Because you know what? Leaf races after are a storm are awesome. Well, leaf races are pretty awesome, fullstop.

I just can’t give up blogging. Especially not on a day when I am restricted to a chair for 720 minutes.

So without further ponderings…I would just like to remind everyone that it truly is a dangerous world we live in..where anything could happen. Such as getting turned into a frog.

But I want to let you all know that I am here to listen and blog, even when the toughest of you punks gets yourself in a sticky situation.

But before you go domestic violence on anyone, or start punching people in the face with your mouth, run here and spew it all down.

And most importantly, even if your friends are a little different, accept them. Don’t push them away even if they are sick. It will just eat them up on the inside.

Swine Flu

Love you all.

Hello!

It’s my birthday night out tomorrow night…eep! They all want me to get reeaally drunk. But I think I’ll give that a miss, hey?

I’ll have a drink or two, but me and Jon have a plan, I’m going to drink my drinks reeeaaaally slowly, while Jon gets everyone else reeeeaaaally drunk, that way no one will notice how little I’m drinking. It’s cunning! It’s definately cunning…whether it’ll work or not, who knows. Because a few people aren’t drinking, because they’re driving. So they might tell on me

We’re going for dinner in the Beefeaters by the marina first, and then we’re going to start out in some chilled out and gradually go from that to epic clubbing by the end, and people can drop out as they please. Who knows what’s going to happen. But Jon and Josh reckon they’ll look after me, but Crog will be very drunk, and I expect that Josh will be…I hope Jon doesn’t get compleeeeetely hammered. I’ve never seen him drunk, I don’t know if it’s a scary experience or not.

I’ve been doing my hair today, to figure out what I’m doing with it tomorrow. Extensions for the win, I have A LOT of hair! And I’m gonna use the fake eyelashes from Halloween too to make my eyes HUGE. Hopefully I’ll look ok! I’ll put pictures up! I found my outfit when me and mum went shopping It’s a little black dress, sort of lacy, with a silky bit, with dark purple tights (sounds a bit weird, I know!) and some killer heels!

Yaaaaay!!

No Jon today, I sent him a text and he replied. But I think it’s best I don’t talk to him tonight, I don’t wanna be bugging him. And I don’t wanna depend on him or anything…I tend to do that!

So, that’s pretty much how it goes

Night guys!!

Tia-Rhian xx

I came up with this idea a while ago and you can see the preliminary research to it on my other blog http://rufus.thomhumphris.com

I basically find myself adrift when it comes to documenting things. I have roughly around 75 or so notebooks/sketchbooks/diary’s all of which I get bored with or forget about. Not because I cant be bothered. More so that I just experience too much to write down in time to remember. I am sure I experience no more than any other person, I just notice things more and analyze them, probably more than I should.

This I mind I came up with the aforementioned idea for a blog.

As I have a memory not dis-similar to a siv, I have always collected things, everything. (Within reason of course)

Like a child when their mother empties there pockets at the end of the day, my pockets are always rammed full of seemingly pointless objects. However they tell a story and they make up my day. With out explanation of what, why and how I collect things it allows the viewer to make a story of there own and cast there own judgments of a narrative.

I have chosen this blog to move all my material to as I have a strong interest in photography and which to keep my first blog for that only.

x

Today we (I) made up a story using some of Ian’s bath toys:

Vino the Velociraptor and Bilbo the Brontosaurus were arguing over who was going to get that delicious jurassic-looking plant they were both eyeing.  Vino thought it would go quite nicely with his cab sauv while Bilbo insisted (in a very Tookish sort of way) that he needed it for his second breakfast.

That’s as far as we got.  I got so distracted by how clever I thought I was that the inspiration sort of sputtered out.

There are numerous reasons why I would never, ever, ever…in like, a million years, want to move out of this apartment with my roommates. We have fun here, other people have fun here, and we live by our own rules whenever we want to. We do what we want.

Then…there are the few reasons why I can’t wait to get my behind out of here.

