DangerDykes have updated. Go here.

So... I've Been Reading The News Again...

Well, there is talk in the news that us lady lovers can obtain 6 cycles of fertility treatment on the NHS, along with single ladies also wanting babies. Except, if Kate and I were to put ourselves down for that treatement, we'd both be denied. Why? I am fat and she smokes. Read it here.

(Kate and I are not thinking of starting a family. We have 5 cats and a hamster. This is just an example)

Fair enough. So what about fat ladies and smoking ladies who get pregnant the usual way? What fate awaits them in the future? Will women be screened to see if they are fit enough to have babies because the NHS is looking to save a few bucks? Will families be screened and their DNA tested so that no child is born with an inherited condition that would strain the NHS?

Are we staring into the beedy little eye of BIG BROTHER?

Also in the news is the ban on violent porn, with viewers of such to face 3 years imprisonment. Who determines what is violent and what is not? I predict much controversy over this one. I am not a fan of violent porn myself, so this ban doesn't affect me at all. What it does do is make me wonder what else might be banned?

Feminist Andrea Dworkin viewed every sex act between men and women as a form of rape and found pornography in some of the most innocuous things.

Most interesting. Your views?

Nice Break...

It's been a nice break. Nice bank holiday weekend, with an extra day tagged on as leave for myself. It was just what I needed and I am so happy I had some time off.

I stepped off the world on Friday after work. Over the four days that followed I drank these alcoholic drinks:

2 bottles of white wine
2 ciders
1 beer

Kate painted the walls, I decluttered and was all domestic. I even managed to draw four weeks' worth of Dangerdykes cartoons (still to be updated), our Halloween Card and our Christmas Card. All in all, four productive days with my sweetheart. When we weren't busy with pottering around the house, we were enjoying each other's company.

We finished up eating ice creams in bed at a quarter to three yesterday afternoon. In our pyjamas.

Nice.

And... breathe.....

Two more sociology essays completed and sent off to the Open University. Two more weeks of agonising and berating myself and preparing myself for the worst.

This uni foundation course thing has taught me a lot about myself.

I've learned that I CAN actually put my mind to something and achieve it. That I can take a challenge like this and not give up on myself. And there were many times I thought I should just pack it in. Why did I have to go and do this? I am so stupid. I am just not getting this sociology stuff. I am too old for this. What does it matter if I get a degree anyway? I am not achieving 90% or above, so why the hell should I bother to go on?

Those are some pretty heavy Class A excuses, don't you think? I faced them head on and busted them ONE by ONE.

Yes, I am still a far way off from even finishing this foundation course. I am about halfway there. After this… a Degree course. But I know now that I am not willing to give up on myself and THAT is a major change for a woman who was waiting for the day her life would actually begin.

Every time the excuses have come up, I have reminded myself of the reasons I am doing this in the first place:

1. I promised my father I would use the small amount of money my mom left me when she died for studying. My father is dying and I want him to see me begin that journey before he dies.

2. I deserve a university education.

3. I want to open greater opportunities for myself in this world and not consign myself to mediocrity

4. I have always felt short changed because my parents didn't allow me to study what I wanted to when I was younger. It's a gift from me to me.

5. Fuck it. Life's too short - I'll do it anyway.

And I have begun, in many areas of my life, to do the opposite of what my mind tells me I SHOULD do.

Mind says, "Let's goof off - study tomorrow."
I study now.

Mind says, "We can do some writing or drawing later. Let's watch TV."
I turn off the TV and go upstairs to write.

Mind says, "You feel needy and clingy - go hold onto Kate."
I give both of us our space

Mind says, "Why waste your time on a diet and exercise programme? You'll only fail. You're fine as you are."
I get a gym membership and chuck the sweeties in the bin.

Big karmic shift for Tanya. Power to the revolurion.

Blog Review - Why Do You Read Some of the Blogs You Have on Your Sidebar?

I just invented this. Choose 5 blogs you read regularly from your side bar and tell the world why they turn you on so much. Maybe that way we all get to discover something new and exciting. I'm not tagging anyone. You want to play along... go right ahead. Just let me know that you have so I can go over and look at your blogs of interest.

In no particular order:

Ah, Yes Medical School - I found this by chance. A medical student, who calls himself The Fake Doctor, records his anecdotes on life as a med student. I enjoy the humour and this glimpse into a different life. I recommend it mainly because it's a little something different.

