Last Post of the Year :)

It's that time of year again.

The time of year to make new goals and resolutions for the upcoming year.

What will change.

What will stay the same.

What will never happen again.

I've done a blog post before on New Years Resolutions....

and how I usually start my "New Year" in September.

As after so many years in school. Beginnings happen when school starts.

Still.

Today I've been pondering the goals I'd like to set out to accomplish.

Like, writing more.

Actually sitting down, getting into gear and writing out one of the million and a half story ideas that have come into my head. Get it down on paper. I need to not think about it getting published someday, but for now, just get the story down on paper.

If I had confidence in myself I'd want to have the goal to have at least one story idea finished each month.

Which would mean in 12 months I should have 12 completed stories of various lengths.

....Yah, still debating about how likely that's going to be lol.

I think it would be fun. We'll have to see.

What else to make a goal...

I'd love to get my fish tank up and running and full of fish....

If all goes well that can be completed by the end of February. :D Hopefully with everything that's just happened with the tank, 2017 can start with the year going well for me with the fish.

Also a goal would be to finally unpack my room, and get those last little bits and pieces off my floor and all my knick knacks organized and get things hung on my walls. After all...I've been in the new place for nearly 5 months now. Yah, finally getting moved in would be great. :)

Outside of the home life, I'd probably need to make the goal to be social more. Go to more activities and actually talk to people.

Right now I've been doing alright at least getting out of the house and being in public places.

It's the talking to people part that I need to work on. lol.

Otherwise...it's little things. Like maybe branch out in talents.

Draw more. Keep blogging. Discover more talents.....who knows what. But hey. :) That's the fun part of a new year. You get to start anew.

Try new things.

Let old things drop.

And go on the adventure of a lifetime. :D

Hope you Guys have a Happy New Year!

May we learn from 2016 and make 2017 all the better!

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

In Mourning

I knew it wasn't a good sign.
When I saw the bubble air bags around Big Ben (my Oranda Goldfish)'s eyes.
That's not something that should happen in fish. (unless it's a specialized goldfish) Big Ben wasn't a specialized Gold Fish beyond being a very cool colored Oranda.
With A GoldenBrown body and his 'brain' being a bright orange, like curly red hair on a kid.

He wasn't supposed to have air bags around his eyes.

However, as I've said in previous posts....
I wasn't sure how to treat this illness.

And upon reading how difficult it is to treat this particular Pop Eye. How there could be permanent damage, or that it might never go away.
The fact that it's an internal bacteria/parasite thing that is similar to what I have going on with my arm....

My hopes weren't that high that He'd make it.
Knowing that it's possibly a kind of dropsy.
Knowing that fish usually only get it if they're not healthy.
If they're already sick.

Had me clinging onto hope.
Hope that Big Ben would be the one to pull through.
That the air bags would go away.

Yet, realistically, I knew that I would probably lose my fish.
Big Ben.
I only wish it wasn't so soon.

Y_Y
I woke up this morning to him stuck to the filter.
Along with two of my other fish -Bazil and Flaver.

My guess....is that the treatment I did last night....overwhelmed the fish, as I had noticed them up near the surface before heading to bed.
Usually a sign that there isn't enough oxygen in the water....as the feeder goldfish tend to do that when there's not enough air flow at work.
How that could be when both of my filters are working just fine...hard to say.

I'm just guessing that my fish couldn't handle the medicine in the water.
And so....decided to swim their way up to fishy heaven.

Truthfully.
I'm taking Big Ben's death rather hard.
Like loosing a family dog or cat that's been in the family for years....
I'm mourning Big Ben's death.

I spent four months watching Him not get sold at work.
Watch him spend four months swimming around a small tank.
Dreaming that if I was able to get my 125 gallon tank, if he was still around. I would put him in said tank.
And he'd have all the space in the world!
Who would have thought not even a month later, he'd be swimming around the great expanses of fishy heaven?

*exhales*
It's not like I could even properly say goodbye I suppose.
He was too big to send to a watery gravesite.
Instead, it was some quiet thoughts over the outdoor garbage can....as it's too cold to dig in the ground nor do I know if my roomies would want a dead fish buried on their property....

So yah....
It's just hard.

The fish I looked forward most to having.
Was the happiest to see when I got home from work each day.
Looking forward to watching him swim about, diving into the rocks to 'eat' them (he'd spit them back up) heading up at full speed to the surface to get a big gulp of air only to let it filter through his gills back through the surface.

The fact that I don't get to see that. That he's not here when I get home.
Yah. I'm rather devastated.

It's always a risk buying fish....you never know how long they will last.
I just wish he'd lasted a bit longer.
That somehow he'd been able to stay healthier.
As honestly, I tried basically everything I could to keep him healthy, to heal his issues.
It's depressing for it to have failed.

T_T
Bye Big Ben.
I'm really going to miss you. T_T

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Following In Step

Many years ago my children and I hiked to the top of South Sister, a 10,358-foot mountain in Oregon.
After several hours we encountered a long 45-degree slope of tiny volcanic pebbles.
With the summit in sight, we pressed on only to find that with every step, our feet would sink in the pebbles, causing us to slide backward several inches.
My 12-year-old son forged ahead as I stayed with my 8-year-old daughter.
Fatigue and discouragement soon set in, and she was heartbroken, thinking that she might not join her brother at the top.
My first impulse was to carry her.
My spirit was willing, but sadly my flesh was weak.
We sat own on the rocks, assessed our situation, and devised a new plan.
I told her to put her hands in my back pants pockets, hold on tight, and--most important--as soon as I lifted my foot to take a step, she should quickly put her foot in its place.
She mirrored my every move and relied on the lift that came from hanging on to my pockets.
After what seemed like an eternity, we made it to the top of the mountain.
Her expression of triumph and satisfaction was priceless.
And yes, she and her brother were, in my estimation, real hikers.

