Polyglot!

Side note... at the beginning: Today was the first day of my second year of college! It was fairly routine, though routine hasn't yet been established.

Wildlife in the Modern World 8:30
Anatomy and Physiology with Ted, Danny, and Ali 9:30
Break with Ted, Gail, Austin, and Sam 10:30
Second year Korean with the Korean Kid's Klub and company at 11:30
Classes are out, so it becomes study time 12:30
On only two days of the week do I have any classes other than that and on Fridays I have no Wildlife class. Baller schedule you guys.

Only thing different this year is that I actually started studying right away. There is a test in Korean tomorrow and I started studying for it right after class, which totally wiped me out. I never study on my own as a general rule and now I know why. I fell asleep after only a few hours of studying and everything takes so long when there is no one there to joke around with. I don't suggest solo studying for anyone, ever. Luckily, Gail needed help with her first quarter Korean stuff and I am the person to provide it. She also needed help with her Chinese, so Danny who lives right near me was the person for that job. Party at my apartment? Yes, yes there was.

I already know Japanese fairly fluently, though recently Korean has been getting in the way and it is my new goal to refresh my Japanese with every new thing we learn in Korean. But to add on top of that, I am trying to teach myself Vietnamese. It is neigh on to impossible, but I am determined and I could always go to Danny if I really need help. And on top of THAT, since Gail was learning Chinese from Danny in my apartment, I figured what the heck, I might as well get on that ship too. It is incredibly fun. By the end of the night, we had the four tones down and were learning how to speak sentences that Danny made for us and were picking out the flaws in a video Danny once made where Vietnamese people were cast into Chinese speaking roles. Needless to say, there were quite a few flaws since the tones are a smidgen different and the girls were just making what was to them sounds rather than words.

It was an intense session, especially considering that Gail and I both had no clue when we started and ended with a thumbs up and a high five from Danny. I am slightly determined to learn Chinese from Gail and Danny over the rest of this quarter. Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese would make my language loving self extremely happy, but my brain would be on the verge of having a revolt, so I am uncertain about what to do.

By the way, the magick-y fun thing that I have been up to is putting a different crystal under my pillow for two nights each to see how they affect my sleep and dreams. Tonight is my second night of Adventurine, though I might go a third night since I was too nervous last night to sleep well and my test tomorrow is liable to make tonight the same.

And I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas about how to get over a fear of the dark. It has been bugging me a great deal recently, so much so that I emailed Konstantinos, since he seems like the guy to go to for all night and darkness related things. -don't scoff at me!-

So goodnight y'all! I must sleep till 5 then prepare for Korean test! It is called a "mini-quiz" but the description she told us gave it the air of a test. Sweet dreams and hope you have a good breakfast to brighten your day tomorrow!

Wow. No links in this post... Psych! Here's Danny's video that I mentioned: Gotta Love
And I gotta love you guys! See ya!

Lark About and It Will All Work Out

So today was supposed to be a lark, caper, escapade, antic, romp, and a rollick. It was supposed to be filled with shenanigans and monkeyshines and roguery, perhaps even getting me into a scrape or some mischievous vagary. Well, that's what I figured would happen and what it began as. As it turned out, more than one Universe had a hand in me ending up with a dream volunteer job by the end of the day.

I got my usual email from The Universe and it was heart-lifting and all that feel-good, happy happy, joy joy stuff, but below it was a link to Mike Dooley's book signing schedule and I clicked on it, curious to see if he was coming to Seattle (not like I would pay hecka money to go see some guy who started out with good intentions, but you know how power gets to you). And it turned out he will be coming here. Not only that, but he will be coming to some new age bookstore not to far away from where I live.

What the hell, I figured, I might as well go on a romp and check it out to see what the deal is. And in thirty minutes I was on the 66 bus towards the East West Bookshop. Curiosity had won out and the Universe knew, it probably knows me really well by now, that my curiosity is insatiable, so it decided to put wonderful things near that bookstore.

The bookstore itself is filled with charlatan prices for ordinary goods and while I was in there I couldn't help but to wonder who in hell buys this crap at this price? It was $2.50 for a tumbled Amethyst that I could get almost anywhere else for about a dollar or less. Almost all the prices were jacked up that way. It made me curious as to how the store manages to survive. I certainly would never go there more than that one time today.

