The Farmer's Donkey: A Fable for Our Time

I received this from a parishionner this morning. He couldn't have been more right on spot with sending this today. I really I'm not a "FW" person but I copied it and emailed it to most of my friends this morning... Here's what I got. Let me know is this inspires you at all.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out a way to get him out. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn't worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbors to come over and help him cover up the well. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, when the donkey realized what was happening he cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down and let out some happy brays. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well to see what was happening and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was shaking it off and taking a step up. (Shifting)

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, to everyone's amazement, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Every adversity can be turned into a stepping stone. The way to get out of the deepest well is by never giving up but by shaking yourself off and taking a step up.

What happens to you isn't nearly as important as how you react to it.

Author Unknown

Some things I've been pondering...

So, here's my rambling thoughts...

What makes a person strong? What makes someone weak? Can someone be strong with some weakness? Can you be strong, smart but have a darker side of you? Is it possible to be both strong, courageous and wise but still feel weak in certain area? Are we hypocrite to not show our dark side, our weak side all the time? Do we have to be perfect and infallible to be strong women? Do you guys have a weak /darker side. You know a part of you still affected by whatever you've been through? How the hell do you reconciliate both side of you? And still feel the strong You? Does it make any sense?

I had a phone conversation with a representative from the insurance company. (head office) I applied 3 weeks ago for a life insurance policy. She asked me all type of questions, the period they're allowed to ask questions for is the last 5 years. The lady asked me some stuff covering ALL my life. What the fuck? They can't even ask for my medical record covering more than the last 5 years so why the fuck ask me stuff covering a longer period of time? So I'm still waiting to hear my approval or rejection. It could take up to fucking weeks. It's unfair, I'm healthy, I'm sane, what the hell? My local rep is a sweetie, I gave her a call to let her know about this afternoon's phone talk. She was cool and nice, she told me this company takes a lot of time making decision.

My weekend was nice, I stayed with The Seminarian and The Nurse's mom and was back yesterday in the early evening.

I wanna go to the mall tomorrow, I need to pick up a Clinique product and shop around. I have a meeting for The Parish on Wednesday so I'm free till then.

I watched this weekend few episodes from the "The L Word", it's very good. I enjoyed the show. Are any of you guys watching it?

What's up with you guys?

25 things all women should learn to do already

Taken from Jezebel, this is inspiring. I'm copying ans posting part of the article and directly you with the link to the website where the article was posted. I am not the author but go check the link. There's lot of cool stuff on Jezebel.

Chop vegetables like Penelope Cruz in Volver.
Onions, peppers, garlic cloves and olive oil: are there truer friends in times of economic woe? (Besides Top Ramen duh.) Is there any other aspect of women's work so fundamental to the survival of the species? I dunno, I'm just making excuses, I just think it's sexy.

Choose a perfume.
Floral scents, what can I say: I hate them. Yes, toilet water is an overpriced luxury good, but considering all the cash we blow on overpriced luxury goods dedicated to appealing to one's sense of sight and touch, you'd think we wouldn't be so thoughtless when it comes to the ritual of coughing up a hundred bucks to have that whole other sense covered for the next half year. So go: I may never encourage you to spend money again; spend some quality time at Sephora and come out smelling like something more interesting than a boutique hotel.

Tell the truth.
I can't make it tonight. I have a date. I'm interested in your ex-boyfriend. When you cheated on your husband it really disturbed me. You should maybe look into taking responsibility for your actions. "I would like to put a hit out on your therapist." I know, it's not easy. But isn't that kind of sad?

Withhold information.
Gossip is analogous to bacteria; humankind could not survive without it, but it can be deleterious in an unhealthy context. Get into the habit of withholding a certain amount of pointless amusing information just to keep your immune system in shape.

Take nothing personally.
He didn't do it to hurt you, and if he did, that's fucking weird. Humans are self-obsessed, that's the only reason you think this is about you, when it's really about something that has left people much smarter than us befuddled for millennia now, so you might as well focus on what you can control, which leads me to...

