WHATEVER........

HA HA HA HA HA HA

Top Ten Reminders That You're Getting Older.....

10. TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH - You're not as quick as you used to be so stop trying to be Speedy Gonzales. Slow down. You'll still make it to the finish line, just a little later that's all....

9. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY - When you feel an ache acknowledge it. This isn't Jenny Craig's no pain no gain program. This is your friend Arthur talking to you. Don't ignore him 'cause if you know Arthur, he doesn't play around. Also known as Arthritis and you don't want him as an enemy. Believe me when I tell ya....

8. DRESS TO IMPRESS, NOT TO DEPRESS - You're not a teenager or 20 or 30 something anymore so don't dress like it. Be classy not trashy. There's nothing worse than squeezing into an outfit that's 2 sizes too small for you and revealing, thinking you look good only to see others perceiving you as outrageously funny. That's depressing........

7. MAKEUP ( REMEMBER LESS IS MORE ) - Natural looking is in. The character Mimi from The Drew Carey Show is out! You're not auditioning for the circus. Actually, this comment is mainly directed to the women well over 60. You know the ones. Eyebrows penciled in like Corky the Clown because they shaved them off and the small lips they once had are now 3 times as large brought to you by the miracle of lipstick. And it always has to be RED LIPSTICK! Walking around looking like Ruby Ragoña! Shame on you!! You just wanna enhance your natural beauty. Stop trying to hide your laugh lines. So ya got crows feet now Big whoop. And what's up with women close to 70 years old with no damn gray hair? Not one. So maybe you do still have a nice shape on you but what about the poor unsuspecting guy who walks up behind you thinking he's about to say a flirty hello only to find out that when you turn around towards him, you look like methusela all wrinkled up and everything. You're probably old enough to be his grandmother for Christ's sake! Age gracefully ladies, Please.....

6. ADULTS ONLY - You're an adult, not a child. So act your age, not your shoe size. It's okay to have fun and keep a youthful mind. But adult fun and child-like fun are two different things. Going out on the town for dinner and drinks and becoming a bit " tipsy " is one thing. Going out on the town for dinner and drinks, getting butt hole drunk and acting like a damn fool, dancing like Pee Wee Herman up on the tables while flirting with other people's dates and throwing up all over yourself in public is just plain stupid. Just say no......

5. A WALKING MEDICINE CABINET - Your pharmacist has become your newest best friend. Yes, it's no longer fun popping pills because you HAVE TO take them now! Geez!

4. MUSIC IN THE AIR - Elevator music is now appealing to you because you know all the songs! So don't be shy just sing along....

3. MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE WORKPLACE - The majority of your co-workers were born the year you started working there. Oh yea.....and some of them are YOUR SUPERIORS!! DEAL WITH IT!

2. A HISTORY LESSON - When you tell your child that their history book is wrong because you were there, you REALLY ARE old. - * shaking my head *

1. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE - You have more patience, but actually, it's just that you don't care anymore. Gee, isn't that the truth.....

To Dream or not to Dream.......

Dreams are interesting. Quite interesting really. A few days ago while at work, one of my co-workers, his name is George, started telling me about this recurring dream he has quite often. He dreams a lot about flying. He said that in this particular dream, he's sitting inside the batmobile, ( If you're thinking of Batman and Robin, you're right! )

So, in his dream, Batman and Robin are sitting in the front seats and he's sitting in the back seat of the vehicle with ( of all people ) Elvis Presley. lol
He told me that he looks over at Elvis and just opens the door of the car and starts flying. He doesn't have any special super powers or anything like that but he can fly. Also in the dream, he's wearing regular street clothes. He doesn't have any type of crime fighters attire on. Of course when he told me and my other co-workers about the dream, we naturally began laughing. I guess you'd have to know him to get the full benefit. George is an African American male about 60 years old. He's a very likable person. Very down to earth and friendly. There's just something extremely funny about seeing him in jeans and a T-shirt flying through the air. lol
There's also another dream he has quite frequently where he's pulling something in the form of taffy candy out of his mouth continuously. He just keeps on pulling he says and it never ends. lol Strange dreams, eh. We all have them at some point or another.

