Friday, February 29, 2008

2. O SON OF SPIRIT!

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.


word definition:
justice: the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness. / the moral principle determining just conduct. (I chose those definitions of justice as I think they are mostly relevant to this Hidden Word.)
confide: to have full trust; have faith.
loving-kindness: tender kindness motivated by or expressing affection.

so after being told to have a pure, kindly and radiant heart, the next step is in how to act - being given free will, we can choose to act morally righteous, doing the right thing. seeing with our own eyes, knowing through our own knowledge, we must independently investigate for the truth, without relying upon others or following old traditions.
I find it interesting that justice is God's gift to us, and a sign of His kindness and affection for us (more on that in next Hidden Word). if we equal this to adminitions of our behavior, we might even say that justice leads to liberty:

Say: True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty. (Kitáb-i-Aqdas, verse 125)


there are probably lots more of interesting points to be made here, do you have any thoughts?

Thursday, February 28, 2008

to do-list

here's a useful tip in case you have a tendency to easily forget things you have to do. I usually write a note on my cellphone with things to do, and have it posted over my background picture (the option is called "show in standby"). that way it's always reminding me of what I need to do, and I can add/remove things as soon as I come up with anything or finish it. works perfectly!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

it's live!

finally! okay, it's been sneaking around and been available online for a while, and if you've been attentive enough you might've even seen the link to the right...

I started on this project almost three months ago, mentioned it here a week after, and then last month I sort of promised that there would be an update coming up if I made it to 10000 visitors by 15th of february. well, I made it, so here goes the update and the real info.

the goal has been to provide an adequate study tool for the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book of the Bahá'í Faith:

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas is referred to as "the Mother-Book" of the Bahá'í teachings, and the "Charter of the future world civilization" (God Passes By, p. 213 [2]). It is not, however, only a ‘book of laws’: much of the content deals with other matters, notably ethical exhortations and addresses to various individuals, groups, and places. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas also discusses the establishment of Bahá'í administrative institutions, Bahá'í religious practices, laws of personal status, criminal law, ethical exhortations, social principles, miscellaneous laws and abrogations, and prophecies.

it's been a long journey, a lot of work, and it's not completely done yet. I have a list of a few things I want to change, and a few functions/features that I might want to add. but there's quite a lot of information to access already now, and I hope that it will hopefully be helpful. the original idea was to connect the Synopsis and Codification to the verses, questions and answers, and notes to enable an easier overview of what's in the Aqdas and how everything is related and connected.

as I had to enter all the text in the database, I realized that almost everything from the book was already there, so I decided to go on and add the foreword/introduction, supplementary texts, and index, so that basically everything in the Aqdas was available here as well. the advantage is that it's easier to find things, and you don't have to turn any pages to find adjacent texts. there are also some other functions that are not available in the book: search (still needs to be improved), cross-referencing (as I said, the entire reason the project got started) and fullindex (enables to see all references related to an index term).

there are so many people to thank for their help, support and encouragement that to mention them all would be impossible. I have named a few on the about page, and also grouped some together. it's been an awesome journey for me, I have learned a lot, and I hope that it will be useful for many others. I am happy to have been able to follow through with the project, and to hear my parents say they're proud of me means the world to me.

click the logo to visit www.theaqdas.org:

Happy Ayyám-i-Há!

it is that time of the year again, the happy days of Ayyám-i-Há! joy, happiness, sharing and caring. it usually entails giving gifts, enjoying delicious foods in great company, before the month of fasting. I don't think I'll be as extravagant this year as last year, even though that was a lot of fun. maybe some small acts of random kindness here and there. but it will be very different to spend it here, together with 700 others who are in the same situation. we'll see how it goes :)

"Ayyám-i-Há" means literally the "Days of Há" ("há" is an Arabic letter), and in the Bahá'í calendar they form the intercalary days that fill out the 365 or 366 days of the solar year. The Bahá'í calendar consists of 19 months of 19 days each, giving 361 days, requiring the addition of four or five more days.

