Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Is honesty really the best policy?

We all lie to an extent; white lies, serious lies, living a lie, self-deceiving lies...the list goes on. Regardless of what it is, should it always be frowned upon?

While I don't condone lying all the time, isn't it okay to "truth-twist" a bit? For example, do you necessarily want to explain to your child that they're beloved dog Fido got smushed underneath an 18 wheeler? Most of us would say things like "Fido went to look for his family in Mexico because even doggies have families...".

Sure, certain lies could cause a lot of unnecessary hurt and should always be avoided with those that you care about but this brings me to my next point.

I was recently watching an episode of Boston Legal wherein the father of a child has recently divorced the child's mother. The father is now dying of a form of cancer that requires a viable bone marrow donor in order to give him a fighting chance. The mother has rights to the child's umbilical cord which has been kept frozen in a cryogenic lab in case the child should ever need it. Although the father requests use of the child's umbilical cord to cure him, the mother does not want to release it because she knows that her ex-husband is not actually the biological father of the child. The legal attorney, who is now aware of this fact, is faced with the difficult decision of whether she should observe the duty she has to her client to tell him the truth or whether she should keep the truth from him to prevent any additional mental anguish.

What does she do?

She lies. She tells him that the umbilical cord was accidentally damaged.

This brings about another side of things - if you could tell a lie to save a person from being hurt, would you do it?

I know this sounds bad but depending on the situation, I know that I would lie. While I know that I have no right to decide what would be best for another person, I would always shield someone I love from definitely being hurt. I can't help it. I'm aware of the moral implications but I kind of brush those aside.

Don't take me as the type of gal that would say that you look wonderful in a dress that doesn't flatter your figure. I'm not that black and white. I'll make decisions based on someone's best interest. If I know that a girlfriend is trying to find something that would make them look scrumptious for an afternoon, I will not EVER let them walk out of a change room looking like a pile of lumps and bumps.

I think that, in the end, it is important to identify who you are deceiving with this lie. Is it someone else you are protecting, or is it yourself? Are you lying about kissing a floozy while you're attached because you genuinely love him and sincerely regret getting so hammered OR is it because you don't want to get caught. If your answer is the latter, then maybe your best option is to actually get caught so that you can, once again, have the freedom to explore other options.

Questions, questions...answers anyone?

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Weekend Funny

A few months ago, a family friend bought a laptop and now has no use for it. He had originally bought it as a gift for someone but that person ended up already having a similar laptop and to make a long story short, I ended up having the laptop in question.

So, I am now the owner of a shiny new acer aspire one however, there is one small problem.

The entire computer is in French.

Luckily, I do have a fairly decent understanding of the language and so, I proceeded to try and play around with the language settings but to no avail.

It turns out the entire operating system is in French and needed a full system recovery to solve the problem. After having done this, the computer was still opening up in French but it was at least decent enough to ask me what language I communicate in most of the time.

I obviously chose "English" to which it said, "d'accord!" and continued speaking to me in French...

*forehead slap*

Honestly...

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Couldn't find the cat...


It doesn't help that he's all black. He kind of disappears in shadows in the apartment - very discrete.

Finally I did find him hiding in his little tent.

I guess everyone finds the sun a bit overbearing today! Although he's quite the cabana boy...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Soundtrack to my life...

I often have a soundtrack playing in my head and its never "cool" music either. It could be something I've heard before like a popular melody or a guitar rift (think white stripes 7 nation army...) It could also be something I've made up without quite realizing that I have. Either way, its odd when I catch myself doing it.

For example, I have a very bubbly "driving" specific tune that sounds a bit like the beginning of Nelly Furtado's "All good things".

What encouraged me to write this post however was the emergence of something odd with respects to mental soundtracks. When I'm riding my bike on the way to work with a skirt on, I get the Wicked Witch of the West theme song stuck in my head. Maybe it's a function of all that billowing cloth and the feeling that I'm on a mission because I'm, once again, late for work...I don't know. It's still disturbing.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Random Acts of Kindness

I'm feeling a wee bit anxious tonight - perhaps it's due to the full moon. Maybe I should take the hint and anticipate some sort of morph into a werewolf. Now THAT would be cool!