Miss Snark, the Literary Agent - I love Miss Snark. This literary agent pulls no punches and applies her acerbic wit to the questions posed by her 'snarklings'. Good advice, clever lady. I recommend it because it's useful to writers.

Here's To Happy Women - Teri writes an essay each week on a variety of topics. Funny, interesting and intelligently written stuff. It's my Friday afternoon treat to read her work. Recommended because I truly enjoy her writing AND her philosophy.

Yogabeans - This is hysterical! Elasticgirl demonstrates yoga positions using plastic action figures. With a running commentary. I know it's not on my sidebar yet, but that's just because I haven't put it there yet. Recommended for humour and originality.

Life in Antarctica - Also not on the sidebar as it's newly discovered by me. Fascinating look into life on McMurdo station in Antarctica. Recommended because it provides a glimpse into a 'new' world.

Kinky Boots

Synopsis: Charlie Price reluctantly takes over his dad's shoe factory after inheriting it. In order to save the company, Charlie needs to come up with a plan and he certainly does. Inspired by no-nonsense drag queen, Lola, Charlie decides to make boots and shoes for transvestites and drag queens.

This is actually based on a true story.

I must say that while the story line was fairly predictable, the acting is really tight, particularly Chiwetel Ejiofor's portrayal of Lola. I believed that this man could be nothing but a drag queen. It's a fab movie for those looking for light entertainment and some comedy. It's one I will watch again, but not one I would go out and buy, necessarily. You won't be wasting your time on this one, rest assured.

4 Stars.

Priceless....

I found this news item and I laughed so hard I think I pulled a muscle in an awkward place. It had to be shared.

Excuses, excuses, excuses....

I am very good at coming up with excuses. I am brilliant, sometimes.

I make excuses for not writing, not exercising, not eating healthily and even not living the life of my dreams.

Here are a few examples:

I can't exercise because I don't have the time/energy and I have sciatica

I can't write today because I am tired/uninspired/boring/a crap writer anyway/must blog/watch this show on TV

I am not studying because I need to blog/write/exercise (which I don't do)/clean/wash the dishes/do the washing

And on and on.

Well. Here's the thing and for me, it's a BIG thing.

I have decided to no longer accept excuses from myself.

And recently a few things have begun to happen. I have turned off my television and it's stayed off. I have managed to spend a good portion of time on my studies, and have time to spare for reading and relaxing. As a result, I feel... accomplished.

Now I tend to think about things before I action them. If I find myself engaging in behaviour that got me nowhere before, I do the opposite.

Interesting.

Greetings!!! Please check out my Tastes Like Llama blog for some creative writing stuff...

Update

The Esotericon is updated a little early this time in case anyone wanted to take advantage of the fantastic energies this weekend and needed to do some planning.

Taking A Little Break...

Greetings, faithful readers

I have decided to take a little break from the blogosphere. I have quite a lot of work that needs doing for my course, and I have also begun to feel like blogging has started to take over my life a bit. I mean, you know it's bad when you DREAM you are sitting in front of a PC typing up a blog.

So I am going on a bit of a hiatus. I will consider keeping Esotericon up to date, since there are one or two people out there who find the information useful, but otherwise I plan to lurk for an indefinite amount of time.

I'll probably swing by the blogs I read regularly once in a while, though and add the odd movie or book review to my own blog. I am, however, contemplating the value of placing so much of myself into the world as I have been, so I may just end up making the blog less personal. Who knows. I need time to just be away from blogging for a bit. And who knows? It might just give me the creative energy I need to write another short story.

Well, actually, there is a short story in the works, but I'll put an update on here as soon as it's available. But for now, Start Wearing Purple is going to be a little quieter.

T.

Oh yes - almost forgot

In my Italian Consulate angst I forgot to mention that there are updates for Dangerdykes and Esotericon. Enjoy!

Fingers Crossed, Hope For The Best...

In June I sent my registration forms to the Italian Consulate in Manchester in order to declare that I now live in the UK (which I have delayed by about 7 years). After speaking to Consulate staff, I was told that my application has been sent to the commune in Italy where I am registered, they will request the files from Johannesburg and then send them on to Manchester.

Which is all fine, but my passport runs out in December.

