CollegeWicca.com - Old News October, 2002

October 28, 2002--Pumpkinny goodness! K'Tok and I carved pumpkins on Sunday night. FYI to anyone who might be looking for a scoop (*groan*) on the "evil" antics of Pagans on Samhain...yeah, we sacrificed two pumpkins. And we will be sacrificing two white aromatherapy candles. And...well, the only other thing I can think of that we're going to sacrifice is lots of candy. K'Tok wanted the bag of PayDays, while I'm a Sour Skittles person, myself. We both wanted the mixed bag with the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins and the York Peppermint Battys. And yes, we got the kiddies some candy, too: Now and Laters. Think of it as revenge for beating the bark off the tree outside my window with a baseball bat.

Rhaevyn's candle pumpkin carving. Yeah yeah yeah, I know: Evil, EVIL Pagans! Hey, if I wanted to be evil, I'd stick the Now and Laters in the freezer before handing them out, now wouldn't I? And at least we didn't get a huge bag of Tootsie Rolls and Mary Janes and those stupid little peanut butter things that come in generic orange and black wrappers. Where do people find those things, anyway? Okay, yes, I admit there are those people who actually like those types of candy...I just happen to not be one of them. The way I see it, if I'm going to have leftover candy because we don't know how many kids are really going to come to our door, I might as well have something I like, right?

So anyway, no, I'm not evil...just malevolant. And my tree was crying out for revenge.

I think, though, the people who were getting the best laughs about our purchases at the grocery store were the people who worked there. Let's see, what else did we get other than four bags of candy? Two tubes of toothpaste (hey, we were both out!), I got some Diet Cokes (I had a craving for them...don't ask...and they were also out of Cherry Coke in bottles), K'Tok got his Lean Pockets and light Pringles...there were several other items, but you get the picture. I was pretty amused looking at our shopping cart.

I love the Samhain season!

October 28, 2002--SPAMMING FOR JESUS! Spam e-mails are evil. Seriously, Satan (if he exists) must have *finally* bought a clue and found a new route to piss people off on a daily basis. Spam ranks right up there with Sloth and Gluttony and Wrath...I swear, it must be the Eighth Deadly Sin. So you can probably imagine my surprise to get a spam e-mail from a Christian group to help them with their campaign and tent revivals. Hello? Evil!

So I'm sure it's not so much a robot crawling my site for e-mail addresses, and just a matter of someone buying my e-mail address from some other marketer, and though you'd think the "@collegewicca.com" would be a clue...wait, that's assuming people are smart. Yeah.

Well, hopefully they'll realize sometime that they're being tools of the devil, and you shouldn't send spam e-mails unless you want people to hate you. I've noticed that they have no e-mail addresses or contact information listed on their website that you get directed to (unless you contribute some moolah, from the looks of it) which makes me feel like they're doubly-damned. But I'm just opinionated...

October 24, 2002--Yet another day off... Despite the music at 2:30 this morning and the constant weed-whackers, it was nice to sleep in again. Gotta love retail schedules. I really would like to have a "normal" weekend for a change. I know I complain about it a lot, but I am aware of how having a regular schedule can be beneficial to your health and stress levels. I may only put in 40 hours, but it's just that being constantly concerned about whether you're opening or closing, and if you have one or two days off just gets old. It doesn't help that I have the sniffles today.

I did, however, put in some more serious work into the new site design. I'm happy with what I have so far, so here's to hoping that I don't change my mind again. The toughest part is spending a lot of time making images, then discovering you don't like them, and having to face making them all over again. Yay indecision.

If all goes as planned, I should have the basic templates for the new version of the site done soon. Then it will be a matter of transferring all the content over again. Lots o' fun!

Finally, a stupid little FYI--never juice a bunch of lemons, and then leave the juice in an open container in your fridge for a long time. The resulting mold looks like it has the same color and consistancy of scrambled eggs...

October 22, 2002--Finally a day off! It's just after 1:30 pm, and I'm still in my pyjamas! Okay, they're really sweats, but you know what I mean. I ain't going outside the apartment, dangit, so I might as well be lazy and comfortable. Anyway, I'm putting a good majority of my day into working on the site, writing, and hopefully I'll get around to doing the dishes.

Right now I have lots of commentary about Kevin Carlyon that I really want to share, but I was taught that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. So I might post it at K'Tok's site, Prawth.net, instead...it all depends on when he gets the time to post anything new. Bloody annoying site design changes....You can form your own commentary by reading Carlyon's latest antics at Wren's Nest. I personally prefer commentary by way of doctoring pictures.

