Welcome To A Road Less Traveled

Well out of all those who do videos Jake and Chris have my vote. They are so not gay! But this hysterical and reminds me of my youth. I will get back to normal blogging soon, but needed to time out.

Well if this does not beat all!! I think this is absolutely wonderful and totally enjoyed this newsclip. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. This little gal will go far in her life with the encouragement of her parents and others.

If any of you have ever raised a child I am sure you can relate to this, although I don't think any of us would have answered them in this fashion. LOL However, I have had adults in my life who were walking questioneers, and oh how I could relate to this.

Enjoy!!

I would have to say this is my alltime favorite Video that has gained overnight success on the Internet. Imagine waking up one morning to find out a video you sent to an online friend had flourished the world. An involuntary celebrity at the tender age of 19 left Gary severely depressed. However the "unwilling and embarrassed Internet Celebrity" settled into his unsought fame by 2006; The Numa Numa Dance by Gary Brolsma is the second most watched video since the Internets creation.

What I see in Gary is a young man who was able to be himself in the privacy of his own home. I see his youthfulness allowing him to be playful; something many of us lose as we age. For myself, I have gone to You Tube many times over to watch this video.

Well, just after I posted this, I found yet another one I truly like of Numa Numa. Their youthfulness and the fun they are having is what I am drawn to in this...

When I was in my teenage years a social worker was assigned to me named Shirley Greenbaum. She had me read this book, which I believe I should probably read again after having more life experiences waged in my life. I do not believe at the tender age of 17 I understood what her point was in having me read this.

I have had many things happen in my life.. Some positive and some negative.. I have lived the highest highs and perhaps experienced some of the deepest lows. Yet I always seem to come out ok; Perhaps some emotional or physical scarring, but ok.

Recently I had some young friends say "Why does this always happen to me." They also stated "How do we always attract drama into our lives.. We just want to live peacefully." Well here is what I began thinking prior to writing this blog entry. None of us have ever been promised a Rose Garden. It is not those things which have a negative impact in our lives, but how we handle the negative impacts on our lives and make a positive out of it.

We cannot control what others do; However, we can control how we react to what others do. For example, how many times have we had red flags appear and chosen to ignore them? Only to find out later that we should have listened to those red flags. Let me give you an example. Just under two years ago I met a woman via the Internet. The initial email she sent me indicated how many losses she had had over the last ten months. It also indicated she was currently going through a breakup, but stated she had really been broken up for the last two years. Red Flag. I waited a few days to answer her email as this made me nervous, however I eventually answered it. Next, after we had seen each other short while she began coming over to the cottage I was staying in behind a friends home while I was looking for what I would be doing here. Most of her time was spent on the phone calling her friends and having them spying on her ex. Red Flag. Finally she was fighting with her on the phone and kept the cell phone within inches of her at all times. Red Flag. Eventually I moved in with her against my better judgement. Could I have made better decisions and why did I make the decisions I did? The following few months was filled with chaos and I eventually got out. It created a domino effect in my life which I am still mopping up. There has been a definite residual effect.

Yet another example and a repeat of my own history is I met yet another woman via the Internet. The first email she sent me indicated she hoped I would not take it the wrong way, but she felt as if she had been stalking me via the Internet. Red Flag. She told me she loved me before even meeting me. Red Flag. She also told me she was coming here even if I said no. Red Flag. Yet I did not heed the warnings. Had I made different choices I would have had a different outcome. It took me only one month after she came on a permanent basis to tell her she had 30 days to get out. This too has financial repercussions that I can add to the others it will take me a long time to mop up. She still calls occasionally and it feels as if I have been hit with a cattle prod each time she does.

Sooo.. What have I learned? To listen to my gut and watch for Red Flags. To move slower and not do anything before I feel comfortable and not allow myself to be pushed. And to value myself enough to know I deserve better. Last but not least, there are things worse than not being in a relationship.

There is something else I learned as well.. That is about self disclosure. I have finally realized disclosing too much too fast leaves me vulnerable and those who wish to control me can have a field day with the ammunition I have provided them with. Disclosing much slowly is my new friend.

Additionally by my own experiences as well as watching two young and dear friends going through havoc with those they thought were their friends, the above also applies. It is better to have less of a social circle and add friends slowly and watch for Red Flags. You know, sometimes screen names are even a clue online. For example if someone has the name DrunkenTurtle, is that really the type of person you would want to attract in your life?

None of us are ever promised Rose Gardens, but I have come to the conclusion it is about picking our plants carefully and tending to the garden; It is about pulling the weeds as we go. I believe I got into a comfort zone where I used to live and this too left me vulnerable when I moved to a different region of the country. I had to start at ground zero developing friendships, social networks, business confidants, and seeking out the special someone to spend the balance of my life with. My Garden is my responsibility; While it may not be a Rose Garden, my garden can be filled with emotional nutrition and beauty with the luxury of no thorns that a Rose Garden
produces.

Baby Panda Sneezes

This is just too cute!!!