I feel like they are taking advantage of weak people who have been told by new age fluffy self help books (and non-fluffy ones too) that they need such-and-such crystal to realign this-and-that chakra or soul body and once they start thinking happy thoughts in the way that this twenty dollar book tells them to, their life will become perfect and they will have a happy marriage and great sex, but only if they put this and that herb in their bath and such and so dream catcher over their bed and do yoga every morning on a $44.00 all natural yoga mat, which is less sticky and therefore the weak minded will fall, while knowing that you already have your dream life. Or something like that. Majorly exaggerated, but I think you can understand where I am coming from.

And so all I bought was a Carnelian, a Tangerine Quartz, an Imperial Topaz (topaz is my birthstone), and a Yellow Calcite aka Sunny (according to the tag). I had to pay eight something dollars for that. Damn overpriced. Not to mention the people who worked there were sort of dismissive of me since I did not look like a fancy housewife trying to improve her sex life or make her chakras align. My chakras are not perfect, but I love them, thank you very much. And with that thought, I left.

Side note: My friends wanted to video tape me eating my ice cream cake during my birthday a few years ago because I ate a slice in way less time than anyone else. I have a passion, love, lust, profound attraction to ice cream. And on top of that my two favorite breads are anpan and custardpan (red bean bun and custard bun). Thank the Stars I have enough self control to not be overweight.

And between the bookstore and the bus that would take me back to my apartment was a shop called Peaks and they serve FROZEN CUSTARD. It is like icecream, but richer and with a smoother, heavier texture because they use an egg as well as the usual ingredients. It is served in heaven for breakfast, secondsies, lunch, tea time, dinner, and desert. Chai tea frozen custard. My bites were tiny, like the size of my thumbnail and I took so much time that it started melting before I finished it. With the size of my normal ice cream spoonfuls and the speed at which I down them, this is a feat normally accomplished only through miracles, divine intervention, or complete possession by a very demure spirit. Basically, if you haven't tried it, put frozen custard on your bucket list.

And when I was finished with the frozen custard, which took a while, I decided that I would again head for the elusive bus stop at Roosevelt and 65th. But no. The Universe once again bet on my curiosity-always a safe bet-and there was a store that I almost passed by, but they had interesting stained glass art in the window and there were more eclectic trinkets inside. I backtracked and entered the store. Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade shop with incredibly unique, intriguing, and beguiling products and everyone who works there is a volunteer, as I found out when the lady at the counter realized I had never been in the store before and decided to tell me its story. So I bought a ceramic ocarina shaped like a seahorse (excellent for calling the spirits of the sea) and earrings that I just really liked, gave her my phone number so she could call me when the next volunteer orientation would be, and left the store.

Five minutes later I was on the 66 again, this time headed back to my apartment. Half way there, I got a call from the lady at the store, Geena. There was a volunteer orientation tonight at 6. Lovely, count me in, I'll be there.

 And at 6, I was back in 10,000 Villages playing intro games with four high school freshman volunteers and three Taiwanese exchange students who go to Seattle U. I was the oldest. I think this is the first time that I have been the oldest of a gathering of people, but luckily one of the freshmen, Amelia I believe was her name, acted like a college student and we got along like long-lost friends. And the Universe gets bonus points for making sure that her work schedule and mine would be the same. Way to be outright incredible.

So basically, The Universe Major and TUT's Universe Minor tag teamed me into exactly the kind of volunteer job I always wanted. Store experience without needing the phrase "Store experience" on some resume. Have I told you guys that life is amazing and filled with every opportunity we could possibly dream of, all we have to do is the unexpected, go out of our way, and try new things and ideas? Do I currently sound like a fluff bunny? I'm really not. I'm just really overjoyed. So overjoyed in fact, that I wouldn't be surprised if my joy spills over and leaks into your life.

May the Stars guide you true and the Moon light your path! Hugs and kisses! Y'all take care now, ya hear!

