Rambling thoughts...

If a dream comes true it has the positive outcome. The dream. If a dream comes true, it has a negative outcome, the “be careful what you wish for outcome,” the unforeseeable.

With every up there is a down, with every high a low.

Is the dream worth taking? There will always be negative outcome. So, take the dream and hope for the best. A fifty-fifty shot at what could change the world and at what could end it all. But in the end, if it is all a mess, is the mess really so bad?

If you’re stuck in a valley, the only way to go is up. That’s not so bad. Its actually kind of nice, to know things can only get better. But then I guess you’re back at the beginning, where you make the choice, is it worth it again?

You could just end up back in the valley.

Or not.

The not is where you put your faith, your faith is what makes your dreams, your dreams are what keep you going. If there’s not a dream, why climb out at all?

being a redhead...

"Redheads may be hotheads, but they get colder quicker. They also bruise more easily. And they feel more pain.

All this comes from a series of studies done in the last few years on people with genes for red hair. Red hair is red due to excess production of the molecule pheomelanin. While we brunettes produce more eumelanin (dark brown pigment), redheads produce an excess of pheomelanin. Too much of this yellow-red pigment is the result of mutations in the MC1R.3 gene. Redheads have two copies of this variant allele, one from each parent.

So what does the “redhead gene” have to do with sensitivity? University of Louisville anesthesiologist Edwin Liem suspects that when both copies of the MC!R.3 have mutations, which is the case for redheads, the melanocortin 4 receptor is faulty, inefficient, and/or unable to be transported to the surface of cells. This receptor happens to modulate sensations of cold and pain. Another explanation is that the mutation in the MC1R gene, the same one that produces too much pheomelanin, affects hormones that stimulate pain receptors in the brain.

In one study, Liem and his colleagues compared the pain tolerance of sixty naturally red-haired volunteers with sixty brunettes. The redheads began to feel chilling pain at around 6C (43F), unlike the volunteers with dark hair, who did not really begin to ache until the temperature approached freezing. In another study, by Liem et al., women with various hair color types were exposed to electric shock. Turns out, the redheads needed about 20 percent more anesthetic to put down the pain (confirming the common belief among anesthesiologists that redheads are tough to knock out). While redheads have normal blood counts and coagulate blood the same as anyone else, a study found that they bruise more easily. Yet another studyfound that redheads are more than twice as likely as women with other hair colors to fear and avoid the dentist.

These studies have been done on women only, and it’s unknown whether red-haired men would have the same outcome. However, there’s evidence that pain pathways differ between the sexes.

Redheads are stereotyped as being hot-headed, tempestuous, dramatic, high-strung. Is it possible that a genetic sensitivity to pain can affect temperament? It’s fun to speculate. For some, physical pain may translate into emotional pain. Sensitivity may tip over into volatility. Could a fiery, short temper even be a pain avoidance mechanism? Why not — after all, a good offense can be the best defense."

THANK YOU to whoever posted this! Be cynical, laugh, whatever you want! Its true!! Redheads do feel more pain, and if you know me, you know, I bruise like a peach. And my temper...well...I just may be quick to react with aggression, but that doesn't mean I'm confrontational, just feisty. :) :)

Original Article

a counter argument...

ok, clarification!!

It was pointed out to me...

"You can't tell me that all celebrities are normal or "usual"....they're all unusual, individuals.....if they were the norm they wouldn't be celebrities. Even crazy people like Kate Gosslin are celebrity because they are different...The Beatles were different...Michael Jackson...just a thought....maybe her being different makes her more like other celebrities"

SO TRUE! And i'm definitely not saying it isn't! I just think that there is a world that Taylor gets put into, that a lot of celebrities get put into that stereotypes them as being the same. Call it Hollywood, call it Disney, call it whatever you want, theres a lot of pressure there to conform. This aside, it is true that Celebrities in definition are unique, if they weren't, well then we probably wouldn't know who they are!

Synonym of celebrity- Distinction. I think that is a good way to describe it. However, although celebrities may be unique, how many Kate Gosselins have we known? How many The Beatles (not musically of course, but just in form) have we known? There is a typology there all its own. And within that typology, there are people who stand out and people who conform. Thats' all.

Independent

Maybe this isn't quite fair, but this post is going to be a "re-blog" if you will, kind of like a "re-tweet". I just found this blog so incredible, i have to share! You may know of my somewhat obsession with Taylor Swift. I believe that she is incredibly talented and also incredibly weird. Thats why I love her. She is weird in a world that rejects anything out of the ordinary. She is completely free in being herself. When she tweets things like "i just applied sharpie as eyeliner in the bathroom at the air port" well, you can't help but think, this girl has some issues! That is exactly the point! Its refreshing to see someone with a unique personality fit into the world of celebrity. Maybe it gives the rest of us "normal" but also "weird" people the hope that we can fit into a world that wants us to be like everybody else.

One of the greatest joys in my life thus far has been the process of figuring out who I am and realizing that who I am doesn't have to be the norm. I don't need to do or like certain things for people to like me. And so now, I'm sure that some people out there feel like Taylor Swift is just another "cookie cutter pop star" without an ounce of individuality. And to that I'd say, believe what you want, but what I believe is that she has fought her way into a world that now gives her respect for who she is. That is truth!

So, here is the "re-blog", part of Taylor's most recent Myspace blog about her trip to Australia. This quote is in response to her picture, which is at the top of my post.

"I was walking in Brisbane, listening to music. And then I saw this tree, all by itself.

It looked so lonely, I thought I'd give it some attention and take a picture of it.

It's probably not lonely though. It's probably just independent." -taylor swift

Lovely!

read her entire post

and watch this

http://vimeo.com/7651719

watch.

Lent

So, after spending an amazing weekend in New Orleans celebrating Mardi Gras (more importantly, celebrating family) I've begun thinking about what i should give up for lent. Since the pancake and bead throwing festivities will end tonight, tomorrow is the beginning of Lent.

Something I didn't realize until I moved to Starkville- not everyone knows what Lent is. Lent is 40 days of the church calendar leading up to Holy Week. It is meant as a time of reflection, representing the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert.

This year I've been thinking instead of giving something up, I'm going to do something proactive. I recently bought the book, Lady in Waiting. I'm excited to dig into it and see what God has in store for me to learn :)

What are you doing for Lent?

Psalm 139:1-18

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

Lets clear some things up...

Last night I recieved a text message that said, Joe and Taylor are back together? True or False?

False!!!!

Joe said in an interview with E!, "We've recently reconnected, and she is nominated for 8 Grammys ! I hope she does well!" This must be where all of the "Jaylor back together" hype is coming from. Even though the word "reconnected" has been used before by a JoBro (Nick speaking of Miley last June) I dont think it has quite the same connotations here.

They did "hug" or something like that at the whatever-it-was pre- grammy party Saturday night, yay!! They're friends again! And i'm pretty positive that's all it is.

However, Taylor did tweet something interesting last night (after winning Album of the year last night for Fearless!!!!):

"I will remember this night, this celebration, the screaming and hugging of people I love. The words on cards of hotel room good luck roses.."

Words on cards of hotel room good luck roses? That raises suspicion...I guess we'll have to wait and see!