Which way now?

'Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. 'Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. 'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where--' said Alice.

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

'--so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation.

'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'

How to Train Your Dragon

A good movie.   I want a plush Toothless.  I don't know how they did it, but they made a fearsome, mean dragon look like a cat look like a fish act like a kitten and be cuddly all at the same time.  And this is another movie that is well worth seeing in 3D with all the flying involved.  My only regret was that I ate wayyy too much popcorn.

Alice In Wonderland

I really enjoyed Tim Burton's treatment of Alice in Wonderland.  He didn't abuse any of the characters, if anything I thought that he added some depth to the characters and I didn't feel that he tried to change any of them.  The new story didn't change any of the old story facts but added on to it in a logical sequence.  In fact, I think that Charles Dodgson would have enjoyed this story.

I was only disappointed in one tiny matter.  Yes, I know that ""The Hunting of the Snark" isn't an "Alice" story, but it is certainly closely related and shares some characters.  At the end of the new Alice we see her standing on the bow of her ship.  I thought it would have been a nice touch to have tied a rudder to the bowsprit, but somehow, Burton missed that opportunity.  Doesn't hurt the movie at all, and only a true Dodgson fan would ever think of that.

I will have to add the DVD to my collection when I rebuild it, and I want to get the soundtrack as well, I really enjoyed the music, it added a fitting touch.

Disappointment = His appointment

DISAPPOINTMENT

Disappointment - His appointment,
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God's better choice for me.

His appointment must be blessing
Though it may come in disguise
For the end from the beginning,
Open to His wisdom lies.

Disappointment - His appointment
Whose? The Lord's who loves best.
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test.

For like loving, earthy parent
He rejoices when He knows
That His child accepts unquestioned
All that from His wisdom flows.

Disappointment - His appointment
No good thing will he withhold
From denials oft we gather
Treasures from His love untold.

Well, He knows each broken purpose
Leads to fuller deeper trust
And the end of all His dealings
Proves our God is wise and just.

Disappointment - His appointment
Lord I take it then as such,
Like the clay in hands of potter
Yielding wholly to Thy touch

All my life's plan is Thy molding
Not one single choice be mine
Let me answer unrepining,
Father not my will but Thine.

Lyrics By Anonymous

from "Love Broke Thru" by Phil Keaggy

www.philkeaggy.com

Goals

I've finally made it to the point where I'm beginning to realize that I need some goals beyond mere survival.  My goals for the last year or so have pretty much involved shelter, transport, and food.  Now I need to go beyond that and start thinking about what my future will look like 1 year, 5 years, 20 years from now.    And I can set these goals without worrying about what anyone else thinks or cares about them.  Feels kinda weird, but there it is.  So, I'm going to spend the next few days in a focused brainstorming session working toward developing my list of goals.

As someone said, If you aim at nothing you will certainly hit it.

Some websites that appear to have good and helpful info:

http://www.assessment.com

http://www.mindtools.com/

http://www.success77.com/

http://www.goal-setting-guide.com

Shoes - and Socks?

Went shopping with a friend last night for some new clothes for me.  I've been told that, when I buy clothes for myself, I tend to dress like a washing machine repairman, so I know that clothes shopping is not one of my talents.  So I brought a friend along whose fashion judgment I trust (among other things).

As part of my new wardrobe, I bought a pair of shoes.  My friend said "You need new socks also".  Hunh?  I already own about 20 pairs of black socks, whyinheck would I want more?

Well, I'm told (and, upon reflection it makes sense) that shoes and socks setup wear patterns so that your feet and shoes and socks all fit together.  When you upset the balance with a new pair of shoes the use of old socks that have been previously fitted to another pair of shoes will cause blisters to form.  So, best if you get new socks to go with the old shoes.

I have a pair of hiking/working boots that I almost never wear because they kill my feet.  I'm thinking I might buy a couple of pairs of socks and try them with just the boots and see what happens.

Beam in the Eye

Mat 7:2-5  For with whatever judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, it shall be measured to you again.  And why do you look on the splinter that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye?  Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull the splinter out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First cast the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast the splinter out of your brother's eye.

Kinda a little first-person experience here.  I was awakened this morning about 3 or 4 AM by a great deal of pain in my right eye.  I thought there was something in my eye.  I went into the bathroom to look in the mirror.  Now, most of you know that I wear glasses.  My uncorrected vision is about 20/210.  What this means is that without my glasses I can only focus on things about 2" from my eye.  And, I need new glasses really bad.  So, when I went to look in the mirror at my right eye, I can't see out of my right eye, and my left eye is too far away to focus on the right eye to see what is wrong.

I was eventually able to get a ride to the local Wally-World and get some eye-wash and flush my eye.  Even now, after most of the day has passed, I still cannot see out of my right eye, although the pain has receded for the most part. I really shouldn't be driving, but I needed to get on the Internet to look for work.

But here is the important part, to me.  Even though I knew I had a beam in my eye, even though I wanted to remove it, I couldn't personally do anything about it.  I had to ask for and receive help.  And, even though it has been removed, I am still suffering the consequences of having the beam in my eye.  The pain and blocked vision didn't immediately vanish.

Funny thing is, last night I had already determined that I was going to ask for help on removing the beam in my heart's eye, because I certainly wasn't having a lot of success doing it myself.