So Pia asks me a simple question and I end up thinking about it all day, lol

( December, Life and Death )

And you guys can argue all you want that the weather and people suck during this time, you’re never going to make me change my mind, rofl.

The ceramic and DID papers are finally finished! No more heavy work except for finals studies now, and only 2 weeks left for school!

*dances* The only project I have left is to do a Rook presentation on Tuesday, and that's easy-peasy (cuz Rooks are the shiznit y'all).

Woot, no more writing. I'll tell ya what though, that DID paper was loads harder to do than the ceramic one, despite having an easier time finding sources. As soon as I started writing, I churned out 4 good pages in only 2 and a half hours for the ceramic paper.

Plus now I know what styles I'm going to be using during the wood-fire class in the summer. Neolithic China ftw, lol.

So I went on a nauseating car ride to Geneva, Illinois with Mom, Aaris, Megan, Diane and Nancy...Never again. Shopping in quaint, historic towns is fun, especially during December, but not for a 2-hour car-ride. I can go to Long Grove instead for that.

Though the view of the Fox River while driving through McHenry was wonderful. Someday I shall kayak that river...that and the Des Plaines. I love the Fox River (and not because of the name, lol), I've enjoyed going over it's bridges to Diane's house ever since I was little. It was massive-looking when I was a kid, and it's still pretty wide to me now.

Geneva, once we got there, was actually very pretty but because the sun likes to set at 3pm we didn't have much time to go into all the little shops. There wasn't much I desired to buy anyway.

Except for a fox figurine. As soon as I saw that, my heart jumped and my head was going "MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE". I couldn't make myself not buy it, so I went back and got it.

Io now has a new residence, lol. I'm pretty sure she's the reason I was so pulled to it, she feels very happy being inside it now. It even looks like her almost.

Now the 9-tailed fox statue can go back to its original purpose, as a link to what it represents.

SNOWSNOWSNOWSNOWSNOWSNOWSNOW!!!!

*dances*

It's just a dusting of powdered sugar right now, but it's been going on and off all day, and starting to stick on the ground. If this keeps up overnight, we may have a couple inches by tomorrow!

YAY!! First snow of the season <3 I remember when I was a kid it would already be several feet by this time of the year, but I guess that's climate change for you. Oh well.

( OMG THE CUTENESS! THE JAZZ HANDS! IT BURNS! )

Ain't that adorable or what? XD

How it got there is pretty interesting.

Will (little bro): "Mom, do we have a Bible? I need it for homework!"

Mom: "Uh, check with Mia, she probably has one"

Me: *thinking why the hell would I have one* "Go look on the bookshelf, i think there's a red one there"

Will: "There isn't!! I need a Bible!!!" *pissmoanwhine*

So I drive over to Gramma's and borrow he old, dusty, Vatican one.

So much for being a Catholic family, we don't even have a Bible in the house, rofl. Mommy's a hypocrite.

I guess we can exorcise the vaginas now.

