How the Confederates Felt

For a brief moment last night.
I understood how the Confederates felt when they lost the civil war.
Half the nation is on your side...
but not enough of the right half of the nation I suppose.
At least not where most of the 'votes' are.
To let your side get in control.

lol I look at the map of who got what state.
And land wise, it totally looks like Romney won the election.
Yet population wise...where most of the electoral votes are...Obama got the more populous areas.

Yah...
Personally, I think the vote was sooo close.
That it's not really fair to choose a President from the results.
As from what I saw...the states were pretty divided.
Most percentages were 50%/40% ranges.
Like R55% - D45%
Or  R 51% - D49%
They're like super close.

I would think that there needs to be a set difference between the two parties.
Like you need to be 5% ahead of the other candidate to get the state's electoral votes.
Otherwise...it seems like the populations are evenly divided with less then 5% of a difference.
And I recognize that 1% of the population of the state could be like 10,000 people or something.
I just think the percentage difference could be...more of an issue.

I don't know...I would say "throw out the states that are 'too close to call"
But this election...I don't think we'd have that many states 'still in play' if the 'too close to call' thing happened.
The nation seriously was and is divided.

lol I think that we should just make them both presidents.
Romney would be in charge of fiances and getting us back out of debt.
And Obama...would be in charge of the other things...like LaKai said "Making people feel good." lol.

Who knows.
I just find it surprising that Florida...a state that seems to have been in the lime light like the last 4 elections....barely got a blip in the newscast. They were the last state to put their votes in...and all the maps I look at...still have the state unshaded. It's neither blue or red. Possibly because it doesn't matter any more since Obama won...but it's bugging me that it doesn't have a color.
I can't finish my map. >.<

See:

My family has this tradition of coloring in a map of the united states when the elections happen.

Some years is more frustrating then others.

As states have flip flopped and some states are a nice dark purple by the end.

lol

I did this one on paint..and literally painted in the states as doing the paint bucket feature in paint didn't just color in the whole state...lol that's what I get for copy/pasting a map into paint I suppose.

 

Anywho. Florida hasn't got a color....yet. Hopefully it eventually gets a color. Last I checked the stats Obama was 50% and Romney had 49%...which only adds to 99% who knows. I just want to color in the state lol.

 

What's funny is that this year I voted for Romney.

And here I am trying to think of ways that would have let Romney be president.

Yet four years ago I voted for Obama.

 

And the 2008 map looks like this:

 

Scroll up and down between the two...

And what do you notice?

Yah.

They're like EXACTLY the SAME.



Indiana and North Carolina ended up switching colors.
And Florida has a color.
But otherwise...the states are shaded the same.

Funny how four years ago I was happy that Obama won and I didn't think more about the states.
And now, that Obama won again and I didn't vote for him this time....
It totally seems unfair.

Ha. The difference between winning and losing.  ^^;;

In any case...
It seems like the country is divided still.
Half of us wanted a Democrat.
the other half wanted a Republican.

Here's to another four years!
May the force be with President Obama.
And that he can he'll be able to reach out to the people who voted against him.
That he will listen to what the people and congress have to say.
That congress, the house, and the president will stop blocking each other and compromise and work together.
And hopefully America will get back into the swing of things, so that things nationwide and worldwide will improve once more. :)

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Update: Florida has chosen Obama. Just barely. 50% to Romney's 49.1% or whatever. So the Map is Complete!

 

The Dream

I was trick or treating and went to the house where my Cousin Mandie lived. There was a sign on her door that basically said "Don't disturb us baby sleeping candy is right here take one." And she had left a giant cauldron of 'candy' but because her husband is in the military, they get alot of free stuff. And they'd left the free stuff to be taken. Like Itouches among other things. So I grabbed an Itouch with 40GBs and left. I met up with some friends in the dark at a group of tables. Cooper was there and he saw my new Itouch and asked where I got it. I said "I'll show you." so we went back to cousin mandie's home but the cauldron of goodies was gone. I was trying to figure out what to do then when my friends...went up to the door..and rang the doorbell. ()_() I was like "NOOO!! Don'---too late." I was super annoyed. Couldn't they read the sign saying "Do not ring the doorbell?" but when i looked at the sign...it had a whole bunch of terms and agreements...but didn't say "don't ring the doorbell, baby is sleeping." like it had the first time. Well...the door slammed open and Aaron, the husband of another one of my cousins opened the door and looked really...super annoyed. He yelled at us. "What the ____ do you think you're doing!? Can't you guys _____ read?" We entered like whipped puppies cus we wanted the items as he stomped around the place swearing some more. -It's super weird to have someone swear in my dreams...that never happens.- Especially from that particular cousin in law...I don't think he ever swears. In any case we were trying to say that we hadn't done anything wrong as the sign hadn't said that we couldn't ring the doorbell and this older woman was agreeing with us....