Which brings me to what I want to talk about. WHY DO WE DREAM???

I don't know if there is actually a concrete answer to this question but I have come across some interesting theories, if you will, concerning our mental brain activity in the dreaming process. In an article I found recently, a Neuroscientist by the name of Mark Solms explains how dreams may protect and distract our brains from the outside world and allow the body to rest.
According to Solms, he suggests that we may very well have been confusing cause and effect. He says that dreams are not a by-product of sleep as assumed all along but may very well be what allows us to sleep in the first place.
"Dreams protect sleep, " Solms says. His iconoclastic view of dreams springs from emerging evidence that REM sleep and dreaming are not synonymous, and that the brain mechanisms involved in REM sleep may be entirely different from those involved in dreaming. Dreaming, in fact, is now thought to recruit areas of the brain involved in higher mental functions. So in essence he's saying that dreaming is a diversion and without this diversion, the brain would be urging us up and out into the world to keep it fully engaged. Solms also states that " dreams are a delusional hallucinatory state " -driven by activation of the brain's basic motivational system. And like delusions, they appear to be stoked by an abundance of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Scientists now know that dopamine plays a critical role in directing our attention. The neurochemical dictates what is important in our environment, regardless of whether that environment is inside us or outside. Under dopamine's influence, events or thoughts jump out of the background, grab our attention, move us to act and drive goal-directed behavior.

Dreams trick us into thinking we're out striving in the wider world. Solms says that the fundamental problem of being alive is that we must get all our needs met in the outside world. The brain has an answer to that; it has developed a kind of unified motivational course variously called the " seeking " or " wanting " system, an orchestration of primitive and higher neural structures that orients us to the outside world with an air of anticipation and positive expectancy. As Solms puts it, " It's an all-purpose looking-for-pleasure-in-the-world drive " that sends animals out to satisfy their needs.

Pioneering neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp describes the seeking system as a " goad without a goal " ( goals, such as gathering food, being dictated by the specific situation ). It is a readiness for action, an appetitive arousal, the neurobiological decendant of Freud's idea of libido. Representing a very basic function of the brain, it commands and activates an array of neural circuits.
Researchers mapping the functions of the brain have shown that the hallucinations of psychosis involve hyperactivation of the seeking system's structures. They also involve dysregulated dopamine transmission. Increasingly viewed as " the wind of the psychotic fire, " dopamine prompts the brain to assign abnormal importance to its own internal representations. Delusions, in other words, are errors of salience attribution. We over value our own thoughts, which are mistaken for perpetual experience of the world.

Dreams share many qualities with hallucinations. They are the hallucinations we all experience. Both dreams and hallucinations involve intensive activation of the seeking system. And Solms points to accumulating evidence that dreaming, like hallucinating, is driven by dopamine. French neuroscientist Claude Gottesmann reported that dopamine release in the brain's nucleus accumbens, a site long recognized to be involved in the hallucinations of schizophrenia, is maximal during dream sleep. " Dreaming and schizophrenia have the same neurochemical background, " Gottesmann says.

Other studies show that the dopamine-boosting drug L-dopa, commonly used to treat Parkinson's Disease, prompts people to have more dreams, more emotional content to their dreams and more bizarre dreams. Driven by dopamine, dreams fill our minds with myriad stimuli that feel worthy of our attention, says Solms. " That's necessary because the body is withdrawn from the external world. "

Goaded into seeking but blocked from action by paralyzing neurochemicals released during dream sleep, we feed on our own internal representations of the world. And we wake hungry for new experiences that build our psychic cinema of internal representations.

Says Solms, " The dopamine hypothesis is at the core of why we dream. "

-So there you have it.....

SO CUPID'S PASSED ME BY AGAIN.......

