On Tuesday January 29, 2008, a wild fire swept through parts of Parker county. Many people in the area lost their homes along with everything they owned. My farm was hit hard; my horses were singed (otherwise they're fine), and I lost a lot of personal property. No one was living on my place, though, so the damage is relatively negligible.

It's an interesting sensation to overcome something like this. I'm waiting for the full force of it to hit me, though I suspect that will happen about the time everything cools down and cleanup can begin.

Today, I just want to run away from my entire life. I want to shove some things into a backpack, walk out the door, and forget every little stressor, every little pain in the ass, every little problem, each and every nuisance.

In Fiji (I think it was sometime last year) they halted a coup d'état in order to play a rugby match (between the potential warring factions I might add). I think the match ended up determining who won the unfinished coup. What a civizalized way to problem solve. LOL Fiji sounds like a pretty awesome place just now.

What a shame it isn't just so simple to solve all life's problems--rugby anyone?

I cannot believe I have to say this AGAIN. *sigh*

In response to a man's initial attempt at contact:

1) If a woman simply says, "I'm not interested," she receives the "bitch" label.

2) If instead she simply doesn't respond at all...she is considered rude.

3) If she responds politely yet negatively, she must then justify her lack of interest as she is bombarded with a multitude of "why aren't you interested" e-mails--at which point...

4) See #1

So... if a woman is not interested, how is she supposed to indicate that in such a way that the man on the other end just accepts it graciously and leaves her alone?

A question really can just be a question. When I posed, "can a heartache last forever," I never said I was suffering, but boy did people ever take it that way. LOL For the record, I wasn't suffering. Assumptions are strange creatures.

I could have just as easily asked something else like, "how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?" That owl wasn't wise at all--unless you consider scamming some poor kid out of his candy wise. Anyway...

Now for something completely different...

Should I behave as if the maxim with which I act were to become the universal law for all rational people?

Deep breath!
So I set a goal for myself to finish NaNoWriMo this year (write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days--see nanowrimo.org for more info). I was a little behind today when I started writing, and I needed to do about 2,500 extra words or so (for a total of a little over 4,000 for the day). I don't have much going on today, so no problem.

Ten minutes ago, my word processor crapped the bed and I lost 2,000 words. GRRRRR

I had convinced myself that today would be the beginning of a better week... Let's instead say that today is the end of a really crappy week.

What a concept--Monday as something in which to look forward.
*sigh*

Can a heartache last forever?

I nicked this from a friend's blog... he nicked it from somewhere else so I don't feel bad. ;) This is an excerpt from a book, "Dumbing Down Our Kids", by Charles Sykes, an educator, it makes some salient points:

11 things ...not learn(ed) in school. ...about how feel-good, politically correct teaching has created a full
generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept sets them up for failure in the real world.

RULE 1
Life is not fair - get used to it.

RULE 2
The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

RULE 3
You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with
car phone, until you earn both.

RULE 4
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.

RULE 5
Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping
they called it Opportunity.

RULE 6
If you mess up,it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

RULE 7
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills,
cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest
from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.


RULE 8
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished
failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the
slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 9
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in
helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

RULE 10
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

RULE 11
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

The level of immaturity must have reached an all-time low this week on OKCupid. The Caged Unicorn post (and subsequent comments) would be more aptly named "Romper Room Gone Wild." It's amazing to me that grown adults have decided to resort to name-calling and pointless flaming in their journals/comments. People please�it�s time to grow up already!

For the record, flames, name-calling, and other immature behaviors will be given the attention they deserve. I'm just sayin'.

I had my doubts about global warming anyway. Oh, I know the planet is getting warmer, but I also remember when we were worried about the next ice age back in the 70's (how quickly we forget). The fact is, our planet's climate changes all the time; that is scientifically proven; there is a ton of geological data to back it up, and any basic college geology course will teach this. Today though... WOW...I came across this British production about the global warming farce. It's over an hour long; I know it requires an attention span longer than that of most surfers, but please give it a look. Even if you're far left-leaning and you think the piece is all bs... stick with it till the end. It should at least make you wonder if the global warming alarmists are trying to save the earth, or if they're really a threat to humanity.

pink is a good hue
salmon maybe not so much
how about fuchsia