The Psychologist's Couch

Salute

2009-12-12T07:18:23Z

I have a friend that's a Marine. He was deployed to Afghanistan. Yesterday. Whatever your religion is or your politics are -- they're yours and you can think whatever you damn well please and I won't stop you -- just take a couple of seconds and think about the people in the US military. And spare a thought that my friend comes back safe. That's it. That's all. Please.

November Ends

2009-12-01T04:48:57Z

Sorry, NaNoWriMo. I was a disappointment. Gotta take the advice of my friends and keep peggin' away at writing smaller things, anything, but this was easily my worst showing for National Novel Writing Month. S'okay, though. Always next year. And tomorrow's another day to write something else.

Stuart Smalley Philosophy Time

2009-11-29T06:07:47Z

I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it... people like me.

Heaven, I'm In Heaven...

2009-10-25T19:34:22Z

Q: If hell is other people, what is heaven?

((Interlude: I have to insert here that this question comes directly from me, not that iPhone app and not asked on a whim. I've read "No Exit" a number of times and I'm never quite sure how I feel about it. This weekend, I watched Angels in America with Ashlee and Greg -- not for the first time -- and I love the way Belize describes heaven but it always gives me pause. To be honest, the terms 'heaven' and 'hell,' well... I don't know how I feel about them either. But this is the way the question popped into my mind and so that's how I'm asking it. Feel free to interpret however you wish.))

A: Here, now, is my heaven: A locale without locus? A setting without a specific place? Only loosely wrapped by spatial and temporal binding, it comes unraveled now and again and it's of no consequence. It's not a setting fully consequence free but the written and unwritten laws that govern the living have little use here. A heaven without errors wouldn't be heaven at all; it is its flaws that make it so desirable and lovable and unique and interesting. Leave perfection to the deities. Heaven is interesting, to be sure. Boredom exists only as a contrast to fascination. It's some sprawling, massive thing and it's easier to get into than you'd think. This is no exclusive club but it's an honor, just the same, to be included. Inclusion is important in heaven. Leave judgement to the living. You are every silver self you ever were and all the messy little details only make you unique. My little sliver of heaven isn't a splinter from the whole but I can keep it like a secret now and again, to be revealed to you with a flourish for you to admire or not as you choose. Choice, too, is important in heaven. Decisions are easier to make and it's easier to exist in the aftermath. Leave regret to the dying. My heaven has a damned fine library and I don't care about late fees if you borrow the books. Take them back to your own heaven if you don't want to read them with me. There will always be more books and films and songs and there will always be time for us to spend together. I sit on the wide stairs outside the front door and welcome you with a book in one hand and a cup of tea on the step next to me. It's September in my heaven and the leaves are always turning. Sometimes they turn blue. They have a mind of their own. The books, too; sometimes as I sit and warm myself on the worn stone steps I'll feel a tug on my shirtsleeve and it'll be a book that begs with puppy-dog pages to be read and loved. There's a balcony in my heavenly home and it overlooks other shimmering, mercurial heavens so I can watch the people. My home, like my library, is open to you. Visit if you like. And if I grow tired of my own heaven, I can visit others. Maybe I'll visit yours, if you don't mind.

Not Without My Mittens

2009-10-23T15:43:46Z

Random - and perhaps a bit boring - question of the day. Feel free to play along.

Q: Are there gloves in the glove compartment of your vehicle (or in the vehicle you most often drive / ride in)?

A: Yes. When I got my car, I put a pair of gloves in the compartment when I was filling it with other useful stuff, like maps and a first aid kit. Over the course of that year I think two more pairs found their way in. Though I don't drive anymore, I'd be willing to bet there's still at least one set of gloves still there.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

I'm Probably 'Reply All'

2009-10-17T04:52:42Z

You Are Reply

You are friendly, caring, and warm. What goes on in your friends' lives matters to you.

You are an excellent listener, and you give good advice. Lots of people seek your input, and you're more than happy to give it.

You believe that social ties are important, and you never ignore a friend. You communicate as often as possible with those you love.

You always have words of encouragement, support, or follow up questions. You are gifted at keeping the conversation flowing.

What Email Function Are You?

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!

Sardonyx and Jaded

2009-10-15T15:20:06Z

Q: What are some of your favorite words?

A: There are so many I like for the way they sound or look and so many I like for what they mean.

I tend to like onomatopoeic words. For that matter, I like the word onomatopoeia.

Here are some other words that might be in the terribly long list of my favorites, for various reasons and in no particular order:

Snarky. Bombastic. Conflagration. Intrigue. Supercilious. Allegory. Bizarre. Mercenary. Sardonic. Jonesing. Repugnant. Vulpine. Absurd. Rictus. Woebegone. Aria. Grandiloquent. Ennui. Chronicle. Puckish. Intuit. Dreamscape.

Reply to this post with words you love.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Deleted

2009-10-02T06:49:13Z

I had a short entry here of choppy sentences that really said nothing but the post has been eaten and rewriting it seems an exercise in futility.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Postcards

2009-10-01T14:05:16Z

Though an LJ entry, this is technically a 'retweet' of something Frank Warren had up on the PostSecret Twitter. As I'm such a fan of sending and receiving mail - especially postcards - I only thought it fitting to share:

140 years ago, October 1st, 1869, the Austrian postal administration issued the world's first postal card.

Happy Birthday, Postcards!

