Good Thoughts....

I've had a couple thoughts hit me really hard recently, so I decided to share. Two books provided me with some insight that I really liked. I'll probably make another post out of the other book, but the one I have in front of me now is "The Lost Princess of Oz" by L. Frank Baum.

After "The Wizard of Oz," Mr. Baum started every book with a note to his readers; thanking them for their letters and for their out-pouring of love and support. He wrote these books for children, because he loved to make children happy.

This note I found to be a cut above the rest. The part I particularly enjoyed reads as follows:

"Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This pleases me. Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So i believe that dreams-day dreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing-are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization. A prominent educator tells me that fairy tales are of untold value in developing imagination in the young. I believe it.
...And, by the way, don't hesitate to write me our own hints and suggestions, such as result from your own day dreams. They will be sure to interest me, even if I cannot use them in a story, and the very fact that you have dreamed at all will give me pleasure and do you good."

I am starting to allow myself to dream again, and this note from Baum to his young readers really struck a chord. I think it's so important to allow ourselves to dream: to imagine.

It's vital. Without dreams, we don't have as much hope. They go hand in hand.

Here's to imagination!

You've Got the Touch! You've Got the Power!

If you get the movie reference from the title of the post, you are either a) just cool like that, b) a true child of the 80s, or c) way cooler than I ever gave you credit for.

I made a substantial purchase this week. Possibly one of the coolest items I have ever purchased.

I bought (drumroll, please) the iPod touch. This little tech gizmo is even cooler than I had ever dreamed possible. It's easy to navigate, the touch screen is amazing, and even the little keyboard that shows up on screen is surprisingly accurate, even with my thick fingers. I love it! I haven't managed to utilize it to its full potential yet, but I'll get there.

On a completely different, yet related note. I think I want to get internet access again at home. I can survive without it, but I feel rather disconnected from the world. Plus, my little sister wants me to buy an Xbox 360 and get Guitar Hero 3 so we can play together online. And that would be fun. This is the first time my mother has been approving of my buying a new game system. Mainly because it would allow me to chat with my sister more often.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a quick update. Life is good!

Not Forgotten

Yes, I am still alive.

However, I am now without an internet connection at home. For two reasons: One, I no longer live in my apartment. Two, I canceled my internet subscription.

Okay, explanation time.

My Aunt Helen asked me a while back if I would be interested in living with her father-in-law, who recently had a stroke. It didn't affect his mind, but he did have to relearn how to walk. It involves free rent and free utilities, always wonderful, being there in the evenings and at night, not a problem, and doing some light housekeeping, which is now my goal to stay on top of.

I feel very blessed because this will allow me to save lots of money, and also give me a chance to buy the new iPod touch. Here's the kicker, the iPod touch has internet access by means of wi-fi, so I can find a hot spot, log on, and do my internet surfing on the go.

But I digress....

My new room-mate is a very wonderful man. I know he doesn't have an ounce of dislike in his body for anyone or anything. And I think it would be a very difficult task to find anyone would could dislike him. I'm hoping to be able to learn and adopt some of his characteristics. Of course, he has had years to develop them, but I want to learn.

I find myself hoping that he won't die for a while. He enjoys great health, but seems to be a little fragile.

Oh, and I need to get started on applying for Grad school. Shoot!

Enchanted

I just saw what is my favorite movie this year (so far).

Enchanted. It's a Disney movie about a Disney fantasy animated princess who ends up in real-life New York City. It's a wonderful story with some great twists and wonderful reactions from the real-life people who suddenly come into contact with animated characters. It even manages to have a real "liberated" moment where the princess picks up the sword and does the saving.

Just a great movie that I can't wait to see again. I loved the songs used and I may end up buying the soundtrack.

But even better than an overall great movie, seeing this movie tonight reminded me of something; I get to pursue my dreams. I get to have dreams. I get to have not only one happy ending, but lots of them!

Let me explain. I mentioned a little while back that I had some therapy sessions. One of the things we discovered and realized together was that one of the big reasons for my depressions was the fact that I didn't believe that I could dream. And one of the main goals of our sessions was to help me realize that I could dream, that I can pursue my dreams, and that I get to have many happy endings. I realized that there isn't just one goal post. One target. One dream. Each dream realized is a stepping stone to further dreams.

Enchanted reminded me that it's okay to hope that I fall in love. Yes, a relationship is a lot of work, but I can hope to fall head over heels in love. Of course that isn't to the exclusion of other opportunities, but included in those opportunities.

Enchanted is a movie I would recommend to anyone who has ever liked a Disney movie. I am thankful I saw this movie this evening, so that I could be reminded that I get to have happily ever afters. Plural intended.

Top Ten Lists....

I like Top Ten Lists. I find it fascinating to not only see what people enjoy, but the order of preference they give to the items on the list. I also like to try and develop my own lists of things I like in particular categories.

