The Bosque

From MSNBC: Coretta Scott King, who worked to keep her husband’s dream alive with a chin-held-high grace and serenity that made her a powerful symbol of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s creed of brotherhood and nonviolence, died Tuesday. She was 78.

What an amazing woman.

Rest in peace...

It was 12:15 or so this afternoon, and I was planning on going to lunch at 12:30, when my work phone rang. Only 3 people call me on my work phone: the pizza shop, my mom and April. And usually, I only like the calls from April.

It was her...she had just finished a job interview in a suburb not too far from where I work, and wanted to have lunch with me. Awesome! I usually eat lunch by myself, and don't eat with April often because my job is 30-45 minutes from either of our houses.

So, we had a splendiferous lunch. And all was right with the world.

The end. :)

At least it doesn't involve the US. From the BBC:

Libya has said it is closing its embassy in Denmark in protest against a series of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.

Tripoli said Denmark had failed to act against the Jyllands-Posten's cartoons, which showed Muhammad as a terrorist.

...

Copenhagen has expressed regret for the furore over the 12 cartoons, but refused to get involved, citing freedom of expression.

"The government can in no way influence the media," Mr Rasmussen said on Sunday.

Can you believe that it's been 20 years since the Challenger exploded?

I was in 4th grade at the time...and was considering becoming an astronaut. Challenger pretty much ended that idea...probably a good thing, though.

The only member of the crew that we tend to recall by name is Christa McAuliffe, the New Hampshire teacher. But we still keep them all fairly close to mind, much like we do the victims of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor.

We should never stop manually exploring the universe. But we should always make sure that everything is googol-checked to ensure that a return home from space is virtually a guarantee.

Rest in peace, Challenger crew...

I heard one of his last symphonies today...Number 41--the Jupiter Symphony. I'm not the biggest classical music fan, but it sounded cool...and even a classical novice like me can tell that he was a genius.

I should rent "Amadeus."

I wrote this at work this morning…it was another sloooooooooow day.

I have stuff to do…not work, mind you, but I could be reading my school books or surfing the internet. But I’m not allowed to do that.

I’d like to think that I’m a very efficient worker. I do my work, I do it quickly and I do it well. Because our computers take forever to process data, and because I get all my work done quickly, I have a lot of downtime. Like right now…I’ve been waiting for this particular delivery to download since 9:30…it’s now 11:00.

Once I got familiar with my job, I noticed that I had this downtime, and decided to use it productively. We’re not allowed to use the internet other than for work purposes, so I started reading my school books or (during Xmas) making out Xmas cards. Life was good.

A few weeks after I started doing this, my boss called me into her office. She said she understood my situation, but told me that I could not read my school books…she told me to just stare at the computer screen if I had to, or ask her for something to do. Apparently, either someone complained about my downtime, or she was concerned that someone would complain.

On one hand, I understand. It’s a workplace, and I’m here to work. But I am doing my work, y’know? And—amazingly—I think that I’m properly compensated for doing that work. And I don’t mind helping out…but as I see it, in most cases, people need help with their work because they manage their time poorly. And of course, I’m not being compensated for doing that extra work. At the same time, a lot of my downtime is caused by computer slowness. Apparently, the company is unwilling to invest in faster computers for my boss and me, and when I’m processing big items, it’s all my computer can really handle.

If a coworker in my department said something, they need to worry about themselves instead of me. And I don’t think a big boss would complain if he saw me reading a management textbook…it’s like doing extra credit for work. And they almost never come down here anyway.

I like my job…I really do. I enjoy the work that I do. But the culture here is just…odd. And I’m so freaking bored. When I took this job, my hope was that I could hang on here until I finish my Masters next spring, then get a better job. I have no intention of upping and quitting, there’s no reason to fire me and I’m leery of looking for another job since I’ve only had this one for 3 months.

I need to give this some more thought. I could probably hold on until next year, but some days, I dunno…

...about looking at porn on the work computers? From STLtoday:

Computer problems at Boeing Co.'s St. Louis-based defense headquarters this morning interrupted production of military planes and forced the company to cancel its second shift after sending several hundred first-shift workers home.

From the CBC: Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Canada's next prime minister, pledged to work with all parties in the next Parliament after Canadians elected a Tory minority government Monday, ending a 12-year reign of Liberal rule.

The Sponsorship scandal totally fucked the Liberals...and I don't think they took the Conservatives seriously. But it could be a short-lived government...the Tories don't have a majority, much like the Liberals had ruled for the last 2 years.

I don't see the US and Canada kissing and making up, but I do think our relations will improve. As much hell as we give them, we need a strong ally close to home.

