February 26, 2003--No, I don't deal well with stress Supposedly two days off in a row, and I *still* had to go into work (and early!) on one of them...today. For the past month, I've worked 6 out of 7 days each week. That wouldn't be so bad if I could just get caught up a little bit. I really would like to crawl into bed for a week and just let the world slip away so I can come back feeling perky and refreshed again. *sigh* It really drags on my desire to write. Yes, I'm feeling rather bitter tonight. And right now we're getting some more light freezing rain. That's not adding to the mood.

But the good news is I believe I have my e-mail working properly again. Of course, the majority of the e-mail I'm receiving is spam, but isn't that just typical?

I've also been trying to put some serious time into making new Renaissance Faire costumes for K'Tok and myself. Faire is about a month away and I'm nowhere near finished, so let's hope that I can get them done in time.

I have some ideas as far as lessons are concerned, since that was what the majority of you voted you wanted to see here. I'm trying to work on quality, but most importantly is ideas...making a plan of attack, plotting out activities, researching extra reading material, you know...the whole nine yards.

However, right now sleep sounds like the best thing to do tonight.

February 19, 2003--Addendum Okay, so I've been actually responding to the e-mails I've received so far. However, seems that my web host decided to change the settings on the e-mail server. That wouldn't be much of a problem if the e-mail I had received telling how to set up the accounts wasn't on my other hard drive.

So the good news is I'm still receiving e-mails. As soon as I get it all figured out again, I'll launch a whole battery of replies. I have a few other methods up my sleeve to get those responses out, but I'd like to get this taken care of first. I'll keep you updated from here...

February 18, 2003--Here's to you! Congratulations to the members of the Appalachian Pagan Student Union for their venture of public acknowledgement! Good luck, and you have our support!

Hmmm...maybe if I take a trip out to headquarters again, I'll take a detour to visit during a meeting...I miss college groups, sometimes!

February 16, 2003--Can I crash out now? Inane ramble alert! This has been an incredibly busy week. Not only was it the beginning of our President's Day/Valentine's Day sale (#1 field store in the company, yeah!) but we were visited by the VP of our Retail division, my general manager, and in theory at least, the manager of our showroom will be in tomorrow, weather permitting. At the moment, sleet and ice is accumulating on the road, and hopefully we won't have a repeat of December's ice storm that left people in the area without power for about a week or more. I made the decision to call my co-worker to close the store about an hour after opening today just because of the ice...we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Anyway, K'Tok gave me several wonderful Valentine's gifts...the most important of which (that you benefit from, anyway) was a new hard drive for my computer. So far we've wiped most of the files off the old hard drive, but I'm sure there will be others that we've forgotten. It's going to take a while to get all of that back up to speed...for example, we discovered that all the e-mails I haven't replied to yet are still on the old hard drive and need to be transferred over. Since it's going to take a bit to get everything comfortable again and to get my brain back out of the store, if you have any questions you may want to pose them on the Message Board for now.

It's funny, though, because I feel as though I have an entirely new computer to learn because we put on a new operating system and everything. So I'll be looking for a file and then remember that for "easier navigation" I decided to put it in a new place. There are a lot of "Well, duh!" moments because of these brilliant flashes of inspiration means I've changed my files around. Yes, I'm also good at putting down my car keys in a new place to make them "easier to find," only to discover I have to hunt for 15 minutes when I really need them. Now K'Tok and I are looking forward to putting our efforts into our network so we have a graphics work station that will benefit our sites as well. It's all a matter of affording a new case, some new components (we're particularly waiting for certain video cards) and taking the time to plan out what we're going to need, what will be used most, and getting the most out of our money. I'm looking forward to it and I have plans on how this site will benefit. I can't wait to get started, I just need to be able to get out of Writer's Block again!

February 12, 2003--I saw it! It exists! Like the Loch Ness Monster, the Peeps Fun Bus really exists! It was parked in the parking lot of my mall the other day! I think the driver was staying at the hotel beside us. Anyway, yes, I love Peeps. For a long time, nothing said "Spring is coming" more than the sudden appearance of Peeps and Bunnies on the shelves at the grocery store. Now they have Peeps in many different sizes, shapes, colors, and flavors (try both the Vanilla Creme and Strawberry Creme Hearts sometime) for holidays throughout the year. So yeah, I'm a bit confused as to what time of the year it is anymore (is it Ostara already?) but that's okay. *grin*

Why is it sounding like College Wicca is becoming a commercial for Peeps? Hey, I just talk about things I like, you know! And I had to show off the bus...now I hope it's still there, 'cause I'm bringing my camera in tomorrow to get my own picture....

February 10, 2003--It's been a week... Version 3.0 has been up for a week, and I must say I'm quite pleased with the response from y'all. Thanks everyone!

I've been thinking of writing some more essays lately, but nothing has come to fruition yet. I've been so busy at work that I haven't had much time to think. When I come home, I've been working on Renaissance Faire costumes for K'Tok and myself because the physical activity is a good relief from my job. Sleeping and taking stress-relief baths are my other two favorite after-work activities. I hate stress. My left eye has been twitching up a storm lately because of it. We're gearing up for a sale, plus I'm training two new people, so it seems like the work is never-ending. I think by the end of the month, though, the stress levels will go down, my brain will finally come back home, electrical appliances will begin working correctly again, and I'll be able to write .

