CASH OR ANNUAL PAYMENTS?

Suffice to say, since I'm still at work, I didn't win the California Lotto yesterday. However, neither did anyone else. Now, it's $115 Mill. damn, dude.

THE WATER BEARER

Oh my goodness...what to do...

Horoscope (by astrocenter.com)
It may be time for you to go back to school to get another degree in your field, or to begin studying a completely new field. One thing is for sure: you are ready for a change. You likely have not been progressing at work as quickly as you'd like. It's not due to your lack of ability, but may be because of a poor fit with your employer. A change of jobs would do you good, though a change of careers would be even better for you, dear Aquarius.

FIRST BOAT RIDE
First, she said "I have a new hat!" with that little grin on her face that surfaces everytime she speaks. I told her it was a beautiful hat. It was soft and lime green. She was about 2 and a half feet tall. Her next words, with sort of the same intensity, but with a barely distinguishable hint of sadness, were "My mom just died", and that was it. It was in the tone that people normally say, "It's beautiful out today!" She looked up at me with her clear blue eyes, as if trying to determine how she should feel by deciphering my reaction. I was astonished that someone so young could also lose a mother, and was at a loss for words. But before I could say anything, she said, "but I have Laurie, and my mom has sisters, and my grandpa and, um, and my mom has brothers." Then she smiled again. I smiled at her, and looked up at Laurie, who was sitting next to her, and she sent back a knowing smile. "Laurie bought me my hat," she said. Could she comprehend?

Just then the captain of the ship then asked, "For who is this their first boat ride?" All the kids, including the little girl with the lime green hat, raised their hands. I couldn't help but think that I've spent 23 years with my mom, covering my first boat ride, and many other rides afterwards, while this little girl would be unable.

DIFFERENT REALITIES
I feel that I need connections between my "realities" in my life in order for my life to feel connected, complete, a continuum. I've had times in my life like in college, going back and forth from California to Philly, when I've felt that I was living two separate lives. In Seinfeld, George HATES when his worlds collide, and his ability to keep them separate is his means to stay sane. I, on the other hand, need to have that connection, need my friends to know how my family is, need my boyfriend to meet my friends, need people to know the people and the ideas that complete me. After all, isn't there just one reality? We are all just striving to know what it is.

"It's the timbre of someone's voice, the shape of their hands, the way they open a grapefruit or turn toward something that captures their attention. It's the scar and the history of the scar, the pattern of small moles scattered on the forearm or belly, the words said or not said in love making, the individual, the unmistakable impress of that mouth and not another."

Description of Love by Kim Addonizio

Awesome.

MEET MY FOLKS
There's a crazy ass show on tv now called Meet My Folks. It is so harsh! There are three bachelors vying for one girl. Whoever wins spends a week in Oahu with her. They come to visit her at her parents' house for three days. All of their dirtiest secrets are revealed and each has to explain to the parents why he was involved in a threesome, did he really cheat on his girlfriend with 40 other women, why he hid his girlfriend in the basement when his dad was home, how in the heck did he willingly choose to dance on the table tops in a gay nightclub? Oh, and their ex-girlfriends came over for a surprise visit too and dished out more dirt. To top off those wonderful images, they took a lie detector test with the father of the girl asking the questions.

But as bad as I feel for these guys, I have to remember that they chose to do this! There was always a point where they could have said no...