BYBS: Ice Cream!

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In keeping with talking about the positive aspects of mundane life, one thing that has been good for me is Ice Cream.

OK, so it has also contributed to "expanding my horizons" (e.g., becoming fat), it has also been a very nice thing to eat from time to time. Your body needs energy to keep going, and ice cream (in particular, vanilla, with some hot fudge and whipped cream) is a nice way of getting it.

I have also found ice cream to be an excellent way of winning friends and influencing people. Erstwhile enemies or those that I might not get along with otherwise have been won over by the charming nature of a banana split. Having to deal with me is small potatoes compared to it.

As an example, I remember one time as a wee lad that I had just seen a movie with a bunch of other kids. We stopped along the way back from the theater to get some refreshments. As the picture of moderation in life, I ordered the grand, humongous, super-sized ice cream sundae. As it was delivered to me, all eyes swiveled towards me (or rather the sundae) in obvious envy and hunger. With a smile I said "Would anyone like some?"

The group descended on my poor sundae like a pack of wolves. When they were done, I had a portion roughly the same size as everyone else (at which I was a little miffed). On the other hand, the smile on the other kid's faces was nice, and for someone who tends to see the negative aspects of his past, it's a good memory.

Also, it had fewer calories.

Have a good rest of the Sundae…er…Sunday :-)

Technorati: Banana Split, ice cream, sundae

BYBS: Reflection

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Taking a second to reflect on things, I realize that being able to reflect on things is a blessing.

I'm not talking about the act of thinking about what happened in the past, what I'm referring to is more about being in a frame of mind that is conducive to reflection, having the time to do so, etc. On those rare occasions where such things come together, it is a good moment.

A friend of mine talked about trying to view life as a sort of bead necklace, with good moments making up the individual beads. Certainly for me this is a good metaphor, since it seems like string in between is usually rough, perhaps mixed in with glass. So a moment of reflection is a bead on the string of life for me.

Tags: BYBS, Reflection, Bead, Necklace

BYBS: Cobalt Sky

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So I was sitting in my miserable cube, writing code that would be considered unusually crude if it had been produced by a colony of cherrystone clams when a couple of coworkers mentioned that they were going for a walk and would I like to come. In the interests of helping out one of them, who is about my height and yet over double my weight, I went along.

As we schlepped around under the glare of a strange, fiery orb whose light I was unused to I realized that this was the first time I had been outside in ages. This winter, with its unmelting snow, relentless stress, and stubborn viruses had been draining my soul.

Then I realized something else that was odd: I was staring at the ground. This was partially because some Canadian geese had demonstrated healthy bowel functioning on the sidewalks, but it was also because somehow that's where my eyes were drawn.

With a conscious effort, I managed to look up and around at the surrounding area and noticed the beautiful day. It was a very clear day and sky was a beautiful cobalt blue. I realized that I had been spending a lot of time like that lately: staring down at the ground and the goose shit instead of being able to see everything else that was going on.

In a short time I was back in my dark cube, doing my usual, boring crap, but the beautiful vision from that walk stayed with me.

Tags: BYBS, geese, cobalt sky