My daughter's success was a result of her diligent effort and how well she hiked after the manner  that I hiked.
As she synchronized her movement with mine, we achieved a rhythm together, allowing me to utilize my full energy.
Such is the case when we teach "after the manner of the workings of the Spirit."
As we align the manner of our teaching to match that of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit strengthens us and, as the same time, is not constrained.
With this in mind, please consider two fundamental "workings of the Spirit" worthy of our emulation.

-Matthew O. Richardson -Teaching after the Manner of the Spirit -October 2011 General Conference

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

An Ill Treament

I knew it was a possibility when I got my fish tank.
The fact that my fish may get sick.

But it didn't really sink in how much of a hassle it is to treat a tank...when it's 125 gallons, until now.

As most chemicals used to treat sick fish are geared towards smaller tanks.
Huge tanks like mine....
Well. It's difficult to not spend a lot of money on the treatments. *exhales*

In any case.
I've been hit with a rush of different illnesses with my fish.
*shrugs*
It was kinda expected really.
I adopted fish from a different tank,
I bought feeder goldfish.

Both could be causes of spreading illnesses with my other fish that I got from work. *shrugs*

First it was a possible fungus.
Which thankfully, disappeared after treatment.
But I noticed as I was treating for the fungus that one of my fish had ick...
So I raised the temperature in my tank while treating.
And that seemed to make the ick go away.
Only for me to notice it bad on a couple other fish the day before yesterday. >.< Foo.
I could keep the temperature raised, but I didn't want more of my fish to catch the ick.
So to the store I went yesterday to get ick treatment. *exhales*
Thankfully it's seeming to do the trick, the ick spots are already looking less vibrant.

However. >.<
I noticed the Third Illness today.
My poor giant goldfish, Big Ben was swimming about, when I noticed that there seemed to be air bubbles around his eyes. You know like those plastic bags blown up with air? But surrounding both of my goldfish's eyes.
I wasn't sure if that actually was normal or not....I thought it wasn't as I hadn't noticed it before, but I double checked w/ pictures to make sure.
Yah. Not normal.
Research online tells me that it's a type of Pop Eye.
.....a difficult pop eye to treat.
As its most likely caused by some sort of bacterial infection INSIDE the fish. And it's harder to treat things inside the fish than outside the fish. Foo.
My dad says it's basically the same bacterial infection that I got infect with. You know with my finger and swollen lymph nodes that are STILL healing over a year later. *exhales*
-Thankfully it's continuing to heal so hopefully it will be gone....in another month or so. *rolls eyes
In any case.
If it wasn't a bacterial infection inside the fish, then it's either lack of food, or bad water quality that caused it. :S
I doubt it's bad water as the tank isn't even a month old yet.
Lack of food....possibility. I'm trying to not overfeed my tank, so perhaps the goldfish is getting less food then he's used to at work.... :S But I'm trying to feed more to make sure my hungry goldfish doesn't go hungry....
Soo...treatment if its a parasite.
Basically add in some Aquarium salt to relieve pressure behind the eyes causing the swelling.
And once I'm done treating for the ick in the tank (and get paid) I'll grab some melafix to treat the tank with next to see if that helps.

Problem is....the PopEye may never go away. It could be a permanent issue Big Ben will have to deal with....I hope it goes away, but who knows.
For now, I'm going to test my water when I get into work at the morning.
and hope that things sort themselves out.

Also that I don't have to deal with any more sicknesses once I get this set under control. >.<

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Odd Energy Encounter

There are people out there that just rub you the wrong way.
Whether it's their personality, their looks, their attitude, their smell, something. It just...feels like nails on a chalk board to your soul when you have to deal with them.

Working in retail.
I often encounter people that are just odd. For a variety of reasons.
And of course, there are the customers that just, rub me the wrong way.
Yet usually I can deal with them because usually it's one person and our interaction doesn't last longer than 5-10 minutes most of the time.
So unless they have a really strong personality/aura/energy, I can usually handle it with little side effect to my own well fare.

Today wasn't one of those days.

I was covering the register when they first came into the store.
A family of six. The Parents and Four Kids.
And the mother approached me with unblinking eyes, a wide smile on her face, leisurely making her way from door to me in a manner that automatically put me on edge. The whole family put me on edge when the came in the door.
Which is saying a lot. Since being sensitive to people's energies...the fact that they had me on edge as soon as I laid eyes on them....didn't bode well for me.
And automatically triggered the "get away from these people as soon as possible" instinct.
So instead of leaning forward to close the distance between me and the woman, I stayed back only reluctantly straightening when I deemed it rude to keep leaning against the register.

Thankfully, they were just looking for some sort of carrier/shelter for their cat(s)? So that if the ones they had got caught out in a snow storm they would have a sheltered place to go.
-As apparently they had one cat get stuck in the snow storm that happened over Christmas....and didn't make it. :( poor thing.

So I directed them to where our carriers and dog houses were for them to look through.
And happily put them from my mind, hoping that they wouldn't decide to venture over to the fish wall after they were done looking.

Only to have like 10 or 15 minutes later.
A call come over the intercom that someone from my department was needed at the Adoption Center where we keep our cats.

My coworker was busy in the middle of a task, and I'd happened to be between tasks at that moment, so I took the call.
Went over to the cats.
And to my ill pleasure... was confronted with the family.
Who was interested in possibly adopting a cat.
Or at least the mother was.

