Life's Ironies...

First, let's set the mood for this entry. I was walking past my speech class (before the doors were opened), heading for the little girls room when I overheard some of my peers saying something along the lines of "it's definitely a life choice.."

I sort of glanced back at the statement, curious about the topic, but my bladder urged me onward to the ladies room. When I finished up, I went back to the circle of peers and asked very blatantly "So, what's a life choice?" and to no surprise on my part the response was "homosexuality." I sort of smirked and said "I figured as much." Before a nice heated debate could ensue the topic was changed and soon after the doors were opened. We proceeded into the classroom, leaving the topic in the hallway.

The assignment we were instructed to complete was finding a famous speech to deliver to the class next Thursday. Here's the irony. I've come across a lovely Gay Rights Movement speech by Urvashi Vaid that I plan to present. :D Our instructor encouraged us to take on the personality of the original speaker, so I've been on a hunt for footage from this speech. No luck, so far.

However, I did find this:

Back to School..

Friday is my first day of college! Not sure how I feel about it yet. It's more of an obligation than a desire for me. There's a few classes that I think might be interesting, but I'm so behind in math that I'll have to take remedial courses for the this and next semester before I even get to college-level math. And after I finish them, I'll bet you I forget it all again. I just don't use math on the level they want me to learn. I'd rather critique a literary piece than figure out what x equals.

Anyway, I'm looking in to The Art Institutes too. I'm thinking about it now because my rep guy keeps calling me. Their determination to enroll me with them makes me think it's a scam. The commercials and advertisements I see for them makes me think they're legit. I'm not sure which to believe.

This semester I'm going to be taking English 101, Fundamentals of Public Speaking, Basic Mathematics (because I'm mathematically dumb), and Master Student. The last one is a class that teaches you how to study. Figured I would need it since I haven't been in school for six years. :D Can't hurt.

I'm eager for next semester though, I'm planning to try enrolling in a photography class as well as a few computer classes, hopefully. Of course, I have to get another math knocked out. Stupid math. Well, that's it. Just wanted to share that I'm going back to school! :D Yay.

Opt-out of Google

So for the past few days a lot of members in the deviantART community have had a hissy fit about a new Share feature available on all artworks submitted to dA. They're storing their work away and claiming that a link to their work is infringing on their copyright. Until deviantART allows them to opt-out of this new feature they refuse to share their work. (Which a good bit of them don't have work worth sharing anyway, so we're really not at a loss, imho.) It has baffled me why these people are so against getting exposure, I've argued with some about it. Tried to explain the idiocracy of it. All in all it's been pretty ridiculous. Then one of my friends shared this:


Google Opt Out Feature Lets Users Protect Privacy By Moving To Remote Village

It made everything all better. :D hahaha

The worst day ever...

This morning started off with a cloud over head. I wasn't happy about having to go talk to a counselor (what for isn't important) and did so many things that just aren't the norm for me. When I was getting ready I decided to wash my face and put lotion on. Doing this required me to take off my ring since I didn't want to get lotion under the band. I put my beautiful white gold marquise cut diamond ring in my jean coin pocket and proceeded to apply my facial lotion, intending to return my ring to my finger promptly afterward. This whole process is something I never do. I actually nag my husband about taking his ring off when he goes shower because I'm afraid he'll lose it. (Which he has before, but we always recovered it.)

The series of events that followed this process just took my day into a downward spiral. I never took the ring out of my pocket. I left the house to go to this meeting and realized my ring was missing when I sat down. (Married folk will know that when you feel nervous you tend to twist your wedding band on your finger.) Immediately, I called Mario to look for the ring at the house. Before I'd left home I sat on the floor to fix Mollie's topknot, so that seemed the most logical place I lost it. He had to run to the store first, so we didn't check the house until an hour later.