The calendar was established by the Báb, the prophet who was the forerunner of the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh. But it was Bahá'u'lláh who specified that the Days of Há should be inserted in the calendar just before the month of fasting.

Bahá'u'lláh said of Ayyám-i-Há: "It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name." (from Bahá'í World News Service)

Monday, February 25, 2008

six degrees, facebook, and unity of mankind

if you are on facebook, there's a big chance that you're a member of the group Six Degrees Of Separation - The Experiment. after all, more than 4 million facebook users are. its aim:

"Using the Six Degrees of Separation theory, I want to see if it's possible to contact every single person on facebook. The theory states that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people." (my linking)

the creator of the group, Steve Jackson, recently wrote a report on the progress of the group, which he ended by saying:

"Have I managed to contact every single person on Facebook? I like to think so, but unfortunately I have no way of knowing that for sure. The fact is that more than four million of you took the time to join, and that is nothing short of a miracle. As progress marches on, the world gets smaller. That’s inevitable. Whether we’re separated by six degrees or ten degrees or one degree isn’t important. What is important is the idea that we are connected."

this got me to think of a quotation by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, from more than 100 years ago, talking about the different "candles of unity":

"The first candle is unity in the political realm, the early glimmerings of which can now be discerned. The second candle is unity of thought in world undertakings, the consummation of which will erelong be witnessed. The third candle is unity in freedom which will surely come to pass. The fourth candle is unity in religion which is the corner-stone of the foundation itself, and which, by the power of God, will be revealed in all its splendour. The fifth candle is the unity of nations -- a unity which in this century will be securely established, causing all the peoples of the world to regard themselves as citizens of one common fatherland. The sixth candle is unity of races, making of all that dwell on earth peoples and kindreds of one race. The seventh candle is unity of language, i.e., the choice of a universal tongue in which all peoples will be instructed and converse. Each and every one of these will inevitably come to pass, inasmuch as the power of the Kingdom of God will aid and assist in their realization."

the idea is surely spreading!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

when a 20 seconds problem takes you 5 hours...

... it's not fun. blargh. new day tomorrow at least.

my room smells of smoke again

it's been almost two months since our last barbeque, but yesterday it was time again. we have a new flatmate and decided to have a nice bbq for the entire orientation. and it turned out really well:


we had some absolutely delicous marinated chicken on the grill, together with mashed potatoes, salad, roasted almonds, beans, and some awesome tadig (literally "bottom of pot"):

  


both potato and corn flakes, turned out really, really well. it wasn't as massive as the last one, but we had a lot of fun, some great desserts, and rounded up the evening with a nice devotional. both food for the body and soul, and a great end to the week.

maybe this should be a tradition too?

update: the entire album can obviously be viewed here

Friday, February 22, 2008

1. O SON OF SPIRIT!

My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.


word definition:
sovereignty: the status, dominion, power, or authority of a sovereign; royalty.

this is the very first Hidden Word, and I like that the very first counsel we get is about our heart. if our heart is pure, kindly and radiant, we will have the same status as royalty. and I will believe that the sovereignty referred to is not in this mortal world...

flower cute animal

so this morning I got this picture sent to me, and forwarded it to a few more friends:


and one of my friend asked me how I found it, if I googled it or what. I said obviously no, how would I be able to find that picture? she suggested I'd search for rose cute animal - no luck.
so... she said I should do for flower cute animal - and sure enough. not only is it on the first page, it's the very first picture! insane google skills! :)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

what a beautiful night!

we had no clouds and full moon last night (which was proceeded by a lunar eclipse), and it just turned out to be a beautiful night to take some pictures. since it was quite late, I only took a couple, but it turned out quite nicely:


the pictures are taken just after midnight, with no flash. I even managed to take a picture of my own shadow, and some other shots of the buildings on the Arc, as well as the Shrine of the Báb. check them out here!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

doing so much with so little

if you thought a piece of paper couldn't be used for much, I think peter callesen would beg to differ. if you check out his site, you will see some amazing creations using a single sheet of paper. some are a4 size, some are larger. the result is the same - amazing creations. here's just one amazing example, but you should definitely check the rest out:


it's so detailed, so careful, so beautiful. I wonder if it's possible to buy some of his art...