( Family drama... )

~~~~~

Just finished redecorating my altar/shrine for the winter (part 1) season. It's currently stuffed with pinecones and a mini Christmas tree. Io's statue is doing a balancing act with a big one on her tail, lol.

I love my little altar. It's grown since the last time I took a picture of it; there's tiers and layers in a couple of parts now to give it more surface and storage area. Candle holders are win for this XD

Some days I find myself just wanting to go and stand by the altar for a while...just stand there and think or look at things. It's built up its own atmosphere over the years, giving it a really calm feel. Probably Io's work, she has that feel about her too.

Pinecones. Evergreens. Even in the darkest and coldest winters they still shine brightly, while the other trees are deep in their slumber. I could use some pine tree energy right now.

Trying to figure out transfer requirements = AAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!

And I know I lied about the internet thing before, but I'm forced to take another week-long-or-so break from the internet to focus on my papers. They're all due on the same day to, what fun. So bye bye for now.

Gotta get started on my psychology term paper. I think I'm gonna do DID....the teacher was talking about how it doesn't occur outside of the US, so now I gotta challenge that.

I'm no shrink by any means, but I really don't see why it would only be prevalant in the US.

Plus, I can pull in Sensui (guy in icon) into the paper, lol. YYH strikes again!

You know what, I dunno what the actual law says in Illinois, but making loud remarks about the Ft. Hood shootings at a Muslim woman and then yanking her head back by her scarf when the words are ignored sounds like a hate crime to me.

It may not have left a wound, but it was still a physical assault motivated by bigoted hate. Demeaning the experience by saying that the Muslim was "simply shaken up" by the experience undermines how serious and crazy this shit gets.

Both school and AT&[fucking]T are out to get me right now. So this'll probably be the last time I'll be online for a couple weeks...sorry guys for not commenting on anything :(

But if any of you love working with dead things and get a chance to volunteer at a museaum or go behind-the-scenes, DO IT.

I went with my teacher to the Chicago Field Museam this past Thursday with Dave Willard, the bird curator. Naturally we were in the bird section, and not even the smell of moth balls from the outdated cabinets could deter me from the glory that is rows of perfectly preserved birds from around the world. As soon as I get a chance to do so, I'm going to volunteer there.

The best part of the trip was holding a freshly killed snowy owl. Not that it getting killed was great, but even when it has half of its face ripped off it exuded beauty and a powerful feeling. That'll probably be the only time I ever hold a real snowy owl...amazing experience. I still get tingly at the thought, lol.

Seeing a (dead, of course) Golden Eagle also gave me a strong feeling. I had doubts that the bird I saw so many years ago in a "vision" was actually a Golden Eagle, but seeing the actual bodies of possibilities instead of just googling photos made all the difference. Huge pings during that trip, totally awesome.

SCREW THE MUSHY FOODS! I WANT SOME CRUNCH DAMMIT!

Gonna get wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. Yaaaaayyy....not.

( probably triggery )

I'm actually quite calm about it right now, but I'm afraid I'll panic last minute and punch the doc or something at the slightest movement. Wouldn't be the first time.

The thing that pisses me off the most about the whole “Obama=Hitler/Stalin” thing is not its inaccuracy, but the fact that it demeans and degrades the experiences of those who actually suffered under those regimes.

I doubt any of these blabberers would be talking like this had they gone through the horrors of the Holocaust or be forced into work camps for the Soviet.

Same thing with the “Bush=Hitler/Stalin” thing; we didn’t have to worry about being taken away from our homes by the military under his administration anymore than under the Obama administration.

It’s all bs. I may be too blunt at times too without thinking ahead, but I would hope I know better than to compare the Holocaust to something totally out of proportion like the Health Care Reform Bill.

Read a bit about the Fort Hood shooting during work...from what I gather, he killed a bunch of people because he disagreed with the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations?

First impression is that he's a fucking idiot. On a purely rational view, if he's that pissed about the occupations, then he should go shoot the people that made them happen to begin with, not people who had no choice or say in the matters. If you're gonna go cold blood like that, make it useful. If you're gonna do ANYTHING, killing or not, make it useful for a change.

Looks to me like a kid having a tantrum because he can't get what he wants.

Then there's the issue of his name. I can just hear it now..."evil, turban-wearing terrorist infiltrating the military!". Yea, that's just what the Muslim and Mid-East communities need, yet another guy with a Middle-Eastern sounding name going mass-murder on people.

Idiot on several levels.

Just thinking about some things.

Oh, and philosophyc class involved "House" today. That was fun.

Hmm, in "Ecoshamanism" the author makes remarks that suggest we're completely cut off from the rest of the natural world. Things like animals running away as soon as they see us coming and avoiding us like the plague apparently.

It just doesn't fit. I dunno where he gets these ideas from...downtown there's tons of birds all over the place; Rock doves/pigeons, Crows, and Seagulls could give a shit less if you're two feet away from them. They'll even come up and steal food right out of your hand if you're not looking. Squirrals, once they figure out that you're just sitting there and not actually hunting them, will still gather acorns around the yard. Canada geese can be wary too, but they too will chill out within 10 feet of you if you're not harrassing them.

Raccoons, opossums, rabbits, all those things; they're all over the place in my yard and near people. They're not running away at the very sight of us, though if one goes after them then sure, they'll run (perfectly natural reaction, we are predators too after all). Then there's the million insect species crawling all over your hourse, and sometimes on you (or even crawling inside you, lol). They're animals too.

I just don't understand why he's so determined to see otherwise. If you had wolves out in the woods, the rabbits, mice, and deer aren't going to be frolicking right next to them unless they're clueless. Maybe the deer or other big mammals if the wolves' body language isn't saying "hunting you down", but they still get similar reactions in other times. Yet, the author isn't going to equate the wolves to humans despite those similar reactions.

He's got good ideas, but he still seems to be missing some points. I re-read it and I still can't shake that feeling off.