SO... I phoned the Consulate again. May I renew my passport while I wait for the registration? Of course I can. I must send them: a) a photocopy of the first 6 pages of my passport and b) the passport renewal form. Then, they will send a request to Johannesburg to find out if they may be allowed to do this for me, then they will get in touch with me.

Clock is ticking, passport runs out in 4 months. I have now packaged forms and will be sending them first class post today.

In the meantime, my sister failed to get my divorce papers and apostille, which caused no end of drama while I was in SA (read about that HERE), to the Consulate in Johannesburg. She is now getting these papers to me via my cousin who is visiting the UK at the end of August. This is a month after I had requested that she send them to me by registered post.

I am chanting that everything goes smoothly and that I can get this passport shit sorted out quickly with the least amount of hassle. But it's still a worry, which is added to several worries at the minute.

I am not sure if I would be allowed to stay in the UK if my passport expires. If not, then I may just have to marry Kate. (I say marry, but really it'd be civilly partnered to her) But then I don't think I can leave the country for 3 years. And that's a problem because of the state of my dad's health.

So really, I am chanting that the Italians are going to be in a good mood when they process my application.

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

The internet can be great fun. I found the following items by chance:

Action Figure Yoga - highly recommended for all yoga practitioners and regular folk alike. Doing yoga will never be the same again.

Sinfest - An awesome display of comic strip genius from Tatsuya Ishida. Wikipedia says he used to do pencil work for Dark Knight comics. I am hooked and desperately combing the archive in order to catch up!

Dharma the Cat - More comic strip madness. This time, Buddhism and humour meet.

Girls with Slingshots - Very well drawn comic strip and humour is good too - although I have to point out that the talking Irish cactus appears to have a Scottish accent and Scottish name.

Enjoy.

Talk About Synchronicity...

This morning the postman arrived with a package from Rayna aka Raynwomaan. "Something More" by Sarah Ban Breathnach was what was inside and I was quite taken aback by the generosity of this really wonderful gift.

Kate and I sat in bed, sipping our coffee, while I looked over the new book. I had first heard of the author on Oprah somewhere in 1998. At the time, I lived in Holland and I watched a LOT of Oprah. I cannot remember what was said on the show, but for some reason, this woman's name stuck in my mind. I had gone past a few bookstores and seen the book on sale and thought, "Maybe some other time".

Well, it looks like the Universe has decided that maybe some other time is now.

Thanks, Rayna!

Just a note: I am hoping to stick some book reviews up here later today, so watch this space!

Also, the Esotericon should be updated later too. A new Dangerdykes comic strip will be added tonight.

A Legacy of Strong, Quirky Women...

It's funny how some thoughts just smack you in the head out-of-the-blue whilst contemplating a cup of tea.

I come from a line of extraordinarily strong, though quirky women. The women in my ancestral line on my mother's side have been both strange and inspiring.

Take, for instance, my Ouma. My mother didn't get on with Ouma as much as I didn't get on with my mother, yet Ouma was amazing to us grandchildren.

She was also a touch crazy.

I wrote once in my Tastes Like Llama blog about how she went to see the Chippendales with my sister and she was the badly behaved one stuffing ten Rand notes down their G-strings.

Then there's the mad Auntie Carol who came to counsel me on how to get divorced. She also told me, "Tammy, all men are dogs. And just like a dog, a man can be trained." She is a very scary lady... and I suspect she may be a closet dominatrix. (No offence, Mistress Davina, my darling.)

Despite her complete insanity and weirdness and depression, my mother too was a strong woman. She practically carried her side of the family through every tragedy, drama, crisis that came along. Everyone in my family has at one time sat at my mother's kitchen table and had a cup of coffee and a cigarette while discussing their woes.

And then there's my sister. My sister who I love, but who never gives herself enough credit. Who shines and stands tall and is becoming Queen of the House.

A friend and I got my sister kicked out of intensive care after her thyroid operation ten years ago. That very evening she threw her hospital dinner at the hospital chef and told him he was a disgrace to the profession and a poor excuse for a chef. (My sister is a chef herself.)

I love that there are these magnificent, independent, crazy and talented women whose energy has been passed from generation to generation. I always wonder which woman started it all and what her life was like. But you can't hold one of us down. We have sharp tongues, a fighting spirit and resilience. We are brave, funny and often sensitive women. We've all made very stupid mistakes in our lives.