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

cure for cancer

if you told people that you had the cure for cancer, do you think people would listen?

we had a really good workshop over the weekend, and one of the participants noted that if someone were to say that they had the cure for cancer, people would definitely be more than interested in listening. they would give you full attention for as long as you needed it, or until they realized you were just making things up.

what relevance does this have to our workshop? well, we believe that the Baha'i Faith is the answer to the travails of humanity today. here are some excerpts from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh:

"Regard the world as the human body which, though at its creation whole and perfect, hath been afflicted, through various causes, with grave disorders and maladies. Not for one day did it gain ease, nay its sickness waxed more severe, as it fell under the treatment of ignorant physicians, who gave full rein to their personal desires, and have erred grievously. And if, at one time, through the care of an able physician, a member of that body was healed, the rest remained afflicted as before."

"That which God hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful, and inspired Physician."

"The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration. The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements."


here are some of the principles of the Faith, which were formulated more than 150 years ago:

  • The oneness of mankind
  • Universal peace upheld by a world government
  • Independent investigation of truth
  • The common foundation of all religions
  • The essential harmony of science and religion
  • Equality of men and women
  • Elimination of prejudice of all kinds
  • Universal compulsory education
  • A spiritual solution to the economic problem
  • A universal auxiliary language

  • are these revolutionary? in some senses yes, in some senses no. humanity has grown to accept many of them, without even knowing the original influence of it. but I would say that even though many of them are widely accepted, there is only one within the Bahá'í Faith that they are coherently put together, based on a realization of the spiritual nature of man and humankind. read more about the Bahá'í Faith here.

    Monday, February 18, 2008

    I love this blog

    recently found this blog (also because it just started up), and has some really nice posts: Bahaiperspectives.com - with the title “If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and goodwill.”

    and believe me, they have many jewels in there! go read!

    Sunday, February 17, 2008

    Bahji saturday

    another saturday spent out in Bahji, and another set of beautiful shots. it's almost more difficult to fail getting a good shot out there:


    this is just outside collins gate, and you can see the Mansion (left) and Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh (center). I like it.

    15 new pictures from yesterday here

    Friday, February 15, 2008

    random questions

    I've touched on this subject before (here and here), about improving the level of quality in conversations, going away from the mundane, simple stuff to something that is more interesting.

    today I will provide examples of random questions that can be asked to get people to think a bit more in their conversations:

  • what's your driving force/source of inspiration in life?
  • when was the last time you were really in a state of flow?
  • what would be your dream job?
  • what are some of your hidden talents?

    alright, I'm too tired to come up with anymore right now... do you have any good conversation-starter-questions?
  • what do computers tell us about God?

    click here to read a really interesting analogy between computers and God, and how we can understand the mystery of God through a simple example of a computer game. so cool!

    Thursday, February 14, 2008

    ronaldo, r9, el fenómeno...

    I don't blog much about football anymore, much because I don't really watch anymore. but today, I must...

    this morning, I thought of a few players that I haven't seen live yet, and which I'd like to before their careers end. riquelme, carlos tevez, cristiano ronaldo were on that list, but first and foremost - ronaldo. he has always been one of my absolute favorite players, especially since he signed for inter back in 1997. regardless of where he's played, I've always enjoyed watching him.

    and what do I read today? his carrier is probably over, after severing the tendon in his left knee last night. this is the third time it happens (1998 and 2000, although that was the other knee), and the chances of him making another comeback are slim to say the least. unfortunately :(

    three videos:







    he scored an amazing 240 goals in 392 games, which gives him a striking average of 0.61. any striker over 0.5 should be happy. considering that he was mostly injured during the latter years of his career, skipping his last two years would bring him closer to a scoring average of 0.7.

    ronaldo combined speed, technique and control, to an extreme degree. he could take on entire defenses on his own, and could almost score at will. left or right foot, it didn't matter. dribble the defense (and the keeper!), shoot from distance, headers, free-kicks, he absolutely had it all. 3-time world player of the year, all-time world cup top scorer, 3-time world cup winner, a few top scorer awards, etc etc... he will definitely be missed.

    read more about him on wikipedia.

