you ready? let's go

some inspiring quotes i found i had saved in a computer file at work today

"We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."
-Dale Carnegie (1888-1955);

"Do something wonderful, people may imitate it."
-Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965); French philosopher, physician

"I have never met a person whose greatest need was anything other than real, unconditional love. You can find it in a simple act of kindness toward someone who needs help. There is no mistaking love. You feel it in your heart. It is the common fiber of life, the flame that heals our soul, energizes our spirit and supplies passion to our lives. It is our connection to God and to each other."
-Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004); psychiatrist, author

"If someone is too tired to give you a smile, leave one of your own, because no one needs a smile as much as those who have none to give."
- Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888)

"The secret of life is that all we have and are is a gift of grace to be shared."
-Lloyd John Ogilvie (b. 1930); former chaplain of the United States Senate

"Live your life while you have it. Life is a splendid gift- there is nothing small about it."
-Florence Nightingale (1820-1910); English nurse, writer, statistician

"Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882); American poet and educator

"One kind word can warm three winter months."
-Japanese Proverb

"Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world."
-Annie Lennox (b.1954); musician

"Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds."
-Buddha

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
-Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

"Never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes, those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts."
-Unknown

Really, all one has to do to transform their life, Karen, is remind themselves to think and behave a little bit differently, each day.
-TUT (email notes from the universe)

and a little garbage b-side to brighten up your day

on a positive note

ok so i thought i'd counteract the negativity of the last post with a more positive one.

7 things I'm currently grateful for (this excercise is taken from a book called "Journalution." i can't recall the author's name right now

1. that i have a job
2. that i have my own apartment (no roommates)
3. that i can stay with my parents whenever i want, they live only 15 minutes away now
4. that i have all new clothes to wear to work
5. the fact that it's not too cold today (finally!)
6. i have a boyfriend who loves me
7. i am still young enough to change my cicumstances
8. (bonus) my dvd player is working when i thought it was broken

ok, now i feel better..

my favorite quote of the day is the following, which i received from a friend from work in an email-

“I am a pencil in the hand of God who is writing a love letter to the world.”
~Mother Theresa

quote of the day

"why couldn't i have been born rich, instead of so darn good looking?!"
-sales director

that was close to being my exact thought this morning, haha. no, really, i'm not that vain. i am so far removed from my confidence at the moment and am slowly trying to get it back. i did want to stay in bed though, and i dreamt momentarily about being rich enough to not have to work. and how wonderful that would be in the winter months, when your bed is all warm and cozy and it literally hurts to get out of it and go out into the harsh winter cold.

the sales director whom i quoted above just offered me a sales manager position in queens. i guess he's looking to get rid of someone. me, a sales manager! yeah, maybe in a parallel universe. first of all, i could never work in sales of any kind, and secondly, that position entails long periods of time spent outdoors, no matter what the weather. thanks but no thanks. i don't care how big the pay raise would be, i would not want to be out in the snow and the hail and cold and rain. don't know how these people do it.

i recently saw the movie, 'the wackness' and thought it was pretty good. i have a weird facination with mary kate olsen so that was what initially drew me, but the story was interesting as it dealt with the harsh realities of life, growing older, working, and family relationships. i thought it was very well-acted. as was, 'the wrestler' which i also recommend. surprisingly, since i didn't think i'd have any interest in a movie centered around a former wrestler.

in the wackness, there is a scene where the main character's love interest tells him that instead of focusing on 'the dopeness' of life, he chooses to focus on 'the wackness' in a sense that he is a negative thinker, and doesn't focus on the positive things in life. it was articulated within the language of the movie, but nevertheless, it was touching. it was shot in such a way (on the beach in the surf at night) that you could not help but see her point..

a little bit of everything..

some interesting things people have said recently:

'like my uncle always said, the only thing certain in life is death, everything else is negotiable.'
-my boss

'life is too short, god never meant for any woman to be abused'
-a coworker

'the first black president is being inaugurated right after martin luther king day, isn't that weird?'
- a coworker

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a haiku:

ten degrees today
a merciliess wind descends
sending skin to hiding

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friends i can't wait to meet:

a friend who shares inside jokes with me, in emails, on the phone, in person

a friend who meets with me regularly for uninterrupted writing time in a cafe or other public place

a friend who meets me to go shopping and get massages

a friend who lets me vent and listens to all i have to say without speaking over me

a friend who understands my quirks and loves me anyway

a friend who likes to go to flea markets

a friend who enjoys taking pictures, people watching and sightseeing

a friend who feels like a member of my family, whom i can call at all hours of the night

a friend who doesn't mind frequent hugs

a friend who will sympathize with my greatest fears and insecurities

a friend who understands the importance of play and light-heartedness (to help me not take things so seriously)

a friend who is creative, plays a musical instrument, writes songs or performs

a friend who is spontaneous and takes me out of my comfort zone..

a friend who is exactly like me, and one who is nothing like me

a friend who lives outside the mainstream and is a noncomformist, who can share a different point of view of the world with me

a friend who lets me disappear for a while, then welcomes me back just the same

My Favorite Quotes from the Movies:

"Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?"
-Heathers

"Do you think I'm a gulla-bull? Or even a gulla-calf?"
-Wayne's World 2

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."
-Fight Club

"I will have poetry in my life...and adventure"
-Shakespeare in Love

"I can't relate to 99% of humanity."
"I can't relate to humanity either, but I don't think it's completely hopeless."
-Ghostworld

"This isn't life, Will, it is a stolen season"
-Shakespeare in Love

"That's not happiness to see me is it?"
-A Perfect Murder

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"
-Dead Poet's Society

"Our love is God, let's go get a Slushie."
-Heathers

"Yes, you're dead, this is heaven, and I'm the virgin Mary."
-"Diabolique

"In one way or another I've always suffered. I didn't know why exactly. But I do know that I'm not so scared of suffering now. I feel more than I've ever felt and I've found someone to feel with. To play with. To love in a way that feels right for me. I hope he knows that I can see that he suffers too. And that I want to love him."
-Secretary

"We pass the time of day to forget how time passes."
-Amelie

"...but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday."
-American Beauty

"Everything is temporary. Everything begins and ends and begins again. When I look ahead, I imagine infinite possible futures repeated like countless photocopies, a thousand blank pages, and in each one I see myself, never hiding, never sitting silently, and never just waiting and waiting and watching the world go by. "
-Clockwatchers

"Hello, you've reached the winter of our discontent."
-Reality Bites

"No I'm no one's wife, but I love my life and all that jazz."
-Chicago