#1. I can’t wait to move out of a place where my gag reflex is tested almost every morning, every night, and pretty much every time I come home from work.

Yeah…I think that sums it up right there.

Part of me can’t wait to go home to a place where I don’t have to play “mom” and clean up after kids. And you know what, I think the excuse of being busy is bull. There were numerous times that I wanted to cook myself breakfast, or leave for work early, or do something else…but instead I had to spend 15 extra minutes cleaning up filthiness that isn’t mine. And I’d like to say it’s just mess, but no…it’s filthiness. Old napkins, used water bottles, half-filled cans of iced tea, forks just randomly lying around. Now I know my closet can be crazy, there are times where you can’t even see my desk, and my sink/bathroom might be unkept, but there is such a  thing as ‘containing’ your mess. It is possible. And when mess isn’t contained is when I get really irked. There is spaghetti in the fridge that I’m sure will probably stay there past the Thanksgiving break…there were cupcake and sprinkle crumbs on the stove that I waited to see if someone was going to clean up. Someone did eventually clean it up — and yeah, that was me, this morning, 3 days after the cupcakes were baked.

It gets tiring playing “mom.” Now I know I don’t really cook often…but I just really don’t like cleaning up after other people who are like..my age or older than me. I don’t really have anyone around to look after me, most of the time in life it’s just me, myself, and I. I’m not complaining…all I’m saying is that sometimes I wish someone could take care of me — rather than me taking care of other people.

Anyway, as I was cleaning I thought about the fact that Sydney is moving out in almost a month. It’s the start of it. It makes me kind of sad because most of my crazy adventures happen to be with her. Well…at least the crazy adventures we dream about. We actually did make it to the UK though. She’s probably one of the only people who’s willing to do something spontaneous with me…and now she’s moving so many miles away. Then eventually…it’ll be all of us, separated in our own little worlds that suck without each other. I’m like, not gonna have any friends…and I’m gonna be an old fart who just works, goes home, sleeps, then wakes up and does the entire thing all over again. I can’t have that! I’m still single!

I can’t say cleanliness is a reason for me to get all bent outta shape like some past girls who’ve lived here. I love my roommates — even with their messes, which is probably why I clean up after them anyway. Well that, and the fact that I for one will not settle to live in filth. I don’t get angry at my roommates because…well, whenever I mention something about a mess it goes one ear and out the other. I understand why, they’re busy people  and a messy kitching/living room isn’t really something that pops into your mind all the time.  But it just sucks that I’m busy too — because at least if I wasn’t, I’d have the time to play slave and gladly clean up while they’re just chillin and enjoying their morning.

At the moment, I’m at my lovely parents’ house, and the fog is thick outside in the valley. It’s an eerie scene, but hopefully it will burn off and we’ll have some nice fall weather. The grandfolks are doing really well, and it’s so great to spend some good time with them. We’re planning to all go out for breakfast in a minute, which I hope they’ll enjoy.

Being that I’m away from my normal computer and don’t have all my picture equipment here with me, I think I will hold off on my planned posts until I can do them properly. So to all, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Really hold in your heart all the important things of which you have to be thankful. I know for sure, this year I am so thankful for my Papa George and Grandma Mary.

Thanks for bearing with me on the whole website issue. It’s taken me a while to deal with and to top it off I was really ill with flu for nearly a week – it’s my first day out of bed today! But well on the road to recovery (although still not recommending visitors right now…. ;-D )

Well, at the beginning of last week I finally managed to finish the new website! As well as being able to get to the new eBay Store where you’ll find the usual (and unusual) array of Fair Trade and ethical clothing, gifts, body jewellery… etc., I’ve even managed to fit a neat little members area, forum, games section, blog, links…………. so it’s pretty packed with some nifty features!

Now all it needs it some visitors and some members; of course I am relying on all of you for this so it would be absolutely fab if you could jib on over there in a moment of boredom and take a peeky! I know some of you already have….