But this is my legacy. With all its craziness, feuding and unacknowledged strength, I am glad to be part of this clan of truly magnificent women.

Another DVD Review: Corpse Bride

I haven't been to the cinema in a LONG time. The last thing I saw in a movie theatre (haha - South African readers - I almost wrote bi-scope!) was The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and that was with Julie and on my 32nd Birthday. Corpse Bride is one I would have loved to have seen in the Cinema, but since we use Screenselect, Kate and I feel very little need to go to the movies. Besides, Kate hates the cinema, which is a shame, because I love it. We've been together nealy 4 years and have not been to the cinema together once.

But on with the review....

I loved Nightmare Before Christmas and I love Corpse Bride. The painstaking work involved just enhanced my appreciation of this film. This one gets two thumbs up, five stars and one meow from Mischa. It was a brilliant film. Highly recommended.

Tim Burton seems to have a very big soft spot for using Johnny Depp and Christopher Lee in most of his films, and they always do well.

Life and Other Things

The moon is in Pisces today. Get more information here.

I need another source of income. I SO need another source of income. I have not heard back from the BP shop after handing my application form in two weeks ago. I am starting to get the feeling that The Universe is prompting me to make use of the talents I already possess and not to undersell myself.

So, together with Erika and Kate, in a long conversation last Sunday, I came to the conclusion that I should try to find ways I can use the skills I already have. This means that today I am contacting the people who arrange the esoteric fayres in our area to find out how much it costs to set up a stall and to book myself in for the next fayre. The idea is to give Reiki and Indian Head Massage treatments. And maybe by next year I can add Tarot and psychometry to my bag of tricks.

The next creative writing course I am giving is scheduled to start in September, but will only go ahead if we get a certain minimum amount of students. The school where I do these courses has put me down to do 3 ten week sessions (provided there are students): September, January and March. This time, instead of chanting for students, I am chanting that I can help the human revolution of whoever joins the classes, whenever they decide to join it.

Failing all that, I am sure there has to be SOME kind of Saturday job going somewhere. And I could try to sell some of my fiction. Or perhaps I should 'learn the ropes' and sell my services as a dominatrix... ha ha ha. (Actually....)

Aargh. Fuck this money shit. I am tired of struggling, man.

UPDATES

OK - I have updated some of my other blogs, so...

A new, short vignette (which is a bit rubbish), go HERE.

For your latest moon wisdom update, go HERE.

For the latest Dangerdykes cartoon strip (which is also a bit rubbish), go HERE.

*(asterisk) has this tag on his blog today and I thought I would play....

TAG-O-RAMA!

10 Years Ago: August 1996
I was less than a week away from becoming Mrs Fallon, so I must have been running around making some last minute arrangements and touch ups before the wedding. I was probably at my cousin Lisa's flat and having my bridal 'do' practice run. My actual 'do' looked quite different to the practice run, but still lovely. I probably also had my make up practice run and final fitting on my wedding dress!

5 Years Ago: August 2001
I was in a rather grim place in my life then. I was probably temping after losing my job as an editor at a web design firm. I still lived in a nice flat, but knew I couldn't afford it. The relationship I was in at the time was hellish (no - not with Mr Fallon - he was gone the year before) and I was in the depths of a very dark depression. Looking back I have NO idea how I managed to make my way out of that black hole, but I tell you I am glad I did! Also, around that time we were still feeling the influence of Saturn Return, which creates a good amount of upheaval and change in everyone's life. It was a time of great confusion and pain.

1 Year Ago: 9 August 2005
Do we have to get date specific? i was still working for a tuition agency, but had thankfully found a newer, better job. I was working my notice and feeling really good about the changes that I was making and had already made in my life. Kate and I were happy, the weather was reasonably good and I was excited about the new job.