I have finished reading another book though (Spells and How They Work by Janet and Stewart Farrar), and that will be posted as the next Book of the Month as soon as I get around to organizing some thoughts. I'm also not entirely surprised by the results of the Minipoll (see to the right) so far. That poll is going to stay up for another week, though. You'll have to pardon me if it takes a while for lessons to be made. I have begun writing them in a notebook by my bed, but everytime I re-read over them, I don't like how they're going, so I start over. *grin* But the same thing happened with writing out the Group and Solitary Activities for the different Sabbats...that only took a few years to write! Actually, most of them were done in two days when I finally sat down and did the work...but for that, days off are necessary!

Since there were no major updates at the moment, I'm going to leave you with a few links...

Witch/Pagan Resources - One of the other websites I found when I first began. It's an excellent resource, and I love their site dearly, but I received an e-mail from them today stating that if site use does not go back up, they're going to have to shut down. Why? Websites cost money, and if they're not being used, the webmasters are virtually throwing money away. (That's why I'm asking for donations, as well...to help with costs and to improve the resources.) Please enjoy what WPR has to offer, and help them stick around.

Oh My Gods! - A daily Pagan comic strip. It's incredibly funny, and *so true*!

Astrodienst: Astrology and Horoscope home page - Okay, I'm a terrible skeptic, but this is one of the best sites I've found for relatively accurate horoscopes. Once you set up your information, you can visit for your daily horoscope. I'm not saying you should set up your life around it, but check it out and see what you think.

Susan Miller's Astrology Zone - Speaking of astrology (hey, I like the subject!) she's an up-and-coming astrologer, too. Just another viewpoint on the months ahead.

Enjoy, and when I'm back, things should be in the clear!

February 2, 2003--Welcome home! I've been trying to think of what to write for this space for a while now. Certainly, the text should be informative, yet witty. It should be celebratory for Imbolc, the new moon, and even for the Chinese New Year. Then, in the wake of the space shuttle tragedy, it should be uplifting and even inspirational.

How often is an overly verbose Gemini at a loss for words?

I have so many different thoughts running through my head about what this time of year means to me, plus recent events in the news and in my life, and it can just feel overwhelming and muddled up sometimes. I was recently promoted to manager of my store, and while I'm excited for the challenge, there are a lot of hurdles to get through. Stress has never been my friend, but the task ahead is to learn how to use that stress to an advantage. Bear with me...sometimes my thoughts go out on their own in need of fresh air.

What does it all seem to boil down to? I can't speak for everybody, but I think it's appropriate that this is a time of rebirth. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is making its way back to us. It seems impossible to believe when we're still freezing our tails off while we scrape the ice off our cars in the morning, but I've noticed the sun a little higher when I go into work in the morning, and that there is still a little bit of sunlight left when I leave if I'm not closing. The light returns. The houseplants beside the window next to me are showing signs of rebirth as I type this. Surely enough, even my aloe plant is suddenly growing like a pre-teen hitting puberty.

Even as far as the space shuttle Columbia is concerned, for once we're again taking a moment to forget all the petty concerns and selfish desires for a moment to remember that the bravest of people tend to have some of the most humble backgrounds. My new personal hero is a woman who came into the store the other night who is on her third bout with cancer. She and I had a bonding moment because she reminds me so much of my mother...she's not letting her disease stop her from succeeding in her life. She's not letting it shape her future. She's using it as a reason to become the best person she possibly can be.

Rebirth...it's a strange concept to people, I suppose. Those who face death, those who look it in the eyes every day, those who fear it...the very possibility that we will return or move into new life phases can seem highly improbable at times. But Imbolc is a good time to take a look around and see how the world is regenerating on its own in its own way. We can follow suit.

I decided to hold off posting this new version of the site until now because it reflects the idea of rebirth, too. The old has been culled away, while the new has grown in its place. New areas have cropped up, and while the look and theme is the same, the structure has changed. I've added reading suggestions on virtually every page, there's now a Student Store, and I've finally gotten around to doing book reviews. Yes, it seems more commercialized, but hey...any help you can provide by buying through this site keeps it pop-up free. (And don't forget...the amount of information you can find here is worth the price of at least one book, so if you like it, hey, shoot me a dollah as motivation to keep writing and improving the site. *grin*) The menus have descriptions to help you out if you're looking for certain sections or essays. When in doubt, see the site map if you don't know where to go. There are probably still some things that I need to work on, but gosh darnit, I want to actually get to writing new essays for a change!

So I guess my rambling should end here. Like I said, there are so many thoughts going through my mind...I don't expect them to be coherant and linear, but they needed to be put into writing.

So anyway...I hope you enjoy the new version of the site. I also hope to be able to spend some more time on it, though I know the next few weeks are going to be very rough. Take care, everyone, and think of whatever the next phase may be, it's a rebirth into a new life. Turn it into an opportunity to grow.