Falling in Love - Part I

Falling in love is the most exciting time of a person's life. The early stages of a relationship are filled with passion, discovery, fear and hope. Love is a heady drug that can be as euphoric or devastating as any illegal substance you may try (I hear). Using that metaphor, it can also distort the way you see, think and feel. It is important to remember that the real substance of a relationship, the real test, is during the hangover, it is then when you can see things more clearly. (It generally coincides with you and your partner's willingness to pass gas in front of each other.)
The most important point I make in this lesson - Part I if you will - is to not make any major decisions before you emerge from the "love haze". Moving in, engagements, financial commitments...this all should wait until you are able to see and think clearly.

Is It Always Right To Be Right?

I can't tell you how much time I have wasted, how many people I have angered, and how often I have been wrong...trying to prove I was right. One of the hardest things to learn is when to just shut up and listen. It is often when my mouth is closed and my mind is open, that I learn the most.

I Believe in God, Not Church

I'm not an atheist. I believe in God. A god. I would be a hypocrite if I didn't admit to it. I pray. Mainly I pray to your Great-Grandmother. This comforts me in my greatest times of fear and sorrow. I like to believe she appreciates it, not only because she told me I would, but because she knows that I truly do miss her.
With that said, I do not think she cares a lick whether I go to church or not. I think, if she had lived to meet my gay friends...our extended family, she would have been just as outraged at their exclusion from God. I still go into churches, sometimes just to wonder at the beauty, sometimes to light a candle in prayer...again to Grandma. I will never be a practicing Catholic again...not until they recognize all of my friends as Children of God, just as Christ would have. I hope you understand this, and I hope it does not keep you from practicing your religion your way.

Why is ignorance bliss?

The more you learn, the more you wonder, worry, and debate. You have obviously grown up listening to my occasional (ahem) rants, and though it may seem that I would have been happier not knowing what was going on in our world, that isn't the case. I hope to get to a point in my life when I can help effect (a or e?) change, but in the meantime, I will try to learn as much as I can and educate those around me. That said, I hope you learn that it is far better to form your own opinions than to regurgitate ones that are fed to you.

Unless they're dead, old dogs CAN learn new tricks

Actually, I am not too sure about dogs, but I do know that people can change, if they want to. Nothing is impossible and one should never use an excuse to account for ignorance.

The Joneses were keeping up with somebody too

One of the hardest things to do in today's world is to live within your means. Credit card companies, retailers, layaway, buy now-pay later...it is far too easy to spend money you don't have. Must you have that new cellphone? Does your job depend on those pretty shoes? Will you earn more respect by carrying that designer handbag? Nope.
I will admit that there is an an added confidence that you may get when you look sharp and carry yourself well, but that can be achieved at any budget. A dumbass wearing Chanel is still a dumbass...and in the end the people who count will see that.

Bambi IS part of the food chain

Just because an animal is cute, doesn't mean you can't eat it. I don't have anything against vegetarians...well...sort of, but making a decision to not try something because Disney made it into a cartoon is a bit foolish.

"Fashionably Late" is only good for cocktail parties

Being known as the one who is always late is not a compliment. Always rushing to be somewhere that you should have been 5 minutes ago creates havoc, not only in your life but the one who is always waiting for you. And trust me...there is always someone waiting for you, otherwise you wouldn't be late.