Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Today was spent celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Many look at this as odd, thinking that it a celebration of death, hence all the cute bunny rabbits and chocolate. However it is not so much a celebration of death but a celebration of rebirth, recognizing that Jesus died for our sins and then was freed from the punishment of death to live forever in heaven as we all hope to do so one day. It is a rather odd holiday though, as some businesses close for the day and others don't, the whole weekend is used (Good Friday – Easter) but no time is taken from the workweek. It's as if America would rather not celebrate this day and carry on as if nothing happened which is a shame for it is a powerful thing to be born anew, free from the weight of sin.

Aside from Easter, this has been a rather productive and all around good week. My friends have pointed out that there has been a recent upward swing in mood in my posts and I would agree with them. I think a good deal of the mood swing can be attributed to turn in the weather, which has been beautiful (if not a bit on the hot side). I really enjoy being outside in the weather when it's like this and the sunlight really helps the mood and fosters the creativity. The other thing I would attribute to my good mood is the forward momentum of several of my projects, stories for Musings of Calliope and testing for the new website are going swell as is the exercise and diet plan, which means I have produced actual measurable results. This is really something that has pleased me, accomplishing something that I can look back on and say “I did that.” This of course was the intended purpose of the reading group I formed and so far I would call it a raging success! As you can see, even though my life is in a certain state of disorder and uncertainty right now, I am enthusiastically looking forward to the coming months and hope the work will continue to build and grow upon what has been done these past few weeks. Work continues on many, many more projects some of which I will be telling you about around the end of the year.

Now as you know I like to spend time outside but not here in Raleigh. This week I went on both a bike ride and a walk. It is great to be outside enjoying nature and playing in the sun and in a way it is very relaxing to be able to go on a run after work or a bike ride in the afternoon. It clears the mind and builds up the body, so it is one of those rare win win situations in life. Now usually, in civilized company, you share the road with others so as I meandered about I made room for others and called out my presence to others around me. However I would give a hundred dollars to a person who returned the favor as not a single person gave way to me. One of the most frustrating aspects of my move up to Raleigh has without a doubt been the general hubris of the populace. When I walk down halls at work or when I am outside on the local trails people will simply take up as much of the space as they please. This frustrates me to no end and it is a constant struggle to hold back the yearning to simply run them over like they deserve. So remember next time you are out on a ride, run or walk, try to be considerate to those around you, everyone should be able to enjoy the trails, not just you. That is Chuck's word of wisdom for the week! Sayonara.