The Devil and the Dictionary

Not that I would ever do it, but what makes so many Pagans adamant about how Pagans don't work with the Devil of the Christian tradition? Some work with the Christian Godfigure. I think Pagans are just too scared that they will be associated with evil (Oh shit! We already are!) and therefor feel the need to be adamant that NO PAGAN EVER WORSHIPPED THOSE CHRISTIANS’ DEVIL. This is about as stupid as saying, “Never again the Burning Times!” since there were no burning times (in that people persecuted the people who were ACTUALLY witches), there is no evidence that they will start soon, and that’s just sickeningly horrid grammar.

Oh fanatics. How I love to scoff at you.

By the way Merriam Webster tells us that the definition of Pagan is:

: heathen

1: especially: a follower of a polytheistic religion (as in ancient Rome)

2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods : an irreligious or hedonistic person

            Or

            neo-pagan

            : a person who practices a contemporary form of paganism (as Wicca)

If we take the dictionary's word as many people take the word of God in the Bible, there is no reason a Pagan would be cast out for worshiping the Devil of the Christian faith. Heck, since the Devil seems to revel in hedonistic practices, perhaps a truly dictionary devout Pagan would be almost forced to include the Christian Devil in their pantheon and at the same time be quite irreligious. The dictionary kind of contradicts itself there, doesn't it. How can one word mean "More Gods than all yall b****es! I have a bazillion trap cards!" and at the same time mean "All sex no Gods! Screw being faithful!" Quite a predicament. No wonder people have a hard time figuring out what the real working definition of Pagan is.

Oh gosh, side note again. In reference to the "trap card" thing, there is a story behind that. I was explaining to Ted that some Pagans practice magick and he told me that if I ever tried to mojo him, it would activate his trap card. Jesus Christ GO! And I thought, though didn't bother to mention, that since I worship any number of Gods his trap card is just one among a plethora of mine. Paganism wins! Not that I would ever really "mojo" him. 

Ahem. Back on task.

I was listening to The Pagan Centered Podcast (aka PCP) the other day and they were actually talking about how hard it is for people to define which groups are Pagan and which ones aren't. Watch it if you don't already. That's an order... Kind of. I was actually really surprised that they included in their list of Pagan groups Buddhists. I thought that was one of those religions that they bother to teach in school! And I have to say that Buddhists are organized enough and have a wide enough breadth that they should be separate from Pagans. Same with Wiccans too probably, though there are so very few true ones that I suppose we need to hold onto them for a while too. 

My definition of Wicca by the way is the path of people who follow the Gardernerian or some off branch of that tradition. Wiccans are a slight bit eclectic usually, but the true Wiccans are people who follow a branch that can be traced back to Gerald Gardener or one of his little offshoots (offspring?). 

I am not Wiccan, just Pagan. If it weren't for the fact that to be Shinto one kind of needs to be born into it or spend their life behaving like one, I would probably consider myself Shinto with Nordic and Celtic leanings and a smattering of the Egyptian mythos... Wait... That just makes me Pagan, so never mind!

Anyhoo, today was supposed to be about the wonderful, mythical, magickal mint, but this topic kind of jumped into my hands and typed itself out. I just ran across that comment about how no Pagan worships the Devil on The Pagan Veil and suddenly the world needed to know, or at least my hands thought it did. I'll probably get on that mint topic later tonight or tomorrow.

For now, Hearts, Stars, and Horseshoes to you all!

All the Days Should Be the Same

I thought today would be rather lifeless when I woke up this morning, but it turned out just fabulously. Luckily for me, and for everyone else too, life happens to be amazing and everything will always work out to be fun.

Momo and I thought that we would just go to Target today to buy some cleaning supplies for the bathroom (don't want that to get dirty!) and of course we ended up buying Momo a leather jacket and new boots and me a purse for when I go clubbing--never--and a beanie with a... visor thingie?... on the front. I was bullied into buying it, I swear. And to add to that, on the way to target, we saw my friend Megan H. on the bus and she invited us to Pho and to watch The Rocky Horror Picture show, which was supposed to be free tonight. Of course, she got pushed into tabling for Dawg Daze tonight and we couldn't go. Luckily, I have friends. (Seriously you guys, friends are the one thing that keeps me happy and optimistic all the time.)