I have another "latest project" that will take a while to complete, but hopefully will fill another void in the world of paganism. Yeah, Rhae's writing a book now. Actually, it's been in my head for a long while, and I've finally begun putting it on paper. Er...Word document, to be more precise, but you know what I mean. I've been wanting to do it for a long time, but had neither the motivation nor the inspiration to finish it. I seriously considered writing about Wicca in college, just like the main subject of this site, but who needs yet another Wicca 101 book? The last time I was really seriously working on it was just before my mom died, so you can probably guess why it was shelved. Besides, there are only so many different ways that people can tell you the same information with slight variations. Now I want to keep the topic of college Wicca to this site so you get new essays to read every so often. I'm really excited to be working on this, and while I don't know how long it will be before it sees the publishing process, I finally have some inspiration to finish it. I've had this "little" creative urge for so long now that I've even given it a name...and Athena's been pounding on my brain for so long now, that writing is like Hephestus' hammer to my skull.

October 17, 2002--A scary story... Since we're coming up on Samhain, I figured it's time to share a scary story to get everyone in the mood for the season. When I was Christian (I was about 14 at the time), my youth group decided to host the sermon part of a church service one time. They found a skit to do, and since we were learning about "alternative" methods to tell a story, we decided to do a Clown Service. Yes...we dressed up as clowns. Big noses, poofy wigs, stupid costumes...the works. Basically, the skit was about no matter what walk of life you come from, you can change your ways and get to Heaven, yadda, yadda, yadda. Though somehow I felt it was wrong that the guy who played Jesus had to dress up, too, but I digress.

Well, I happened to miss the youth group meeting where we chose our parts. Mind you, I didn't like the other members of my youth group to begin with, so I was not surprised what part I got stuck in. I actually am kind of proud of it, now, and the memory greatly amuses me. If you ever wonder why I am Pagan, well...

I was a clown prostitute in church! I wore a short skirt, tons of makeup, and a t-shirt that said, "If you don't like my apples, then don't shake my tree!" knotted at my lower ribs. Bare midriff, high heels...the works. I'm also proud to say that I was the only one who got a laugh from the congregation when I said my lines.

However, if you ever think you've got it bad, just remember you weren't forced to dress up, not only as a clown, but as a clown prostitute, and parade yourself around in church. I think my soul burned away that day....

October 14, 2002--*ROFLMAO* Today's Penny Arcade strip! Nuff said!

October 14, 2002--Yes, I *do* have a new site design idea! Okay, let's see how long this one gets worked on before I decide that there's something else wrong with it and I scrap it for one of my original ideas. I am my own worst critic. Everyone else probably (incorrectly) assumes I'm a Libra. So at least I'll be nice enough to give you a new essay to read while we all wait to see what happens next.... (This one is dedicated to Azoq because he's been such a loyal reader and an overall cool guy to talk to!)

October 7, 2002--Hi Dan! My friend, Dan-the-Man, visited me at work recently and admitted to surfing this site when he's bored at his job...so this update is dedicated to him so he has something new to read. *grin*

I spent a long time working on the new site design, only to scrap it this weekend. I really liked the pop-up style menu that I created in Fireworks, but I realized that I wanted to simplify the site, not make it more difficult. It became apparent that I was adding on more and more sub-sections which really defeated the purpose of having an "easy"-to-navigate website. So back to the proverbial drawing board...but that's okay. I have several ideas that I'm trying out before I put them to the public test.

For you, the good news is that it made me decide to not wait to post the Group and Solitary Sabbat Activities. These pages are to give you ideas of things you can do for your holidays...not just for rituals, but "mundane" activities to share with family, friends, or your whole campus. It took me a while to finish them, but hey, they're up now, aren't they? Those pages were my main stumbling block to get done before writing new material (for some reason, I have a hard time writing something new when I have unfinished essays) so I hope to get some fresh material out of my head and onto a page soon. :) I may add some ideas to the pages later, too, but it took me this long...onto new projects!

I will get some more updates done soon...I know several of you have submitted your links, but I've been so wrapped up in working on site design that I didn't want to add too much new content before I switched it all over. However, since that's been postponed, I'll be adding other updates shortly.

Until then, join me in saying: GET BACK TO WORK, DAN-THE-MAN! *LOL*

October 3, 2002--Meditation for Dummies. I'm terrible at meditating. My mind is constantly active, so I tend to have a hard time settling it down. I also try to meditate before going to sleep for that main purpose: if I can calm the mental chatter, I should be able to get a good night's sleep. (Yeah, right!) But I had a few interesting things happen last night that just made me feel good, so of course since I'm paying for the webhosting, I'm going to share.

