Sometimes horrible things just happen...and it's hard to know what to do and how to react. You're surviving and trying to help, but it doesn't feel good, because those barbs dig in deep, even if they were flung at you without enough thought behind them. You can't blame them for jumping to conclusions, but you can still be hurt that they did. You'll probably continue to hope and pray that the atmosphere becomes more accepting and less hateful, but in light of the things that have happened, you really don't have direct influence over what people have done and how others react.

Instead, wait and see, continue your determined honesty and serenity as best as you can, and in the meantime, enjoy your vacation and your holiday. You'll be bringing love to a family member who is alone in another part of the world, and that is a reward in and of itself.

Just keep swimming...

"Is it too early to listen to Christmas music?"

An age-old question.

My own opinion has changed a bit over the years, but in general, I'd say "earlier than November" is a good cut-off point. It's still a bit of a jolt to go from ORANGE AND BLACK AND CANDY AND COSTUMES AND EVIL OMG OMG one day and then see RED AND GREEN AND CANDY AND TREES AND LIGHTS OMG OMG the next...but as long as I don't go OVERBOARD, I don't feel bad about the occasional Christmas song to start easing me into the spirit of the season. Granted, there are a few songs that I can listen to at ANY time during the year (Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Carol of the Bells, for instance), but at the same time there are others that are simply unbearable outside of the month of December, even (*coughFelizNavidadcough*).

At any rate, I've had a couple of Xmas songs pop up in my iTunes shuffle lately, and a sure sign that I'm ready for the holiday season, here in early November, is that I don't skip those songs. ;)

Day 22 - What is your policy on book lending?

LOL! Well, apparently if I EVER get it back, it's ok! xDD I think I've got a couple of books out there that I've been lending for years!

Day 21 - What will inspire you to recommend a book?

Well, it's a combination of factors. Naturally I have to have liked it (lol), but it really depends on the person I'm thinking of recommending it to. Definitely banks on what the other person typically likes. I'm not going to tell my mother to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, for example, as much as I love it; I'd sooner direct her towards the old classics (like how I lent her Jane Eyre back in the day). *shrug*