When I was attending school, I had some pretty fun times, sometimes they were a little crazier than I should have allowed, but all in all it was a positive life learning experience on several levels. More recently, I've found myself under an amazing amount of stress, something I've deftly avoided for most of my life. Meditation and prayer have helped me find my inner peace on several occasions, and will continue to do so. I've actually considered starting to write about politics again, maybe just start parodying what I see every day in congress, the executive office, and various governments around the nation and world. At this moment, I don't see a whole lot which warrants endorsing, no movements that invoke passion that haven't already been fought and won or lost (mostly lost, but hey, that's the way life goes). One thing I tell Estee very frequently that there is always a reason to smile. For all of the negative moments of life, the fighting, the anger and hate in the world, all of the reasons to frown, there are so many more to smile. My family, my mom, dad, brothers, sister in law, niece, and nephews. My love, and the life we will spend together. My God. The beauty of nature in and of itself. Sometimes, when I used to walk every day in the neighborhood where I grew up, I would look intensely at the trees, grass, sky, and other various items and parts of my surroundings and take them in, understanding that while such beauty occurs naturally, it's all part of a larger plan. Something beyond my control, other than the lives I can touch personally. Smile. The reasons to do so outnumber and are greater than the reasons not to. Don't get to wrapped up in things you cannot control.

With the advent of Animal Crossing: City Folk, my interest in the AC franchise has been renewed. The atmosphere provided in the game, the music, the colors, the interaction with game elements... all seem to be centered on relaxing. Achieving goals, while taking the broader picture into perspective. If anyone has their Wii connected, hit me up and we can exchange info.

I'm not sure how this eluded me for so long, but I was cracking up today over it. As a Catholic, I have abandoned hope for the liturgy, which, in the typical American church, is as ugly and as maladroit as if it had been composed by Robert Ingersoll and H.L. Mencken for the purpose of driving people away. Incidentally, the modern liturgists are doing a remarkably good job, attendance at Catholic Mass on Sunday having dropped sharply in the 10 years since a few well-meaning cretins got hold of the power to vernacularize the Mass, and the money to scour the earth in search of the most unmusical men and women to preside over the translation. The next liturgical ceremony conducted primarily for my benefit, since I have no plans to be beatified or remarried, will be my own funeral; and it is a source of great consolation to me that, at my funeral, I shall be quite dead, and will not need to listen to the accepted replacement for the noble old Latin liturgy. Meanwhile, I am practicing Yoga, so that, at church on Sundays, I can develop the power to tune out everything I hear, while attempting, athwart the general calisthenics, to commune with my Maker, and ask Him first to forgive me my own sins, and implore him, second, not to forgive the people who ruined the Mass. Edit: Corrected quote blocking.

Yep, it's true, I know most of you are wondering about the mental state of someone deciding to spend the rest of her life with me, but I need some tips and help! My question at the moment is pre-marital counseling. We live pretty far apart, and she will be moving here after the wedding. How, in our limited time together prior to the marriage, can we go through this counseling, and keep it beneficial and productive? Does anyone know of somewhere locally in Cincinnati which could provide such a service, under such circumstances? Thanks for any help you can provide!

I didn't watch the inauguration of the first black POTUS, nor do I intend to watch this one. Having been raised to be colorblind with respect to achievement, I don't see any special reason to do so. Best wishes to all that continue to fling themselves against the inevitable wave of complete government control that is creeping into our society. It didn't start with Obama, nor will it end with him.

I've asked that the SOB Alliance remove me from their list, since I update this very infrequently anymore, and it's often not politically oriented. Check out those guys though, they're excellent writers, and I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it for so long. Who knows, maybe I'll return to political blogging someday. I guess that will happen when there's something worth writing about. This blog will likely be more personal-oriented from this point forward, covering topics on life, sports, gaming, and other things. In other news, I'm engaged. :) Take care all, and without the restrictions of political blogging, I should return soon. Thank you all for being so supportive of me.