We couldn't find the ring anywhere. I went back to the building where I met with the counselor and back-tracked my every step. Nothing. Mario moved the seat every which way to see if it didn't fall off in the car. Nothing. He gave up hope, but I couldn't let it go. After talking with my dad on the phone I decided to check the car again. I even put another ring in the same pocket and went through the same motions. When I sat down in the car was the first time the ring pushed out of my pocket slightly. So, I determined the most probable place for it to have fell was the parking lot, since we didn't find it in the car.

I told Mario I was going take a look while there was still sunlight out. Got Mollie in the car and headed toward the building. While I was driving I thought I saw my ring just beside the belt buckle. I looked down at just the right (or rather wrong) moment and ran into a high curb on the side of the road. The car jolted. I freaked out, jumped out and made sure the wheel was OK. It didn't look busted, so I decided to keep going.

I drove maybe 10 feet and the car was pulling hard to the left, so I got out again. Everything looked fine aside from some scraping. I tried to drive again and the car was pulling way too hard to the left. Something was wrong. So I drove back home and told Mario what happened. Tomorrow we'll take it to Sears to get it repaired. I hope it's not going to be insanely expensive. Losing the ring was bad enough. :(

Christian Arrogance

I was submitting this stamp to my gallery on deviantART and rather suddenly realized that the information I was pouring into my Artist's Comment deserved more light than just that. So, I'm going to express my thoughts here in the hopes that more will take away from it.

Nothing I ever share is a push on to anyone. You can take away from what I have to say, get angry about it, or completely ignore it. That is your choice and I always encourage self-thinking. All I ask is that you be respectful if you feel the urge to comment. Ignorant remarks will be ignored. They're not worth my time.
To begin, here's the stamp I created and shared on deviantART:


^{The Quote shown above is from the founder of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment.}

Now, I did not decide to create this stamp because I've jumped on board with this entire concept. I made it because I adore it's wording and the truth in it. Whether or not J.Z. Knight can channel Ramtha or that Ramtha is even a true entity at all is not something I'll even pretend to know or really care about. The quote is the only point here.

What I read from this Quote is that we (as human beings) have created God in our image and simply claim that God created us in his. That way it's by his design that we are the way we are. (If God Almighty is in fact a he.) With that frame of thought any actions or reactions we have in life is by the will of God himself.

The truth in this quote is that we are an arrogant being. Think about it, I mean really think about it. Everything we do in life is done in reflection of us. We assume that every living thing resembles us in some way. We imprint our ideals on other living things because all we know is what we experience. That's not to say we're terrible for doing this, but it is a fact of how we are as people. I'm guilty of it too, I'm not pointing a finger.

A little off-topic, but still relevant. Just the other day I went to Petsmart to get some goodies for my new puppy. Outside was an event for "Homeless Dogs" and all these dogs were in kennel's at the front of the store. When I looked at this, I saw imprisoned animals. They're not Homeless, they're enslaved. If those animals were able to actually communicate with us, do you think they'd want to be stuck in a kennel where kids come pet them and walk away all day? That must be torture.

My thoughts are partially based on the fact that I know animals are naturally wild creatures, but it's also due to my own thought of how I wouldn't enjoy being in a kennel the way they were. So you see, even I'm guilty of having this same arrogance. I assume that the things around me are relevant to my own thoughts and emotions. It's what I know.

I'm not saying that domesticated animals are not happy or should be returned to the wild and be free. A lot of pets are living lavish lives. Everything they need to survive is provided for them. In the wild it's survival of the fittest. I myself have two cats and a puppy. All three are spoiled. They have the best food money can buy, toys we can't even count, and a personal doctor any time they're feeling under the weather.

However, I discipline them. I discipline them because they are my property and I expect them to behave a certain way. Based on the natural order of things, I think the animal would rather be running free, not in a cage. Unfortunately they wouldn't last in the wild where they originated. We've spent too much time domesticating them. Molding these animals into our source of entertainment (and in some cases laborers). That is essentially their purpose, to entertain us. Again, really think about that for a moment.