    Wednesday, February 13, 2008

    Hidden Words

    I have decided to start with the Hidden Word of the week. The Hidden Words were revealed by Bahá'u'lláh around 1857 while He was in Baghdad. it is revealed in part arabic and persian, and consists of a collection of short, but beautiful statements on how to live life. the tone is from God speaking to humanity, and it is basically the essence of everything revealed in the religions of the past. this is from the beginning of it, sort of the preface:

    HE IS THE GLORY OF GLORIES!
    This is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm of spirit obtain the gem of Divine virtue.


    now I will probably go through them in order, one each week, which will take me about 3 years to finish. but I have decided not to do that for the very first one, but instead take one that meant quite a lot to me. this is number 4 from the persian:

    O SON OF JUSTICE!
    Whither can a lover go but to the land of his beloved? and what seeker findeth rest away from his heart's desire? To the true lover reunion is life, and separation is death. His breast is void of patience and his heart hath no peace. A myriad lives he would forsake to hasten to the abode of his beloved.

    and the reason why I picked this one here, is because it influenced me and my decision to come here to serve. Bahá'u'lláh being the beloved, where else would I find my rest and reunion than here? it was a difficult choice to move, but still easy at the same time. I am very happy to be here, and do not regret it for a second.

    this obviously does not have to mean physical nearness, as we are trying to be close to God on a spiritual level. however, being here, physically close to the Shrines and having access to everything else historical that has happened here, certainly does help.

    this is beautiful

    checked the visit stats:
    Running total of visits to the above URL since 15 Feb 2007: 10,000
    Total since archive, i.e. 15 Feb 2007 - present: 10,000 (not necessarily all displayed - see below).
    Visits on previous 'day': 52.

    almost too beautiful to be true.

    pushups!

    I did my first pushups in four months last night, and it was... surprising. for my body, that is. my flatmate started doing some when I was shaving, and I figured I didn't want to be any worse than him. in the end we both did 3 x 20 pushups, and it actually feels quite good. will probably try to keep this up, just to keep a little bit in shape. need a pull-up bar, and then just wait for the weather to get "better" (it's already about 10-15 degrees, but apparently it's too cold...) and then there will be football again. time to get back in shape!

    Tuesday, February 12, 2008

    hokm evening!

    last night we had a bit of a hokm and food-get together. and as always, it was good food and good play. I prefer these kinda things much more than general get-together-put-on-some-music-and-dance, because now you can at least talk a bit and hear each other. and there's obviously a lot of more thought that goes into it...

    my flatmate and I teamed up, as always, and we started off really well. at 2-1 up, we turned a 1-6 hands deficit to a 7-6 win (which was btw the second time we did something like that). the next hand, we cotted them (win 7 hands in a row). so we had a 5-1 lead and thought everything was good, but somehow lost it all. 5 consecutive games (got cotted once), and the result was 7-5 to them. and our short analysis of those games gave a simple answer: there was nothing we could've done in any of the games - our cards were too bad.

    next on our agenda? revenge.

    skip a bit and we were losing again, 6-3 down, and but managed to win that hand. at 6-4 we cotted them, and managed to win the last game as well. a well-deserved (?) 7-6-win, and we left the place happy. I think this is something that we'll keep up for quite some time - you can't really grow tired of hokm :)

    a picture of our table:

    Monday, February 11, 2008

    will I make it?