WELL, IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN. VALENTINE'S DAY IS UPON US. ANYONE DOING ANYTHING SPECIAL THIS YEAR? QUITE HONESTLY I'M NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO IT AT ALL. I NEVER REALLY DO. I MEAN, LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING AND ALL BUT I DON'T HAVE A VALENTINE SO IT'S NOT SO GREAT FOR ME.
SOMETIMES I SIT BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AT HOW MY LIFE HAS PLAYED OUT. I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT I'M NOT HAPPY WITH IT. NOT AT ALL.

I SURELY THOUGHT BY NOW AT THE AGE OF 42, I'D AT LEAST HAVE SOMEONE SPECIAL IN MY LIFE. I THOUGHT I'D BE MARRIED OR AT LEAST HAVE A SIGNIFICANT OTHER BUT THAT ISN'T THE CASE. NOPE, THAT SEEMS TO BE JUST A DREAM OR FANTASY IN MY LIFE. NOT A REALITY. I GUESS I SOUND LIKE I'M FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF WALLOWING IN SELF PITY. I ENJOY MY FREEDOM BUT SOMETIMES I JUST GET SO TIRED OF BEING ALONE. I SURELY DON'T WANT TO GROW OLD BY MYSELF.

I GUESS THE THING THAT REALLY UPSETS ME MOST IS THAT MOST OF THE MEN WHOM I FIND ATTRACTIVE AND/OR COMPATIBLE TO ME ARE ALREADY TAKEN. AND THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO PRETEND TO BE SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE NOT. I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT. PERHAPS IT'S JUST NOT MY TIME RIGHT NOW. WHO KNOWS......





I SEE SO MANY HAPPY COUPLES EACH DAY. IT'S NICE TO SEE. I JUST WISH THAT I COULD BE AMONG THEM. THEY SAY THERE IS SOMEONE FOR EVERYONE. I KNOW THIS SHOULD BE TRUE ALTHOUGH I'M BEGINNING TO WONDER. I REALIZE THAT I'M NOT THE MOST ATTRACTIVE WOMAN IN THE WORLD BUT I'M NOT THE UGLIEST PERSON ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH EITHER. HMMMMM........






OKAY, MAYBE THAT'S A LITTLE HARSH. LOL
I DON'T HATE VALENTINE'S DAY. IT JUST MAKES ME SAD.

ANYWAY, I WISH A HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SOMEONE SPECIAL IN THEIR LIFE.

RHYME TIME......

I CATCH MY BREATH


SUDDENLY I FEEL SO ALIVE
UPON THIS NEW DAY'S DAWNING
MY MIND THOUGH CLOUDY IS ALERT
MY BREATHS SO DEEP LIKE YAWNING

DREAMY EYES AND POIGNANT SMILES
MY FACE REVEALS IT ALL
THE REASONING BEHIND ALL THIS
IS 'CAUSE YOU CAME TO CALL

EVERY TIME YOU'RE NEAR ME
MY HEART JUST SKIPS A BEAT
YOUR PRESENCE THAT SURROUNDS ME
AND THE DEEP EROTIC HEAT

YOUR LOVING TOUCH REVIVES ME
YOUR WORDS SWEET AND INDEPTH
AS YOU CRADLE ME IN YOUR ARMS
I SEEM TO CATCH ANOTHER BREATH

I LOVE THE FEELINGS YOU BRING TO ME
EACH ONE MORE THAN THE OTHER
MY HEART YOU'VE CAPTURED YOURS TO KEEP
I SEEK NO OTHER LOVER

I FEEL LIKE I'M AN ESKIMO
WHEN YOU BRING YOUR FACE TO MINE
THE WAY WE NUZZLE EACH OTHERS NOSE
SO SLOWLY IN RHYTHMIC TIME

SOMETIMES WHEN I'M ALONE
AND FEELING RATHER NUMB
MY MIND CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER
WHEN YOU'LL VISIT, WHEN YOU'LL COME

WHEN YOU'RE AROUND THE DAYS SEEM BRIGHT
JUST PERFECT TO SET SAIL
BUT WHEN YOU'RE GONE I LOSE MY BREATH
WHILE WAITING TO EXHALE

IT'S JUST LIKE THAT, YOU GIVE ME LIFE
TO RELISH BEFORE MY DEATH
IT'S JUST LIKE THAT, WHEN I'M WITH YOU
I ALWAYS CATCH MY BREATH

- MS. MARYANNE ( MARIA SUMATRA )
© COPYRIGHT 2007

MIA ~ SORRY I LEFT YOU HANGIN'......