Now to come back to the topic at hand. Just as we imprint ourselves on other living beings, we have imprinted ourselves on the Almighty. That's why I feel that this quote has truth. The other aspect of the quote is control. Human beings want to be in control. We want to understand what's going on and why. God gives us that satisfaction. Everything that happens is God's will.

I do believe that everything in life happens for a reason, but I don't think God has any part in it. If a divine power does have any part in our lives, the presence of that power isn't going to come from any one person. Take a moment to think about this one too. An all-knowing, all-seeing super being speaks a biased view to one person? But isn't able to speak to all people? Through this one person his word is spread? Human beings are selfish. They want to be listened to, obeyed. How easier can it be than to say God said so?

I'm sure that some people do believe they hear God, feel God. When you're a part of a group who believe this it's easy to fall for it. I was there once too. I wept during a sermain because it spoke to my heart. It related to pain I had in my life. The paster did the laying of the hands on me and I actually felt what I believed to be a holy presence. I fell to the ground and was unable to move, I saw what I thought to be the holy light of God.

This is something that I'm still unable to fully explain, but I don't believe it had anything to do with God. We are imaginative beings too. If you implant an idea into our mind and we want to believe it, we will make it real. That's the best means of explanation I can give. I saw what happened to others when they went to the pastor. I wanted my pain to go away, I wanted it to stop. I wanted the weight to be lifted off of my shoulders. So I made it happen and convinced myself it was through God.

The more I hear of radical religious believers, the more I'm convinced they need professional help. Everything is contradicting and twisted to meet their goals. If you question what they say, you're a heathen sinner. This is the radical's, not the Sunday Saints. To each their own on this whole matter. I'm sharing my own personal view on all of this. It's nothing more than that.

If you've made it to this point, thank you for having the patience to read this post. Please, share your thoughts with me. I'm always happy to know what others think. Whether or not you agree with my point of view. It's a means of learning more to discuss these sort of things with others.

All the best!

New addition to our family...

No, not a human baby. A puppy! :D Look how cute:




She's not in our possession yet, but she will be this Friday. I can't wait!

The above pictures were taken by the current owner of the puppy.

Celebrity deaths piss me off

Yea. I said it. It's Thursday night and I'm supposed to be able to watch my DVR recorded episodes of 30 Rock and The Office. Instead I've recorded old reruns from a perverted celebrity who went into cardiac arrest and died at 51. When my Aunt had a heart attack it didn't interrupt your day, did it? Why in the hell do I have to be subjected to this crap?

Not only has this turned into breaking news, they've started marathons in honor of him and the internet is buzzing with "Oh poor Michael." I'll bet 90% of his mourners didn't even know who the hell he was beyond the guy who invented the moon walk and did that "whoo hoo" move when he grabbed his crotch on stage.

It's not like the president was shot. Now that is something I could see being breaking news. He's the person responsible for running our country. There's a real purpose for him in our lives. Michael Jackson was entertainment for us. Not to say he wasn't entertaining, but holy shit. Does he have to ruin my Thursday? I didn't know the man personally, why am I expected to mourn him?

"Oh he's an icon, he's a legend."

He played the market and made a shitload of money while groping little boys in his spare time. And hell I don't even know if that is true. Nor do I really care. I just want to enjoy my Thursday in peace.

Anniversary

Every year we celebrate unity with an anniversary. Whether that day be for when we met the one we love, when we wed, or when tragedy befell us as a collective. And each year these anniversaries strike you differently depending solely on your disposition for that day.

Today is my two year marriage anniversary, I'd honestly thought just a few months ago that we'd been married three years. Mario and I have both been extremely busy leading up to today and I'm honestly uncertain about whether or not he realizes what today is. I'm thinking he'll figure it out when he starts writing the date over and over to complete some needed paperwork for us to take a vacation.

Yesterday we slaved in the yard to build a new planting space for my vegetables, I need to get them all in the ground here shortly. For the past few months I've been enthralled by plants. The irony is that I've never had a real garden and never bothered to care for any plants, until now. Aside from plants on Ultima Online, I'm a pro at keeping digital plants alive. Apparently, as it would be, I'm pretty good at keeping these real ones alive too. So far, so good.