When the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D

A Moment to Reflect

Well....today has been...exhausting.
Both physically and emotionally.

And as the night deepens, and my bed calls to me.
My thoughts are rather Melancholy.

Recently when my thoughts grow more...thoughtful.
I turn to this 'new' band.
That my Aunt showed to me on my last visit to her.

And their music...just gives me comfort.
Here are two of my favorite songs

By Il Volo.

The first: Il Mondo

The second: 'O Sole Mio

Such sweet songs.
I love listening to them. ^^
I hope they can give you a measure of peace as well. :)

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I dreamt that Castle's girl encountered another girl...and they were going out together, which Castle didn't approve of, and it turns out the girl was the villain and she had this contagious disease of the blood where if you got any of her blood into an open wound you'd get infected, and Castle and Beckett ended up keeping her company in her iso ward because she was lonely......I'm trying not to remember any more....

-S.N.D
 

April 1992 General Conference Saturday Morning

Thomas S. Monson -Memories of Yesterday, Counsel for Today

• Ten suggestions for mothers as they guide their precious children
• Take time to always be at the crossroads in the lives of your children.
• Take time to be a real friend to your children.
• Take time to read to your children.
• Take time to pray with your children.
• Take time to have a meaningful weekly home evening.
• Take time to be together at mealtimes as often as possible
• Take time daily to read the scriptures together as a family.
• Take time to do things together as a family.
• Take time to teach your children.
• Take time to truly love your children.
• Strive to make your home a little bit of heaven on earth.

James E. Faust -Spiritual Healing

• "He jests at scars that never felt a wound."
• Our hurry to meet the relentless demands of the clock tears away at our inner peace.
• One reason for the spiritual sickness of our society is that so many do not know or care about what is morally right and wrong.
• Someway, somehow, we must find the healing influence that brings solace to the soul.
• Our sacrament meetings should be worshipful and healing, restoring those who attend to spiritual soundness.
• The ultimate spiritual healing comes in the forgetting of self.
• "There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God."

Marion D. Hanks -The Royal Law

• Helping, giving, sacrificing are, or should be, as natural as growing and breathing.
• He and our Father are concerned with what kind of people we are!
• He had acquired the habit of helpfulness through persistent experience helping, noticing needs, and reaching out in response to them.

Yoshihiko Kikuchi -"The Pure Love of God"

• "Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart," we "may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ."

Alexander B. Morrison -Nourish the Flock of Christ

• If we do not constantly receive the spiritual nourishment needed daily, we will soon--as individuals and societies--be in dire straits, bereft of God's protection, cut off from the healing influences of the Spirit.
• We, if spiritually weakened, {will be} be ready prey for the adversary and his legions of dupes and devils.
• "I that speak unto thee am he."
• "Whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked--
• "And land their souls .. at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven."
• When we learn to read the "signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows" properly, with the eyes of faith we will realize that all of history, all of science, all of nature, all divinely revealed knowledge of any sort, testifies of Him.
• Wise undershepherds are never casual in their commitment to Christ and His cause, and do all in their power to encourage others to honor sacred agreements, solemnly made in the Lord's house.
• Faithful servants nourish by focusing on the individual. God loves us one by one.
• I learned as a farm boy many years ago that sheep and trouble go together! Come to think of it, so, too, do people and trouble often go together!

David B. Haight -Come to the House of the Lord

• "Hearts must be pure."
• Desire and effort are likewise required if we would receive revelation to understand.
• Let your children see you behave--toward them and your eternal companion--in kindlier, more loving ways. Your consistently positive expressions about what you experience in the temple will create in your children a desire to receive those same blessings and provide them with strong motivation to resist the temptations which could disqualify them from temple blessings.

Marvin J. Ashton -The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword

• In the world today we are victims of many who use their tongues as sharp swords. the misuse of our tongues seems to add intrigue and destruction.
• There is no time for the dastardly hobby of bashing instead of building.
• Some think the only way to get even, to get attention or advantage, or to win is to bash people. this kind of behavior is never appropriate. Oftentimes character and reputation and almost always self-esteem are destroyed under the hammer of this vicious practice.
• "No man can humiliate or disturb me. I won't let him."
• Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped.
• None of us need one more person bashing or pointing out where we have failed or fallen short. Most of us are already well aware of the areas in which we are weak.
• "The best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people."
• Lend a hand to those who are frightened, lonely, or burdened.
• If we could look into each other's hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.
• "Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth!"
• Let us open our arms to each other, accept each other for who we are, assume everyone is doing the best he or she can, and look for ways to help leave quiet messages of love and encouragement instead of being destructive with bashing.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi
 

Self Checkout Revelation

Have you ever had an irrational fear,
because you've never tried something out.
So therefore you think that 'it's not for me'
and therefore don't do it?