I was confronted with her unblinking stare and smile as she explained she wanted to see one of the cats and wanted to know what the adoption process was.
So I had her go into the room and shut the door, thankfully leaving the rest of the family outside.
Like I said, one on one I can deal with.

The woman held the cat, really liked it, asked questions yadda yadda.

...and then asked me if the cat was good with kids.

*exhales*
And I 'helpfully' suggested that we bring the kids in so that the mom could see how that particular cat dealt with her children.

Such a mistake. Such a big mistake.

The rest of the crew came in -including the dad.
And crowded around me to pet the cat.
Oh. It felt like being stuck in the middle of raging rapids. The energy buffering me from every side as the kids eagerly reached out to pet the kitty. A mini hurricane feeling for sure.
I think even the cat could sense how 'odd' of an energy this family gave off, as even though she was calm, her eyes tended to remain rather wide as the kids were petting her.
I was grateful to stand up, and get 'above' the energy pool of the kids, to hand the cat over to the dad so he could 'decide' if this cat was a good fit for them.

It took forever really, -which if you're trying to decide if you want a cat makes sense. You want to be doubly sure.
Usually I don't mind.

But today I did.

Why?
Because of them.
It was so weird.

There was basically no concept of personal space with these people.
They easily would stand right next to me, or right in front of me, leaving hardly a hairs breath of distance between us.

I did wonder a time or two if they just didn't realize I was there?
Like I'd somehow blended into the background as they crowded nearby not realizing there was a person there.
Or else, they really had no sense of personal bubbles.
As every single child would get waaaaayyy too close to me.
Which got me tense and defensive.

I thought I could handle it.
But after they saw the first cat.
They wanted to see a second cat.

Which was in the corner of the room.
And I ended up getting trapped in that corner with the too close people. The kids standing right there a half a centimeter away from touching me if they weren't already touching me, attention totally on the cat, and totally clueless to the fact that they were too close to me.

And then it happened a third time.
My back pressed up against the cages.
Fighting every instinct I had that was screaming at me to grab the cat, lock it up and then run from the room to get as far away from these people as possible.

Because honestly. It was awful. Nearly traumatic in a way.
To be surrounded by such odd, soul grinding energy. Their unblinking eyes, their odd smiles, their odd energies. Ah!!!
Plus the fact that they wanted to get another cat barely a week after losing their other one, and the fact that they couldn't afford to buy the cat for another two days when the mom got paid....didn't sit well with me.

To say I was glad to escape is an understatement.

But I felt like they were still around me!!
Like there were cold hands on my shoulders with a gentle pressure reminding me that they were still around.
*shudders*
Such an awful feeling.
I'm a warm person.
So the fact that my shoulders were cold was so weird.
Like cold hands holding onto me.

Ugh. Words can't fully describe it.
But it was awful.
It took like an hour and a half for the feeling to fade away!!

Thankfully...I think I have the energy off of me now.
And I hope that I don't encounter these people any time soon. Ever. Again.

Honestly, I think the thing that has me so freaked out....is that it wasn't like they were trying to suck away my energy, like most people with grating personalities do. No, I dunno if they were trying to add to mine, or if they were trying to just get a connection of a sorts....it was just weird. Weird all around. As it's not something I've encountered before. Which makes it difficult to know how to react to it. O.o
So. Weird.
So. Weird.

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

April 2013 General Conference -Saturday Afternoon

Dieter F. Uchtdorf -The Sustaining of Church Officers

Robert W. Cantwell -Church Auditing Department Report, 2012

Brook P. Hales -Statistical Report, 2012

• Total Membership: 14,782,473
• Full-Time Missionaries: 58,990
• Church-Service Missionaries: 22,961

Richard G. Scott -For Peace at Home

• Many voices from the world in which we live tell us we should live at a frantic pace. There is always more to do and more to accomplish. Yet deep inside each of us is a need to have a place of refuge where peace and serenity prevail, a place where we can reset, regroup, and re energize to prepare for future pressures.
• Regardless of your circumstances, you can center your home and  your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the source of true peace in this life.
• When He is the center of your home, there is peace an serenity. There is a spirit of assurance that pervades the home, and it is felt by all who dwell there.
• Children who are made to feel accountable for their actions, whether righteous or otherwise, grow to become trustworthy citizens in the kingdom of God.
• Don't rationalize away future happiness by taking shortcuts instead of applying sound gospel principles. Remember: little things lead to big things.
• Simple, consistent, good habits lead to a life full of bountiful blessings.
• Not long ago you came to mortality with all of those magnificent capacities and endless possibilities. Yet there is real danger in the environment surrounding you. Your great potential and ability could be limited or destroyed if you yield to the devil-inspired contamination around you. However, Satan is no match for the Savior. Satan's fate is decided. He knows he has lost, but he wants to take as many with him as he can. He will try to ruin your goodness and abilities by exploiting your weaknesses. Stay on the Lord's side, and you will win every time.
• Technology, when understood and used for righteous purposes, need not be a threat nut rather an enhancement to spiritual communication.
• Who could have imagined not very many years ago that the full standard works and years of general conference messages would fit into your pocket? Just having them in your pocket will not protect you, but studying, pondering, and listening to them during quiet moments of each day will enhance communication through the Spirit.
• If you young people would review a verse of scripture as often as some of you send text messages, you could soon have hundreds of passages of scripture memorized.
• Greater peace will come as you couple your efforts to be obedient with serving those around you. So many individuals who have what they perceive to be meager talents humbly and generously use those talents to bless the lives of those around them. Selfishness is the root of great evil. The antidote for that evil is exemplified in the life of the Savior. He shows us how to focus our lives outward in unselfish service to others.
• Become friends with your children's friends. Be a worth example to them.
• Reach out to those living in adverse circumstances. Be a true friend. This kind of enduring friendship is like asphalt that fills the potholes of life and makes the journey smoother and more pleasant. It should not be a resource used to gain personal advantage but a treasure to be appreciated and shared. Welcome into your home others who need to be strengthened by such an experience.