Although I highly doubt that I will become a hairy, howling shewolf anytime soon, I've been perusing the internet looking for something to distract me from constantly looking at my hands expecting to see fur...

Sir Plantalot came through with a great distraction in the form of an enchanting web - article. Usually, he provides distractions in the form of the chicken dance or something else equally humiliating and embarrassing. So consider yourselves lucky dear readers. You wouldn't want me to share video clips of his chicken dance. That's just something you could live without...

In any case, enough with the werewolves and ramblings.

Has anyone ever heard of the Sconestone yet?


Beautiful, isn't it?

The idea behind it is even more so.

Warren MacLeod, from Nova Scotia, Canada, created this for his wife, Kari. Inspired by her random acts of kindness, Warran wanted to give her something special so that her kindness would never go unnoticed.

The Sconestone however, is not the sort of gift that he wanted her to keep on her desk for the rest of her life. In a few weeks time, it will leave her care and be given to a stranger. This stranger will be tasked with the SconeStone rules:

1. Do at least one Act of Kindess to a person, animal or anything that is good for the planet as a whole.

2. Keep the stone for no more than 7 days.

3. Encourage friends and strangers to touch the stone and pledge to do an act of kindess. Be creative!

4. Please pass the stone on to a person you trust will honour the purpose of the stone

5. And lastly, post on the Sconestone website about your experience with the stone.

What a beautiful way to eternalize the kindness in one person and promote small waves of change.

The Sconestone is destined to travel the world, and influence change both large and small.

To read more about the making,concept and events leading up the Sconestone launch on August 28th, be sure to visit the Sconestone website.






(
photo credit; Sconestone website)

Monday, August 3, 2009

Happy Tuesday and....a Guest Post!

Yesterday was a civic holiday in Canada! I spent part of my day cleaning my apartment which was a lot dirtier than I thought it was and then, I put up hammocks on the balcony and tada! A restful start to my holiday began! I'm nearly finished reading Shantaram which is good and bad at the same time. It's such a wonderful book in so many ways however, I'm eager to start on The Angel's Game. I'm surprised at how long it's taking me to get through a book this summer - I suppose I have less time than I thought I would have to dedicate to reading.

But enough about me, here's a treat for you! I recently participated in a blog swap thrown by Twenty Something Bloggers where we got teamed up with another interested individual to create guest posts for each other's blog. You can check out my post for Andy's blog at WildARSChase.blogspot.com later on today. Without further ado, here he is!

----
What's crackalackin', On & On readers?

Just kidding. I would never use crackalackin' in everyday conversation. I'd wait until I was cast in the appropriate teen romantic comedy.

So I'm Andy, from WildARSChase.blogspot.com. As part of 20 Something Blogger's recent blog swap, Salut! chou chou* and I got paired up, not unlike a blind date.
But unlike a blind date, we weren't forced to awkwardly hug at the end, and I didn't get stuck paying the bill while she tried to text her friends for an escape plan.

It's tough writing a post for a blog you only just discovered. I don't know anything about you, chou chou's readers. You could all be Victoria's Secret models. You could all be homicidal. You could all be homicidal Victoria's Secret models (i.e. Tyra Banks).

I figured my best bet would be taking an element of her page and giving you my own spin.
So, here you go, straight from her sidebar:

Can't:
  • Say no to cookies
  • Limit my America's Next Top Model intake
  • Keep a straight face
  • Do calculus (ooh, we're alike)
Can flirt in a bar:
  • If I want my girlfriend to kill me
  • In one, monosyllabic language
  • If I feel my self esteem needs to be lowered
Recommends:
  • Taco Bell
  • Beings best friends with a mechanic who will fix your car for free
  • Drinking hot chocolate at Starbucks so you feel trendy
  • Pittsburgh
Happiest when...
  • My laundry gets done magically without me doing it
  • I dream of genie
  • I hand in my newspaper articles on my job
  • In bed with my eyes closed because I'm asleep

* Confession: As I'm an ignorant American, I had to google "chou chou." Google says it's a French way of saying "sweetie" or "honey" or any other random nickname. I will ask my girlfriend to call me chou chou. Don't see that going well.