Yah.
That was me for a while.
With...
Self Checkout.
You know...the kind at the grocery store,
where you can scan your own items.
It seems like the lines for self checkout are always empty.
And I've often looked over that way and thought "just maybe....nah...this is 'safer'"

Well, the other day.
I was standing in the "Less then 20 items speedy checkout" line
Waiting for my turn with the cashier.
When this other lady...the one that stands in front of the self checkers
Tells me to come over this way.
So I follow her thinking she's going to lead me to a shorter line.
But she plops me down in front of the self checkout.
And shows me what to do.

I had this lightning bolt realization.
"Hey! I've done this before!"
Cus...well working at Starsmet, I've had to be cashier occasionally.
So I knew what to do.

And this. At the grocery store.
was EXACTLY the SAME.
Mindblowing I tell you. ;) lol
I ended up taking over for the lady and just checked out my own items.
Did all the keypad stuff.
And walla!
my food had been bought in less time then standing in line took!

Amazing.
I was in and out of the store faster then I thought I would be!
So since that point, I've gone to the self checkout.
And boy! It sure is fast compared to just standing in line.
I don't know if I'll ever go back.
Okay...so I will if I end up with more then 20 items....
or I buy fruit/veggies that don't have the bar codes on them.... heh.

Whoever thought of this self checkout thing was a genius. :D
Do you think it was a fellow Cashier?
After all, they must get frustrated to stand in line at other stores and think
"I can do this so much faster."
I've thought that a time or two....
Yah. Probably I fellow cashier came up with the concept. :) lol

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Fallout: Plane Crash

()_()
I'd seen plenty of commercials.
About a team of...I guess you can call them scientists,
Who plan, to purposely crash a plane.
To see what happens...during a crash.
So that things can become safer in the future from the data gained.

I kept spacing when the show was on, so I kept missing it.
Well...I saw it on tv.
It was already halfway over, but I figured that I could watch it anyway.
I tuned in...just in time to watch the flight into the crash.

Wow.
Just wow.

Watching a plane crash in 'real time' as it happens....
Is so intense.
And terrifying.
Even though there were no real people involved...
I could imagine what would be happening and how the people would be reacting,
had they been on.

But the saddest part....
was seeing the wreckage.
A majestic plane in pieces.
And more importantly, some of the seats torn away, thrown hundreds of feet...
and knowing...that those people wouldn't have survived had they been sitting there.

I kept changing my mind on where I wanted to sit...
and....came to the conclusion,
as stated by the people on the TV....
every crash is different.
In this crash the front of the plane was destroyed....
but in others shown at the beginning of the show....
the back of the plane got more damage,
the center of the plane got more damage....
Anywhere could be bad.
If.
IF
the plane crashes.
But more often then not...it doesn't.

I'm just glad I'm not planning on flying anywhere anytime soon.
As I would be extremely paranoid the whole flight
from what I saw on the Discovery show.
But with time and distance....
It will hopefully fade by the time I do get on a plane again.
So I can just stay my mostly relaxed self like before watching this show.

I am glad though, that the data gained from this flight crash can be used to help in the future.
For that, I am glad. :)
Otherwise I'm sad for the loss of a majestic plane. :(

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

-Sarnic Dirchi




Random Note: I purposely reversed the name of the TV show. It's called Plane Crash: The Fallout, not The Fallout: Plane Crash

The Dream

We were part of a group of 'undesirables' and we were being rounded up, for being different. Yet, I was doing what I could to mask that I was an 'undesirable'  however it wasn't enough, Zuko my brother ended up getting caught and placed in an arena...that was unwinable...because you couldn't use your powers...oddly enough outside of the arena? Zuko used his fire abilities to propel himself out of the glass with the snakes and tentacly plants calling for my help. I used a...kinda frisbee disk/UFO looking thing with air abilities and sent it to Zuko, who landed on it. And then we were off trying to get our freedom....

when the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D

The Right Time of Need

I'm getting the hint.
Do. Not. Try. To. Stay. Later. At. Work.

As it's happened for the third time now.

I mentioned before how I had an attack of a coughing fit at the very end of my shift at work right? One that made it sound like I was trying to puke.
Well.
It's happened...at least one other time that I remember.
Again, at the end of my shift.

It's so weird.
I keep thinking "Oh I can do this one more thing before I can clock out, it won't be that long."
And then
WHAM!
I get a coughing attack that sends me into the back and soon after onward home.

That didn't happen today.