Later on we're supposed to pack up and head out to pick up a car that Mario won a bid for on Ebay. It looks pretty good actually, can't really complain. It's a 2002 Volkswagon Passat. Well actually, I take that back, I can complain. It has leather seats! I despise leather. Honestly, I don't know how anyone can think it's an awesome material to sit on. Yea sure it's smooth and shiny, but holy shit does it get hot! You leave the car in the sun for five minutes and you'll burn your butt the moment you sit down. Really, it's undo pain. This applies for furniture too. Which leads me in to something else I need to address.

So much to be done, so little time. Here are the much awaited pictures I've been meaning to share:

Reception Dress

by =LostKitten on deviantART
_{click the image to view dA submission}

Post Graduation Ceremony

by =LostKitten on deviantART
_{click the image to view dA submission}

Our soon-to-be Vehicle

It's Official

Mario graduated from his Warrant Officer Candidate Course today. We pinned him WO1 at the ceremony and his TAC officers encouraged my nephew to punch his rank so Mario would earn his "blood rank", of course Evan didn't draw any blood. I'll post picture of it all a little later. I just wanted to make it known that he did graduate.

Also, I wanted to mention that the first ever combat amputee went through Mario's class and has graduated as well. He'd lost one of his legs in the war and still went through this rigorous training that even candidates with both of their legs struggled doing.

I'm very proud of all the men and woman who finished their training today. Congratulations to them all! Photo's to come later. My husband could use some relaxation so I'm handing the internet over to him, since our router isn't with us. :D All the best, everyone!

And so it begins..

Today was the first official social event of Mario's career as an Army Aviation Warrant Officer. I must say, I made him look damn good! When getting my nails done today I was told that as an Officers Wife I'll be attending tea time with other wives. I'm not so sure about this, but if it's something I need to do to support my husband, I'll gladly sacrifice. However, I am stead-fast that I won't be kissing up to anyone for any reason.

When I was a soldier I treated everyone equally, no matter their rank. Some were appreciative of it, typically the "ass-kissers" scolded me for it. It's not that I was ever disrespectful, I just didn't pucker up my lips to anyone's ass the moment they walked into the room. We're all human beings, nothing in life makes any one person truly better than the next. The standards of the Army make people put others on a pedestal, but in retrospect we are all the same. No matter what rank the soldier wears. Some just take on a lot more responsibility.

I would like to take a moment to share just how proud I am of my husband. He's come so far since we met and I'm humbled to be the source behind it all through his eyes. On more than one occasion he's given me credit for him having the strength and will-power to change for the better. Although I truly believe that everything he's accomplished was by his own ambitions, I'm happy to have stood beside him through it all. Admittedly times were rough for us on a few occasions, but we pushed through it and we rose above the odds. I'm so grateful for the relationship I have with my husband and the wonderful marriage we've built together.

Pictures of my wardrobe from tonight's event will be coming soon. We took a few quick snap shots in our living room so I could show the outfit to my mom, who won't be here until much later tonight. I'll do my best to keep things posted. Always remember to stay positive and live the life you love!

Inspiration of a Stranger

People underestimate what a simple gesture or passing word can do for someone they don't know beyond a casual encounter. I'm a part of Writer's Market and recieved a notification in my Email that a message was awaiting me in my Community center. The content of that message was a very simple, but inspiring praise about my blog. Immediately after reading it I came here. How motivational is it to get a compliment from someone you barely know. It's always nice to feel appreciated.

So, thank you Mike for motivating me! I'll do my best to keep the posts coming so long as you continue to enjoy them.

Wishing you all the best.

-Salley

Preoccupied

I haven't forgotten about my blog! It's actually one of my home pages. The past few days I've been preoccupied with organizing deviantART accounts and running around Ft. Rucker to get as much done as possible before Mario leaves for training. Only two days left. Eventually I'll bring this blog back to my original purpose, advice oriented. In the mean time I'll continue using it as a casual, but continuous update on what's going on with me.