I will be listing lots more in the eBay Store this week, too, so if you were getting worried that it was looking a bit low, (as indeed I was…) then rest assured it will be brimming with delightful goodies in time for the festive season that is bearing down upon us

All you need to do to take advantage of these fandabbydosy new things is to type one of the following URLs into your browser and you will be whisked away to a world of awesomeness (hopefully…. ;-D )!:

http://www.thekraftylady.com
http://www.thekraftylady.co.uk
http://www.thekraftylady.fr

So thanks once again to everyone for your continued support – I know this year has been a bit topsy turvy but hopefully we’re getting somewhere now and we’re making The Krafty Lady even better than before, but that’s only with many thanks to you lovely lot I don’t know what we’d do without you!

Have a fantastic week, keep popping by to see all the new items in the shop and don’t forget to sign up to the member’s area on the new website if you’ve got a bit of time spare!

Big love and hugs!
Viki
xxx

I found this interesting piece and thought i should share it…>>

Muhammed Ali’s Diamond

The following incident took place when (Former World Weight Boxer Champion) Muhammed Ali’s daughters arrived at his home wearing clothes that are not modest. Here is the story as told in detail by one of his daughters:

When we finally arrived, the chauffer escorted my youngest sister, Laila, and me to my father’s suite. As usual, he was hiding behind the door waiting to scare us. We exchanged hugs and kisses as we could possibly give in one day.

My father took a good look at us. Then he sent me down in his lap and said something I will never forget. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down and in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You’ve got to work hard to get them.”

He looked at me with serious eyes. “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too.”

>>Hope this short piece brings you positive ideas

Source:

Submitted by musilm on October 31, 2009 – 8:16 PM
http://www.musilm.net/muhammad-ali-diamond/#more-624

Some people think Muslims are dumb, illiterates, intolerant, terrorist, basically losers.

Hmmm…. That may be true. I mean, you are correct that “some” people think that way. What do you think those same people would think about idolaters or atheists… the same or worst?  Do you think you and a pagan are the same? I guess that is a NO (of course).

Please, tell me when people would stop thinking or talking? – NEVER!

You are told you don’t look or act like Muslim, but they can’t explain what Muslims look like. They claim you are not fashionable, because you dress modestly. They say your parents have put you in bondage of falsehood, but they have never studied Islam.  All sort of nonsense are made up to veil you from the light you have seen.

“People fear what they don’t understand, hate what they can conquer, guess that the theory of man became a monster” –NAS. Usually, it’s because they have selfish interests, they don’t respect you as a person or they are just ignorant. (Hope you noticed I use THEY in those options? meaning it’s not about you). It’s an old trick that will only work if you do not value or know who you are. What you need to do however, is to get your acts right and be bold about it. (Caution: bold here does not mean violence. Fight by living a worthy life and not with your fist!).

So I ask you my friend – who are you?

What people think of you will change as soon as you prove them wrong. Even if they don’t admit and change their thoughts, they would remember you said they were wrong.

Tips:

• Define who you are and understand why. (write it down and convince yourself it makes sense)
• Learn more about being a better Muslim. (Find out about Islam, successful Muslims, history, new trends and learn from them. Don’t be lazy… get real. you can’t recite the first 10 chapters of the Quran by heart but, you can sing more than 10 lyrics of secular songs).
• Be organized. (Time management is key to anyone’s success. Set fixed daily task to help you grow as a Muslim and be serious about them.)
• Set reminders. (it might be a wall décor that say Allah, an affirmation for you recite, an athan alarm on your phone or computer or anything you can think of)
• Remember the saying “two parallel lines don’t meet”. (Associate yourself mostly with like minds- there are out there. So make an effort to find and keep them close. TTL is a good place to start.)
• Use what you have. (Use the INTERNET!!!  For example this article; think of the way this information got to you. What other positive things can you get that way? E.g. try to “Google” anything on that is on your mind. You will see the same thought has been out there in the past and is presently.)
• Own and read the Quran. (if you can’t read Arabic get a translated one but, you need to learn how to read Arabic. It’s easy and there are many freebies online)
• GIVE. (He who gives receives; Givers never lack. So give in-cash, in-kind and in-words.)
• Pray more often. (I mean observe your salat. Yes you can. Be determined and build the habit gradually)

Don’t bury your head at their folly or be ashamed to be a Muslim, instead look for convincing and proud ways to flaunt what they are missing. The beauty of Islam goes across many facet (Love, knowledge, inspiration, management, health, wealth, mental alertness, hygiene, fashion etc). So instead of restricting, it actually liberates you.

