Tawdry Talk

Apparently, when you log in as Invisible to All, any Stealth Settings that you make making individual users able to see you are lost. You have to set people as visible every time you log in as invisible. Yet, marking someone as Permanently Off line (meaning that you never show up to them) is retained. ARGH! That completely and utterly stinks.

I went to all this trouble to show someone how to be invisible but still visible to me (and others), and it was fine for a time, but suddenly they stopped being visible. It turns out that this person was having to manually set each visible person each time, and they got tired of that, so they stopped. If the software worked like one would think it would, this wouldn’t be a problem, and I wouldn’t have been thinking that there was some sort of passive-aggressive game being played on the other end all this time.

Suppose that means I should go recite St. Ephraim some more, eh?

I made some saffron rice, and while that was cooking, dry stir-fried some bell peppers and green beans. Meanwhile, I made a sauce out of peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, horseradish, and cherry juice. When the rice was done, I poured it into the pan with the vegetables, gave it a quick toss, and put in the sauce. It made a sticky, but really yummy mess!

Last night was the second Wednesday in the Great Fast, and I went to sing the Presanctified Liturgy again. It’s just like falling off a bike - once you do it, you can do it again - tee-hee. Walking to the church is a very calming experience, even when I’m walking as fast as I can, which I had to do this time because I left the house 7 minutes after I would have done. Those seven minutes meant that I got to the church with only four minutes to spare before we were to start, just long enough for me to put on my riassa and have a few breaths.

The service is highly penitential and reflective, and includes several interested pieces, including the Prayer of St. Ephraim of Syria:

In these trying times, we could all use a little more chastity, humility, patience and love, eh?

Fr. Anastasy gave me a ride home at the end of the service, and I came upstairs and chilled out, and went to be without supper. I decided to do the fast this year because I was growing increasingly angry and frustrated with my situation and the people around me, and I decided that I needed a new perspective. So far, it seems to be working, as I feel much less frustrated, angry, more patient, calm, and forgiving. Of course, I’m craving cheese like you wouldn’t believe, but that’s a small price to pay for some inner peace.

Let us hope that Ms. Schiavo’s passing will energize us all to remember just how important our loved ones are, and to reach out to them to let them know how much we love them. Any one of us could be her. Let your family know you love them by not putting them in the same terrible situation - tell them your wishes, get a living will and a durable medical power of attorney.

Wow, I was on Bear411 and a guy invited me to play, and I declined. He then got all persistent in wanting to know why. I keep imagining myself in a public place when I chat with people. I’d never think to ask someone why they weren’t interested - unless I wanted to hear some potentially rude response.

I’ve been thinking about how it might be nice to find someone local to date once in a while. Not that I am thinking about not being with my menfolk, but just that a body gets lonely without my Daddies-bear to cuddle up with.

I miss waltzingtree. You better be taking good care of him, New York.

First off, thanks to everyone who submitted a line for the poem - mtbruin, carytown, mudcub, albadger, sukk, double_ohsteven, dhpbear, naylandblake, prowlerbear, auntyamethyst, art_thirst, and redbackfur.

Chasing each other down the window pane.
Washing it like a dynamic frappe
They mock my pain.

I slap them from the sky
I see the rainbow smile.

I walk the hall in flip-flops

You can’t calm water by hand; each touch ruffles
and I feel the mourning wind
jeering as they strike my head

Each one a different tune
but as they fall upon my face they become tears.