Take yourself personally.
Your persistent low self-esteem: how did it get that way? Were you awkward growing up? Not quick or witty enough? Just ugly? Once you gained a shred of confidence, did you blow your wad seeking out companions you knew would make you feel inadequate? Why? Think you're a narcissist? Or just a weak person? Guess what? We're all different. We're all completely individual assemblages of genetic traits and collected experiences. We're all special, which is precisely what makes us so un-special. If you harbor lingering dissatisfaction with yourself, figuring out what it is is a pretty good way to start coming to terms with that.

Apply makeup without a mirror.
You do this every day, right? Have a little faith in your abilities. Be that girl who is capable of leaving the house on three minutes' notice.

Assemble furniture.
Ikea would not sell $20 billion worth of furniture every year if putting it together was really that hard. It's a pain in the ass, sure. Your ancestors got their water from wells.

Get off.
It has never been easier. There are vibrators at CVS. Porn is an ill-advised Google Image Search away. And really, we all need sex. If you masturbate enough, you'll only seek out casual sex for self-affirmation. And knowing you are doing that will make it a lot easier to handle rejection!

Get hit on politely.
Go ahead and smile, make eye contact; he's probably not trying to rape you. The sexual charge will defuse over time and in the interim you can maybe make a friend. Dudes bear an unfair percentage of the responsibility for flirting in this society, just as we bear an unfair percentage of the responsibility for looking pretty. Let's be sympathetic to one another, how about?

Cry.
There's an unlimited number of reasons you should. To do anything about any of that you have to stop crying eventually. You'll know when.

On second thought, laugh!
God, don't we feel lame after all that crying? So lame we actually laughed at that Dane Cook bit on the lameness of crying. Anything will make you laugh when you've finally gotten sick of crying, but hey, that's cool, dudes love it when you laugh at your jokes and that heady mix of "no pride" and "no standards" is the essence of funny jokes and good drunken one-night stands. Try to laugh as much as possible.

Know when you truly cannot do something.
And fuck no I am not talking about living heavy objects or figuring out how to use Excel. I'm talking about making as much money as your sorority friends, or having a child by 35, or marrying your boyfriend, or being anything better than mediocre at something you think is important.

For the rest, visit this link.

A Friday Meme

I got tagged by CQ , here it is:


1. What is your occupation? at the moment unemployed
2. What color are your socks right now? I'm not wearing socks
3. What are you listening to right now? the sound of silence, everything's off in my home
4. What was the last thing that you ate? peanut butter toasts with cheddar cheese this morning
5. Can you drive a stick shift? nope
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? green
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? The New Blogger few minutes ago
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, I do.
9. Favorite drink? coffee, diet coke
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? hmm, I don't watch sport, I do like watching kids play soccer.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? many times
12. Pets? one cat, his name is Mr.Cat
13. Favorite food? Chinese food, Italian, I love food.
14. Last movie you watched? I am legend , I saw it last Friday.
15. Favorite Day of the year? Christmas
16. What do you do to vent anger? I write...
17. What was your favorite toy as a child? I don't remember
18. What is your favorite, fall or spring? fall
19. Hugs or kisses? hugs
20. What kind of pie? pecan pie
21. Do you want your friends to email you back? I'm not going to email it, I'll post it on my blog.
22. Who is most likely to respond? I don't know
23. Who is least likely to respond? No clue
24. Living arrangements? Alone in an apartment
25. When was the last time you cried? in the night of Sunday to Monday.
26. What is on the floor of your closet? clothes LOL
27. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending/tagging this to? I'm going to tag anyone who wants to play on my blog.
28. The friend you have known the shortest amount of time that you are sending/tagging this to? re: 27
29. Favorite smell? Vanilla, my perfume is Clinique Happy Heart
30. What inspires you? Hope, honesty, peace and freedom
31. What are you afraid of? failure? I'm trying to be less of a perfectionist.
32. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheesy
33. Favorite car? none
34. Favorite cat breed? none
35. Number of keys on your key ring? 3 + the church's keys
36. How many years at your current job? currently unemployed
37. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
38. How many provinces have you lived in? 1
39. How many countries have you been to? 2

Thursday update

I've been reading John Case's books (borrowed couple of them this week), I have been going on long walks, I went to TTF's with the kids for lunch and just moving with life.