Quentin L. Cook -Personal Peace: The Reward of Righteousness

• Events often occur that rob us of peace and heighten our sense of vulnerability.
• The stakes of Zion are a defense and "a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth."
• Agency is essential to the plan of happiness. It allows for the love, sacrifice, personal growth, and experience necessary for our eternal progression. This agency also allows for all the pain and suffering we experience in mortality, even when caused by things we do not understand and the devastating evil choices of others.
• "There never can come to the world that spirit of peace and love ... until mankind will receive God's truth and God's message ..., and acknowledge his power and authority which is divine."
• The Savior's peace can "blot out our hates." Judgment is the Lord's.
• We all long for peace. Peace is not just safety or lack of war, violence, conflict, and contention. Peace comes from knowing that the Savior knows who we are and knows that we have faith in Him, love Him, and keep His commandments, even and especially amid life's devastating trials and tragedies.
• Remember, "God is not the author of confusion, but [the author] of peace."
• "To believe in God is to know that all the rules will be fair, and that there will be wonderful surprises."
• Peace is not found by attaining great wealth, power, or prominence. Peace is not found in the pursuit of pleasure, entertainment, or leisure. None of these can, even when attained in abundance, create any lasting happiness or peace.
• "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you."

Stanley G. Ellis -The Lord's Way

• In our efforts to help, we may actually hurt them.
• The apostles and prophets have often taught that what happens inside the home is far more important than what our children encounter outside. How we raise our children is more important than where we raise them.

John B. Dickson -The Gospel to All the World

• From the time of the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, the Church has moved steadily across the world from nation to nation, culture to culture, people to people, on the Lord's calendar and in His time.

David A. Bednar -We Believe in Being Chaste

• The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females was needed to enact the plan of happiness. "Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." The man and the woman are intended to learn from, strengthen, bless, and complete each other.
• "Outside the bonds of marriage, all uses of the procreative power are to one degree or another a sinful degrading and perversion of the most divine attribute of men and women."
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God's plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God--and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies.
• "The 'natural man' is the 'earthy man' who has allowed rude animal passions to overshadow his spiritual inclinations."
• In contrast, the "man [or woman] of Christ" is spiritual and bridles all passions, is temperate and restrained, and is benevolent and selfless. Men and women of Christ lay hold upon the word of God, deny themselves and take up His cross, and press forward along a strait and narrow course of faithfulness, obedience, and devotion to the Savior and His gospel.
• Heavenly Father desires us to be together in the light and filled with hope. In contrast, Lucifer labors to make the sons and daughters of God confused and unhappy and to hinder their eternal progression.
• Love increases through righteous restraint and decreases through impulsive indulgence.
• Our innate longing to belong is fulfilled in righteousness as we walk in the light with hope.
• The extent and intensity of your repentance must match the nature and severity of your sins--especially for Latter-day Saints who are under sacred covenant. Serious spiritual wounds require sustained treatment and time to heal completely and fully.
• The Lord's truth is not altered by fads, popularity, or public opinion polls.

Russell M. Nelson -Catch the Wave

• Your role is crucial, truly critical to the success of this work, If you catch the wave with faith and enthusiasm, others will also.
• "I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught."

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

True Winter

Merry Christmas!!
Hope you all had a fantastic day. :)

To say I love snow is a bit of an understatement.
I love it when it covers the ground and falls from the sky. ^^

So when our winters are rather....dry and whiteless...
It's rather depressing

And unfortunately, Happy Valley is notorious for getting just a fraction of what the rest of the state does. So I've had to deal with rather snowless winters for the past five years or so it feels like.
In reality it's probably just the past two.
Where it feels like it snowed once before Christmas, and then once on Christmas and that was it.

>.<
So depressing.

So to say that we were supposed to get in a statewide snow storm on Christmas Eve.
Had me excited. :D
I didn't even care that I had to drive in the storm.
So long as I would finally get some snow, I would be happy.
-As it snowed once before Thanksgiving and hadn't snowed since.

To say I was disappointed when Kikay and I drove up in a rain storm and not a snow storm was an understatement.
I love driving in snow. Rain, not so much.

But as the sun set, and the night grew colder, the rain turned to flakes.
And Oh!!
What glorious glorious whiteness appeared on Christmas Morning.
It wasn't a dusting of snow.
Or a couple of inches of snow.

No it was snow so thick and still falling that Church was cancelled.
Snow so deep that it came nearly to my knees.

It was snow that brought me back to my childhood.

Simply put.
It was amazing!!

Snow. Snow EVERYWHERE!! HAHA!!!

And getting back home to College Town, showed that we'd gotten snow here as well!! About half as much as Home Town, but still!! SNOW!!
Enough that hopefully it won't melt in the next couple of days and I'll be able to enjoy true winter for a while. ^^

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Tradition

We all have our Christmas Eve traditions.

Some people open one present.
Others go see the lights.
Some go sing carols.
Others hang out at home....

My family, well, us kids.
Has a movie Tradition.

