Ahahahah, yesss

Ahhh! Debbie bought me a ring! It's so pretty and shiny and me and I am going to show it to you right now because it makes me happy. ( Wheeeee! )

Ignore the strange lighting and my slightly-pudgy fingers. Focus on the gorgeousness of that ring! It's a snake! I've wanted a snake ring since I was, like, five, and when Deb and I went down to the mailboxes, there was someone who had a little kit set up by the stairs - WITH A SNAKE RING. I think I probably made a very loud, excited noise when I saw it, omg.

Oh, oh, and my day got even better after that, because when I took the above picture and hooked my camera up to my laptop, I found ( this )

which made me snort coca-cola. See, there's a story, ok? My friends and I were up at the local chinese restaurant, Lai Lai, and I am notoriously messy when I eat wonton soup. Within the first few sips of broth, not even trying to pick up a wonton, I have usually splashed all over the place. The waitress - who knows us all by name - came over and made fun of me for a minute and then took away the bowl. I looked down at my place mat and immediately yelled out, "OH MY GOD IT'S SUSAN B. ANTHONY!" to the incredulity of everyone around me.

After a second of investigating and turning the place mat this way and that, though, everyone at the table agreed that it did resemble Susan B. Anthony to an astounding degree. Clearly, I win at soup splashing! Next time, I'm aiming for a splotch that looks like George Washington.

ETA: Bwahahaah, I just found this on my harddrive while I was searching for a fic I'd started, and, well, I just have to share it. I think I wrote this originally on keepaofthecheez's journal when she posted a particularly stirring picture of Jared. So, here ya go - ( An Ode to Jared's Face )

this is not directed at anyone in particular

I'm sure it'll come of no surprise to anyone that I have little patience for people who are closed-minded. It bothers me to a degree that I can't even describe that people aren't willing to accept that not everyone is the same. Why is that such a hard concept to understand? Just because you might enjoy peaches doesn't mean that you expect everyone else in the world to - why is that different than any other part of your life? Shouldn't it work, then, that you don't expect everyone else to believe in God the same way that you do?

I understand that maybe someone can find solace in religion, or even true happiness, and want to encourage others to find that same kind of joy. But when you force your beliefs to the forefront of everything; when you judge people on the basis of whether or not they regard God in the same manner as you, regardless of their actual personality and worth; when you relentlessly proseletize - that's when I start to resent what you're selling.

I'm not a religious person, and I never have been. I don't knock religions. I don't judge people based on faith or whether or not they're "Jesus Freaks", or based on what they even consider a god or goddess. Whatever you believe is what you believe, and if it gets you through life that much happier, great. There's a limit to how far you can push my tolerance, though, and lately I've found it being pushed closer and closer to that edge. I am not a charity case. I am not yours to "save", and your intervention isn't appreciated in any way. Just because I'm the token non-Christian of our group of friends does not give you the right to constantly implicate that you are berating me for my ungodliness.

I am not a sheep tuning out God's Will and flicking my tail in his face just for spite. I am a young woman who was raised Christian and knows just as much as you do about religion, but despite that, chooses not to believe. Your irrational arguments and morality plays are never going to move me - I've read "Sinners of the Hands of an Angry God" and if that isn't going to do it, your disapproval sure won't.

Gays are not catching; homosexuality is not a disease and it is not wrong. You're always saying that God has a plan, that he is all powerful and all knowing, right? Why is it, then, that being gay is wrong? If it was really such a bane, such a black spot on God's creation, he could smite it down, up, sideways and backwards. You praise the gospel, you quote passages, but the New Testament's message is love. Are you sure you're following your God's teachings by spreading the word of hatred and prejudice?

Maybe - this is just a thought, but maybe you could look your neighbor in the eye and recognize that life is life and love is love. Embracing someone and telling them that you will always love them isn't hard to do. Just because you don't agree doesn't mean that you can't still be who you are to each other. That girl at school with the nose piercing isn't necessarily a devil worshipper; that boy who sometimes wears pink isn't going to try and sodomize you in the bathroom if you say hey, how you doing; that jewish boy down the road who wears his hair strange and has a funny hat isn't any less likely to be a good person than you are.

Love and tolerance aren't that hard to practice. Just see what you have in common with someone; it might turn out to be more than you'd have thought.