And Wolf and her friends can rest easier...handguns will probably not be banned by the Conservatives.

...but it's still Germantown, baby!

From yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch: When Wal-Mart sued a disabled former employee in June to recover what it spent on her medical care, the retailing giant said it was just meeting a filing deadline and had not necessarily decided to ask a judge for the money.

Now the company is asking for the money.

If the suit prevails in federal court in St. Louis, it would force Debbie Shank, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., to repay the more than $417,000 she won in a suit over a car wreck unrelated to work - plus the $51,000 her lawyer got. Her husband and lawyer said it would drain the trust fund set up for her care and burden the taxpayers with a larger share of her nursing home expenses.

I had to read the story twice to make sure I truly understood it.

On the one hand, I totally understand Wal-Mart's position...it's not an unusual one. And with health care costs continuing to rise, that $500,000 could help keep Wal-Mart's costs down.

On the other hand...isn't one of the biggest criticisms of Wal-Mart their failure to offer benefits to many of their employees? And for a company that made $9.1 billion profit last year and whose stock has gone up 450% in the last 10 years, $500,000 isn't shit. This woman truly needs the money...in the end, it probably won't cover her medical expenses. And do we want another person on Medicaid, especially here in Missouri, where it has been cut severely in the past year?

I don't think Wal-Mart's gonna win this lawsuit. Even though their intentions seem sincere, it just reeks of mean-spiritedness.

...and he lives in Philadelphia.

It never failed...I would always wind up losing several pairs of socks a year during my time in Philadelphia. One sock would wind up missing...and would never come back. So, I would hold onto the other sock until another sock went MIA.

I always wondered what the fuck happened to them...especially since I had a washer and dryer in my apartment for 4 of the 5 years I lived out there. And when I moved to Germantown in 2004, the frequency of lost socks decreased...but still occurred.

I've been back in St. Louis for 7 months, and I haven't lost a sock yet. And I never lost too many socks when I lived here before. So, I wonder...did the sock monster just follow me and get greedier, then didn't realize that I moved back here? Or was there another sock monster here, and my mom slayed it? Or am I just careless with my socks?

No...there's definitely a sock monster...I think I even saw it once...

Wolf's at the keyboard today.

The United States does not have an exclusive on Stupid Lawsuits.

A suicidal woman who paid a man to kill her has had him jailed for failing to carry out the murder.

Christine Ryder paid Kevin Reeves a total of £20,000 to end her life when she was feeling depressed.

He promised to find a hitman, and then even offered to do it himself.

However, all he did was keep the money - so Mrs Ryder filed a complaint for breach of contract.

In a few hours, I take my first class final. It looks to be an easy one--it's open book, and we already got the questions that are going to be on it. I did all my reading, and marked my question sheets with the page numbers of the answers to the questions. And we get to use those as well. After class, April will be joining my study team and me at Blueberry Hill. And next week, we start a new class.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a presentation to tweak...we have our final one of those tonight, too.

From NY1: The GOP is responding to a fiery speech by Senator Hillary Clinton at the Reverend Al Sharpton's annual Martin Luther King Day forum on Monday.

During her address, Clinton lashed out at the Bush Administration, and at one point compared Congress to a plantation. Her comments are earning a harsh response from the Republican National Committee.

"On a day when Americans are focused on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Hillary Clinton is focused on the legacy of Hillary Clinton," said a GOP spokeswoman.

This one doesn't bother me as much as Nagin's. It was total pandering, and I'm not sure that she should've used such a comparison. But I agree with the sentiment, which is why I--and most left-leaning folks--aren't worrying about it.

From MSNBC: Mayor Ray Nagin apologized Tuesday for a Martin Luther King Day speech in which he predicted that New Orleans would be a "chocolate" city once more and asserted that "God was mad at America."

"I said some things that were totally inappropriate. ... It shouldn’t have happened," Nagin said, explaining he was caught up in the moment as he spoke to mostly black spectators, many of them fearful of being shut out of the city’s rebuilding.

I'm tired of hearing him talk...

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would beguaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on th is promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963, Washington, DC

Back in the mid-80s, Coke rolled out Cherry Coke...and it was good. Pepsi followed with their own cherry version a few years later. More recently, we've seen vanilla, lemon and lime varieties from each of them. I've only had the vanilla versions...they're okay. Back in 2002, Dr Pepper rolled out Red Fusion. Apparently, it was Dr Pepper with fruit flavors, but to me, it tasted like a sweeter version of DP with cherry flavoring. I loved it, and was pissed when it was discontinued. Mountain Dew has also introduced several varieties over the past few years, most of them pretty good.

