I need to come up with another speech topic for my speech class here at work. The other day, this chick talked about her experience with veal farming. Of course, she made the comment several times that her speech wasn't going to go over well with the "vegetarians in the room" and everyone laughed and hee-hee'd. The chick next to me said; "I'd love me some veal" while looking my way with a shit-eating grin. The point of the speech was that as a child, this chick helped raise calves on her family's dairy farm. She didn't realize that some were going to be used as veal. When she found out, she cried and mourned their loss. However, her dad explained that the farm is a business and farm animals are a commodity. She said that this was a very important lesson for her to learn.

So. I was thinking that I might do my speech on vegetarianism. It's bound to make people angry. Yet, as it seems lately I'm cultivating my inner mean person, I think this topic is timely and appropriate. And while I can perform the speech in a way in which I mention only the "benefits" of a vegetarian diet and ignore the horrors of the meat industry all together, I am sure eye rolling action will ensue.

*Scheherazade - this is the word that spell-check recommended I use in place of "hee-hee".

Currently I am traveling in Thailand with my boyfriend Ramon, his brother Aidan @Eurasian_Nation, their brother Omar and a group of our friends. There are several areas that we need to cover and write about in several travel and sports journals.

Here's a glimpse of the epic trip...

Island cruise at Ao Phra Nang, Krabi, Thailand...

Island hopping...

Lunch time...

I've seen too many angry blogs on the Xanga front page, which makes me wonder:

Why are we here actually?

What made us sign up?

Are we here to make friends or enemies?

Are we here to be heard or force our beliefs on others?

Are we here for real or Xanga is just a pit stop for us?

I am here because I just love to blog, my fellow Xangans. I stay because I believe in the power of friendship.

I know we all don't go so well with each other, but you know, once you sign up here, you are already a Xangan.

As a professional organizer, (I don't know why we use the term "professional" since there are no "unprofessional" organizers - at least not by official title - maybe our industry has a self-image issue!) I've been in hundreds of homes.

People always ask us, "Is this the worst you've ever seen?" and obviously, even though someone has to be the worst, we always say, "No, no...not even close!" because what they're really asking for is reassurance. The truth is, the bigger the mess, the more exciting the job; that's because there's a more dramatic difference between the "before" and "after" for the client who is willing to embrace the process.

We don't go in and wave a magic wand. And sometimes we actually have to tell people, "We're not magicians." As my dad sometimes says, "You'll never succeed if you try to fit twenty pounds of shit in a ten-pound bag."

We don't have an arsenal of unique products known only to us, either. We're all for "shopping the house" and using what the client might have on hand before we go out and buy anything new.

We are practical, logical, creative, and experienced. We have the ability to see beyond the emotional strings attached to so many of their things, as well as the ability to look at any particular room, closet, cupboard, or drawer with fresh eyes and see the potential, the possibilities.

It's amazing, really, that some people would rather remodel an entire kitchen so their four sets of dishes and dozens of measuring cups will fit better, than to purge things they don't really need. They'd rather pay a fancy closet company to install a new closet system to fit all the clothes they've been hanging on to for decades, even though there are sizes they'll never fit into again and styles that will never come back - they'd rather spend money on that than to downsize and keep only what they'll realistically wear.

The real key to success for most of our clients is not, as they often hope, bigger closets, better shelving, fancier bins, or sophisticated storage systems. It's usually about getting rid of some of their stuff. Almost everyone has it - too much stuff - and people love their stuff! They have big plans for using it, fixing it, getting around to it, reading it, displaying it...any number of excuses for filling the attic to the rafters or cramming the basement full of boxes that don't get opened for years.

Once a client hops on board the organizing train of thought, it can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. Once they agree to let their space define the quantity of stuff they own rather than allowing their stuff to run and sometimes ruin their lives, it's very exciting for us, and freeing for them.

We aren't rocket scientists - not even close. But I love my job and the challenges we face every day. I love that we're able to come up with ideas that are unique to each client based on their situation and their needs - no cookie-cutter solutions for us. But mostly I love the people we meet, especially when they tell us that we've changed their lives. I can't ask much more than that from an honest day's work.