It was very windy yesterday but I went for a 90 mins walk, walked up to The Bay, walked near the pier, the winds was powerful, but I face it and it's like the wind fed me, it energized me back, it was a nice feeling. I stopped for a coffee and walked back to my side of The Town. When I got home, I went back to my book but I knew exercising would help me get better sleep and also because it's good for the soul.

I'm going to go watch The Nurse and The Seminarian's mother this weekend. She has Alzheimer's and they'll be away, so I'm going to go and stay with her. They've got a great home and Internet so I'll be connected as I am at home.

Chikku was telling me it's cute how I refer to my friend, their nickname on my blog is related to them or my relationship with them. Here's few example:

The Friendly Boss, obviously he was my boss and he was friendly, that's why I gave him this nickname. He's now a friend but the nickname sticked. The Tall Friend is obviously tall. His wife "The New Blogger" is a convert to the world of blogs... The Young Priest is a young priest. The Seminarian is studying at The Seminary to become a catholic priest....

Most of the nickname I give are related directly to my friend's personality/traits or jobs.

I wonder what nickname they'd give me eh? I'll ask 'em.

I'd have too much to say

I'd have millions of stories to tell but I'm kinda feeling overworked and busy and my head is spinning. I'll post about 'em maybe tomorrow.

We had a lovely long dinner last night (The Friendly Boss and Sweet Wife, The Tall Friend and The New Blogger, The Parish Priest and The Young Priest, The Retiree and His wife) and we talked and talked on religion and life.

Anyway, I'm reading John Case "Genesis" and I also borrowed 5 other of his books. Cuz we gotta keep this little brain busy!

You, of all feline creature

Overheard on my couch few minutes ago. This little talk is taking place between Mr.Cat and I.

You, of all feline creature were born with a purring machine inside of you. God may have not given you a big brain and all but heck, you've got the loudest purring machine inside of you.

You, of all creatures has the ability to calm me down, make me smile and piss me off.

I love you Mr.Cat, I really do.

To answer Claudia concerning the program

To answer Claudia.

I called the lady in charge of the program in college this past Monday. She told me they hadn't yet met the numbers of student required to start the program. She kept insisting that it was the end of April and that I would have plenty of notice before. Huh??? That was the 13, end of April doesn't leave me plenty of time but whatever. She told me to feel like I'm in vacation. Well, when you're in vacation, you know when it starts and when it ends. So I'm waiting, I don't like feeling "on hold" and I've been questioning myself as if this is really what I want to do. I think I'm going to do it but end up in university afterward.

I don't know, I wish I knew everything but I just don't. So I'm going to make every day worth it and enjoy life and we'll see where this takes me.

I hope it makes sense!

Is this really happening?

That's the question I kinda asked myself all afternoon and evening... I'll explain the context of the question so you won't think I lost my mind. I got an email this morning from a Parish priest from another Diocese, he created a program to manage the administrative side of a parish. The accounting, parishioner's folders, managing the masses, everything. He used Microsoft Access and created a amazing program. Well, he sent me an email explaining his program with PPT presentation detailing some functions. I emailed him back to ask if there was any way I could call him to explain him more our situation. Believe it or not he freaking answered me with his contact informations. I called him right away, he was very kind, we chatted, he told me more about the program, the whys and hows he created it and how it's being used. And he offered to give it to us.

That's amazing. If we were to buy the existing software from XYZ company we would need to pay over a thousand dollars to get it. That doesn't include the hardware and the updates.

So this great priest will give it for free and transfer (if we want him to) our existing data's in the program. I could NOT believe it. I was ecstatic, I finished our talk. Told him I was going to need to speak with the president of the church council (Mr. TFB) and get back to him.

I emailed the guys and was just very very thrilled, I'm going to get in touch with them tomorrow in the evening if I don't hear from 'em by tomorrow night. I think they will be very happy and proud of my work. Isn't that fantastic? This is going to save us soo much money.

