Sometimes I like to use song lyrics for my status on Facebook or Gmail, as do many other people I know.
However, I was thinking the other day. If you don't cite the song, artist, etc...are you plagiarizing?
Also, what would be the correct format?
Just a thought.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Counting
I worked for the grounds crew this summer.
As a result, I encountered a lot of bugs. Bugs don't bother me too much, so it's not really a problem. For example, one day I sat and watched a spider lay eggs for a few minutes while I rested in the shade. And another day, I was picking up these really pesky seeds that are little black balls. And this is where my blog post came to be.
I was picking up these seeds, and it was in the shade and under a bush, so I couldn't see particularly well. I was picking up tons of seeds, and all the sudden I felt something moving in my hand, where I had put all the seeds. Apparently, I had mistaken a rolly polly bug (apparently also known to some people (weirdos) as potato bugs...don't know where that one came from) for a seed, which was totally legit, because a rolled up rolly polly bug and these seeds were exactly the same size, shape, and color. I touched the rolly polly, and he balled up again, and I watched and waited for him to come "back to life."
And this is where my thoughts wandered. Do rolly polly bugs have some kind of system of how long they wait until returning to normality? I mean, this bug was on a flat and unmoving surface and waited a good minute before moving again. Do they count to sixty? Then I got this image in my head of a rolly polly bug counting to sixty all rolled up, just waiting. And I'm not talking how you counted to sixty in the fourth grade while waiting for your turn on the swing. I'm talking counting Mississippily (one, mississippi, two, mississippi, three....etc). And then I realized that I wasn't working, and I was talking to myself again.
So I put the bug down, and went back to my weeding.
As a result, I encountered a lot of bugs. Bugs don't bother me too much, so it's not really a problem. For example, one day I sat and watched a spider lay eggs for a few minutes while I rested in the shade. And another day, I was picking up these really pesky seeds that are little black balls. And this is where my blog post came to be.
I was picking up these seeds, and it was in the shade and under a bush, so I couldn't see particularly well. I was picking up tons of seeds, and all the sudden I felt something moving in my hand, where I had put all the seeds. Apparently, I had mistaken a rolly polly bug (apparently also known to some people (weirdos) as potato bugs...don't know where that one came from) for a seed, which was totally legit, because a rolled up rolly polly bug and these seeds were exactly the same size, shape, and color. I touched the rolly polly, and he balled up again, and I watched and waited for him to come "back to life."
And this is where my thoughts wandered. Do rolly polly bugs have some kind of system of how long they wait until returning to normality? I mean, this bug was on a flat and unmoving surface and waited a good minute before moving again. Do they count to sixty? Then I got this image in my head of a rolly polly bug counting to sixty all rolled up, just waiting. And I'm not talking how you counted to sixty in the fourth grade while waiting for your turn on the swing. I'm talking counting Mississippily (one, mississippi, two, mississippi, three....etc). And then I realized that I wasn't working, and I was talking to myself again.
So I put the bug down, and went back to my weeding.
Monday, August 10, 2009
In the process of...
As events transpire in my life, I discover something about myself, and also about others around me. Oftentimes, I look forward to a certain event, feeling, activity, etc. However, I find myself so ready for the result that I forget about the process.
For example, I spent the first few months of my summer being ready for it to be over. I was looking forward to an event at the end of the summer, and I just wanted to be there. However, about halfway through the summer, that event fell through. And I realized that I'd wasted all that time being impatient for the event, I had hardly made anything of the first 2 months of summer! I'd forgotten to enjoy the process. Since then, I've done my very best to make the most of the rest of this summer, and now I don't want it to end!
I think I say too much, "I can't wait until..." I think those words are dangerous. Once you've said them, you've practically committed yourself to at least some small amount of apathy for all events occurring before what you are waiting for arrives. What makes that so dangerous is that you never know what can happen. We all know that life throws surprises at us, and often, they're quite good. And if you spend your time being apathetic, you may miss something wonderful. It makes me think of a scripture in Hebrews, chapter 13 verse 2:
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. "
I think this scripture not only has implications to us to be kind to others, but I can see it in a different way. Strangers can mean more than just people; it can mean anything unfamiliar, strange, new, etc. Let yourself experience new things, different things. If not, you may "entertain angels unawares."
As my summer draws to a close, I look back and see the process. We often don't realize it when we are in the process, but just about all the time, you're in the process. Of what this process is may change, but you're always in a process. I think the important part is realizing this fact, and remembering that change takes time, love comes softly, and happiness is a choice.
For example, I spent the first few months of my summer being ready for it to be over. I was looking forward to an event at the end of the summer, and I just wanted to be there. However, about halfway through the summer, that event fell through. And I realized that I'd wasted all that time being impatient for the event, I had hardly made anything of the first 2 months of summer! I'd forgotten to enjoy the process. Since then, I've done my very best to make the most of the rest of this summer, and now I don't want it to end!
I think I say too much, "I can't wait until..." I think those words are dangerous. Once you've said them, you've practically committed yourself to at least some small amount of apathy for all events occurring before what you are waiting for arrives. What makes that so dangerous is that you never know what can happen. We all know that life throws surprises at us, and often, they're quite good. And if you spend your time being apathetic, you may miss something wonderful. It makes me think of a scripture in Hebrews, chapter 13 verse 2:
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. "
I think this scripture not only has implications to us to be kind to others, but I can see it in a different way. Strangers can mean more than just people; it can mean anything unfamiliar, strange, new, etc. Let yourself experience new things, different things. If not, you may "entertain angels unawares."
As my summer draws to a close, I look back and see the process. We often don't realize it when we are in the process, but just about all the time, you're in the process. Of what this process is may change, but you're always in a process. I think the important part is realizing this fact, and remembering that change takes time, love comes softly, and happiness is a choice.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Whistlers
I always feel like people who whistle are mocking me.
Maybe that's because I can't whistle.
Maybe that's because I can't whistle.
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