I really didn't know that I had international readers! This interesting creature is actually a former coworker. The pic was taken in Australia, and she now lives in her native Bahrain. I should check my logs, but it would be more fun if you left a comment and told me where you are from (if I don't already know you, of course).

Isn't she cute as fuck? Apparently this is what happens when the children's area of the serious conference you are supposed to be working at is more interesting than your job.

I just woke up from a nap five minutes ago, downed a Guru and saw this.

After many postings about how crappy life can be, I must thank MJ for her posting of this picture of her dog and a visiting puppy. I never realized how much I like these Boston Terriers.

How the hell do you take such perfect pics of your dog, MJ? Aren't you just using a point-and-click thing?

It's good to have friends.

Often, people get into introspective moments and conclude that they are not all that great. That perhaps they will never be happy at work, in love or in anything. They might have a poor body image, or believe themselves to be not very intelligent, or anything. What do you do when you care about such a person, and tell them what you really think; that they look great or are more intelligent than most people they know, but the words just fall flat against their despair?

What do you do? How long can you go on believing in the best of that person when they do not believe themselves? You can only build someone up so long before you get tired and stop doing that for a bit. It's not even necessarily that you have to do this all that often. It's that someone you care about is hurting because things may not be going well for them, or they don't feel very good about themselves, and there isn't much you can do about it. It's frustrating, especially when you know that ultimately, it isn't your responsibility no matter how you feel about the person.

I consider it a responsibility to try to bring someone close to you up when they are down, but it is hard to be creative when it comes to this. I think it's easier when you are young, but in the last seven or eight years life has become too complicated for simple compliments. Maybe solid solutions are required. A simple listening ear may no longer be adequate.

You want to help, but it's hard to know what to do anymore.

When you are taught a history that does not include you, it could lead
to a feeling of alienation, as though you are not really a Canadian (or
American, or whatever). It's yet another way to feel marginalized, and
I do not think that this marginalization should be blamed on the people
that feel that way. That's simply part of the way that your world has
been framed. Although I strongly identify as Canadian (and Quebecois,
and as a Montrealer) I have never really felt as though I have a stake
in the history, and therefore historical fabric of this country.
English or French people grow up knowing that they are part of a
"good", "valuable", "normal" group that can freely judge other groups
while ignoring certain struggles. Everything begins and ends with them.
This is huge. For me, this hasn't been that much of an issue until
recently, and I can see why it might be for others all the time. I
think that my brother and sisters all reacted to this quite differently
even if they never concretely identified exactly what was going on
growing up. It's like knowing that something is just "off", but not
necessarily knowing what. Anyway, you're too busy trying to fit in, or
preventing your ass from being kicked or spit on.