    9,948 in total so far, with 4 days to go. 10k by the 15th? not impossible... :)

    Sunday, February 10, 2008

    my office!

    my lovely janis made a deep clean of my office on friday, so now it looks spotless clean. therefore, I can as promised, put up a picture of my office:


    so what's here?
  • a few books up on the shelf, about agile programming, designing interfaces and two on .net and asp.net programming. there's also a copy of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book of the Baha'i Faith.
  • the post-its are notes from my janis who've left random stuff after cleaning my desk in the mornings. most often they're about how wonderfully clean and neat my desk is :)
  • an envelope and a card from dear norwegian friends
  • 6 paper airplanes (!) - I just suddenly got the urge to start folding them, and so that's how it went. some of them actually fly really well...
  • a prayer that a dear friend of mine made for my birthday
  • our party hat from work back home and that I got to keep :)
  • a big painting that I got at the art show, the black says "Tahirih" (The Pure One), the red on the side says "Quarratu'l-Ayn" (Solace of the Eyes). not sure what the writings in white are... read more about Tahirih here
  • small collage with pictures of my coworkers at aftonbladet
  • another collage with small paintings made by participants from a Ruhi Book 6 circle I tutored in estonia
  • ticket from the game norway - argentina
  • a "receipt" (it's hand-made...) of a fax sent... I flipped it back over since the paper had a tendency to curl, forgot to turn it around for the picture
  • Ayyám-i-Há-greeting from my family (got it a bit early)
  • some random work-related paper
  • on my desk I have wrist warmers, picture of the house of worship in delhi, india, headphones, keyboard and mouse from back home (can't be without them), a postcard from here that I got from my 2nd family in norway, my powerball and a bottle of water.

    there we go - that's it!
  • I need to read more

    that's my insight of the weekend. it's been a while since I've been able to take the time to read (mostly because I've been trying to work on my project), but it's time for me to pick up a bit on reading again. I decided to start with Bahá'u'lláh's Teachings on Spiritual Reality:


    It is a nice compilation of writings on spirituality. I've read it through a while ago, but it's time to do it again. it deals with some very basic spiritual concepts, so it's a nice read. here's the description:

    This is a compilation dealing with spiritual reality, ... Baha'i theology of the quest for spirituality, what it means to be spiritual, progress of the soul, and spiritual education. Reacquaints Baha'is with prayer and meditation, mastery of self, suffering, immortality, sacrifice, etc. Just as science is the source of understanding the laws of physical reality, true religion, based on scientific methods stripped of empty tradition and superstition, is a source of understanding of the laws of spiritual reality. Baha'u'llah explains that knowledge about spiritual reality comes to humanity through a series of divine teachers - the Founders of the great world religions. Spirituality is the process of systematically translating this knowledge into action for personal growth, the ordering of society, and the advancement of civilization.

    Friday, February 08, 2008

    two sides of the coin...

    ... or a sphere?

    a friend of mine brought it up a while ago, how we see the world with very two-dimensional eyes, whereas we perhaps should look at it a bit differently. consider for example the following excerpt from a prayer by 'Abdu'l-Bahá:

    "Thou seest me, O my God, bowed down in lowliness, humbling myself before Thy commandments, submitting to Thy sovereignty, trembling at the might of Thy dominion, fleeing from Thy wrath, entreating Thy grace, relying upon Thy forgiveness, shaking with awe at Thy fury."

    there's a constant shift between one side and the other, between love (bowed down, humbling, entreating) and fear (trembling, fleeing, shaking). these are obviously very closely connected, and we perhaps should not only look at the coin as two separate sides, but more as a coherent whole. if you spin the coin, you get a sphere, where the two sides are connected and make sense when they are together.

    this connectedness can also be seen in one's personal life, when it comes to how our life evolves. we are usually exerted to some sort of difficulty, and to get through this we try hard and develop until we are eventually able to overcome it. the end result is a stronger character, which has taken another step on the infinite path of development.

    here's a rather long section from God Passes By, but it really clarifies this self-reinforcing circle of crisis and victory:

