Timing really is everything.

So, for those of you who read and commented on this previous post, here's another story for you.

I just came home from the movie theatre. While I was waiting in the lobby for my friend to show up, this short guy in a doo-rag walks towards me, rapping (badly). Then he decides to stand in front of me, still rapping. All I could do was stare in mild shock... 'cause really, what else do you do when there's a random guy standing right in front of you, leaving you no choice but to look at him while he spouts off some weird rhymes about a girl named Samantha, who looks like a belly dance-a?

He then comes and stands beside me (I'm definitely not looking at him now), and the mind-blowingly intelligent conversation goes like this:

" 'Sup?"
(unfriendly voice) "Hi...?"
"What's your name?"
(cell phone rings, purposely taking long time to dig through purse) "Sorry, one sec."
(starts walking away) "I'm comin' back."
"Uh huh, whatever." (cringe, cringe, cringe)

Thank you Sarah, for the amazingly timed text message... even though you had no idea what I was dealing with!

Now, more than ever, I'm convinced that I'm a magnet for complete wackos. Awesome.

Think Pink

As many of you might already know, my good friend Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer just a few weeks ago. She is only 26 years old. Right now she is undergoing chemotherapy treatments and preparing for a double masectomy in January 2007. Cancer is something that leaves people with a feeling of helplessness - I now know that from firsthand experience. Unfortunately, it's pretty likely that many of us in the general population have been affected, or will be affected at some point in time, in this way.

I don't like feeling helpless. While I can accept that I have no control over who gets sick and how it happens, I can also choose to be proactive when my laziness doesn't get the best of me. In this case, I have chosen to take part in the CIBC Run For The Cure, for Michelle and for so many others out there whose lives have been affected by breast cancer. While the funds raised won't go directly to Michelle, they will be used for research, education, and early detection/treatment programs. This DOES make a difference. The Run takes place on October 1st, and I am very excited to be a part of it. I am proud to be part of a team of Michelle's friends who are doing something small to make a difference.

For anyone who is interested in supporting me in the fight against breast cancer, donations of any amount are absolutely appreciated. Click here to visit my donation page. Otherwise, for those of you who pray, that variety of support is huge as well. The response I've already received so far has been amazing - thank you all so much!

And to all of YOU... thank you for taking the time to read this "public service announcement".

'Fraidy Cat

When I was a kid, I absolutely dreaded losing my teeth. I knew it was completely natural and completely necessary, but I didn't like it. My dad was a force to be reckoned with when it came to coercing my baby teeth to come out. He would do whatever was necessary to get those suckers out of there - everything from reaching right in and wiggling the loose tooth (sounds gross, I know) to yanking them out (even worse). All in the name of making sure that I didn't look like a shark with several rows of teeth in my child-sized mouth. I've seen this horrible affliction in a real, live child. Not pleasant.

Just this summer, a great friend of mine told me something that I thought was fantastic. She said that she tries to do something each day that she feels nervous about. I loved the idea. It added to my recurring observation that too many people allow fear to play too large of a role in life. If I think carefully about the phrases I've heard most frequently in the recent past, "I'm scared" or "it's freaking me out" would definitely be right up at the top of the list. I can only think of too many situations where fear has come out on top over and over again. But, really...

What are we so afraid of?

Pain, loss, failure, discomfort, the amount of effort and work it would take to get to where we know we should be, admitting that we're wrong, judgement from others, the past, the present, the future, losing ourselves, being wrong about anything in general... the list would go on for days.

Here's what I've come to understand. There are few things in this world that would make a person more self-centered and narcissistic than fear. We run into something that freaks us out, we run away, focus inwardly and forget to think about things outside of ourselves. Everything becomes distorted when we can't think about things from any perspective other than our own. It affects relationships on every level - fear wrecks friendships, families, dating realtionships, marriages, organizations and society as a whole. How can we hope for the world to change when we're too scared to deal with what's right in front of us?

Maybe we all need to do something each day that makes us a little nervous. Worst case scenario, things might suck as a result, but probably not forever. We might even become stronger because of it. Maybe we'll see in retrospect that it needed to be done to make room for something great to grow, despite how much it hurt at the time.

And besides, who really wants to walk around looking like a shark? Honestly.

Food For Thought

My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? What it means for me: a study of the life of Christ. I don’t let my religious world get too complicated. I just kind of go: Well, I think I know what God is. God is love, and as much as I respond in allowing myself to be transformed by that love and acting in that love, that’s my religion.
~ Bono

Don't you love it when a rock star can summarize your thoughts for you so well? He's SO hired.

In Other Words...

Life has a funny way
of sneaking up on you when you think everything's okay
and everything's going right

And life has a funny way
of helping you out when you think everything's going wrong
and everything blows up in your face

Alanis said it best.


Tu me manques
You know who you are.
I wish you were here.