First of all, I have to explain the set up of my room. Apparently it's good feng shui for the head of your bed to be facing north. Not that I know much about feng shui...it was more a matter of coincidence about how way the room was designed (location of windows, closet, etc.) which meant that I almost had to put my bed with the head to the north, flush against the north east corner of the room. So I lie on my back, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...

I began to hear the crickets chirping outside the window to the north. They weren't quite drowned out by the air conditioning units beside the building to the east. In the meantime, I have a Sound Spa by HoMedics on the floor to the west which I love to keep on the "Ocean" setting. Suddenly I felt very centered when I realized that cars (combustion engines) are travelling down the highway which is south of me, and I could hear my upstairs neighbors (spirit?) walking around above me. I don't often feel centered like that, so it was an interesting experience to put "modern elements" into their corresponding directions and just accept that my bed was a cocoon of sacred space. It just felt so good!

What I was visualizing (not dreaming...I know I was still awake) was pretty interesting to me, too. I've done progressive meditiaions, and have been led in them by people/tapes/etc. before, but it wasn't just an accepted awareness like last night. I'll save a further explanation for a later post, though. *grin*

October 1, 2002--It's me again. I'm sleepy. So much for having the day off on Sunday. There's a lot that I planned on getting accomplished, but it just didn't happen. I did, however, finally get my books out of crates and onto my bookshelves. It's nice to be able to sit in my room and see a 5-shelf bookcase chock full of Pagany goodness. Considering I've read most of the books, it also became apparent that a trip to the bookstore was in order.

So I came home from Barney Noble's about $55 poorer, but it was worth it. I picked up a copy of AJ Drew's Wicca for Couples, which, considering K'Tok and I work together now and we're not quite a "coven," has so far proven a good choice. Word of warning: Read the book with an open mind. Drew is pretty blunt about some of his convictions, and you can misinterpret some of his information as an attack on other Pagan authors (particularly Buckland and Ravenwolf). Just remember to not be a blind fan of any authors out there...it's best to read as many different opinions as possible and form your own beliefs from all that you have read. What I've read so far has been quite refreshing, and whether or not I agree with what he says, it's a nice change to read the work of an author who says what he thinks instead of sugar-coating the religion to get it past the editors and/or just make a quick buck with yet another book of lame spells.

I also picked up a copy of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Priestess of Avalon. I've read the other books in the Avalon series, and The Mists of Avalon is easily my favorite. But I have hopes for this one, and it will at least be an addition to further develop the Avalon mythos that she has set up, if anything else. It's too bad that she died a few years ago, however, because I'm sure it would have been interesting to see further books in the series. I also liked her take on the Trojan War in The Firebrand, for those of you who like the Avalon books. It's a lot like Mists, but it's fun to see things from the point of view of characters that are usually laregely ignored. Finally, I just have to note that I still have a tape of the made-for-tv movie of Mists that was on TNT last year. I like to watch the first half of the movie...it was really well done as far as following the story is concerned. But how do they condense the whole book into one concise movie? Let's just say they don't. The second half was WAY off, if you're concerned about staying with the story. Entertaining, yes. Accurate, no.

My last two books are to feed my Neil Gaiman addiction. I borrowed and read a friend's copy of Dustcovers: The Collected Sandman Covers 1989-1996 before, and had to have a copy of my own just for the exchange between Gaiman and McKean about "fish" that goes on for several issues. What can I say? I'm easily amused! I did find the details about the covers interesting, and it's a nice addition for my collection...goes right up there on the shelf beside my DC Vertigo Tarot set, courtesy of K'Tok, à la my 24th birthday.

My final purchase, also a Gaiman fix, is The Sandman: Book of Dreams. It's actually a collection of stories written by other authors that use the characters from Sandman. Basically, I wanted a book that I could bring with me to work, and read a whole story during my lunch break. Nothing big, but it's better than getting into the middle of a chapter, only to have to get back on the floor at a good part of the story. Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors proved a valuable companion on the Metro when I lived in Paris, and I'm hoping that this book works out the same way. And while the stories aren't written by Gaiman this time, I'm still very fond of the characters and love getting new perspectives on them. I just have to say that Sandman has shaped so many of my religious beliefs, which is why I'm very fond of the stories.

Speaking of the Sandman, though...it's time for bed. As I stated earlier, I'm sleepy! That probably won't stop me from reading another chapter or two before I crash, though!