Identity and vocation

"Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty, ashamed, or jealous. It is very important to realize that our vocation is hidden in where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now."
--Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey (emphasis mine)

Dumb comparisons we make

"...it may very well be true that another person is succeeding and you are not experiencing success, but one has nothing to do with the other. There’s not a limited amount of success going around. In what world does it make sense that if I am funny, you are not funny? NO WORLD."
--Elissa Bassist, How to write like a funny woman

What's in a name?

Mr TDH told me a sunflower symbolises haughtiness. I refused to believe that, so I googled it myself. Turns out that's because of their height -- they can grow up to one foot a day and end up as much as 20 feet tall! But they also symbolise adoration, as they are forever turning their heads to the sun. I do like that interpretation a lot better :p

Rediscovering

Unpacking books has been like meeting old friends again. "Oh, you -- I remember you! So that's where you'd gotten to! Welcome back..."

They need a new home *sniff*

Have a bunch of books to give away. Some are duplicates of ones I already have; others I've decided not to keep. First come, first served ;) (maybe I will finally get more than two comments! :p)

1. Don't Sit On This Book - A Collection of Chinese Taboos (Master Philip Cheong)

2. Waiting (Ha Jin)

3. Lying, Cheating & Stealing - Great Writers on Getting What You Want When You Want It (Ed. Sara Nickles)

4. P.S. I Love You (Cecilia Ahern)

5. Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea & Anne of the Island (Lucy Maud Montgomery)

6. The Silver Chair & The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis) - from the Narnia Chronicles

7. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

8. I Feel Bad About My Neck (Nora Ephron)

9. Confessions of a Shopaholic & Shopaholic Takes Manhattan (Sophie Kinsella)

10. The One Hundred Stupidest Things Ever Done (Ross & Kathryn Petras)

11. Help the Poor Struggler (Martha Grimes)

12. The Plot Thickens (mystery & suspense anthology)

13. A Blunt Instrument (Georgette Heyer)

14. Gould's Book of Fish - A Novel in 12 Fish (Richard Flanagan)

15. The Desperate Remedy - Henry Gresham and the Gunpowder Plot (Martin Stephen)

There'll probably be more in a later post... I'm still unpacking!

Reality hits

I have A LOT more books than I realised. Somehow, I'm sure this comes as a surprise to no one but me!

Add it to the "Want" list

Me: "I kind of want a hammer drill."

Mr TDH: "Uh... what brought this on?"

Me: "I started coveting when I watched the contractor's guys at work. Isn't it cool? And handy? But of course I'd hardly have need of it..."

Mr TDH: "I cannot believe I'm discussing a hammer drill with a woman. Okay, I'm blogging this!"

Me: "Haha, go ahead. As for discussing it with a woman, so sexist la you..."

Mr TDH: "Me? Sexist? YOU try discussing hammer drills with your galpals!"

Me: "I don't think any of my galpals even know what a hammer drill is, except maybe J."

Mr TDH: "See! I'm not being sexist!"

Me: "The carpenter has an Indonesian lady helper who knows how to use a hammer drill. So there."

Mr TDH: "Nope, that's not fair. She HAS to know, just like you have to know what an adverb is. That doesn't count."