Oh! And as a little Pagan-centered sidenote, a couple joined the conversation explaining what the Rocky Horror Picture Show is about to Momo and my Pagan radar went off and I thought, LOOK! My people! Although it would have been immensely awkward to ask them if they were Pagan, I eavesdropped on the conversation (shame on me) and heard them talking about a Pagan gathering in Oregon. Pagani Radar for the win!


So when we returned home, I knew I couldn't just sit around doing nothing and texted Mai, who just moved in to her apartment. Momo, Mai, and I ended up being total creepers and tapping on Ted and Danny's bedroom windows until they noticed us and came out to get us. By the way, I have set up Danny and Mai in my head because they are both some of my favorite people in the world and they never fail to seem like they are flirting, despite the fact that Mai says she doesn't like him in that way. Suspicious? Yes, I think it is.


And the most wonderful part of the evening was that this was the first time in the past few weeks that Ted hasn't made fun of me for being Pagan! I love that kid, but my stars, he can be a jerk. We were watching the Lion King the other day at my apartment and when Rafiki, the baboon, was on the screen all Ted did was look at me and jokingly say, "Freaking black magic." Added to the way he made fun of the Tarot spread I did for Danny and how he joked around about the Pagan shelf on my bookcase, I was about ready to hurt that boy.


But really, all we did while there was fight with styrofoam swords, help Ted and Danny set up their room, and watch videos. Ted and Danny make a lot of videos with Mai and some other people from their Vietnamese class, like their video Broken Bonds and Danny singing hella pro and a few others that happened to be on Danny's channel. It was all ended off with a few horror clips (during which I was cowering behind Momo and Danny was laughing his head off at me). And then to lighten the mood, we watched how Ted asked out his prom date in high school. There were rose petals falling from the sky (upstairs) and he was wearing a masquerade mask and a player hat. If I had been there, I would have been rolling on the floor laughing.


I suppose that most of what happened today was unexpected and random, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I can only hope that this kind of hang out continues once school starts. I am assuming it will since everyone lives nearby (all I need to do is walk across the top of a brick wall and jump two fences to get to Ted and Danny's house). And check out those videos, I love these people.
Oh! And Michelle did end up starting that Kitchen Witchen' blog, so you should get a look at that when you can!


I hope all of you, who are probably not reading this, have as great a week as I have had a day today!

Oh My Stars, a Blog!

I have long told myself that I would never write a blog because something about that just says, "Although I have a life, the fact that I have time to write about it would suggest otherwise." And I do have a life. Somedays. I am mostly writing this for my personal benefit and if the random stranger decides to look at it, well that's alright too I suppose. I can't promise anything of interest, since this is mostly a soapbox for me to stand on and rant. A lot of what I will rant about is the Pagan community, since although they are mostly loveable and friendly, they are human. And my goodness we can be dumb.

 I am reminded of the movie The Adjustment Bureau where a group of non-people has to dictate our life paths because we just can't seem to not kill ourselves. By the way, I watched that movie the other night when neither of my roommates were home and it is incredible. I recommend it to everyone no matter what you like in movies. Quality has nothing to do with our likes and dislikes.

Speaking of quality, I wonder if I have killed my friends with the pork I made last night. It had a chicken seasoning on it and was served with a Cambodian vegetable provided by Momo's mother and then all atop some pasta with Triple Goddess seasoning. It was tender pork butt and I cooked it for a while, but it was a little pink in the middle and I vaguely remember my mother saying something about how pork should never have color in the middle. So I really am praying that I haven't killed us all. And the seasonings were both from The Kitchen Witch Gourmet and are totally worth it. When they get their site working again, I will definitely be buying more seasonings.

Speaking of Kitchen Witching, I was wondering if I am the only person who finds it difficult to cook (being an amateur) at the same time as empowering my food. I am always too worried about whether or not it will burn to focus on how the food will make everyone feel. Tammy told me that things like that will become more natural over time and I shouldn't expect them to happen quickly, but I just feel a tad deficient. By the way, the best kitchen witchy witch ever is my best friend, Michelle. If she had a blog about all her cooking adventures and recipes, I would definitely read and recommend it. *cough cough*

And now it has gotten late and I can no longer stay awake. Despite the fact that it is only 10:30. More on my opinions tomorrow. I rather enjoy knowing that there is very little possibility that someone will care enough to read this. So for all of you not reading this, goodnight!