However, my tastes change so much, that my Top Ten lists are obsolete almost before I finish them. If someone were to ask me, for example, what my all-time top ten favorite songs were, I would laugh in their face. Mostly because I wouldn't know which ones to pick.

But I've done some thinking, and I think I've come up with a Top Ten list that I can decide on and that people will enjoy reading. Here we go....

Top Ten Fictional Characters

10. Hammy the Squirrel from Over the Hedge. I love the movie, but after Hammy was introduced about 7 minutes in, I spent every second just waiting for him to come on screen again. So cute and loveable.
9. Menolly from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. Menolly loves music so much, that when it is forbidden her, it is physically painful. She finds such joy and release in music. To Menolly every phrase becomes a potential song.
8. Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies. Sean Astin put so much emotion into this character. He's so sincere, loving and earnest. He just wants to help Frodo. It's Frodo's quest, but Sam is there, every step of the way.
7. Durnik the smith from the Belgariad and the Malloreon. Honest, trustworthy, and loving. Good at everything. If he were real, I would probably wish I could be him.
6. The Tin Woodman, from the Wizard of Oz book series. He is honestly so caring and concerned, that he outshines the other characters, who are all great in their own right. And from his caring come some of the greatest words of wisdom.
5. Oz the werewolf, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Understated. Taciturn. He tends to see straight through to the heart of any problem, and often presents the easiest, most direct solution. Plus, he falls in love with Willow. And Willow deserves to have someone love her.
4. Perrin Aybara from the Wheel of Time. Blacksmith. Honest. Talks to wolves. Marries Faile. Once he was introduced, I didn't care about the principal character anymore. I spend every book waiting for a Perrin appearance. And I'm always depressed when his chapters are over.
3. Kaylee Frye from Firefly and Serenity. She's cute, sweet and a mechanic. Very down to earth. She's the emotional anchor of the entire show. If she feels an emotion, the viewer feels that emotion. An amazing character.
2. Rube Sofer from Dead Like Me. He's the gruff, aloof, loving father figure of the group of "grim" reapers. It was this character's desire to take up painting that introduced me to Ed Hopper, one of my favorite painters. He tries to hide how much he cares, but the only person convinced is himself.
1. Tara Maclay from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think she is the only character I've ever had a serious crush on. The actress was an honest-to-goodness woman, not a twig. Tara was shy. And loving. And she fell in love with Willow. What can I say? Willow has great taste in significant others.

Well, there you go. A top ten list that will stay fairly consistent for quite a while. A lot of these characters came from great ensemble casts, and it was hard to choose one favorite, but I think I managed fairly well.

What do you think? Who are YOUR favorite characters?

Adam Has a New Hobby.....

....like he really needed another one, right?

I mean, I already have so many things I like to do that when I have the time to actually do something, all my time is taken up in deciding what I want to do.

But now, now I have found something I enjoy, that is fairly easy to do, looks like the images it was based on, and that I could possibly sell and make a little money, if I decided to do so.

What is it? Making pictures with Perler Beads. My particular focus is using sprites, or character images, from old Nintendo and Super Nintendo games. I take each pixel as a separate bead and try to match, as closely as I can, the image I'm using as a pattern. After I get the bead set up on the peg-board, I use an iron to melt the beads and fuse them together. It's quite fun, and the only danger is if I'm not careful using the iron.

Anyway, here's a picture of my first two projects, with a quarter thrown in to show the scale. By the way, the majority of the beads in the sprite on the right glow in the dark. It makes sense if you happen to know who that character is.

This is the Moment....

It's been a busy week.

I really feel quite exhausted. Let's see. I had some great sessions with a therapist my mom knew in College. She runs this type of therapy that gets to the point quite quickly. It's pretty interesting. I learned a lot about myself that I can use to be more confident in myself, which will be nice. My therapist feels that my depressive periods are directly tied to my self-confidence and self-esteem. I would tend to agree.

Also, I still have my job, and that keeps me busy.

And I took the GRE today. So I've been trying to study for that as well. And here's the fun part. I've been stressed about the test, because it's a big deal, right? Well, I review the ID requirements, and it says my name has to match exactly between how I registered for the test and what is on my ID. Well, my registration confirmation doesn't show my middle name, which is included on my driver's license. So on top of being stressed about taking the test, I was stressed about even being allowed to take the test. But I think I did okay. I ended up scoring the same for each section, verbal and quantitative. That worried me at the test center, because I couldn't remember what the max score was and I thought I would do crappy on the math portion. But I got 690 out of 800 on each section. All together 1380 out of 1600, which comes out at about 86%. So I have to feel pretty good about that.

Although it does prove I'm pretty good at guessing when it comes to math. I distinctly remember several questions where I said to myself, "I have no frickin' clue." So hooray for guessing!

Oh yeah, and I got a new desk from my Aunt Helen and Uncle Dan.