Impossible

Well, I thought I would be able to juggle everything this month for NaPoWriMo, NaBloPoMo, Script Frenzy, and travling. Unfortunately there's no way that I'm going to get it all finished within the month. It's already the 11th and I'm way behind on everything. I'll do what I can along the way, but I'm not going to stress myself out over it. There's nothing in the world worth exhausting yourself over. Hopefully next year life won't be so hectic and I can tackle it a little more effectively. Either way I'm going to do my best to update this blog frequently. As always if you'd like a little more exposure for your blog just let me know, there's plenty of ways to contact me.

Have a wonderful day!

-Salley

Memories

The power that our memories can have over us is unparalleled to any other experience we encounter. Something you see on television or something you're told about from a friend will never have the same impact that a first-hand experience offers. Perhaps this is why so many have to go through emotional pain/joy in order to understand it. A person who's never had their heart broken can't truly fathom the pain it brings to lose someone you love simply by watching a movie, like Titanic. Although the movie may bring anyone to tears, it pales in comparison to the outcome of a personal loss. On the other hand, our good memories are precious commodities. If it weren't for the good times in our lives the heartache's could ruin us.

So what is it I'm trying to reach out and say to you? If you've gone through emotional pain and it feels like the world is closing in, don't give up. Once you hit the bottom all that's left is going back up. Life does and will get better as long as you allow it to. Fighting against hopes of happiness is a torture no one should put them self through. Life is difficult, it's designed that way. Having to put up with a shitload of pain in life doesn't mean you have to give up or become a complete ass. It's not my desire to share my own turmoils, but please have faith in my words when I tell you I've felt emotional pain, I've hoped for everything to end and I'm sitting here now telling you that nothing in life is worth facing death by your own doing. Death is unavoidable, enjoy what life you have.

I sincerely hope that if you are in that place where life has no meaning, this brief blog will let you know that you're not alone. You don't have to feel alone. And yes, I am writing this because my bad memories came to the surface and I felt sorrow, but I'm also extremely happy to be where I am today. My past is just that, past. Life is about living in the here and now. That's all we're really able to do. As always, if you need a shoulder to lean on or an ear to talk into, please contact me! I'm here to offer what I can to any who are willing to take me up on it.

My love is going away..

Today my husband is packing for his training. His flight will leave at 0600 tomorrow morning. I'm already feeling lonesome! This will be our longest time spent apart from each other. He'll be in training for two months and during that time I won't be able to see him at all. Of course, I realize many Army wives have dealt with a deployment and survived. This just isn't something I'm accustom to. When we met we were both military, I'd go where he'd go. Now he's going somewhere and I can't go with him. It makes me want to reenlist so I don't have to be away from him again.

My dad says I'm being overly obsessive. Maybe I am, but shouldn't people be in love so much that they never want to be apart? We've been married for two years and I love him now the same as I did then. Well, with a few twists, turns, and bumps along the way. It's incredible how love does make you partially blind. Now that I know he's going to be gone for a while there's not a single bad thing I could even fathom he'd ever done during our marriage. However, if you go back a month I probably cursed him every chance I got! Amazing how the idea of distance makes your heart grow so fond.

So Much

Things have been a little chaotic today. As I've mentioned before we're at my husband's parents house and today a lot of the family came over for dinner. Being around children all trying to get the attention of the adults nearly drove me crazy. It's safe to say that I'm not ready for children just yet.

Right now I'm experiencing my childhood all over again by hanging out in a chatroom. I'm officially getting nothing done tonight, but I'm smiling. I guess that counts for something.

