Top 5 - Quotables

Okay kiddies... My top 5 favorite quotes of all time.

5. "Never mistake motion for action."
4. "Cry yourself a river, build a bridge and GET OVER IT!"
3. "Don't be so humble - you are not that great."
2. "Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?"

and the nuevo numero uno...

1. "A friend will help you move. A true friend will help you move a body."

While extreme, it is something to think about when you choose to call someone a friend. Is that person truly a friend? There is another version of that quote that goes "A good friend will provide an alibi.... But a true friend will help you hide the body." I like the degrees that one lends itself to.

I have found over the years that I have many different levels of friends... Many of which are actually acquaintances and a very select few are true friends. Those that fall in between have the potential to go in either direction. Time will tell.

There have been times when I found that I opened myself up and deemed someone a true friend only to find that they faltered horribly when the chips were down. Now that's not to say that I needed help moving a body, but when I needed support, they were curiously absent.

It's always painful to realize that you were more of a friend to someone than they were to you, that you were hoodwinked and bamboozled. Once that pain fades, you're left with knowledge and can make better choices in the future.

So in the extreme, I can count on one hand the people that I know would help me move a body.

What is it all about?

Okay, color me a dork.

I went to see hitchhikers Guide (I'm a fan - sue me) and I began to ponder an interesting question... That being, what is the answer to the question and how do you arrive at both.

And while the book (and movie) delve into that, I wondered what they meant to me. What is the ultimate answer to the ultimate question? What are my ultimate questions and answers?

Hmmmm...

For quite sometime, I have been searching, as I assume everyone is, for the meaning of life and not in that ethereal-larger-than-life-movie-of-the-week way, but more along the lines of what the meaning of MY life?

Which lends itself to the whole "why am I here?" saga.

The best I can figure at the moment, is that I am not here for any great purpose. That may change. It is entirely possible that I have done or may do something to save the fate of the free world, but how will I ever know? So best not to worry needlessly over it. What I do know, is that I am here because my Dad got lucky and my Mom didn't run to the clinic to obliterate me. (By the by, thanks mom, I do appreciate existing and all.)

It may be all chance whether we exist or not, what we do with it once we are here, is probably what matters.

I can only assume that most people have a "before I die" list. Y'know a mental checklist of all the things that you just have to do before you check out. My list has changed over the years. It was pretty funny when I was fourteen, filled with dreams of kissing Michael Jackson... Which now, lemme tell ya, not so much of a priority... yech.

There are a few "lifers" on my BID list that I should try to make them happen. Probably sooner than later, cause you never know when your time is up.

Sure, I'd like to grow old, surrounded by lots of grandkids (all of which would be fighting over my sizable fortune) and I would look my impending demise and say "eh, whatever." But that might not happen and the reality could be less appealing. I have no way of knowing. So its about the parts in between. I can't focus on the destination, but the road that leads there.

But I digress.. So okay, moving on...

All of this pondering has lead me to ask the question. What do I want the answer to? So what I've decided is that my ultimate question is "Will I be happy?" and I've decided my ultimate answer is "If I choose to be."

Strange Dreams

Last night I dreamt that I had an unusual pet. It looked like a cross between a sea urchin and a very small manta ray. I had it out of its tank for some reason and the poor thing, while it could breathe air (must been a bit amphibious) it still needed the occasional boost of water to keep it going. So there I was cuddling my ray/urchin when it needed some water. All of a sudden the little devil suctioned itself onto my wrist, trying to draw water. It was quite uncomfortable to say the least. I looked at my pet and asked it incredulously "What are you doing?!" and then quickly added, "That hurts!" My ray/urchin apparently understood English and let go and even had the decency to look abashed.

After I gathered my wits, I was off to the local fish store to see what I could do about my little friend.When I got to the store, it was a mess. None of the tanks had covers and there was water all over the floor. There were tank decorations and coral everywhere. The overhead lights were flickering and I could hear water trickling over the sides of the tanks. I couldn't find a sales clerk anywhere. My ray/urchin started struggling to get out of my arms and into an open tank. With each one we passed, it fought harder and harder to leap.

Then I realized that all the tanks were salt water and he would die if he went in.

I got a firm hold of my ray/urchin and tried to find my way out of the store. As he struggled, I explained it as simply as I could, the dilemma we were facing. The poor guy was surrounded by water, but couldn't have any. It would be the end of him. I promised to get him to fresh water and quickly. That calmed him down a bit.

Once we got clear of the store he wriggled his way up to my shoulder and settled down. I got to my car as fast as I could. I rolled down the windows cause I knew my ray/urchin liked fresh air.

A woman and her daughter pulled up beside us and got out of their car. The little girl pointed out my ray/urchin and the mother said "OH! I just love those things! I really wanted one myself..." She reached for my shoulder and added "May I pet it?"

I started to warn her that he was very tired and had very sharp long teeth when suddenly...

RING!!!

I got a phone call and woke up...

Grrrrr... oh well.