An evening filled with MAE

Tonight was a night of nights. Oh man was it ever so amazing.

MAE(Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience) was beyond what I could have imagined them to be.

I've listened to a lot of music in my life, but nothing as ever reached out to me and affected me in a way that MAE has. They have a song for any and every mood I've been through. I can count on them anytime of the day to lift my spirits.

It is upsetting to know that this was my one and only concert I saw them at. I really didn't want it to end...

It does feel like a piece of me has died inside. To know that I won't be hearing anything new from them anymore or being able to see them live again.....it sucks, a lot.

I'm just glad I was able to see them tonight...and I'm glad Dave is such a wonderful person to have played an acoustic set out back on the staircase AFTER the show.

Overall, tonight was more than I expected it to be...

and I feel absolutely amazing. 

Even if the band never comes back together or produces another song together, I have all their music on cds and my ipod...so they'll be with me on all my life experiences and journeys.

They always have a song to fit the situation.

Thank you for everything you've given me MAE. You're forever appreciated. Thank you.

What makes us so much greater?

Driving home from work today, after a long stressful day, I noticed a dead animal in the road. Now even though it was dead, I avoided it...the car behind me didn't even try. It just ran right over the dead animals body.

Do you think it even crossed their mind that the animal was once alive...and even if it is dead, you shouldn't just run it over more? How would they feel if the day that person died, we just left their body out in the street to get run over?

Would we think it's cruel? Probably.
Would we more than likely pull a human body out of the street, even if dead? Probably.
So why don't we do the same for animals? How come not everyone watches out for the dead bodies in the road?

Do we really feel so much greater than 'that squirrel in the road'?
If you, I, we, whoever does...that isn't right. Everything has a right to life...and even after life, respect.

What makes us so different that we should be treated so much higher than any other animal walking this earth?
We have more intelligence? Sure...some could say that.
Is it proven? Probably.
Does that make us better? Definitely not.
Not when you see what we've done with this "intelligence." We've spawned wars, weapons, weapons of mass destruction, etc.
We WILL be our own races(and OTHERS) demise. It's quite unfortunate it's come to that. Any day, the human race can just wipe itself, and everything else for that matter, off the fact of the earth.


And what will it take for us to realize that? 
Well, I'm sure there are a LARGE number of us that realize that already...but we can only do so much.
So what it comes down to is that EVERYONE will realize that truth ONLY as it's happening.
So much for being intelligent. Ha.

Just Remember the Mayonnaise Jar

So I got an email the other day from a friend...
At first glance it looked just like any other chain letter, especially since this person never sends me emails, but something got the better of me and told me to just read it...
so I did. This is what it was:
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'The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough;remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy classand had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jarand start to fill it with golf balls.He then asked the students if the jar was full.They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and pouredit into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.' The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the tableand poured the entire contents into the jar, effectivelyfilling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family,children, health, friends, and favorite passions, things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,You will never have room for the things that are
important to you. So... Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.' 'Take care of the golf balls first -- The things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.' One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked'. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Please share this with other "Golf Balls"
--END EMAIL--
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It's a really interesting look at life when you think about it, and it really does make sense.
I really think there are too many of us today that fill our jars with too much sand and we never find the time/space for the golf balls/pebbles. And that, in my opinion, causes us too much stress as we worry to much about the small things in life and regret to enjoy the things we want to. But sometimes I guess it can't be helped, especially in the type of world we live in now...where everything seems like it's slowing falling apart around us.
As for myself, I am worrying too much about the small things...my small things being my debt. But it's just something I want gone. Once it is, there will be a ridiculously LARGE amount of weight lifted off my shoulders.
I just wish I could have listened to my own advice I give to people when it comes to credit...
'Only spend what you have available to you in cash so you can pay it off.'
The idea makes total sense...You build credit, don't accrue interest, and don't have anything extra to pay back...
But come on, you know at first it never works out that way. Most people in life don't learn lessons until they learn it the hard way.
And I found that out the HARD way, but now I'm cleaning up that whole credit debt mess. Sometimes I still finding my 'bad side' getting the best of me and being like "Well, it's only like $15....no biggie to put on that credit card." But when I continually let it happen, it builds up...QUICK. Though, I am getting much better at resisting purchases. So kudos to me on that. Now it's just a matter of patience and perseverance...all things come to an end eventually, as I'm hoping will happen with my debt.

On a last note, back to the email, I really enjoy the closing statement:
The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked'. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

It's a very true statement, and I think for a long time I was always to oblivious to that fact and I've probably lost some meaningful friendships from that...some I probably can't get back no matter how hard I try. But I still find myself crawling back to try to dig up some past relationships and see if I can maybe re-spark that fire we had. I'm in need of more/new friends.
Let's see how that works out for me.
So just remember, take some time, even just two minutes, out of your day to get in touch with friends, new or old.

So I kind of skipped a day...oops.

My bad. I don't really know why I missed blogging yesterday. I thought of doing it but just...didn't. Hmm...oh well.

Let's see... what's been going on the past two days?

((--I should mention I tend to have HORRIBLE memory retention. =/ ))

WEDNESDAY:
-Off from work. Not my typical or even WANTED day off. I hate being off during the middle of the week. I definitely enjoy having my Mondays off. It's that sense of having a "long weekend" that I enjoy. The random break in the middle of the week just doesn't work out for me.
-5&1/2 hours of non-stop PSP gaming. Yeah, I really enjoy my video games. Any and all systems or platforms. All genres and types. I love em all. New school or old school. Yum.
-Went to a few photography stores with my ex. I am a novice photographer but I really enjoy and am enthusiastic about it. I have been kind of slacking at it lately. I have to get my butt back in gear and get back out there taking pictures of the world. Every picture I don't take is an oportunity missed.
-Spent the night with her till about 7pm. Just hung out, ate some food, took the shortest nap. Then went home.
-Went back to play PSP. Again, I love video games.
-Went back to the ex's around 1am. She couldn't sleep and wanted me to keep her company for a bit. Ended up staying the night there and woke up the next day and went home at 7am.

THURSDAY:
-Work from 8:45am till 6:15pm. Nothing exciting.
-Home at 6:30pm and played PSP as usual. Video games = my life. sad.
-Friend called me and stopped by around 8pm and we talked for almost 2 hours. Talked about whats been going on in our lifes lately, relationships and such. Became kinda emotional...we both miss our ex's. =[
-Stayed up till about 1:30am playing PSP and talking to people online. I have a hard time sleeping at night. It's become a bad habit lately.
-Woke up at 3:00am and talked to the "wifey." Wifey= friend of mine from NIU. Bit of an inside joke. =] she's funny.
-Fell back asleep around 3:30.

Past two days haven't been anything too exciting. Oh well. So goes life.