Bee’s Musings

So, let’s face it. Most of us have felt the pressure to get married at some point in our lives. (If I have any readers who haven’t felt it yet, just wait - it will come.) This story of a Pakistani man took the cake, however. He was trying to encourage his fiancee to marry him before their agreed-upon wedding date of December 25. So, he started firing shots into the air to get her attention. A stray bullet hit the bride-to-be, and she screamed “I’ve been shot.” Thinking he killed his bride, the groom shot himself seconds later.

Guess he won’t be pressuring any more brides anytime soon.

I thought I’d heard about just about every kind of child abuse, and every kind of domestic violence. Ok, maybe not EVERY KIND, but plenty.

This one takes the cake:

Mom allegedly used baby to beat boyfriend

Hi all - here’s a place where you can watch a video I produced for work. Watch it, rank it, go crazy!

Can I Help You With That

So, I’ve decided that the internet needs a new service. I’d like a to make a queue of books that I’m interested in. I want a list of the books I’ve read, where I can post little reviews and notes, and I can see what my other friends are reading. I want recommendations for other books based on my reading choices. I think Amazon might do something like this, but right now, I’d rather just send out a nice request to the universe to create a free service for me.

And if anyone actually reads this, and you know of a service like this, let me know.

“No matter what you write, and for whom, if it makes you happy, or fulfills you on some level, then it is worth more than any praise or criticism that another can give it.”

Once, not all that long ago, I was yelled at for writing in a journal. We were fighting, and he said “What could be so important that you have to write it in some f*in’ book?!” After that, I didn’t write for a very long time. Everytime I started to, I asked myself that same question - what’s so important that I feel like I need to write it down.

After a while, I started writing again. Correction - I started blogging. It wasn’t a blog that I thought anyone would identify with me… and I used it to pour out my feelings about nearly anything and everything. Someone found it, and made the association with me, and attacked me for the things I said. Granted, I need to take responsibility for putting the thoughts in the very-public and yet rather anonymous blogosphere. However, I never quite felt like the reaction was suitable. Again, I stopped writing.

Now, I started up again, with this blog, and with my journal. I’m very cautious about what I write here, and even what goes into the paper journal I keep at home. I can’t shake the feeling that there is something wrong with writing. I used to love to write, and I’m sad that I don’t feel as empowered to write anymore. I’ve taken the quote above, and written it in the very front of my journal in hopes that it will remind me that I’m writing for myself, and for no one else.

That being said, I feel the name to put this disclaimer in my blog - I’m only really writing this for me. If you read it and enjoy it, then great! And if you read it, and disagree with me, that’s ok too. You can even tell me that you disagree. But never take away the power of others to share their feeling through words. I won’t let you take away mine again.

There have been a number of people who have been a part of my life, who are no longer people I know. Most of us have drifted apart because of time and space, not because of a fight or even disagreement. I would say that its not because of some major event, but more often than not, it is a major event. Its been events like high school and college graduation, marriages, new jobs and families.

This weekend marks the homecoming weekend at the university I attended. There are a couple of reunion-esque events taking place, which I will attend. As I’m preparing for them, both mentally and physically, I wonder who I will see there. I wonder if the people I miss the most will attend, and if they will be as happy to see me as I will them. Will any of them have missed me too? Will they be surprised at how long my hair has gotten; will I be surprised at how much weight they’ve lost (or gained)?

I know we’ll all get together this weekend, and have a great time. And we’ll say that we should do this more often, make it a tradition, keep in touch. There are a few people in this group I’ll actually mean this with, and I hope we actually do it.

Oh, how I love the site 43 Folders. This tasty little nugget “Priorities Don’t Exist in a Vacuum” just reinforces how frequently our society (and especially our places of employment) try to prioritize our lives based on only one factor: perceved importance.

GTD discusses a great point relating to this - there are truly 4 factors related to when something can be accomplished. They are:

1. Context
2. Time available
3. Energy available
4. Priority

Basically, the idea is that while something may be important, each of these factors must be taken into consideration when making the decision about whether or not you can accomplish a specific task.

“You are in the unique position to decide what’s do-able at any given moment”

I’ll have to remember that.

PS. If you haven’t read GTD (Getting Things Done), its an interesting read. Or just check out the rest of 43 Folders. While sometimes they’re a little too focused on specifics, I often find great tidbits of help and humor within their pages.

(Ok, let me preface this post by indicating that I don’t know why I didn’t post anything for nearly a month, and now I’m posting twice in one day. Odd.)

Moving right along, accoring to BBC news as well as a number of other relevant sources, “Overeating ‘like drug addiction’” The research is based on brain impulses in 7 overweight individuals who had special gastric stimulator implants, which send electronic signals to the brain, thus reducing the desire to eat. The result: there were commonalities in the brain circuitry that underlay food intake and compulsive drug intake.

Not in anyway to diminish the research done here, but I think that most people can attest to the addictive nature of food. There are more foods that are addictive than others. For example… this bag of twizzlers. I could literally sit and mindlessly eat twizzlers for the better part of the afternoon. And if I’m not eating them, I may crave them and wish that I was.

Any woman who has been through a breakup has likely also been the victim of a food addiction, to a degree. (Sorry guys, I’ve never been a man going through a breakup, so I don’t know if you have the same symptoms.) Thats why chocolate chip cookie dough and hot fudge sundaes and mashed potatoes (not combined) are called comfort foods.

Speaking of addictions… its time for my 3:45 Diet Crack fix.

I ran across this link earlier today, and thought it was interesting. And it’s written simply enough that even people like me can understand it
6 Commonly Believed Things That Are Wrong

On another note, thanks to anyone who reads this who has been tolerating me the past few days. I know I’ve been a little crazy, but the good news is that I really have a feeling that things are going to be getting better.

And - I really want to go to the Corn Maze this year. I’ve never been, and I think it sounds like fun. I tried to go a couple of years ago, but my friend and I just got lost and we ended up driving around instead. If you want to go, let me know!