California issued an official proclamation making April 10, 2002 the National Day of Silence®. Local Day of Silence® organizing efforts appear in over fifty media stories across the country, including USA Today, MSNBC, CNN, Voice of America and a live broadcast on NPR. Breaking the Silence rallies are organized with tremendous success in Albany, NY, Kalamazoo, MI, Missoula, MT, Ft. Lauderdale & Sarasota, FL, Eugene, OR, Boulder, CO and Washington DC, among other places.

Today - The possibilities are endless Just imagine: tens of thousands of students, from San Francisco, California to Irmo, South Carolina, united in a visible silence to create real change in local schools. Whether used to educate classmates on the damaging effects of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment or to demand passage of a statewide nondiscriminatory act inclusive of LGBT people, the Day of Silence® is an awesome opportunity to create more inclusive school environments and make some noise.

So, here we are, my third post of this lovely thing they call a "blog."

I've decided that I can't be nerdy all of the time, so I shall fluctuate my topics so that I appeal to not only those who define themselves as geeky (in the technical sense) but also those who do not.

Recently at work I've made a rather lovely friend. She had shared with me some of the things she does to help boredom pass. One of the things she does is think of her friends and what they would be if they were a cereal, or an animal, or a... well, you get the point. So, we've started a Google Spreadsheet (I<3google) that lists all of the things we would be. It's quite fun really. I also sent out an invitation to take the Jung Personality test, just to see how well we mesh together. The personality test we took can be found here, it would be fun if you also took it and posted your personality type as a comment. =D

I ended up being an ESFJ (Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging), and this is after only one try at the personality test so... it's relative. The ESFJ person is labeled as The Caregiver, and I suppose this fits me pretty well. The high-level description of an ESFJ person, as listed on the PersonalityPage.com is:

Warm-hearted, popular, and conscientious. Tend to put the needs of others over their own needs. Feel strong sense of responsibility and duty. Value traditions and security. Interested in serving others. Need positive reinforcement to feel good about themselves. Well-developed sense of space and function.

and this pretty much fits me to a T. I'm much like a good dog, very loyal and trustworthy, and though I'm a very independent person (given I'm a Leo), I'm incredibly dependent on a select few in my life. As long as I have a few people to keep me fueled (with positive reinforcement, to use the quote above), I'm as happy as a lark and singing in the rain. I would do anything for my friends, and when I say anything I mean quite literally a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. So, I would say that I'm a good friend to have, since having me can be a valuable asset to anyone's arsenal. I'm pretty selective though about who I'll let be one of my "trusted few," so if you get chosen, you should feel privileged and special, and not let go.

Well, that's enough talking about myself now... until next time. Cheerie-0!