So I did that today and went to mass, one of the volunteer lady (whom I like a lot) asked me when we were chatting and I had my coat on, if I was dressed well enough to serve mass. I laughed and said "I am" and showed her I was wearing jeans and a long black cami with a short sleeve v-neck shirt, which was totally appropriate. The last time she asked me to serve mass I told her I wasn't dressed appropriately (I didn't feel comfortable to go in front of everyone with something fitted) but today, I felt "safe and good enough". So I served mass with her. For the first time in 2 years I served mass without feeling freaked to be in front of everyone. I'll never like to be under the spotlight but I can do it without being freaked by anxiety.

I'm going to Bigger Town to meet with The Nurse and we are going to the computer store because of her POS laptop. I'm going to get mad for her, they screwed her up because she doesn't know a lot about computers.

Taken from the movie "I am Legend", Light up the darkness!

It's Friday alright?

It's weird, it seems I haven't found any time to blog in the past few days. Life's been keeping me busy. I've worked a lot on projects for The Parish's. (been in touch with different dioceses, worked on some documents)...

On Wednesday, The Artist and I went for sushis, it was very yummy. We had a nice, relaxing time. I really enjoyed it. We'll do something again but we'll try another type of food, to try some things. On Thursday I was meeting with someone from The City as a member of the church council, that went well. The weather was so beautiful that I walked from my place to the church, maybe 3 miles? It was 65 F outside, it hadn't been that warm for many months and I walked back home (almost) took a bus for the last part. I even took my coat off because the weather was freaking warm. Damn, that felt nice.

What else? I left this morning to Bigger Town to but a freaking bathing suit and after trying 15 different ones, I bought a tankini one (2 piece with no belly showing) Buying a bathing suit is a real nightmare. Oh my gosh, I hated it. I made myself go because my old one was old, at least 5-7 years old. I had try some last year but hated myself in 'em. So I'm happy with my choice and it's black. And don't ask for pictures of me wearing it, it's not even an option.

The Young Priest, The Nurse, The Seminarian and I went for a walk, had coffee and had dinner together and we watched I am Legend with Will Smith. I loved the movie a lot. Have you seen it? Good god, I was amazed.

I need to try to fix The Nurse's new laptop, it's a Toshiba satellite. The Piece Of Shit is not 6 months old and running slow like TFB's former computer. We're gonna go where she bought it because they didn't even gave her an original copy of Windows Vista, they gave her a fucking copy. She paid full price for the Vista. Whatever! That's why she should switch to Apple Mac but Windows users are hard to convert. Just ask TFB, it took him freaking forever to convert but he's happy now. He's not going to have fucking ridiculous problems like Windows PC's have.

I learned this afternoon that one of out parishioner died and will have her funeral tomorrow. I saw her 2 weeks ago, she had a stupid accident and it led to her death. She was in her 80s. As much as she was not cheerful to me, ever, I think it's very very sad that she's dead. Her husband must be beside himself. I'm thinking of them but won't go to church. They are not close enough to me, but this is sad. Think of them please? They have kids and grandkids and probably great grandkids.

Anyone watched tonight's Law and Order SVU tonight?

This was one of the most powerful ever written and produced Law and Order SVU episode. My head was boucing as the story was happening. That was powerful, very sad and touching.

I've had a great day, this morning TFB and I worked at The Parish's office on some things and after we had a talk. Then, I literally spent the rest of the day on the phone with workers from different Diocese all over the province for something we're working on as a Church Council. I had great talks, there's some amazing people working in different Diocese. Gosh, I felt blessed to talk to 'em.

Someone came to fix my washer, there was a little piece that broke and he fixed it very easily and the washer's working well now. (it was in the direct drive, whatever the name was)

I'm going for sushis with The Artist tomorrow for lunch! It's going to be very very yummy! So we're leaving in the morning, so I'm getting up tomorrow too. I hope your Wednesday will be well!

Izzybella made my day!!!AKA Barak Obama is my man.