No today...
was a bit odd.
You see. I had to go into work at 5am.
Which is...kinda pointless for a Friday,
as I don't have to do bedding changes.
We were done with all the pet openings like 45 minutes before Starsmet even opened.
Which would have been fine...
except...the fish weren't there.
Friday is Fish day, where we get in new fish.
And that can take some time...especially for me since I don't quite know the names of all the fish yet, though I do have the general area of where I think they should be down.
Because we have to look at the tags (which is hard when some bags don't have tags) then look at the list and mark how many fish are in that bag and if any are dead before finding the tank they belong in and sticking the bag in there to acclimate to the temperatures of the water in the bag and in the tank to the same temperature. I've heard that we can get fish four boxes high by four boxes wide.
I haven't seen that yet lol.
We had three rows today.
But...they didn't get the fish to us til about 45 minutes before I got off my shift...and it was a 7 hour shift.
Since the store is open to customers, it can take us up to two hours or more to get all the fish into the tanks.
And my partner left an hour after me...I don't know if she got done with the fish or not or if the next worker coming in had to finish it.
In any case.
She went on lunch break right before I clocked out, so I was by myself with the fish for the last part of my shift...actually past my shift as she didn't get back til like 15mins after I was supposed to leave.
In any case.
Customers did come in to get crickets and fish.
I had nearly finished the second row by the time my partner got back.
I just had two more bags to get out of a box and then another box.
I saw my partner come back.
Had the thought that I could leave now.
but brushed it aside.
I wanted to finish the last two bags of the second to last box on that second row first.
Well...
As I was searching for the names of the fish so I could mark that we got them.
I felt something....wet.
I've been getting over being sick, so I thought it was the typical runny nose.
My hands were full and sniffing didn't seem to help, so I did a quick brush against my shirt to get it off....and saw red.
O.o
I'd given myself a bloody nose!

And wouldn't you know it....
It happened at the very end of my shift.
I don't even know how I gave myself one...perhaps it was moving back and forth and up and down too quickly? No idea.

Needless to say... >.< I didn't finish with those last two bags of fish.
I had to tell my partner to do them, while I went to treat my nose and go clock out.

Grr...
Okay self imposed curfew...leave when its time, not when I'm done....

I have a feeling something like this will happen again lol...I'm stubborn like that...I like to have things done before I leave.

But on a brighter note.
As I was driving to Institute after clocking out to get to the Institute Devotional.
I saw an older man huffing and puffing walking quickly with a cane and a huge suitcase like bag up the hill from the school.
I had the thought "I should help him."
Initially ignored it, but decided to follow that prompting.
He was heading to the bus stop, trying to get to his bus.
And it was like...thirty seconds up the road at the most....by car.
Another two or three minutes if you walk.
But the poor guy was breathing so heavily I offered him a ride.
He accepted it.
And we got across from the bus stop, and I saw the bus -his bus- coming up the road.
So I pulled out right in front of it and stopped just as it stopped at the bus stop. Luckily someone else was there waiting so the bus needed to stop.
The guy got out of the car and signaled the bus driver to wait.
Got his stuff, and got on the bus.
:D
I don't think he would have made it to the bus stop if I hadn't stopped.
As it showed up 30secs later.
And he still had to walk like 2 minutes to get to the stop rushing as he was.
I'm grateful I was able to get him to his bus on time.
Late from work, late to the devotional, but on time to help a guy in need. ^^

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

When You Do The Right Thing

Over the centuries, other stories of miraculous happenings relating to Sabbath day observance have been preserved.
One is the story of the cobbler working under one of the megalith stones in Avebury, near Stonehenge, England:

"One Sunday,' wrote John Saunders in his journal for August 13, 1712, 'a cobbler was mending of shoos under one of these great stones.
The minute he rose the stone fell down and broke in pieces on the very ground where he sat which made him see the great providence of God in preserving him alive and so deter him from braking the Sabbath for which reason he never more worked on the Sabbath day.'"

A more recent miracle occurred at the Wells Stake Welfare Tannery some years ago where hides of animals were tanned into leather.
One regular workdays, the hides were removed from the vats and fresh lime placed in the vats, after which the hides were returned to the lime solution.
If the hides were not turned on holidays, they would spoil.
But the change was never made on Sunday, and there were no spoiled hides on Monday.
Explained J. Lowell Fox, the supervisor of the tannery at the time:

"This brought a strange fact to our minds: holidays are determined by man, and on these days just as on every week day, the hides need to have special care every twelve hours. Sunday is the day set aside by the Lord as a day of rest, and He makes it possible for us to rest from our labors as He has commanded.
The hides at the tannery never spoil on Sundays.
This is a modern-day miracle, a miracle that happens every weekend!"

James E. Faust- The Lord's Day -October 1991 General Conference

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream

I was with my sister, and she was panicking because she couldn't find her ipod. She'd got all her other electronics her phone, itouch and some other device, but couldn't find her ipod anywhere even though she was sure that she'd had it when she left the house.

-S.N.D