-Salley

Writing Writing Writing

It amazes me the amount of projects there are out there for writing. Just today I've come across another three projects: NaNoFiMo, JulNoWriMo, and NaNoPubYe which includes announcements for various other projects like FebNoWriMo. This is writing insanity! Needless to say I'm determined to tackle as many of these projects as humanly possible. If only I could get past my sparkly-thing-like distractions. Every time I decide to get on my computer I start going off in a million directions. As I type this I have nine tabs up with something I want to tweak on each. What happened to the times when our only concern in life was whether or not we could get our parents to spare some cash in time to catch the ice-cream man before he turned the corner. Ah, the simple life. Well, back to writing.

-Salley

Dining Out - Pros & Cons

I love the fact that as an adult we still play dress up and have "tea party's" with our friends. We all enjoy going out to eat at a nice restaurant once in a while. The process for doing this includes dressing up and fantasizing about which yummy dish you plan to eat. Sure we don't wear jewelry that's half the size of our head or attempt wearing a slip as a dress--well, I hope no one does. And yet we still have this fantastical idea that we're royalty of some sort, beckoning our waiters to tend to our every whim. It's the one time that you're able to get practically anything you want without a consequence. Well, anything that's available in the restaurant.

Tonight my husband took me and a friend of ours to Don Pepe's in Newark, NJ. Mario and our friend used to work at the restaurant when they were teens so it was a little walk down memory lane for them. This was my first time eating at Don Pepe's and the food was sensational. Unfortunately, there was a group of people sitting at the table beside us who--as they were getting ready to leave--complained about how much money they had to spend when they could have gone to fill in the blank instead. Immediately Mario shook his head and said when he was a waiter he knew when they complained about the price the tip wouldn't be anything to brag about. Fortunately 15% is part of the bill for tips at most high-end restaurants so the waiters would at least make the minimal tip.

What I don't understand is why this group went to a 3.5 star restaurant if they're tight on cash? Honestly, if they didn't want to spend that kind of money they didn't have to go to the restaurant. Going there and complaining just interrupted our enjoyment in being there. Everyone makes their own choice in life and people should stay within their limitations. Don't go off and do something then complain about it. I guess some people don't grow out of the whining phase.

April Frenzy + Encouragement

Well this month will be especially chaotic. As some of you may already know April 1 kicks off Script Frenzy and NaPoWriMo, not to mention the continuous NaBloPoMo. So what's all of this mean? I'll be insanely busy for all of April, unemployment seems like a good thing at this point.

Last year was my first year to participate in NaNoWriMo and I have to say, I'm hooked on this concept. Being forcefully encouraged to put your ideas on paper is awkwardly appealing. Perhaps it is the knowledge that there are others who are feeling my pain or the feeling that something is expected of me. Either way today (technically yesterday) kicks off the chaos. I'll do my best to keep up with everything, wish me luck!

Since I've inadvertently joined the band-wagon of NaBloPoMo this is my first article for April. For NaPoWriMo I'll have my poetry on deviantART available at this link. As for the script, I'll be writing it when possible and only plan to share it when I've completed the script. I'm very protective of my potentially profitable works.

Are you participating in one of the above mentioned events?
Don't feel overwhelmed! We're all going to be pushing through the same chaos and it's supposed to be a form of entertainment. If it does become too much don't be afraid to take a day off and play catch up if you need to. Avoiding burn out is just as important as accomplishing your goal.

I wish you the absolute best of luck and would like to extend an offer for some additional exposure if you're interested. Those of us who are seeking exposure from participating in these events have to do our part to help our fellow writers gain exposure as well. Leave a comment or send me an Email with your blog information and I'll list you as someone I support!

Take care everyone and I'll be back tomorrow to keep up with the expectations of NaBloPoMo.

Travel

Hello!

At the moment Mario and I are transitioning from Germany back to the United States. We're settled in at his parents house in Jersey City right now and in a little over a week we'll be going our seperate ways. Mario is heading to Atlanta to pick up our car and drive to Alabama to get the keys to our new house on the base there. He'll also start his school training at Ft. Rucker. A few days later I'll be flying to Louisiana and eventually make my way up to Alabama to set up furniture and such.