I received today a package from our dear Izzybella, it was a Obama O8 shirt. It was not possible for me ro order it online and I said it and she was kind enough to offer to get me one and mail it to me.

I'm sportin' my new sweater right now. It's cool, I really like it. I sent her pictures of me wearing it! This is the one I have....

Thanks a lot my friend!!!!

My landlord is a jerk

I don't care to post it or yell it. The jerk was so mean and cruel and manipulative on the phone it was awful. I stayed firm but very polite and very respectful the whole time. But when I hang up, I started to cry, I was sobbing, I just was beside myself. I called the maintenance main in tears and told him to give a call to the landlord that he was allowing a small amount of money to have it fixed and if it was more than said amount, that I was going to have to wait 2 weeks when he'd come pick him money from his vacation spot in a sunny state in the USA for him to fix it.

I hung up and went in the shower and cried for 5 minutes, then I felt somewhat relieved.

I'm not going to leave and move out tomorrow but I'm planning a departure from this hellhole. This is ridiculous. No one ever treated me that way. What the fuck? He's not letting me stay in his building. I've been living here for 4 years and never been late at ANY payment. Fuck that shit. That man is an asshole. He treated me like I was a piece of crap.

This is unbelievable....

I'm OK, I'm going to be OK but this is just ridiculous... I have to finish some work for The Parish. TFB and I are going to the office tomorrow to finish some work. I'm really OK now!

I hate being on hold

I'm trying to reach the Regie du Logement (the organization that manages landlords and tenants laws and rules), they've freaking been keeping me on hold for over 40 minutes. WTF????

I just wanna speak to someone, what the heck? Do they only have 1 person at their customer service department? Freaking government! I despise their freakign system. ARGGH!!!!!!

I need to double check with 'em some law about my lease. I'm getting pissy and impatient! Very impatient!!!!!

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

How much is your blog worth?

My blog is worth $24,275.22.
How much is your blog worth?

I can't sleep, so I've been surfin' around. If anyone seriously wants to buy, I'm open to discuss.

About my washer

I need to call maintenance man tomorrow to let him know it needs to be fixed. TTF said something about the gear is wrong.

I hope they fix it fast and without complaining. I hate having to deal with those people. I'm really dreading calling tomorrow. Pray for the problem to be fixed fast and without any cost to me. Thanks!!!!!

6 unimportant things about me...

Inspired by The Gal herself, here are my answers.

1. I don't buy ice cream because when I have some, I can't stop eating it before the pack is empty.

2. To this day I'm still sad over the fact that Milli Vanilli were not really singing.

3. I have fairly intensive talks with Mr.Cat and often asks him stuff I know he can't answer.

4. I often think of how I would spend my money if I won the lottery but I don't play any type of lottery. I know, I'm weird.

5. I'm scared of the dark, the only place that I'm not is inside a church. There, I feel protected.

6. One of my pillow is nicknamed "baby" and I've had him for years, I mean probably close to 15 years. I replace his cover often. It's a duvet pillow!

I'm tagging anyone who wants to play.

Havin' washer problems

My freaking washer has a problem. It's not spinning anymore and it's making a very annoying noise. Guess who's coming over this afternoon to take a look at it? Yeah, my hero.

The appliances are not mine, they are the Landlord's but he offered to take a look to see what's the problem and if he can't easily fix it, I'll give a call to the maintenance man. I hope, hope it's nothing major. I don't want to get into a bitch fight with The Landlord for him to fix something major because he's a jerk.

Think of me and pray that it's something easy that TTF can fix himself.

I need to get some sleep

My sleep has been hectic in the past days. This morning, One of my former college at BMC woke me up by calling, it was around 10 am and he couldn't believe I was still sleeping. Duh!!! I got home late and it's the weekend. It's not like I have 4 children at home and not taking care of 'em you know.

I'm going to back in bed to read and Mr.Cat will go on the couch or in the spare room. We just can't sleep together.

CQ, I'm glad you agree with me that total abandon is the way to enjoy it, so giving and receiving at the same time makes no sense. I wonder what guys think of this....

