Some dumb classmate of mine told my then 13 year old stick-like self, "If you've got it, flaunt it!". Maybe she was looking at her own buxom figure rather than mine, which was once mistaken for a petrified bird of prey.  Or maybe I heard that phrase during a strange, ill-timed encounter with mushrooms in a forest. That leprechaun didn't look like he knew what he was talking about at all.

Anyway, if I may, I'd like to take it upon myself to modify that stupid piece of advice into something slightly less stupid: Flaunt what you've got.

I had just made it out of my lane, sliding and veering onto the properly plowed main road, when I was startled by the noise of a Tyrannosaurus Rex stomping on my back windshield and trunk. Yelling for help, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw the crusty, snowy layer that once dwelled on my roof crashing onto the clean, dark road. So much for my dinosaur theory.

I was given some advice about someone I recently had a 'run in' with, someone that not only caused irritation and frustration because of his actions, but because of the way I had reacted to them as well. It's something I would rather not talk about. Anyway my valiant and wise cousin said the best way to deal with such people is to convince oneself absolutely and completely of one's own superiority and, to quote, awesomeness. Unquote. I decided not to try this particular method. Still I was glad to talk to my cousin. 

It occurs to me that silly things, insecurities and past embarrassments, play far to big a role in our lives. My life. What's so wrong with just liking the person you are now? 

I know I don't write in this blog as often as I should; or as I'd like. This last week recovery from a wedding (think cleanup rather than hangover) and work made my life a little crazy. And I'm not the only one who noticed how fast the days seemed to fly by this week. To be honest, I'm trying to juggle financial aid applications. Which seem to come with a fair amount of pressure, especially with the deadline only days away.

This is all pretty random. If you get that feeling from reading this than you have a pretty good idea of how my week felt.

are you happy together?

Today my sister Anshin and her husband Peter celebrated their wedding, which took place legally last October. As we said, last October was a commitment in the eyes of the law and God. Today, it was a commitment in front of God and their families.

My mother, an ordained minister, presided over a short, but deep, ceremony. In the ceremony she spoke of love, true love, that is the only thing that really lasts. The beliefs we have, or the traditions, only exist to bring us closer to true love. Reading from the Cheong Soeng Gyong, a book of sacred texts of my church, the Unificationists, and the Bible, the most memorable and important quote came, surprisingly, from a Alexander McCall Smith novel. A character in the book, reflecting on a wedding she had just attended, pondered that perhaps we could do away with all the fancy words and the somber vows in weddings and be left with the only question that truly matters. Are you happy together?

Never mind that the musicians (my other sisters and I) hadn't really had enough time to practice, and it didn't matter that, due the the weather, the ceremony started almost an hour late. There wasn't a dry eye in the small gathering, and not a trace of doubt in the eyes of the bride and groom.

So, the minister asked, Peter and Anshin, are you happy together? They looked at each other and said yes. Never mind that it was supposed to be in unison, I saw the look in the their eyes and that was enough for me.

It's all about attitude. And confidence. And chocolate.

That is all.

none the wiser...

Mona

The day after I got all four of my wisdom teeth removed (two impacted), I received an unexpected visitor at seven o'clock in the morning. Mona, the 7 week old Shepard-Retriever was deposited on my bed by my aunt, where she would spend the next two hours biting my face off and sleeping. Mostly sleeping. When she woke up I did and we'd go outside to play (and pee) until she was so tired that she simply had to come inside, chew anything of value placed less than two feet off the floor and simply be adorable before she, once again, fell asleep.

Her father being a pure white German Shepard, Mona is pure white with the sweetest brown eyes. Her left ear folds over while her right sticks straight up, making her look quizzical all the time. She'd follow me around the house, wailing as we encountered any type of step or obstacle. Outside she'd be right on my heels and would never let me out of her sight.

That was a week ago. Now Mona is less interested in my location than that of things to chew, anything from loose change to socks to the couch to wires. She chases the other dogs around the yard and house and sometimes they join in and play too. She doesn't sleep nearly as much, and our mornings now include much more biting than sleeping. I'll call her to go inside and she'll decide that, the house being conquered territory, it would be better to go conquer the stone steps around the back. 

Nellie

It's amazing how fast little creatures grow. Mona steals my heart every time I see her. Nellie, my family's dog, is still my favorite, but there is something so sweet, so purely joyful in the way that Mona frolics. I can't help but smile every time I see it.

tour de cause

Look to your right and check out the blog of this sweet-awesome guy. Seijin and his friend Josh are cycling across the US to raise awareness about the faith-breaking or deprogramming that is happening in Japan right now. Japanese in the Unification Church, my church, are being kidnapped, starved, abused and raped in an effort to break their faith and leave our Church. The government is doing nothing and the media refuses to cover this atrocity. For a country who constitution allows for total freedom of religion, something is really wrong with this picture. 


Take a look a Seijin's blog, or follow him on twitter (@followseijin), youtube (jstranberg), and Facebook (Seijin Tranberg).

Today I decided that feeling sorry for myself is no longer an option.