Then last year, Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper was introduced. Only the diet version was available nationwide. I had one and it was just terrible. A couple of months later, I was back here in St. Louis for a visit, and had the non-diet version--it was okay. I really couldn't taste each of the flavors, and it was very sweet...too sweet.

Recently, Coke discontinued Vanilla Coke and released Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. The billboards have been up here for a month now, but I just found it in a store last night. And so, I had one...and it was much like the Cherry Vanilla DP, though sweetness wasn't an issue.

Maybe our taste buds have a limit on soda flavors--two is fine (the original flavor and one extra flavor), but beyond that, you're pushing it. Maybe my taste buds are just fucked up and only want two flavors. Or maybe it's the flavors themselves that are a problem--maybe it's not good to mix them into a soda like Coke or Dr Pepper.

I dunno...I don't drink much regular soda these days anyway, so apparently, I'm not missing much. Except original Dr Pepper...*drools*

In his drunken glory, my brother Tim posted a forwarded piece to the Bosque forum. I thought it was a good piece and deemed it Manifesto-worthy. And so, today's Manifesto is--amazingly--brought to you by Tim, aka EMS092882.

I recieved this from a friend the other day, and I just feel like sharing it with you...



I wish you knew...............(written by one who does)

I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen below you burns.

I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 6 in the morning as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done to try to save his life.

I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too familiar with.

I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire "Is this a false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped?"

Or to call, "What is wrong with the patient? Is it minor or life-threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?"

I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying to save during the past 25 minutes, who will never go on her first date or say the words, "I Love you Mommy" again.

I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine, squad or my personal vehicle, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took you forever to get here!"

I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the remains of her automobile. "What if this was my daughter, sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What are her parent’s reaction going to be when they open the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?"

I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call.

I wish you could know how it feels dispatching officers, firefighters and EMT's out, and when we call for them and our heart drops because no one answers back, or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child or wife needing assistance.

I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes of "It will never happen to me."

I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain of missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen.

I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property, or being able to be there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.

I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having CPR done on him as they take him away in the Medic Unit. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on. A sensation that I have become too familiar with.

Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to us...I wish you could though.

KEEP SENDING THIS ON. APPRECIATE AND SUPPORT THE LOCAL EMS WORKERS, 911 DISPATCHERS, FIREFIGHTERS, and LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IN YOUR AREA.

ONE DAY THEY'LL PROBABLY BE SAVING YOUR PROPERTY OR YOUR LIFE. WHEN YOU SEE THEM COMING WITH LIGHTS FLASHING, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY QUICKLY, THEN PRAY FOR THEM!

From today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The top 20 "mean cities" toward the homeless, as ranked by the National Coalition for the Homeless:

1. Sarasota, Fla.

2. Lawrence, Kan.

3. Little Rock, Ark.

4. Atlanta

5. Las Vegas

6. Dallas

7. Houston

8. San Juan, Puerto Rico

9. Santa Monica, Calif.

10. Flagstaff, Ariz.

11. San Francisco

12. Chicago

13. San Antonio

14. New York City

15. Austin, Texas

16. Anchorage, Alaska

17. Phoenix

18. Los Angeles

19. St. Louis

20. Pittsburgh

Oh...that's right. They mean "mean toward the homeless" as opposed to "the homeless being mean." :lol:

Today, April had her first job interview since leaving her last position. It was with a large charity's new program that begins later in the spring. The task--managing a program that helps ex-cons get back on the right track. She really wants the job, and I think she'd be great in the position. And I'm not just saying that because she's my lady. :) Contrary to her current thoughts, it sounds like the interview was good. She'll be going back for a second interview sometime next week. So if you all could direct your positive vibes, prayers, etc. toward April for just a minute, that would be great!

Gracias.

April's in charge today

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10777837/

I saw this on another website yesterday. I'm actually reading the book right now and it's quite good...my take is that it's a first person account of a man recovering from a severe drug addiction - of course his stories are going to be a little skewed. Hell, we all embelish stories a little at one time or another to make them more interesting. I think the book would still be as good if some of the accounts were fictitious. The message of the book is the important thing - going from rock bottem to buiding a life for oneself sucks but is within reach. I really don't like that website quoted in the story (smokinggun.com)...next they're probably going to do an expose on Santa Claus and say some crazines like he's made up or something! :shock:

After confirming that I would be kept after my 90-day probation yesterday (which ended last weekend), I asked my boss how much advance notice she needed for a day off. She said it was normally 2 weeks, but if I wanted one sooner, that was fine. I said, "How about tomorrow?" And she said OK. Only one person in the department is somewhat dependent on what I do, and she would still have work from my boss to do. Plus I'm currently 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule on projects b/c I rock like that.

