Yellow Dog/Bleeding Heart

These past few weeks I have been living more like an ordinary person than a Buddha and it has begun to trouble me. I seriously think I have broken all five precepts, which for you Christians out there is like breaking the commandments. Do Not Destroy Life: Aside from the giant bug incident of which my hands, if not my Karma remained clean, I have been shamelessly killing ants in my kitchen. Not even just spraying bug spray to keep them away, but literally smashing them with my finger. There are just sooooo many of them. And they are getting into my food. I don't know what else to do. Sigh. Do Not Steal: For a Buddhist stealing is not just tangibles, but also things like time and ideas. Aside from the fact that I have a new intellectual history hero who all but wrote the final version of some papers for me last semester, I also have been guilty of stealing everyone's time. I've kept Little Dog waiting after school; spent too much time visiting rather than working during t...

Last weekend there was a horrible gi - normous bug in my entryway. Ordinarily I can deal with the average bug, but this one was BIG. And creepy . Little Dog is worthless when it comes to bugs, as he squeals like a baby mouse and flees at the sight of one. So, Saturday afternoon we were standing on the stairs, a good length away from this interloper, both of us wondering what to do. I had the phone in hand and was wondering just who was closest for me to call to come shoo the monster out when my neighbor, Ron, pulled in. I darted out the back door and explained the situation. He is not a big fan of the bug himself, but his chivalry is unrivaled. He grabbed a broom and a bucket from the garage and headed to my house. I felt justified when he saw the creature and was visibly astonished at its size. "What do you want me to do with it?" "Get it out!" And with that, he dropped the heavy bucket smack on top of the bug. Little Dog Shrieked and I must have exclaimed somethi...

Okay, so I have one week left until this semester is over, after which I am taking a three month break. Trust me, I have had a lot to say - just no time to say it. That will all change next week when I begin to post my many catch-up posts. Until then, please read this article about a friend of mine and his family. I admire the hell out of these people and his wife has become my hero .

What the hell do motorcycles mean in dream language?! For the past three nights I have had dreams which involved me being the owner of a motorcycle - specifically, a red Harley. Dream #1: I had taken my red Harley to the shop to have it painted black. When I went to pick it up they had painted it all hippie like with blue and yellow sunflowers. What the hell?! I was extremely pissed! Dream #2: One of my best friends was telling me about how his wife had left him. My only concern was whether or not he would now let me take him for a ride on my Harley. (He has always been anti-motorcycle.) He agreed, but I then had to admit I did not know how to drive with a passenger. Dream #3: I was happy to be riding my Harley to school, but when I got there I realized I had not been wearing my helmet and I was appalled at my forgetfulness. The school was also my grammar school and I was late. What the hell do these freaky dreams mean?! In real life I could not care less about motorcycles. I have n...

How on earth is there anyone out there in this day and age who doesn't know that typing in all caps is wrong?! It is wrong. It is a flagrant violation of long-standing netiquette. It is annoying. It is painful to read. And did I mention it is WRONG ?! See what I did there? I used all caps on the word "wrong" to emphasise it ; to make it appear as if I am yelling the word . That's what the caps key is for: Emphasis (well, that and proper nouns.) It makes me absolutely crazy to receive an e-mail typed in all caps. All lower case bugs too, but I can overlook that. All caps, however, turns me into a sort of Cujo type monster and I want to seek that person out to tell them what a fucking idiot they are. Sadly, the offender is usually not an extremely educated person. So, can I still get mad at them? Hell yes I can, because you don't even have to be the sharpest tool in the shed to know that all caps is wrong. It goes beyond just the fact that you are yelling at me. I m...

I had a very nice day today. Good things kept happening to me. They were small things, but I think sometimes it is the little things that make the bigger picture so much nicer. Everyone remembers to be thankful for healthy babies and near misses, but few remember to be grateful for full bellies and coupons. But back to my day, which was sunny and beautiful for the first time all winter. I headed first to the car wash and after I paid for my De- Luxe wash the machine spit out 2 bucks in quarters for me. I paid with a credit card, so it's not like this was change for a ten or anything. I briefly considered the Karma on this one. It was not my money after all, but then, whose was it? There was no attendant on duty to return it to, so I went ahead and tossed it in my console. Then I headed to the grocery store, where upon my arrival a lady was pulling out of the very first spot by the door! Not only that, but as she closed her trunk she asked me if I wanted her to leave the ca...

He may wear the shirt, but he’s no Superman! Furry threw himself down the steps at his house and managed to obtain a gash in his forehead deep enough to require stitches. I figure this was part of his ongoing effort to assess our city’s emergency response services. He arrived at the ER with his panicked parents and was quickly triaged and given a temporary bandage. While they waited for the suture room, Furry blew kisses to an adoring crowd of fellow ER visitors. Once it was finally his turn, he bravely let them put three stitches in his tiny forehead without complaining. The only thing he did was ask repeatedly (about every 20 seconds) during the procedure, “All done now?” Once he was “all done” he was released with a follow up appointment to have the stitches removed the following week. He came to see me the next day, and when I asked if he had hurt his head he shrugged, as if to say “no biggie” and promptly proceeded to try and jump down the stairs. This kid may be small, but he kn...