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

These Days

2009-09-25T11:05:18Z

On the most random sleep schedule ever. Constantly tired and dizzy and frustrated and weak and /tired./ I want to sit down at the computer and do some heavy-duty writing because it's all swirling in my head and if I don't get it out soon it's more like it'll be circling the drain, sucked back into the unconscious with little hope of retrieval. I can't manage much more than sitting in an armchair and staring into space these days. The illnesses - chronic and viral - sap me, zap me. It is one of those patches of time where I have so little of myself to give and only hope for understanding. I take things good, bad, and whatever as they come. In some ways, there is balance to this otherwise arrhythmic lifestyle. I am more honest with myself: when I am sad I feel sad and when I am happy I feel happy. I laugh more, at silly things and crazy things for if I don't laugh I may go crazy. There is less... filtering... though explaining is harder. Talking is tiring. It even takes me a long time to reply to text messages… if I ever remember to reply at all. My memory has holes in it; my brain has holes in it but these days it's less like a sponge and more like a colander. My thoughts flow out of my head like water. Where do they go? Where am I and where am I headed? I don't know. Yet it should be fun finding out. It's what I love about life, the finding out.

This is what I think of when I cannot sleep. Is it any wonder I'm an insomniac?

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Facebook Captcha Promotes Underage Drinking?

2009-09-16T17:56:34Z

I got this captcha earlier today and I smirked when I saw the two words it had picked for me to type out. Thought I'd share.

Test Pattern

2009-09-10T07:34:58Z

Yeah. This is absolutely filler. I am simply testing the app for LJ. Maybe this will prompt me to write more, even if it's short little bursts. I should be trying to sleep. I'll go and rest now.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Full-Time Friend

2009-07-30T03:15:53Z

Does anyone have the Juno motion picture soundtrack? And the Mamma Mia! soundtrack -- also from the movie; I'm aware the original Abba songs are better and that the Broadway version is still better than the movie. I just have songs from both of those stuck in my head and I really don't want to have to buy the soundtracks to hear a couple of songs from each.

Sitting Duck

2009-07-25T09:49:25Z

Great heavens, let me figure my way through all of this. I feel stuck in neutral when I should be doing something. Can't figure out what to do. I don't even know if I /can/ do anything. I'm quite tired of being ill. And I really wish there wasn't all of this... stuff... coming up emotionally. I really wish I could explain it to you. I can't.

"Make a pincer."

2009-07-03T03:01:18Z

I've nothing even remotely original to say. So I'll use the words of a film character. Sadly, when in doubt, I quote.

"Ever wish you could freeze frame a moment in your day, and look at it, and say... 'This is not my life?'"

Placeholder

2009-05-08T04:16:26Z

In case I didn't text you or you don't listen to LJ voice posts -- hey, they're not for everyone -- I did find my cell phone eventually and all is well there. Also, will be switching ISPs next week, so hopefully there will be a lack of the internet issues I've had lately. Fingers crossed on this one.

As has often been the case lately, I have tons I want to update about and I can't seem to gather the words together. Hopefully soon. Will also try and catch up with my f-list and Facebook and maybe even Twitter. With all of the cleaning and organizing to do this weekend -- and with the fact that, though I've had more good days lately, I'm still not feeling great -- these are admirable goals.

I Fail

2009-05-04T22:11:07Z

I give up. I set the cell phone down somewhere and can't remember where. This time, it's on silent, and could be anywhere in the house. I'm thinking it might be in my tech vest, and I can't remember where I put that and am not about to go searching through the house for the second time in a few days. It will reveal itself when I least expect it. Like last time. On Saturday, the phone was on my pillow. In case you were wondering. You know, I only seem to post anymore to say that I've lost it, so maybe it's some sort of signal from LJ that I should update more. Yeah. Let's pretend it's that.

Found My Cell Phone

2009-05-03T21:18:47Z

Found the cell phone again this morning. This happens a lot, I've noticed. At least I've found it every time I've misplaced it.

Lost on a Cellular Level

2009-05-02T23:58:03Z

I seem to have misplaced my cell phone again. Seriously, it can't have gone far. I hope.

Growl

2009-04-23T23:10:01Z

What the hell is wrong with my internet? It's just not making anything easy today.

What Herb Are You?

2009-04-04T03:58:03Z

You Are Basil

You are a mild mannered person. People feel naturally calm around you.
You are warm hearted and loving. You have a close knit circle of friends and family.

You have the courage to be who you are in life, even if others disagree. You're proud of your uniqueness.
You are good at caring for and healing others. You are naturally soothing.

What Herb Are You?

Poor Lonely Little Journal

2009-03-24T03:51:33Z

I really and truly will update you soon, LJ.

Be My Valentinr (yes, with the 'R')

2009-02-14T03:45:17Z

Hours to go! Yes, this is me shilling for attention. I so rarely do it. I think.

Get your own valentinr

Evolution, Revolution

2009-02-12T05:01:50Z

Stephen Fry posted this on his Twitter page -- think he got the link from someone else, but that's neither here nor there, nor is the fact that I rather like Twitter -- and I was suitably amused for about five minutes. So I share!

Devolve Me

Show Me Some Lovin'

2009-02-04T08:07:34Z

Get your own valentinr

As in previous years, you don't have to sign up for the website if you don't want to, but leave me messages anyway! Leave more than one, if you so desire! Leave ten! twenty! fifty! Okay, perhaps not that much love. But maybe one?