So I took a mental health day. I thought it would be good to sleep in, relax and get some schoolwork and other shit done.

And I did all that...not as much schoolwork as I would have preferred, but I was able to cross off everything on my to-do list and spend some time with April. (Go to Chili's and order the Mexican Shrimp Scampi and Quesadilla Explosion Salad. You will thank April and I later.)

And now, it's off to the shower and bed...I'm pooped. April's in charge tomorrow.

...my favorite paranoid conservative gun nut! That would be Wolf, of course.

Happy birthday, hon...hope it's a good one! *hugs*

Every year, Men's Fitness magazine comes up with the 25 fattest cities and 25 fittest cities in the US. The new rankings just came out...and a couple of them really surprised me.

--Philadelphia dropped from the 2nd fattest city (it held the #1 distinction in 2000, and is normally in the top 10) to 23. That's awesome! Mayor John Street is a vegetarian and a fitness nut, and had been pushing residents to exercise more the entire time I lived there.

--St. Louis is not on either list...we were the 5th fattest in 2003, but haven't been on the list since. I think St. Louis is correctly placed. We have a lot of fat people here, but a lot of people that exercise. We have a lot of fast-food places, but a lot of parks. A good balance, IMO.

--Baltimore is the fittest city in the US. Huh?! What the fuck?! They were the 25th fattest city last year. I guess people are sticking to no-filler crab cakes, hon.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sandwich to buy, followed by some walking.

Never leave your chainsaw unattended, in the event that someone might steal it:

IMO, Lou Rawls is one of the more underrated soul singers out there. Sure, he is known for his big hits "You'll Never Find" and "Lady Love," plus his work for the United Negro College Fund. But you haven't heard as much about him over the last 10 years as you have, say, Barry White or The O'Jays or Earth, Wind and Fire. No matter...he leaves an impressive legacy, both on and off the record. He passed away earlier today...he was 72 and had been battling cancer for the past year.

Rest in peace...

Because Pat Robertson can't be this stupid...from The New York Times (subscription may be required): The Protestant broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for "dividing God's land."

"God considers this land to be his," Mr. Robertson said on "The 700 Club," his television program. "You read the Bible and he says, 'This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, 'No, this is mine.'"

...saw something like this today?

...and you might have some debt to pay off.

But fear not...Jean Chatzky to the rescue!

Today is a big day in Sycamoreland. On the surface, it may not seem like much, but April and I are retarded like that, so it's huge.

Today marks our 6 month anniversary. And today, I will share with you the plans that April and I have been making about for several months now.

Why 6 months is a psychological barrier of sorts, at least to me, I dunno. It shouldn't be...what others think shouldn't be that important to me per se. I guess I'm gunshy...

You see, I am madly in love with April. I have never loved someone so much in my life. She makes me the happiest person in the world. And I plan to marry her sometime in 2007. Shortly thereafter, we're going to buy a house. And she's going to get a nice rock sometime this year. In short, she is the greatest person I have ever met, and I have no intention of ever letting her go.

Well that's great! Why gunshy? I've been down this path before. I've fallen madly in love with a girl, and have planned to spend my life with them, only to watch it disintegrate. 4 times, actually. And I've been engaged 3 times, more or less. I say "more or less" because none of the ladies have ever gotten a ring...they were either asked with no ring, or in the case of Rhoda, it was just an assumption that we were going to get married. And so, the terms "fiance" and "engaged" would be used.

This time is different though. Now, I've said that before too. But this really is...I can honestly say that I have never felt this way before. I have never felt such a deep connection to someone. It's amazing how well April and I click...we have a lot of common interests, our personalities complement each other and we're able to read each other very well, including being one step ahead of each other. I think the fact that we were friends for 7 years before we started dating helped us avoid a lot of the "getting to know you" stuff and the general early stumbling blocks. Both of us are at the point where we've been through the ringer a few times and don't want any more bullshit. And hence, here we are.

So, there you have it, and there you are. No assumptions this time around. April will indeed become Mrs. B, but for now, she is my girlfriend. When she gets the ring, then she will be my fiance. But no long engagement...some of you will be getting wedding invites later next year.

Yeah...that sounds awesome. :)

The last green candle represents imani. All candles in the kinara are now lit.



Imani (faith): Believe in the peeps...we will win the war in the end.

Now Whitey should be scared. :)

May as many of our troops as possible come home from the Middle East

May our world be as safe as possible from those that would do us harm

May Americans focus more on commonalities this year

And may each of us have our best year ever

Amen.