    "Despite the blows leveled at its nascent strength, whether by the wielders of temporal and spiritual authority from without, or by black-hearted foes from within, the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh had, far from breaking or bending, gone from strength to strength, from victory to victory. Indeed its history, if read aright, may be said to resolve itself into a series of pulsations, of alternating crises and triumphs, leading it ever nearer to its divinely appointed destiny. The outburst of savage fanaticism that greeted the birth of the Revelation proclaimed by the Báb, His subsequent arrest and captivity, had been followed by the formulation of the laws of His Dispensation, by the institution of His Covenant, by the inauguration of that Dispensation in Badasht, and by the public assertion of His station in Tabriz. Widespread and still more violent uprisings in the provinces, His own execution, the blood bath which followed it and Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment in the Siyah-Chal had been succeeded by the breaking of the dawn of the Bahá'í Revelation in that dungeon. Bahá'u'lláh's banishment to Iraq, His withdrawal to Kurdistan and the confusion and distress that afflicted His fellow-disciples in Baghdad had, in turn, been followed by the resurgence of the Bábí community, culminating in the Declaration of His Mission in the Najibiyyih Garden. Sultan Abdu'l-'Aziz's decree summoning Him to Constantinople and the crisis precipitated by Mirza Yahya had been succeeded by the proclamation of that Mission to the crowned heads of the world and its ecclesiastical leaders. Bahá'u'lláh's banishment to the penal colony of 'Akká, with all its attendant troubles and miseries, had, in its turn, led to the promulgation of the laws and ordinances of His Revelation and to the institution of His Covenant, the last act of His life. The fiery tests engendered by the rebellion of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali and his associates had been succeeded by the introduction of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the West and the transfer of the Báb's remains to the Holy Land. The renewal of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's incarceration and the perils and anxieties consequent upon it had resulted in the downfall of Abdu'l-Hamid, in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's release from His confinement, in the entombment of the Báb's remains on Mt. Carmel, and in the triumphal journeys undertaken by the Center of the Covenant Himself  410  in Europe and America. The outbreak of a devastating world war and the deepening of the dangers to which Jamal Pasha and the Covenant-breakers had exposed Him had led to the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, to the flight of that overbearing Commander, to the liberation of the Holy Land, to the enhancement of the prestige of the Faith at its world center, and to a marked expansion of its activities in East and West. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing and the agitation which His removal had provoked had been followed by the promulgation of His Will and Testament, by the inauguration of the Formative Age of the Bahá'í era and by the laying of the foundations of a world-embracing Administrative Order. And finally, the seizure of the keys of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh by the Covenant-breakers, the forcible occupation of His House in Baghdad by the Shí'ah community, the outbreak of persecution in Russia and the expulsion of the Bahá'í community from Islam in Egypt had been succeeded by the public assertion of the independent religious status of the Faith by its followers in East and West, by the recognition of that status at its world center, by the pronouncement of the Council of the League of Nations testifying to the justice of its claims, by a remarkable expansion of its international teaching activities and its literature, by the testimonials of royalty to its Divine origin, and by the completion of the exterior ornamentation of its first House of Worship in the western world.

    The tribulations attending the progressive unfoldment of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh have indeed been such as to exceed in gravity those from which the religions of the past have suffered. Unlike those religions, however, these tribulations have failed utterly to impair its unity, or to create, even temporarily, a breach in the ranks of its adherents. It has not only survived these ordeals, but has emerged, purified and inviolate, endowed with greater capacity to face and surmount any crisis which its resistless march may engender in the future."


    I don't have much more to say about this right now. I think it's important to expand our vision, be able to "see the end in the beginning", and not be depressed as soon as some difficulty comes in to our life.

    Thursday, February 07, 2008

    signs of love

    many years ago, I heard that there were three signs to show that you were in love:
    1. he/she is the first thing you think of when you woke up
    2. wherever you are, you're always thinking of him/her
    3. he/she is the last thing you think of before you sleep

    I found a top 10 signs that you are in love, and they say that if you have at least three of them, you just might be in love...