~~~~~

Speaking of geese, there's a ton of them now around here. Easily a hundred flying up at sunset to roost on the nearby fields; very noisy. I wonder if they're actually from farther up north, and spend their winters here instead. It happened last year too...not sure how beneficial that is considering how cold it can be, but kinda cool too. I like Canada geese <3

I also keep thinking how good they might taste, lol. Sure are big enough for a Thanksgiving dinner, lol.

Oh yea, that's another issue I have with Endredy's opinions, his attitude towards holidays in America. I wonder how he grew up, because the holiday's have never been solely materialistic for me (though Thanksgiving is about the awesome food, so I guess that's materialistic, lol). Many people I talk to also don't focus solely on the gifts and what-not, they look forward to the family get-togethers, traditions, and food. Gifts are a focus for a lot of kids, yes, but part of the reason is because it's so much fun to rip open the present and see what the surprise is. It's not the same thing to just hand the kid the item, unwrapped and all. It's actually a bit disapointing when given that way, despite getting what you want.

Halloween too, it's not just about the candy. You can't just give the candy to the kid and expect them to enjoy that as much as if they got to dress up in a cool costume, go around and see all the spooky decorations and neighborhood "haunted houses" or halloween parties, and get a surprise piece of candy from a random selection in the bowl. It's not solely a materialistic holiday, in my opinion, because you can't just buy that sort of fun.

Dammit, got Mannaz and Ehwaz mixed up!

I always do that!!!

So now what...Grim and I were talking in the context of Mannaz, so unless he didn't realize the mix-up (or didn't care in the first place, which is probably more accurate), then the actual rune-draw didn't matter because I interpreted as something else?

I mean, that's not how it's supposed to go...if you see Beorc and think Perthro, and interpret it in the context of Perthro, you'd be wrong, right?

Dammit, always those two, always...Mannaz should be Ehwaz, it looks more like an M anyway *grumblegrumble*

Note to self:

Rook-Fehu: 1st step, physical health and vitality

Grim-Mannaz: fostering balance, cooperation, and faith in me and in both of us

(did a Halloween/Day of the Dead/Samhain/whatever ritual and a rune-draw was a part of it...I had a very successful ritual tonight, so I'm very happy. It was emotional though, thinking about my great-grandparents and their siblings, but that's proof to me that it was done "right", so all the better).

Got a good workout trick-or-treating, the moon was awesome and the wind was fierce.

Am now high on candy. Twas a good day.

Got a picture of me and my buddy in our costumes, will post when I find the memory card, lol.

Still gotta think up a mini-ritual for tomorrow. Probably just gonna be a sit-and-think time.

( possibly triggery, I dunno )

I'm always told to "get over it", and honestly, that would be wonderful if I could, just like that. It would be wonderful to be like my siblings and not even bat an eye when mom and/or dad are pissed off and yelling.

Unfortunately, Border's doesn't stock "The Idiot's Guide to Getting Over It". Nor do they have "De-conditioning for Dummies".

Even the great amazon.com is out of stock.