I'll likely not be able to update my blog during this trasition. Today is my first opportunity to get my online communities updated. It'll likely be some time in May that I can manage time to be online more frequently as I hope to be moved in to our new house by then. Hope you're all doing wonderfully and I'll be around as much as possible until then.

Respectfully,
Salley Ashley

Support

Hello Again!

Today I want to talk to you about support and how important it is to all of us. Not only for you to support those around you, but for you to feel a sense of support from the people dear to you.

Don't be afraid to ask people what they think of your progress on a project that's special to you. If they seem hesitant or distant from the idea of looking over your work, let them know that it's important to you. The people who love you will give you support, especially if they know how much it means to you.

Remember, being supportive should not mean being lied to. When you ask someone to look over your work be receptive to what they have to say, even if it's not all praise. Criticism is something everyone needs in order to improve. Encourage your friends and family to be honest with you. There are respectful ways to let someone know they need improvement and that should certainly be exercised, but the support should be founded on honesty.

The stigma related with the word support is actually very unsupportive. Many believe that giving a loved one support means constant praise and words of encouragement. Where the encouragement is a definite plus, false praise in an attempt to spare sensitive feelings is counter-productive. For example, take a look at the American Idol tryouts. Here you have a group of people who's friends and family have encouraged them and given them their idea of support which in turn put that person in an embarrassing situation. Where if they were honest the person could have taken classes with a vocalist and possibly moved on in the contest.

Some people have natural talents where others have to study for years and years to reach the same level. Getting honest feedback on your works will help you discover which category you fall under and which steps you need to take to improve upon your abilities. On the other side of the coin you shouldn't take all commentary as absolute fact, every individual has their own opinion. Listen to what's being said, make notes if it will help you remember and if multiple people have the same feelings then consider revision. Great works could be lost to over-revision.

Best of luck in all your endeavours and I'll write again soon.

-Salley

The Procrastination Beast

I was overpowered by the procrastination beast. This little furry fella who sneaks up on you out of no where, turns the clocks five hours ahead, and fills your calender with endless deadlines that you're sure to never make. Fortunately I became aware of it before this blog became completely stagnant.

In my first post I mentioned that I'd like this blog to be a place where I can share advice of sorts with any who may have an interest. Today the epiphany came to me that no one's going to volunteer themself to getting advice from someone they don't know a whole lot about. Who am I to give you advice?

Well, to be completely frank I'm not anyone all that special, but somehow I've been given a unique ability to write in a way that people can relate to. This small fact works out wonders when it comes to sharing advice with others. I won't swamp you with big words or point you in the direction of my sponsoring tycoons; and I won't give you advice that I don't feel confident will help you.

For years I've been a shoulder to lean on for many friends locally and around the world. When someone's having a down and out day, I feel assured that they feel safe talking to me and will walk away from the conversation feeling a sense of relief and understanding. Granted I'm not a therapist or medical professional, but I've been through my own share of pain and from those pains in life I've become the woman I am today. It's because of my trials that I'm able to empathize with the pains others go through.

So what makes me want to share advice with others? During some of my hardest times it was someone online whom I'd never met face to face that kept my head above water. It's through his support and dedication to our friendship that the grip of suicide did not take over me. In a way, this is my thank you to him for all he'd done for me. He's a wonderful person and I'm so grateful to have met him during the time that I did and I hope to pass that same sense of acceptance and support on to others who need it.

No one in this life is perfect and family members don't always know how to react when someone is battling depression. If you're feeling alienated, alone, unloved, and unappreciated. Please, send me an Email or contact me on Yahoo.

Tell me that I'm your call for help and I will be your shoulder. I've been to that place, where life feels pointless and continuing seems like more of a burden than it's worth. You do not have to fight that battle alone! Let me support you the way my dear friend supported me.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that your confidence in my sincerity has improved, even if only slightly. I truly am here to offer what help I can to others out there so that they may experience life the way I have thanks to the friendship I found online.