Where we watch the Live Version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

lol I have no idea when we started this tradition.
Or why we even decided to in the first place.
But basically ever since we got the movie on VHS....

We've done the tradition of gathering together the Night Before Christmas to watch it. :)

It's one of my favorite traditions.
Even though the location and means of watching the movie has changed over the years.
It's still fun to watch the show with family. :)

Until you next read these words
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Avoiding The Bustle

I'm glad I got my Christmas Shopping done.

As it looked like a mad house in every store parking lot I passed by.

Cars circling like vultures searching for an open spot in lots that are hardly ever that full.

I can only imagine the crowds inside the stores themselves.

Thankfully...

My store wasn't too crazy.

There were people and it was busy, but it was a manageable consistent busy not a 'we're going to die from these mobs' sort of busy.

In any case.

I was quite willing to avoid all the noise and bustle.

And take a less busy route home to avoid car traffic.

Yes.

Definitely glad I didn't have to fight the crowds.

It would be too much of an energy drain to attempt it now. :S

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Sufficient Food

The life of Ann Rowley, a pioneer woman in the early days of the Church, demonstrates how exercising faith impacts our lives for good.
A widow from England, Sister Rowley exercised her faith to answer the prophet's call to gather to Zion.
She was a member of the Willie handcart company, which encountered deep snowdrifts along the trial in the fall of 1856.
They had reached a point in the trek where her seven children were literally starving.
She wrote: "It hurt me to see my children go hungry. ...
Night was coming and there was no food for the evening meal.
I asked God's help as I always did.
I got on my knees, remembering two hard sea biscuits that ... had been left over from the sea voyage.
They were not large, and were so hard they couldn't be broken.
Surely, that was not enough to feed 8 people, but 5 loaves and 2 fishes were not enough to feed 5,000 people either, but through a miracle, Jesus had done it.
So, with God's help, nothing is impossible.
I found the biscuits and put them in a dutch oven and covered them with water and asked for God's blessing.
Then I put the lid on the pan and set it on the coals.
When I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan filled with food.
I kneeled with my family and thanked God for his goodness.
That night my family had sufficient food."

-Marcus B. Nash -By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled -October 2012 General Conference

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Treatment Issue?

I ventured into 'enemy' territory today.

Why?

Well, you see.
Last night, my roomies actually came downstairs where my newest passion -my 125 gallon fish tank- resides.
I believe they were looking for Christmas Decorations.
But it's hard to not get sucked into staring at my beautiful -if still sparsely decorated fishtank- and get caught up watching the fish I have in there swim about.

Which was when my sister noticed something odd about my biggest fish.
Big Ben -the Oranda Goldfish.

She noticed that there was something white trailing off of Ben's head.
Honestly it looked like a little worm or something. :S Which would be bad...I don't want parasites in my tank!!
But not unexpected in the tank having issues as a) its new b) I introduced fish from a different fish tank and c) a couple of my precious fish decided to die for unknown reasons.
So to see a visible issue on the King of the tank.
Yah...not comforting.

But not much I could do about it when it was nearly midnight. heh.
So I made a mental note to possibly pick up something tomorrow or check and see if it was still there in the morning.

Only for Kikay to text me a little bit later to say she looked up what Big Ben had and discovered it was some type of fungal thing.
...Still think it's a parasite....as fungal things...while white don't always look like that. But *shrugs* I learn new things everyday. lol
As she was really concerned about Big Ben since he is my top Favorite in the tank. And she didn't want Ben to die and make me sad.
^^ Love my sister lol.
So she looked up the info told me it, and I made yet another note to go see if I had any fungal treatment at work when I got in this morning.

*exhales*
And here's where "giant fishtank" becomes a problem.
Because often medical treatments for Parasites, Bacteria, and Fungal issues...come in smaller doses.

Which with a 125 gallon tank....Obviously I'm not going to get far on 'small doses'
So packets and tablets for treating my fish were definitely out because I would have to buy like 6 of those if not more to treat my tank for the full prescribed time.

Which meant liquid solutions.
As liquid goes a lot farther than tablets or powders lol.

Unfortunately.
The particular liquid solution for Fungal that I was looking for....
We didn't have in stock.

And I vaguely remembered us being out of stock on it last week...
Which either means people have been buying it as soon as it goes on the shelf....
Or our inventory thinks we have more bottles than we do and so they haven't sent us more because they think we don't need more. (which could mean theft, or inaccurate shipping or numerous other things.)

In any case.
We didn't have the liquid solution.
And while I could wait and see if our next truck would have the Fungal Treatment within the multitudinous boxes.....

I figured its better to start treating my fish sooner rather than later.
Which meant....
A visit to the competition.

I haven't set foot in that store since I first started working at Starsmet, as idle curiosity drove me to go there in the first place. lol
Needless to say they've redecorated a bit moving aisles about and such since I last walked in those doors.

Thankfully they did have the chemical in stock.
and I took the opportunity to look around and see what they had.
Before I paid for the treatment and left.

Hopefully I don't have to subject myself to going into the competition again any time soon.
But hey, at least I have the treatment for my fish now!

lol Though when I got home....the odd white thingy on Ben's head was gone....
Soooo we may have been worried for nothing.
*shrugs*
Still. It doesn't hurt to treat the system just to be safe.

:)

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

OverComing the Odds

There are some forces in life that on occasion are too strong to overcome.

One of those is a warm bed.

Now usually with work. Work is strong enough to overcome warm bed.
But on my days off from work. When I have no pressing responsibilities to nag me out of bed.
It becomes twelve times more difficult to leave my bed at any reasonable hour. lol.