Let them hate and condemn what you are chasing transcends your life time. “Don’t let frustration turn you away from what you’re trying to build.” – Italian proverb.

Peace

By Ola. Olabimpe for “The timeless LIGHT”

The more I spend time with entirely different groups of people the more I realise that I do not want things but experiences. Meeting new groups of people in new locales reinforces this because ALL people want the same JUNK to fill the SAME EMPTYNESS.

Going with the flow and having a positive mental attitude is totally working out for me. Sometimes I see/read people with negative thought patterns and I wonder how anyone can stand to be around them, how they can even stand themselves!

Anyways,

Bill moved in.

We’ll be partying it up at Low End Theory on Weds. Rubbing elbows and planning the CRUSHing of LA!

Preparing for not having a place to have Thanksgiving, and although I would rather choose to not celebrate a fake, over patriotized, massacre; sitting at home hungry, with no where to go while everyone else enjoys the excesses is equally if not more painful.

There is a certain special someone that I may or may not have a crush on and the crush is slowly wearing off, or should I say my feelings of emotions are wearing off. Ghost sensations are finally dulling away and it seems that I still might be in one piece. It’s like going through a major injury and getting rehabilitation; you have (most) of your original movement but it will never feel quite the same again. (Although saying that and knowing that as soon as I give up on anything is when I finally get what I want…)

I find it funny that when it all boils down…
Chaos,
It is indeed,
Just another pattern.

Well it’s another wet and windy one; I have been watching the birds in the garden trying to eat from the feeders the wind swinging them round like they are on a fair ground ride. Then the squirrel appeared from nowhere shot up the fence and sat on the other side with his paws folded in front of him leaning on the top of the fence, he looked like a little old man.

I have put the marzipan on the cake today, I thought I had better pull my finger out after all it’s only a month away,

 jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.

So if the Tories get in they will give every household that recycles £130 a year in vouchers, I can’t work out how this one is going to work, some people leave their recycling out side and others (like us ) take it to the recycling centre, and where is all the money coming from?

Be Happy

Have you wondered what happened to me? Or have you even noticed I haven’t written anything in a week? It’s been a combination of things…

1) When I have time to write, I haven’t thought of anything worthwhile to say.

2) All of a sudden there’s a whole crapload of STUFF for me to do.

3) Going home tomorrow for the rest of the week (yay Thanksgiving!! For me, the gluttony will start tomorrow night once my parents start paying for my meals), which sort of compounds the amount of STUFF to do.

I don’t remember where I read it a few months back, but someone wrote about how saying “I’m busy” is a lame excuse. And whoever wrote it is right. So I consciously avoided saying those words up there, but…it’s kinda true right now. Here, let me show you…

1) Photo final project due Dec. 5th, but I have to turn it in early (ideally by Wednesday, the 2nd), which entailed 3 separate trips to wineries (luckily they’re only 15-20 minutes away — go ahead and be jealous of me, it’s okay).

2) Yoga presentation Dec 1st

3) Marine Biology group presentation Dec. 2nd.

4) World Religions final Dec. 3rd.

5) Photography book report due Dec. 5th (but again, I need to turn it in earlier).

6) Genetics discussion — in place of a written final, we get a graded discussion. That’s actually not til Dec. 8th, but I’m including it here because of the prep work (I haven’t touched the book for that class in over a month).

7) Yoga “Self Study” due Dec. 3rd.