    1. You’re in love if you think about them all of the time.
    2. You’re in love if everything reminds you of them.
    3. You’re in love if you care more about their safety and happiness than you do about your own.
    4. You’re in love if you start caring more about your own appearance.
    5. You’re in love if you’re actually interested in knowing more about them.
    6. You’re in love if you want to impress them.
    7. You’re in love if you aren’t as tight with your money or time anymore.
    8. You’re in love if hanging out with your friends just isn’t as appealing any more.
    9. You’re in love if commitment is actually starting to sound like something you could stand.
    10. You’re in love if you just aren’t noticing other members of the opposite sex.

    scary part? at least 5-6 of them fit in to me right now.
    who's the lucky one? my service.

    Tuesday, February 05, 2008

    what you miss if you don't look around

    remember this post about joshua bell, the violinist? and people who walked by without noticing him. had something similar to happen here...

    it's been a windy day today, but the sun's been shining too. so I think a mixture of warm and cold weather made the clouds look... absolutely beautiful.


    I took 43 shots, and decided not to delete anyone of them, even though many were very similar. it was just awesomely beautiful, and anyone who didn't look up when they were walking really missed out on something. I couldn't even decide which picture to put up for show here, but in the end decided for that one. something about the clouds looking like they're coming out from the building. see the album, and keep your eyes open next time :)

    me, my hair and I

    so I enjoy having fun with my hair...
    so I take a lot of pictures of it...
    so I put it up on facebook...


    cornrows, short hair, bleached, dyed, colored, highlights, long hair, curls - it's all there :)

    Sunday, February 03, 2008

    quelle surprise!

    to our great surprise, we had another stuffed animal appear at our window today, a cute green frog! here's our zoo:

    wow, what a weekend!

    so after having pancakes on friday, I went up to the office for some work (although I wasn't on schedule, so coming up at 10 was no problem). had a nice talk with a couple of people, and suddenly another guy comes in and wonders if we want pizza for lunch. how can I say no to that?
    so ended up having pizza and great company for lunch, french toast for dinner, and worked quite a lot in between. oh, and not to mention the sun was shining while walking up in the morning. absolutely lovely. and in the evening we just relaxed at a friend's place, they'd started watching the new (?) turtles movie, so I saw the last half hour of it or so.

    so come saturday... my flatmate and I decided to clean up our whole flat, so the day was more or less set aside for that. but first of all, there was the arts and crafts show of 2008. there's an amazing amount of talent here, and they had the chance of showing some of their creations - pottery, jewelry, paintings, pictures, handiwork, etc etc. it was really amazing to see! some of the stuff was available for sale, and I got a little something for myself as well...

    on friday I had decided that since I was obviously going to spend a lot of time in my office, I wanted to make it more homely. I've brought up a few things from my flat, and also want to decorate it a bit more in general. I don't think I'll ever be completely done, but there will be a picture coming up soon. there might be a small surprise/shock for you :)

    so after that I went home, and my flatmate had already started cleaning. I helped out, we fixed everything, and after about 4 hours total of work, it was spotless, clean, and beautiful. so we decided to mess it up by inviting a few people over for dinner...

    mashed potatoes, fried chicken, onions, peaches and ice cream. really delicious. and a lot of dishes. but we took care of that, our visitors thanked for the dinner, and at 9 everyone was out. a bit early to go sleep, but not really in the mood to do anything major. what to do?

    my flatmate made an excellent suggestion - say some prayers! it was a really nice feeling to sit there together and say prayers together, back and forth, for a while. created a really nice and calm atmosphere, and I felt really relaxed afterwards. we decided to try and do this as often as possible, but definitely make it a saturday tradition, to end the week, and I'm really looking forward to it.

    all in all, I was feeling really happy about the weekend, everything was great. and then I cut my thumb while doing the dishes in the morning... :(

    Friday, February 01, 2008

    pancake friday!

    so my flatmate started the friday tradition of starting the day together with his coworkers by coming to our flat, have pancakes and bacon and then go to work. today we added another bunch of people and some french toast, and this is how it looked like:


    absolutely lovely! see the rest of the album here