Which means on my days off it's unsurprising to still find me in bed (awake) until late afternoon if I choose to leave it at all.

And....that makes it difficult to do things in the mornings.
As with Warm Bed calling, those other tasks just...don't seem as important. Especially if there is no time limit related to them and you can do them later.

Even with a time limit....
Mornings make it seem much less pressing than it did the night before.

Like....going out and getting myself a Taco Bell Sausage Crunchwrap. lol

Which unfortunately is one of those 'time limit' things that also happens in the mornings.

I usually can't get myself a crunch wrap because I work mornings. And since they're only available for 'breakfast' the only time I can get said crunchwrap....is on my days off.

I mean on the once-in-a-blue moon occurrence of me having a super short shift at work.....it's hard to get to said favorite breakfast food. lol

Which is where the force of the Warm Bed comes in.

I mean, if I was on top of it, I could have a crunchwrap every week on my day off.
But I'm not.
I've been 'trying' -as in thinking about- to get a crunchwrap for the past couple of months really.

And time and time again Warm Bed won out, keeping me in its warm embrace long after the time of Crunchwraps finished for the day.

But today.
I resisted.

I may have stayed up super late last night reading lol, but that didn't stop me from taking the extra measure of setting an alarm to wake myself up with enough time to get to said Crunchwrap.

....It took a lot of persuasion to actually get out of bed and stumble out the door with me still half fogged with sleep.
But I managed it!

Out the door.
Walking like a Zombie...okay Driving like a Zombie to the nearest Taco Bell....

Where I FINALLY succeeded in ordering and eating my Crunchwrap.

Ah. Heaven. So tasty.

lol.
So yah, this time, I managed to force myself to leave Warm Bed's embrace and fulfill my longing for that delicious piece of heaven.

I wonder when the next time I'll get one will be..... lol

Until you next read these words
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

April 2013 General Conference -Saturday Morning

Thomas S. Monson -Welcome to Conference

Boyd K. Packer -These Things I Know

• We will not always be safe from the adversary's influence, even within our own homes. We need to protect our nestlings.
• We live in a very dangerous world that threatens those things that are most spiritual. The family, the fundamental organization in time and eternity, is under attack from forces seen and unseen. The adversary is about. His objective is to cause injury. If he can weaken and destroy the family, he will have succeeded.
• We are free to choose what we will and to pick and choose our acts, but we are not free to choose the consequences. They come as they will.
• Tolerance is a virtue, but like all virtues, when exaggerated, it transforms itself into a vice. We need to be careful of the "tolerance trap" so that we are not swallowed up in it. The permissiveness afforded by the weakening of the laws of the land to tolerate legalized acts of immorality does not reduce the serious spiritual consequence that is the result of the violation of God's law of chastity.
• Each of us must stay in condition to respond to inspiration and the promptings of the Holy Ghost. The Lord has a way of pouring pure intelligence into our minds to prompt us, to guide us, to teach us, and to warn us. Each son or daughter of God can know the things they need to know instantly. Learn to receive and act on inspiration and revelation.

Dean M. Davies -A Sure Foundation

• If we do not provide for an appropriate balance in our lives of daily personal prayer and feasting from the scriptures, weekly strengthening from partaking of the sacrament, and frequent participation I priesthood ordinances such as temple ordinances, we too are at risk of being weakened in our spiritual structural strength.
• Prayer is one of the most basic and important foundational building blocks of our faith and character.
• Sharing our thoughts, feelings, and desires with God through sincere and heartfelt prayer should become to each of us as important and natural as breathing and eating.
• Searching the scriptures on a daily basis will also fortify our faith and character. Just as we need food to nourish our physical bodies, our spirits and souls will be replenished and strengthened by feasting upon the words of Christ as contained in the writings of the prophets.
• Worthily partaking of the sacrament strengthens our personal connection to the foundation rock, even to Jesus Christ.

Elaine S. Dalton -We Are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father

• What-e'er thou art, act well thy part.
• As daughters of God we are each unique and different in our circumstances and experiences. And yet our part matters--because we matter. Our daily contributions of nurturing, teaching, and caring for others may seem mundane, diminished, difficult, and demeaning at times, and yet as we remember that first line in the Young Women theme-- "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us"--it will make all the difference in our relationships and our responses.
• We must never lose sight of the strength of the women. ... It is mothers who most directly affect the lives of their children. ... It is mothers who nurture them and bring them up in the ways of the Lord. Their influence is paramount.

Craig A. Cardon -The Savior Wants to Forgive

• The Savior forgives sins "upon earth" and not just at the Final Judgment. He does not excuse us in our sins. But when we repent and obey His gospel, He forgives us.
• We do well to remember that with very few exceptions, the Lord's "seventy times seven" does not limit forgiveness according to the seriousness of the sin.
• In His mercy, He allows for improvement over time rather than demanding immediate perfection. Even with the multitude of sins occasioned by the weakness of mortality, as often as we repent and seek His forgiveness, He forgives again and again.
• Preach My Gospel speaks of the difficulty in overcoming addictive behavior and encourages priesthood leaders and members to "not be shocked or discouraged" if investigators or new members continue to struggle with such problems.
• We need to bear in mind that people can change. They can put behind them bad habits. They can repent from transgressions.
• We must develop the capacity to see men not as they are at present but as they may become.

M. Russell Ballard -"This Is My Work and Glory"

• Men and women have different but equally valued roles. Just as a woman cannot conceive a child without a man, so a man cannot fully exercise the power of the priesthood to establish an eternal family without a woman. In other words, in the eternal perspective, both the procreative power and the priesthood power are shared by husband and wife.