I'm glad you guys have girl's night out too. and I'm sorry for making you hungry!

Listen to this

I'm craving Maki Sushi (vegetarians and chitake mushroom ones) , Chinese food and coffee. Dark, roasted coffee. I think I'm going to stop at the grocery store tomorrow, get some coffee at least and for the rest, I'll plan an lunch with someone at a sushi place next week. I'm going to ask The Artist if she'd like to come, I think she does like sushis.

Girl's night outs are the absolute best, that and friend's night but at a girl's night out; The subjects are only for us, by us. No men around!!! Not that I would mind.

Some things are overrated, like you can't "receive" well and "give" well at the same time. In order to enjoy receiving, you need to abandon yourself and let go. In order to give well, you need to focus and concentrate. This doesn't work well with the act I'm describing eh? If you're following me! That was one of the things discussed last night. That's why we agreed that this Overrated.

I should go to church tomorrow but I think I'm going to pass on this weekend. I'm reading Maxime Chattam books (creepy but nice enough)

Just too tired today

Last night was fun, the cocktail at the museum cool and we had a girl's night out at a sushi place. Fun, fun fun. Got home a little after midnight....

I'm home now, I did get up this morning around 10h15, dragged my ass in the shower, ate and went to the library, cooked chili and now I'm on the couch, barely able to move. I'm so tired... I got the season 2 and 3 of 6 Feet under but it's hard to get into. These guys are weird.

I've got good books ans I think I'm going to dive in 'em.

Friday Fill-in

1. I love springtime in the fact that the snow goes away!
2. Easy, cheap and lowcal are foods I love to eat for breakfast.
3. It seems I'm always searching for my freaking watch. Mr.Right.
4. Laying on the couch with a fleece blanket is a great way to end the day.
5. I think I need to work on the way I react to freaks!
6. Chinese food sex is what I've been craving lately.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the cocktail party, tomorrow my plans include sleeping in late and Sunday, I want to watch a bit of TV!

Friday Fill-Ins

It's Friday eh?

I feel quite busy, like I'm running after my own tail. Like I said earlier this week I've been shopping for Life Insurance. That's something important but not so easy and fun to shop around. I have finally chosen to apply for one with the place I do banking because the woman I met treated me nicely and was very honest and straightforward. The guy from the other company was nice but treated me like I was 5 years old and, I don't like older men who treat me like I'm a child. I mean especially not when I'm doing business. It's like being belittled, fuck that, that's not my cup of tea. Now, lets hope I am approved!

I'm going to a cocktail at a museum with The Passionate One, The Tall Friend and The New Blogger, it's the opening of a New Exhibit and we got VIP invitation.

So I'm well, feeling like I said busy and I can't wait for the weekend, I'll sleep in late.

Yesterday was The Seminarian's birthday and it was a fun dinner. He was happy we did something and I'm saying it specially on the blog so you guys can wish him a happy belated birthday. He reads the blog so he'll see the wishes and be happy.

Oh My Gosh!

I'm on Mac OS 10.5 Leopard!!!! Yipee!!! I'm soo fucking smart and happy! and proud and happy!!!! Someone's gotta enjoy this! You can't see me but I'm grinning ear to ear.

I'm going to the restaurant with TYP, The Seminarian, The Nurse and The Psych Nurse tonight, it's The Seminarian's birthday! So we'll have a good time I'm sure.

I'm exhausted because I didn't sleep very well (big surprise) and I got up early this morning to go to The Parish's office to get information for something I need to do. I've also been on the phone with people from The Diocese and right now, I'm still waiting on a phone call from someone there.

Anyway, I'm going to go play a bit on my new system!!!! Yipee!!!

Trying on install Mac OS Leopard

The last time I tried, there was an error and I was not able to and it depressed me. But I backed up everything on CDs this morning and I'm trying again.

I'm smart, I've got another computer to use just in case (My emac) and I'm going to figure this out.

Leopard, here I come. I was inspired by TFB and his newly bought baby, an IMac. :)