Oh, and just a little 13.1-mile run in Las Vegas Dec. 6th. Which is why I need to turn the photo stuff in early.

So I’m trying to get a jump on things, stay in control of what’s going on, so I don’t go stark raving mad next week. Also, I woke up this morning with a bit of a sore throat that’s slowly been turning into a cold, and I’m all hell no about that. I’m just not going to let myself get sick. Wish me luck on that.

Anyway, because lists are fun and easy, here’s some stuff I have thought about writing…when I’m in the car, in the photo lab, out running, doing anything anywhere that prevents me from actually writing.

1) Competition. Specifically my competitive nature and how it helps and hurts me. On my run last Friday, I was on the last leg of a 5-miler, taking it easy, walking every 10 minutes or so, keeping close tabs on my hip and knee. A girl came up and passed me. Now, for some reason, even when — especially when — I’m just out for a run on my own, I really, really dislike it when people — especially girls — are faster than me. If I were to actually write the post, I’d go into some possible reasons why (aka delve into my extremely odd psyche). Anyway, I let her run in front of me for a few blocks before realizing, you know, I haven’t sped up much and she’s not getting any farther ahead. So after the next stoplight, when we started again, I took off on a pretty good clip and stayed ahead of her for…I don’t know, close to a half-mile, maybe? Until we reached a signal and she turned right while I waited for the light so I could go left. I was perversely proud of myself and also relieved, because I couldn’t have kept that up much longer.

2) How effing scary it is to ask for a raise and why I’m now convinced that the real reason women average lower salaries than men is because A) they don’t realize they could be earning more or B) they don’t know how to ask for more money/are too scared to negotiate or C) even if they do manage to ask for a raise, they settle with a lower number because women aren’t supposed to negotiate like that.

3) The wondrous pleasures of having friends who A) are excellent cooks and B) love showing off and competing in the form of cook-offs. The boyfriend and I made a full German meal last night, beer-marinated sausage and apple kebabs, tomato soup spice loaf (cake), and apple rings (oh my God, heaven in your mouth. We’re making them instead of apple pie for Thanksgiving now). Unfortunately we didn’t plan time well and brought the food to his friend’s house after the judging occurred, but no one really cared — about 15-20 hungry college students stuffed their faces and there were still tons of leftovers. Wow.

There are probably more but my mind is just too fried to think of them right now. And because of that creeping cold, I really, really need to get to bed now. So good night, and I likely won’t be posting again until next Sunday or Monday. But who knows.

In most situations, both RL and virtual, the merchants follow the consumers.

It’s different in OL. Here we’re almost all pioneerin’ sorts: we build, we create, we script, we innovate, we lead. Problem is, there are many more leaders than followers. Many many more creators than consumers. Creators generally don’t buy from other creators what they can make by themselves. So we find ourselves in the unique position of waiting for the consumers to follow the market, instead of the other way around.

I will say, however, that I’ve noticed that while many freebies are given away and there’s an overall feeling of “share the wealth”, it isn’t a forced system or one of entitlement. You’re not looked upon with disdain for selling what you make; in fact you’re respected for it and others even look out for you. Thing is, respect doesn’t pay the rent.

This frontier still isn’t the friendliest to newcomers. It’s not that the people aren’t. Quite the contrary. The people are extremely helpful and generous… when you can find any. Most of us are in our workshops and skyboxes, hammering away at our next project, when we’re in OL, and the place is pretty sparsely populated as a rule. OL isn’t friendly to newcomers because it’s new and green and has its share of bugs. Your legs disappear one moment. You’re bouncing across the room involuntarily the next. I suppose if you’re busy building and innovating, you don’t worry about it as much because you’re busy building. But if you’re not there to build–if you’re there to meet and explore and spend–it’s a right royal pain in the ass sometimes.

So, all things in their time, I suppose. I do believe that in time consumers will trickle in with Credits burning holes in their slider-clothing pockets. Until then, we just keep building and creating and innovating and leading, so that when they do come, they’ll come to something amazing.