Political Correctness eXtreme!

Niggardly: a word most-likely of Scandinavian origin, meaning miserly, having nothing to do with that other n-word.

As many of you may well recall, a few years back one of the Washington, D.C. Mayor's advisors was forced to resign after one of his less educated colleagues was offended by his use of the term niggardly to describe the way that he handled an expense account. That's right, he was basically fired for using (in the correct context) a term that is not even etymologically related to the other n-word.

However, in a rather amusing turn of events, the mayor was forced to quickly hire him back when it came to light that he had been the mayor's token gay man.

Hooray for IKEA!

In a very exciting press conference today the Swedish home and lifestyle store IKEA announced that they will be building a new store in Draper, Utah, at the corner of Bangerter Highway and I-15. Sadly, it does take time to build stores, it will open in Spring 2007. I guess that in the mean time I'll have to be content to shop on-line.

Fake it 'til you make it

This morning Pinetree (whom I love beyond measure), in a round about way that nearly brought me to tears, pointed out how depressing I can come across at times. So, in an attempt to be more optomistic (which at one time was my natural tendency) I'm going to post a few of my favorite quotes:

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow."
-Helen Keller
(so yeah, this is obvious and literal, but I still really like the philosophical implications)

"To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully."
-James Allen

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
-Marianne Williamson (often falsely attributed to Nelson Mandela)

"And now, my beloved son... let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God."
- Mormon to his son Moroni, Moroni 9:6

And at times that last thought is the only thing that keeps me going. I may stumble, fall, and cry, but in the end I still hope that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that if I repent, and be faithful I will be able to rest my soul in the kingdom of God, because He knows that I am often fatigued, and that I wonder whether it is really any better to continue pushing than it is to let go.

Black Hole

I really don't know what to say. I've just been walking around in a state of melancholy for the past four or five days. Life really sucks some times... hearts break, beloved grandmas die, and life feels as though the seams have already disintegrated. But there are a few bright spots, such as Wiggle, my neighbor/home teaching companion Willard (who is as odd and amusing as his name implies), and Arrested Development. I don't know what I would do without those things. So, I guess that those are what I am most thankful for tonight.

Oh, and I guess that I'm also thankful that I looked extremely fine tonight in my silver button-up, and black sweatshirt (I probably ought to work on the humility issue).