Monday, December 26, 2005

Happy Holidays!

Hahahah, there, I said it!

Maybe it's because I'm older, but it seems that this whole "Happy Holidays vs. Mery Christmas" thing has gotten worse this year. I mean, hello, there were zealots waiting in the wings to SUE folks for saying "Happy Holidays." Good grief, Charlie Brown, what's the world coming to?

A few of my thoughts:
-I say "Happy Holidays" because it covers me from Thanksgiving until New Year's, & it's shorter than saying or writing "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year."
-The word "holiday" comes from Old/Middle English for "Holy Day" -- what more do you want?
-I'm not Christian. I'm not Jewish or Muslim, either, and I have friends of all faiths, so HH covers all circumstances, except for my athiest/agnostic friends, who don't mind, because they know . . .
-It's the point of wishing someone well that matters! Whatever you say, it's the sentiment behind the words that we should be focusing on!
-While the religious right has you focusing on "keeping the Christ in Christmas" (which you kind of have to do, or all you have is "mas"), you're not being outraged over CIA leaks, US soldiers dying in Iraq, gasoline prices, etc.

Things you may or may not know about other Winter Holidays:
-Hanukkah began at sundown on Christmas Day. I think this is a great coincidence. I looked up the History of Hanukkah, because all I was familiar with was the lighting of the menorah -- did you know that "in Hebrew, the word "Hanukkah" means 'dedication,' [and] the holiday commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews' 165 B.C.E. victory over the Hellenist Syrians." Hmmmm, that sounds familiar -- wasn't there another guy, like 165-ish years later, that had some issues with the way a temple was being used . . . what was his name again? Oh, right, it was JESUS! I love it when similarities like this are brought to light.

-Kwanzaa begins today, December 26th. Kwanzaa was established in the U.S. in 1966, and is "an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture," although the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa could help us all. They include: Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work & Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith.

-January 10th begins the Muslim celebration Eid-al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice, which commemorates Abraham's "willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son." Now, where did I hear that story again? Oh right, I heard it in the Old Testament -- did you know it's also in the Koran? In the Koran, Abraham's son is Ishmael, not Isaac, and he becomes the "forefather of the Arabs," but isn't the message of piety & sacrifice the same?

Okay, I'm done with my rant. I hope you've found some of it educational, at least.

Happy Holidays to All!

Friday, December 23, 2005

Well That Was Easier Than I Thought . . .

Okay, so when I wrote my last post, I was in a less-than-cheerful mood, heartbroke, blah blah blah. After some in-depth soul-delving, I came to a very important realization: this doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. You see, I was never in love with J. He wasn't in love with me, so it all worked out -- I didn't expect our relationship to last, I just didn't expect it to end the way it did. Hence the crying-sobbing-ness that occurred Friday night/Saturday morning. By Sunday, I was all good. I updated my Match.com profile, got a few hits, and I'm back in the "being single" groove.

Mega weird-ness: The very first hit I got on my updated Match profile was from a guy I went to high school with; apparently he recognized my photo right away. We went out Wednesday, caught up on what we'd each been up to, & had an absolute blast! Y'all know I can always use a new friend to hang out with . . . especially one who doesn't let me do all of the talking!

Anyway, it's now 11:30 pm the night before Xmas eve -- tomorrow is the big holiday shebang with my mom's & stepdad's families -- all together, in one place -- yipe! So I have to be awake & at mom's ready to be cheerful & helpful at 11am. That's not so much an issue, I just have to keep up my wonderful-cheerful-positive attitude until like 9pm, so I'll be all about the caffeine. Off to bed I go, happy holidays to you all!

. . . and to all a good night!

Saturday, December 17, 2005

New Relationship Record: 6.5 Months & Done

Well, at least I surpassed my famous 3-month rule, right?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, although not ready to put myself back on the market, I am single again.

Tiffany's big three "IF" statements:
IF I had asked how his last relationship (of like four years) ended, I would have known that it was because he moved from the East Coast to STL. That's all, no fights, it was amicable & they stayed friends.

IF I had asked how he felt about the aforementioned g/f, I would have figured out that, although he never expected to see her again, he still had feelings for her.

IF I had known that, I wouldn't have gotten as involved as I did. Trying to win someone's heart when they've already given it away is a lost cause.

Wish I'd known beforehand, because . . .

The aforementioned g/f is being transferred to STL for work. Go figure. Guess who loses out on this one? Survey says . . . me! Being the remarkably mature person I am, I told him that was "someone up there pointing you in a direction that you need to go, and since you obviously have stronger feelings for her than you do for me, that's what you should do."

Way to take the high road, Tiff, but that's not going to make it hurt any less.

Then I told him he was going to have to leave, because I didn't want him to see me cry. Which I did. Not a lot, I guess, but a lot for me. I don't cry often, it's one of those not-necessarily-healthy rules I have, see:
(1) Never let "them" see you cry (not sure who "them" is, but still...)
(2) Don't get too close to people, especially romantically, because it will hurt when they leave.

There are others, yes, but those are the two big depressing ones. For the otherwise-wonderfully-cheerful-optimist that I am, those are suprising to you, aren't they?

So I called my best friend B, who's in the USAF in NC (wow, lots of abbreviations there). He said, "Well, Tiff, I'll be home in two weeks and can track him down and inflict bodily harm..." I said no thanks, not needed, just tell me you love me & that you owe me a hug. B says, "done."