Henry B. Eyring -"Come unto Me"

• We are under covenant both to lift up those in need and to be witnesses of the Savior as long as we live.
• We will be able to do it without fail only as we feel love or the Savior and His love for us.

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Stuck Scents

Scents.

They're everywhere, and often we're not conscious of what we smell everyday.

Until we aren't exposed to it anymore, and then suddenly have it wafted to us one day, and up pops a memory.

It could be something as simple as the crisp cool winter air reminding one of Thanksgiving Visits to Wyoming.

But....

There's also the fact that some scents linger....

Long.

Looong.

After they should have faded.

Because the scent gets 'stuck' for lack of a better word.

And doesn't leave.

Like with Campfire smoke.

Overall, not generally a bad thing.

Unless you're sensitive to smells.

Which I am on occasion.

Especially when the scent decides to stick in my hair.

Which likes to come by my face.

Which coincidently has my nose which smells things.... ;) lol

And the only way to get rid of said scents stuck in my hair is via showers.

*exhales*

So. Annoying.

It's not like I purposely wanted to get the scent of today's earlier dinner stuck in my hair.

But apparently soup acts just like a campfire's smoke.

It wafts through the air.

And settles in my hair.

And makes me hungry after I've already eaten.

Because the scent is there.

All around me.

*exhales*

Yah. My Hair needs to stop being a scent trap.

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Where to Now?

It's weird.
Weird how things change from year to year.

I mean, I can remember last year, when it came to Christmas and shopping for Presents....I was crazy. I'd basically ordered everything online and was done shopping for Christmas Presents BEFORE Thanksgiving had even hit. lol.
Sure there were a few odd and ends that I still needed to pick out.
But last year.
I went totally crazy.
The excitement, the fun, the anticipation on what others would think of their presents....

And this year...
It's like the complete opposite. lol

I mean,
I only started shopping for Christmas presents a couple of days ago.
And Christmas is next weekend!
So. Crazy.

And since I've just started shopping, that definitely means that any online orders are out the window.
So my shopping has been done in actual stores. Where I have to mingle and stand in line and figure out what to get people. *gasp* the horror! haha.

It's just...an interesting trend really.
How I don't find the 'right' gifts from people in the same place twice.

One year I find everything I need for everyone at Barnes and Noble. The next Amazon. The next Hobby Lobby, this year? Who knows. The Mall? lol There's always a trend in where I shop and I suppose when I start shopping.

And this year....Procrastination has won out.
Thankfully a single day of shopping has netted me most of my presents. I just need to go find a couple more to 'even' things out as you well.

So. Here's to braving the crazy in the stores the last few days before Christmas. :S

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Nameless

It took four years.

Four years and one unguarded moment.

...For me to loose my name tag for work.

Honestly, I don't know when or how it happened.

But I'm rather miffed that it did.

Four years!

FOUR YEARS I've had the same badge and it had to go and vanish for me!

>.< I'm seriously wondering if my badge didn't like the work shirt I'd grabbed that morning to put my name tag on or what. Maybe it didn't like the brand of laundry soap I used? Who knows.

I do know that I had it while I was cleaning the bird cages, as the badge did make it to work with me and to that point....

But after that....I honestly don't know.

I noticed it was gone after I'd finished putting away the store supplies that we'd gotten in for my department.

Which involved a lot of lifting of large bags that were heavy.

As I was finishing the task, I heard a little Plink, but looked and didn't see anything.

Two minutes later as I finished taking out the trash....

I looked down and realized that my name tag was missing.

So quickly putting two and two together, I went back to where I heard the 'plinking' noise and quickly found the back of my name tag.

-As they're magnetic. So one quick jerk at said name tag and it quickly falls away from your clothes.

But I couldn't find the front.

Still can't find the front.

It's like it's vanished into thin air!

Though by now I'm thinking it probably fell into the trash while I wasn't looking and now it's in a dumpster somewhere. Y_Y foo. I liked that name tag.

I mean, I searched high and low.

And it's not like it's in some grimy corner either.

Because this event happened the day BEFORE we had some 'important' visitors come into work. So we were cleaning like crazy already, sweeping out all the dusty musty corners.

Which meant....if I was going to find my tag....I would have found it already.

And I haven't.

*exhales*

It was not good.

Because. Visitors.

Important Visitors.

Visitors who don't like it when you're not wearing your name tag at work.

lol.

I brought this up the next day.

Just before said visitors showed up.

And my Head Manager offered to let me borrow his name tag and he'd take the hit for not having one.

So for like 10 minutes I had a guy's name on my shirt. lol.

Until Second In Command commented that we had blank name tags in a drawer.

So I was able to give back Head Manager his name.

And again take on my own.

With a new name tag.

Which is great!

I didn't have to worry about being nameless at work anymore.

But I'm still miffed that my original tag has disappeared.

I liked that tag....

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Nickel

The Savior once asked His disciples the following question: "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

This is a question that my father taught me to carefully consider years ago.
As I was growing up, my parents assigned me chores around the house and paid me an allowance for that work.
I often used that money, a little over 50 cents a week, to go to the movies.
Back then a movie ticket cost 25 cents for an 11-year-old.
This left me with 25 cents to spend on candy bars, which cost 5 cents apiece.
A movie with five candy bars!
It couldn't get much better than that.

All was well until I turned 12.
Standing in line one afternoon, I realized that the ticket price for a 12-year-old was 35 cents, and that meant two less candy bars.
Not quiet prepared to make that sacrifice, I reasoned with myself, "You look the same as you did a week ago."
I then stepped up and asked for the 25-cent ticket.
The cashier did not blink, and I bought my regular five candy bars instead of three.

