Dear Reader's Digest

Thank you for the many years of enjoyment and things that I have learned due to your monthly magazine. There is not a time in my lifespan of 30 years that I cannot remember not having Reader's Digest in the house, more specifically, in my parents' bathroom.

I can remember doing some sort of Language Arts assignment in grade 5 using Reader's Digest magazines. I can remember the surprise at finding people we knew who had written in with submissions for Life’s Like That, All in a Day’s Work, Humour in Uniform, Campus Comedy, Tales Out of School and As Kids See It. And friends and family, throughout the years, would always say "I have a story I should send in to Reader's Digest".

As an adult, it has been nice to receive a yearly subscription to RD from my Gramma, who always says you should never stop learning. These days, the new issues sit in my kitchen and housemates enjoy reading it when they sit down to eat breakfast or take a break at the table.

I have, however, been alarmed since this past summer to continually receive pieces of mail from numerous charities whom I know have purchased from or been given my mailing address from Reader's Digest. It started out with a neat set of address labels from the Muscular Dystrophy Association or some such organization. These were somewhat nice, although I was in the process of moving so the address would soon be null and void. Then, once I moved, I still received another set of Christmas address labels and seals from another charity at that same old address. I got a metal angel ornament from somewhere else. In the winter I also received some duck-themed labels from somewhere else. And then some with daffodils and irises and other flowers. And then the War Amps sent me some keychain tags. I actually like the War Amps (Drive Safe!) so I didn't mind that. Then I got some dog and kitten address labels.

And then this week I got a set of gift cards from another charity.

No less than two of these charities have sent me a nickel with their mailer, encouraging me to send it back (with more money).

It's not that I don't like address labels. And gift cards. and Christmas tree angel ornaments. But I've received 5 label sets in less than a year! I do send some mail, but certainly not enough to warrant having more than one set of address labels.

I don't know how to get off the junk mail list you sell my address on, but please remove me. If I cannot do it through such electronic means, let me know the mailing address and I'll send you a letter. I have a few address labels to use up.

Thank you!
Michelle

Dear Tom

Yes, I'm sure I really want to delete my MySpace account.

There are a few reasons:
1. I never use it.
2. I don't need this info floating around on the web for anyone to read.
3. Facebook has overtaken MySpace and we all know it. Facebook is way easier to search and find people you know. With MySpace, it was always hit and miss... near impossible to find people you knew.
4. No one I want to keep in touch with has just a MySpace account. They've all switched to Facebook.
5. The layouts here always looked cheap.
6. Tom was never really my friend, no matter how much he wanted to be.
7. I'd like to stop the birthday announcements I get from MySpace that never tell me whose birthday it actually is.
8. I'd like to stop the spam friend requests I get too.

Thanks Tom and co.! Best wishes upon your future endeavours. I'll give Mark Zuckerberg your regards.

Sincerely,
Michelle

Surprise!

This is my friend Joanne. We went to college together, and then she moved back to British Columbia. I haven't seen her in four years. Then she threw me a surprise 30th birthday party on Saturday. Unfortunately she couldn't make it to the party, but still, she threw me a party from the other side of the country.

hurrah!

Just a quick official first post from my brand new Dell Vostro 1400. Hurray! I'll have more time to set things up on the weekend.

Update

The fan on my old borrowed desktop at home is sounding like a jetplane, and I am fearful of turning it on. It. Sounds. That. Bad. No. Actually. Worse.

Thus, my current proect is on hold.

However, I have a new laptop on order... how exciting is that? :)

28

29

30 to 30

Where Does the Time go?

Here it is March 9th already. Someone asked me a while ago when I was going to post again on this thing and I said next week, but in reality that next week was already at least a month ago. In all reality I think about posting here all the time... but I can't do it at work and I work eleven hours a day, and when I get home I don't really want to fire up my desktop and spend more time on a computer when I've already sat in front of one for the previous 8 hours straight and usually the three hours before that.

I miss blogging and I miss sewing. And I miss a lot of the other things I used to have time to do.

And I'm very glad I'm not planning to do this forever.

The Equation of Integrity

Every year January 1st comes. And every year we stay up, watch the ball drop, cheer, and bring in the new year. We look back on the old year, and wonder what that new year will bring. We hope for better things, and look back on both the tragedies and the triumphs. We can look back on what we have learned, and towards what we still need to learn.

January 1st never gets to be an ordinary day. And January 2nd is just the day after New Years Day… still getting used to the new digit we have to remember to write on the year on letters, notes, and cheques.

Then comes January 3rd. Life back to normal. One of the promised days we looked forward to at the end of the old year, a day when things could perhaps be better than they were. A resolution soon forgotten, to make every day like New Years Day. One more chance to start all over, one more chance to change and grow.

I’ve found often I live my life looking forward to the big things… looking forward to a certain day when some event is to happen, or I’m taking a trip, or I know some sort of change is coming. I too often want every day to be like New Year’s Day.

Someone told me once that God didn’t intend for us to live in the big events or expectant of such days, but rather in the inbetweens. The regular days.

I don’t know that I really believe that. I like to think that these big days, these big days are important. But they’re not any more important than the January 3rds. Or the March 14ths. Or the July 30ths. The sum of all these days, the ways we deal with them collectively, they make up who we are.

"We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength." - My Utmost for His Highest

Our handling of these big days, and the everydays, they add up. Adding together to get the final equation of life.