Looking back at my old posts, I couldn't believe how juvenile I was and how different I look back then. I was this sullen girl who hardly smile for the camera and I rambled too much in my blogs. My brother who is (was) a Xangan as well has decided that there are better things to do in life and he wants to distant himself from Xanga. He's now on friends lock and hardly updates. My sister shuts down her old site and hardly updates in her new account. So, yeah, I'm the last sibling standing.

I just hope they won't quit Xanga altogether.

I have zero tolerance for inconsiderate, rude, potty-mouthed people.

If you can't be nice, then please get out of my way.

My man Ramon (@Eurasian_Nation's brother) doing what he loves doing. These and then more.

He's an adventurer, a globetrekker, a thrillseeker, a photojournalist and a prince charming - all in one big package.

I'm always amazed at the energy of money. I haven't figured out how it works exactly but can see the dynamics of it and how people interact with it in different ways. Some people have difficulty and struggle with money. Never seem to have enough or are in a lot of debt with negative flow. Or even the way a person accumulates money can be a struggle. Then there are others who have a positive energy with money. These are the people that seem to attract money, it comes easily for them. If they desire something, the funds or resources seem to show up for them at the right time. And of course there are ebbs and flows to each, sometimes money is there and sometimes it isn't, no matter what's your core relationship.

I have been working on gaining my power back with money. I am used to working hard for my money but also see the gifts that have been given to me from others when it's involved getting jobs or taking care of myself financially. I'll give you a little history:

I've been working since I was 11 years old, first with berry picking and babysitting. Then at age 14 I went to work at a pizza parlor that my uncle managed and worked there all through high school. Senior year I found a secretarial job with a start up company through my father's contact. The owner of this company thought I should go to college. 

Looking back, I see that I have worked a lot, started working at a young age and have a strong work ethic. But I also have had situations and people in my life who've set a stone on the path that I've walked down. I appreciate and respect the dynamics of this give and take interaction.

Working is only part of this equation with money. There's also intuition about money. Just as you can be in tune with your body, other people, etc. you can also be in tune with money. For some maybe it comes easily and for others maybe not so much. I like to think that everyone is gifted with this, but how much they are able to implement it is the key. I know this may be a simplified way of looking at it, I know it's much more complex than that. And some people may not agree with me at all. But I truly believe that whether its money or your body, your family, relationships, whatever... if you focus your attention on it, then you will see results.

Up until recently I've been ignoring my money. I pay my bills, I go to work. But my money hasn't gotten any attention from me. Like a neglected child it does what it's suppose to, but hasn't been very cooperative overall. However, Lately I've worked on being much more aware of my money and how it comes to me, how I spend it, what I plan to do with it short and long term. And since I've been doing this, I've found an abundance of money that has come to me in many different forms! Avenues that I would never have imagined. This is the part that fascinates me with money.

I write this only because this is how I've always experienced money personally. It is not a sweeping generalization on how money interacts with everyone. Right now it's good money energy, it's been not-so-positive for a long while. So, I'm going to continue to work on gaining back my power and continue creating that positive interaction with it.

There's one male Xangan who constantly blast the Ish sites editors and rants about quality blogs. Unfortunately for him, he himself hardly have any traffic on his site, even when he posts something deep and profound. Why? Because he doesn't have that winning personality - he comes off as arrogant and can be extremely rude to Xangans. The only ones who can tolerate him are people who share some of his personality traits.

It doesn't matter if you write the most amazing blog ever, if you can't win people over with your personality. It doesn't take much effort to be friendly and kind to your fellow Xangans.

For once, I'm so glad to be back in my quiet little shell. The ticking time bomb. Coz out there, there was no shell, nothing that could explode... only implosion after implosion... and that was killing me faster then a fucking elephant-size dose of arsenic.

I'm glad for somethings. I met some brilliant people these past few days, and I got to know why, when, where, how of the lives of who have nothing better to do then think it's cool to party 24/7, only to get their asses kicked by people who are better off than them, the miserable losers in brand clothes. Maybe I am exaggerating, I mean I did have some good times, but that's not me.

It's not like me to be that inane. And I know it sounds like "Yeah, I'm so much better then them!" but seriously that's not it. I don't think I'm better than them. They are who they are, and if they're happy with their existence, wtf is anybody to say about how dumb it is? I mean it's not like they don't know. *Sigh* Anyway, I doubt if I'm going get back into the partying circuit any time soon. But I suppose eventually for all the better friends I made, I will have to.

I love you people.