5 songs I know all the words to
I know the words to SO many songs. These are just the ones that come to me now:
More than Words - The Extreme
Patricia the Stripper - Chris de Burgh
Big Spender
Deh Vieni Non Tardar
Shade of a Ghost - Fetish

5 snacks
My truly excellent homemade fruit smoothies
Cheese
Doritos
Pitta breads and hummus or cheese
Olives

5 things I'd do with $100 million
First off, I'll pay all my debts
Then I'll pay all of my closest family's debts
Then I'll buy houses for Kate and I and our families
Two pub/guesthouses - one for Kate and one for my sister
Make a massive donation to British Guide Dogs Association and Cats Protection


5 places I'd run away to
Tsitsikamma
Venice
Cape Town
Plettenberg Bay
Knysna

5 things I'd never wear
Anything pink
Old lady shoes
A blue rinse
Belts
Bikini

5 fave TV shows
Futurama
Six Feet Under
House
CSI
Charmed

5 greatest joys
Kate!
My family (Dad, sister, nephews, nieces and even my in-laws!)
My lovely pets
Painting
Being able to be happy with my life no matter what's happening in it

5 fave toys
Camera
MP3 player
My pendulum
A moo-cow in a car that goes moo when you move it - this year's b'day gift from my sister-in-law (she let my 3 year old niece choose it)
A sparkly magic wand with flashing lights (a Christmas gift from Kate 2 yrs ago)


And I tag:

YOU! Do it if you want to...

Cause and Effect, Karma and Telemarketers

Those who have been following my blog will know I have very little time for telemarketers. They annoy the hell out of me with their double glazing and kitchens and free mobiles and surveys. *

I am ashamed to say that I play a little game called "Let's Freak the Telemarketer Out" whenever they phone. I have been sarcastic, non-responsive and downright rude to these people who are probably hating their jobs more than I am hating receiving their phonecalls. One person who felt the very sharp end of my razor tongue was this poor man who was trying to sell me female cancer insurance. (I didn't know you could GET insurance for female cancers). The bloke must have felt mortified enough having to approach completely strange women regarding their intimate health issues. So me, being me and hating telemarketers as much as I do, gave him a really hard time. I was particularly acerbic.

So last night, when the usual start-of-the-month calls began to come in, I changed tack completely. I was nice to them. I put a smile in my voice, was polite and even cracked a non-snarky joke. I was very well behaved.

I figured that if I want to change my circumstances, I need to change myself. It's the law of Cause and Effect. If I create a negative cause in my life, the effects (whether they emerge next week or in my next incarnation) will be negative - I may even be reincarnated as a call centre worker! By changing how I speak to these people, I am creating a new cause in my life, a different effect, and ultimately this will have an impact on my karma.

In Nichiren Buddhism, we are taught that 3,000 realms exist in a single moment. This means that we have 3,000 possibilities available to us at any given moment in time. That is, 3,000 choices. In any given moment.

We get to choose how we react to something. We get to choose the outcome through our actions. Ultimately, we choose our own karma.

I decided a little while back to develop a deeper respect for my job and the jobs of others, so being nice to telemarketers actually follows on from that decision. They probably get arseholes like me being rude to them constantly, so perhaps once in a while, a friendly voice and a polite tone may be in order. After all, none of these people have massacred my family. They are doing a job, which I would personally find soul destroying. They don't need me to add to it.

Now, I have a deep sense of gratitude to these telemarketers. (Kate has probably just read all this and fallen off her chair. When she comes home I will most likely be greeted with, "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" It really is me, sweetheart - no body snatchers here.)

I am grateful to them because through them I am getting to transform my karma and they are contirbuting to my human revolution.

And no, this post hasn't been one long sarky tirade.


*We know that we can block these marketing calls. Kate has looked into it, but it would mean blocking incoming calls from overseas. As my family are all in South Africa, it didn't make sense to do that.

This is me being a copycat today....

... and putting my words on up like Dori did on her blog.

This is from one of those memish emails that go around and here's the text from the one that we got spammed with:

Describe me in ONE WORD...just one word! Send it to me only , then send this message to your friends and see how many strange things people say about you! Just hit reply and send me my one word ! back. Then forward this message on to your friends (including me) and see what they say about you!

And these are the words I got back:

wacky
enthusiastic
sister! (from my good friend Ralph)
unique
inuendoised (sic) - from my sister Sherine. She just made that up.
inspirational
goddess! (from my lovely friend Mark - MWAH!)
snuggly (from my sweet angel Kate.)

It's a fun thing to try and very revealing to see what the first word is that pops into someone's head when they think of you. If you fancy leaving me a comment with your own word to describe me, please go right ahead and I'll include them in a post once I have them.

Happy Monday...

This is not going to be much of a post, I am afraid. Time is not on my side today - busybusybusy.

So... in brief:

1. Two new Dangerdykes comic strips have been drawn and I will scan these in tonight and stick them up on the Dangerdykes blog to be available for tomorrow.