AwesomeStepdad called while I was on the phone with B, to ask a question about what to get Mom for Xmas, he says "so how are you?" & I said, "well, J broke up with me, so I could be better, but I'll be okay." He says sorry to hear that, we chat a bit, then hang up.

So then I text two of my guy friends to say something like "Who needs a boyfriend?" to MC(who assures me that he doesn't, but calls to check on me nonetheless & promises a night out for coffee & pie), & "Your gender sucks, and not in a good way" to JJK (who calls & says "well hey, yeah we had Hitler, but we had Gandhi, too"). While I'm on the phone with JJK friend, mom calls & says "open your door, some friends came to visit."

???

So I do, and on my doormat are sitting three large stuffed characters from Finding Nemo -- large & plushy. I think, "thanks mom," but this morning I find out it was actually AwesomeStepdad who got them & dropped them off. I guess between B, MC, JJK, my Little Bro, & AwesomeStepdad, the male gender doesn't suck.

The moral of the story, if there is one, is that Tiff ends up with a broken heart that will eventually heal, and realizes that even though one individual doesn't love me, I have many, many more that do.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Ode to Those Who Would Change the World

Something you may or may not know about me: before I got my "grown-up" job at the hospital, I applied to work with AmeriCorps St. Louis, one of the leading AmeriCorps programs in the country. I went on a week-long "Quest" journey in the middle of nowhere, to get to know the people who would be my coworkers and decide if this was really for me. Upon our return, and after much soul-searching, I decided that I was not at a point in my life where I was ready to commit to such a high level of service. I don't regret my decision, because I know that it was right for me.

Last night, I was lucky enough to be invited to a party with some of the AmeriCorps St. Louis members -- folks I haven't seen in 16 months -- so I went, if only to say hi to a few & find out what they've been up to.

First off, I am apparently not as forgettable as I thought I was -- although a few folks took a minute to reconcile my new haircut & smaller self, all of a sudden their faces lit up & they're like, "oh my god, how have you been?!?!?" Let me tell you about a few of these awesome folks & the work they've been doing.

A & JJ have been in the St. Louis public schools, tutoring the younger kids and/or mentoring the older ones. They haven't changed much, JJ still plays piano for his church & has become the music minister, he wants to go back to school when his period of Service is done, but he's not sure for what. A describes himself as "burnt-out" on the school system, but knows he's making a difference. He doesn't want to go into education full-time when he's done with the Corps, and will probably go to Mizzou to further his education, but he's not sure in what. Both of these guys were on my original "Quest" team, and it's good to see they still have the "change the world spark," even if it's tough to keep alive sometimes.

JW, AZ, S and others on the Emergency Response Team have spent most of their time in the Gulf Coast -- they've been rotating teams down there since 9/5, living out of tents for the first eight weeks. These folks have been responsible for everything from operating call centers to coordinating volunteers & donations, outreach, assessment, and reconnaissance to identify relief problems. To hear S talk about WHY he does what he does, click here. None of these guys have lost the "spark" -- I saw it in them 16 months ago, and I saw it still last night. In talking to them, I can tell they've seen things the rest of us can only imagine -- AZ quoted someone as saying that "what you see on TV [about the areas hit by Katrina] is like looking at the whole thing through a straw." He told me stories of showing new volunteers around the area, then sitting back & watching them take it all in, often not talking for hours after the tour. I heard discussion of the efforts to rebuild the areas, how the major contract is held by Halliburton - big suprise - and speculation that the New Orleans we see rise in the coming days will have a different look than the one washed away - both economically and racially. S & his friend J mentioned that the areas that people are pouring money into are coming back, but the 9th Ward still doesn't have people in it. JW is still his wonderful self, working in the AmeriCorps office to keep things running, and holding onto the great attitude he had when he pulled me out of knee-deep mud three times.

Ladies & gentlemen, none of these folks would ask you for any recognition; in fact, you could look at them on the street & not know the sacrifices they've made to do what so many of us are afraid or unable to do. S is going back to the Gulf Coast for the Christmas Holiday, JVW missed Thanksgiving with his family in WI to stay with those who have so little to be thankful for. A & JJ go into the public schools every day to do their part to make a difference. I couldn't make the commitment they have, but I do what I can to make the world a better place. This is an ode to those folks who will change the world, because for every dollar contributed, and every willing volunteer that wants to help, someone has to coordinate how best to put them to work, and these folks do it every day.

More importantly to me, none of these people judged me for taking a different path. JW introduced me to someone by saying "she started with the rest of us, and then she got a better job, we haven't seen her in over a year." AZ walked me to my truck last night & told me that I should pop in more often, ending the conversation by saying "once a part of the family, always a part of the family." I can't think of an extended family that I'd rather be part of, and I'm proud to be included with such an incredible group of folks.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

SUCCESS!

I did it -- 30 pounds in 25 weeks, averaging 1-2 lbs/week -- yay me! I even managed to LOSE weight over Thanksgiving! Bought some new clothes -- jeans, SIZE TEN, and a size 12 pantsuit that actually fits my chest!

That leaves about 14lbs to my goal weight -- whoo hoo!

That's all I really wanted to share, happy holidays to all!