27 April 2011

Torrential Rain

I got trapped in an act of God today. We ate our fair-trade, local lunches in the pavilion of Waterloo Park when the rain came out of no where. The rain didn't last long, but the wind came down hard enough that the rain soaked us anyway. I also decided to dance in it. I felt more alive than I have in at least two 4 month terms. School tried to spiritually feed me, but all I needed was the rain. It was the most adventure-filled afternoon. The world is beautiful.

25 April 2011

Revenge is a Bitch

Today, I woke up, and my body said to me: "Hey, remember how terrible you were to me over the course of exam period? Well, this is payback." And now I feel really sick, and can't get enough sleep no matter how much I try. I hate to think about how many years I've shortened my life by stressing myself out with school....

24 April 2011

Going to Mom's for the Weekend Gives Me the Best Material

So I'm watching TV with my mom, and a commercial comes on TV for the latest Barbie. Mom says something like "They need an archaeologist Barbie, who digs up dinosaur bones." My reply was "The need a lesbian Barbie." So mom and I started discussing Lesbian and Bi Barbie.
And then, with the power of Google, I found this:
http://www.dykedolls.com/site/index.htm
If I make an order, does anyone want in?! ;)

Quotes from C-Dot (My Mother)

So my mom and I were out driving yesterday. Here's our exchange:

Mom: "Look! Its the first shirtless man of the season! Life is good!"
Me: "He's not even that attractive!"
Mom: "That's okay, it's April! They don't have to be attractive yet."

We were then talking about this today and she explained further:

Mom: "It's like seeing your first robin. A sign of hope."

I love her.

23 April 2011

Good Friday: Spring Cleaning for the Soul

My mother called me yesterday (Thursday... I'm writing this as if its not after midnight), to make holiday plans for the weekend. She told me she'd pick me up after the Good Friday church service. My reaction: Umm. No! I want to come! She made a joke about of course its my favourite holiday, because that's when Jesus died. While this was kind of funny, its also completely not true.
Good Friday has been my favourite holiday for years. While I enjoy the Easter season in general quite a lot (my grandma makes the best Easter meals, and Maundy Thursday has always felt super traditional and whatnot), but just about as long as I have hated Christmas, I have loved good Friday (even before the whole atheist thing).
When I was considering myself Christian, I think it was because it was a good opportunity to think of the sacrifice done by Jesus on that day and reflect on my responses to that. It was a good time to think about the strengths and weaknesses in my own life, and the places I need improvement on. This was never a self-depreciating way, but in a reflective, positive way. I gave self-reflection its space, moving on following the sombre day of introspection. I've appreciated the space, the day-off, the sombre day for this reflection for many years.
So, is it necessary to change this upon changing my religious views? Well I've gotten some shit together since my days of Christianity, I've got a long way to go. I still need my reflection time, and feel like I get less and less of that as I get higher and higher in education. While Good Friday is no longer about Jesus sacrifice and how it applies to my life, it is still about a pretty sweet story of a man who wanted to create change. It gives me the chance to reflect on the lessons I can learn from Jesus as a non-Christian, and also sets a sombre attitude for my own, somewhat unrelated, reflections about other areas of my life.
Spring is the time when I pack, and move, and clean, and break. Its classically a time of cleaning one's physical space, but what about someone's mental, emotional, spiritual space? Good Friday, for me, marks spring, reflection, and spring cleaning. Good Friday gives me a sense of spring cleaning for my soul, whether or not God comes into play for me. Screw New Years, but its Good Friday when I come up with goals, for the summer and the year, commit to change, and think about the possibilities to come. It is Good Friday that for me, provides much-needed change. I go home. I sleep. I get my marks and make goals for the next year. I think about the stupid ways I've related to people, and I learn from these things. I make promises like "more writing" or "less alcohol" and am more likely to stick to them then other times of year."
And this is the reason behind Good Friday being my favourite holiday.
Spring cleaning for the soul.

22 April 2011

Quote 1

"I wish people cared as much about the Earth as they do about who they believe created it."
-found on facebook.