HI EVERYONE. I'M SURE YOU'VE NOTICED THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND. HOPEFULLY YOU STILL WILL VISIT ME FROM TIME TO TIME. I'VE BEEN AROUND BUT NOT ON THIS SITE AS MUCH. I HOPE EVERYONE IS DOING WELL. I'M OKAY.
JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY UPDATE YOU ON THE STATUS OF MY FRIEND WHOM I'D MADE A FEW POSTS ABOUT IN THE PAST.
HONESTLY, HE'S DOING RATHER WELL CONSIDERING HIS CONDITION. HE FINALLY FOUND A DOCTOR WHO HE TRUSTS AND LIKES. AFTER SPEAKING WITH SEVERAL PHYSICIANS, THIS DOCTOR SEEMS TO HAVE A DIFFERENT APPROACH ON THINGS. RATHER THAN JUST THROW HIM UP ON AN OPERATING TABLE, GIVING HIM SOME PERCENTAGE OF LIFE EXPECTANCY, HE'S INCREASED THE DOSAGE OF ONE OF HIS HEART PILLS. IT'S A TIME RELEASE MEDICATION SO NOW HE RECEIVES HEART MEDICINE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. SO FAR, EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE OKAY. HE JUST HAS TO TAKE THINGS A BIT MORE EASIER THAN BEFORE. HE GETS MORE REST WHICH IS GOOD. I FEEL MUCH BETTER ABOUT HIS CONDITION THAN I DID BEFORE. I'M CALMER. I HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO HIM IN A FEW DAYS BUT WE'LL BE CONNECTING SOON. I'M HAPPY THAT HE'S FEELING BETTER....

SO, HOW'S EVERYONE DOING IN THE BLOGESPHERE COMMUNITY? I'VE MAINLY BEEN HANGIN' OUT ON HERE. GUESS I'LL TAKE A SURF AROUND AND VISIT A FEW OF YOUR PAGES TO CATCH UP. TAKE CARE ALL!

THE BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE

I found this on someone's blog somewhere. Don't really remember where but I liked it....

Our Birth is our Opening Balance !

Our Death is our Closing Balance!

Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities

Our Creative Ideas are our Assets

Heart is our Current Asset

Soul is our Fixed Asset

Brain is our Fixed Deposit

Thinking is our Current Account

Achievements are our Capital

Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade

Friends are our General Reserves

Values & Behavior are our Goodwill

Patience is our Interest Earned

Love is our Dividend

Children are our Bonus Issues

Education is Brands / Patents

Knowledge is our Investment

Experience is our Premium Account

The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.

The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.

Some very Good and Very bad things



The most destructive habit...............................Worry

The greatest Joy...............................................Giving

The greatest loss..........................Loss of self-respect

The most satisfying work....................Helping others

The ugliest personality trait.....................Selfishness

The most endangered species........Dedicated leaders

Our greatest natural resource...................Our youth

The greatest "shot in the arm".........Encouragement

The greatest problem to overcome.....................Fear

The most effective sleeping pill...........Peace of mind

The most crippling failure disease................Excuses

The most powerful force in life..........................Love

The most dangerous pariah.......................A gossiper

The world's most incredible computer........The brain

The worst thing to be without........................... Hope

The deadliest weapon...............................The tongue

The two most power-filled words....................."I Can"

The greatest asset................................................Faith

The most worthless emotion..........................Self-pity

The most beautiful attire.................................SMILE!

The most prized possession..................................grity

The most powerful channel of communication..Prayer

The most contagious spirit........................Enthusiasm

The most important thing in life...........................GOD