2. I have updated the moon information, which you can find HERE.

3. A new short story is in the offing so I'll let you know once I have that up.

Happy Monday.

When I Grow Up....

I want to be as weird and eccentric as the two aunts in Practical Magic. I don't want to be normal run of the mill. I want to be one of those dotty old ladies with loads of cats, who wears broad-brimmed hats with purple and orange sashes. I want to be the kind of old lady everyone thinks is completely batty, but who is interesting enough to spend a lot of time with. Whatever else happens in my life, I just want to be a dotty old bird with a few eccentric habits and a big, warm heart.

So What Do They Have That I Don't?

I've been thinking about the secrets of success a lot lately. In a number of spheres: writing, art, business, relationship, financial... you name it. What is the secret of success? I don't mean a rehash of some self-help guru's philosophy. I mean REAL people. People in my life, who I know. What is the secret of their success?

When I taught journalism, I had an outstanding student named Coster. He wasn't outstanding because he wrote brilliantly - he wrote well, but not brilliantly. He stood out to me because of his determination and tenacity, his will to not give up, no matter how adverse things were for him.

Coster worked night shift as a security guard. English was his second language. A year before he took the journalism course I was teaching in central Johannesburg at a business college, he took a business English correspondence course in the hope that he could improve his English before becoming a journalist. Being a journalist was his goal, his hope, his dream, the reason he got up in the morning and he was prepared to do whatever it took to realise that dream.

By the time Coster stepped foot into my class, he had a good command of the English language. He turned up to every class during the six weeks the course lasted. Every assignment was handed in on time and he did well in his exams.

So what? you may say.

So... Coster worked a full night shift as a security guard. He would then go home at 6am to his home in Soweto and then come to my class in the city for 8:30am. He would then go back to his home, get maybe two hours' sleep and go back to work.

And this feat is what set him apart from other students.

I've never met a more dedicated person who was not going to allow anything to stand in his way. After the course he was planning to take a photography course so that he would be more 'marketable'. I have no idea where he is today, but I have a feeling that the reason I am thinking of him now is because my experience with him almost ten years ago is trying to teach me something.

What is YOUR secret of success?

The Moon in Scorpio


Today and tomorrow, the moon is in Scorpio. Scorpio's influence affects our sexual organs and urinary tract. Anything you do on Scorpio days to benefit these areas of the body will be more powerful, while anything you do to the detriment of these areas will be more harmful. The energy of the Scorpio day can feel menacing to some people. Scorpio days bring dreams and visions that have a strong psychic element and expect to uncover hidden emotions. Scorpio days are great for getting your finances in order or for self examination. For the creative types, Scorpio days are brilliant for research and for digging deeper into the creative work you are engaged in. If you fancy a bit of decluttering, Scorpio days are great for it. Failing that, wait for the waning and new moon as this period is also great for getting rid of old things.

As with all water sign days, do not air your bed covers and duvets as they may still retain some of the moisture even if they do feel dry.

The moon is waxing at the moment, reaching full moon on 8 August.

Beware the Advice Boomerang

A few nights ago, my very dear friend Mark and I had an hour long chat on the phone. During this hour I gave him this particular piece of advice:

"Dude, you cannot make anyone else happy. Nothing you do will make someone else truly, fundamentally happy. You can only do that for yourself. It comes from within."

I am in a bit of a grump today because I have been attacked by insomnia... again... Two nights running. I am reacting to everything. Every person I have spoken to on the phone has in some way pissed me off: they have answered my questions too slowly, they mumbled, they didn't sound cheerful enough....

And then it hit me. I am not exactly being a bright little ray of sunshine, am I? So what I am getting is a reflection of my life state. And then, I had a flashback to my conversation with Mark. (Cue an image of my floating head hovering over me now, uttering: "Nothing you do will make someone else truly, fundamentally happy. You can only do that for yourself. It comes from within.")

SO! Nichiren Buddhism teaches that 3,000 realms exist in a single moment. I am also now aware that I am the only one in control of my state and happiness. Only I can change it because, "Dude, you cannot make anyone else happy. " There's that floating head again.

I've had my lunch and I am sitting at my desk typing away at this little blog and I am determined that for the rest of today, I am going to let go of the grump, exercise compassion and really make an effort to see the Buddhahood in myself and in others.

Sweet.