A new tattoo recipient's manifesto

Friends, family, passing acquaintances: I have a new tattoo. My first, in fact. I would be happy to show it to you if you want to see it (though I have not been running around forcing people to look at it). Be advised, however, that me showing you the tattoo does not constitute me asking for your opinion of said tattoo. Yes, I know it's not a conventional design, especially for a woman. But please understand that I did not get this tattoo for you; I got it for me. It has meaning to me. I thought long and hard before settling on this design and it's been a little startling how many people feel the need to tell me (or even tell someone else after the fact) that they do not approve. When this happens, I feel like telling people that I was already slated to go to hell, on account of my pierced ears. The Puritan days are over; let's try to make the best of each others' Free Will and move on.

A rip in the space-time continuum

I've come to the conclusion that snow makes time go faster. I know, I know, usually it feels like time has ground to a halt during the winter months, but I seem to manage to have time get away from me completely (especially regarding school work) during the spring semester. I have a big test due by tomorrow at 1 pm (it's an online class) and I have barely looked twice at the material, mostly because I swear just yesterday was February 1st and I still had 15 days to take the test! I don't even have any real excuse for being behind; I haven't been doing a lot of writing. Ok, I haven't really been doing ANY writing, so it's not like that's been taking up my time. As it has every year since 1992 (my first year of college), it seems like spring semester has it in for me, and all I can do is hang on for the ride. At least it's sunny out right now; arctic temperatures seem to be easier to handle when it's bright outside. We're supposed to get another dump of snow in the next 24-48 hours though, so in all likelihood I'll be back to wanting to hibernate by this time tomorrow. In the mean time, I'm off to find something (sparkle-y bit of jewelry, pieces of tin foil, etc.) to distract me from taking the Ethics test. Cheers!

Looking Fear in the face...

Jalapeno! It's been a while, I know, and I feel really bad that I haven't been keeping up with this like I wanted to (even though no one is reading it). The holidays were nuts, then school started and I've been up to my eyeballs in mind-numbingly boring Ethics homework (I'll get into how much I hate philosophy at some other time...). Anyway, I'm back now - so on with the show...

I recently realized that I am scared half witless of the possibility of having one of my dreams come true. I'm not afraid of the work, or the long hours, or the minor failures that lead up to those "Ah-HA!!" moments when you finally figure out how to do something. No, what I'm afraid of is letting people down. The thought that someone I care about is willing to go out on a limb to help me attain one of my goals scares the hell out of me, because if I fail I will be letting them down. But if I get this particular opportunity and don't take it and run, I know I will regret it for the rest of my life. So I'll just continue to psych myself up as best I can, and make the immortal words of Anais Nin my mantra:

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."