Elated by my accomplishment, I later rushed home to tell my dad about my big coup.
As I poured out the details, he said nothing.
When I was finished, he simply looked at me and said, "Son, would you sell your soul for a nickel?"
His words pierced my 12-year-old heart.
It is a lesson I have never forgotten.

-Robert C. Gay -What Shall a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul? -October 2012 General Conference

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Walking In The Doors

It's not easy recognizing people when I'm in 'work' mode.

As 'work' mode basically means my vision is filtered into 'customer' recognition. Where I see a person with needs before I actually see the person.

Which makes it difficult if I have to walk away from said customer and I'm not paying attention to what they look like....as it makes it difficult to 'recognize' them when I go back to find them with what I've found out for them.

Were they wearing a black jacket or red?

Was it a woman with brown hair or blue?

Older man or younger man?

Did they have two kids that were boys or a boy and a girl?

lol. Some days I'm a bit better at taking note of who I'm actually looking at than others.

But in most cases....I see the need. "There's a customer who needs me to check to see if something is in the back." "There's a customer who needs a filter." "A customer who needs crickets" "A customer who just bought a parakeet."

So you can imagine my delight.

When I happened to look up from my task to see a familiar figure walking through the door.

A 'not customer' figure.

In fact. It was one of my friends. lol. Who happened to have the day off and decided to drop by and visit as well as spoil me with a Dr. Pepper and Chocolate. XD lol.

Needless to say,

For someone who ended up not recognizing their own brother when he visited work.

I was rather ecstatic that I recognized my friend right away.

There was no hesitation.

A look. A blink. and then FRIEND!! lol.

-Granted it was like two years ago that I didn't recognize my brother, so probably my skills in recognizing people I actually know while I'm in 'work' mode has gotten better.

Probably. lol.

In any case.

It was a fun surprise to have someone randomly drop by to see me.

And thankfully they dropped by in a lull. So I only had to help out a handful of customers while we chatted and caught up as I hadn't seen my friend in a while. :)

Definitely a day booster that was. :D lol

I can't wait for the next random visitor to drop by and say hi. :D

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Gone Away

Y_Y

I knew it would probably happen.

It's the hazard of setting up a new tank.

As there's a period of adjustment....and some fish...struggle to adjust.

I came home today...

To find that the aptly named Prima Dona Daphne -a goldfish- stuck to the filter. Y_Y

Who knows if she died and then got stuck there or if she got stuck there and then died....

Considering how much she swam around, I'm assuming its the former rather than the latter.

Still.

It's depressing.

After all, I picked her out of many because I liked her coloring.

And there she was....lifeless. *exhales*

At least I was able to give her a good life in a huge tank. :)

But now apparently she's off to bigger and better things. Like the diva she is. lol.

Hopefully none of the other fish I've put in there decide to follow her example.

.....

Though I'm concerned another one already has. A clown loach I named Gab.

I haven't seen him in a couple of days...

So either he's being really shy....

Or he's followed after Daphne....

...Honestly, you'd think with only two decorations in the tank so far it wouldn't be so easy for fish to hide....

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

October 2012 General Conference -Sunday Afternoon

Robert D. Hales -Being a More Christian Christian

• To Christians who have returned to their old, less faithful ways, consider the faithful example of Peter. Do not delay. Come hear and recognize the Master's voice calling. Then straightway return to Him and receive His abundant blessings once again.

Richard G. Scott -The Joy of Redeeming the Dead

• Any work you do in the temple is time well spent, but receiving ordinances vicariously for one of your own ancestors will make the time in the temple more sacred, and even greater blessings will be received. The First Presidency has declared, "Our preeminent obligation is to seek out and identify our own ancestors."

Russell T. Osguthorpe -One Step Closer to the Savior

• Sometimes the pathway to conversion can be long and hard.
• When obstacles appear, we will keep going. When doubt comes, we will keep going. We will never turn back. We will never fall away.

Marcus B. Nash -By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled

• We too can exercise such faith in the Lord, believing and trusting that our kind and constant God will bless us with His miraculous power suited to our circumstance, according to His timing. As we do so, we too will see the hand of God manifest in our lives.
• First, unbelief in the Lord or His gospel will cause us to resist the Spirit of God.
• Second, fear distracts from and undermines faith in the Savior.
• Third, sin diminishes the presence of the Spirit in our lives, and without the Holy Ghost, we will lack the spiritual stamina to hold onto and exercise faith.

Daniel L. Johnson  -Becoming a True Disciple

• These latter types of trials may be even more daunting and dangerous and more difficult to overcome than the former. Our discipleship will be developed and proven not by the type of trials that we are faced with but how we endure them.
• Discipleship is all about doing and becoming.

Don R. Clarke -Blessing of the Sacrament

• If we properly prepare for the sacrament, we can transform our lives.

David A. Bednar -Converted unto the Lord

• A testimony is a gift from God and is available to all of His children.
• For many of us, conversion is an ongoing process and not a onetime event that results from a powerful or dramatic experience.
• Testimony alone is not and will not be enough to protect us in the latter-day storm of darkness and evil in which we are living. Testimony is important and necessary but not sufficient to provide the spiritual strength and protection we need.

Thomas S. Monson -God Be with You Till We Meet Again

• I wish also to commend you, my brothers and sisters, wherever you are throughout the world, for all that you do in your wards and branches, your stakes and districts. As you willingly fulfill callings when you are asked, you are helping to build the kingdom of God on earth.
• Let us be of good cheer as we go about our lives.

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi