So children, with the burden of home ownership, I find I can no longer afford internet access, and as my time at work will simply not allow me time to play online, I have come to the decision that I must, for now, bow out of the social life of the internet. However, I will leave you all with the wisdom I have gleaned in this last year before I actually cancel out my accounts and try to face life sans keyboard:

1. Falling in love is the most awesome experience in the world! It leaves you giddy and lightheaded, and cliched as it may be, you cannot eat or sleep or concentrate on anything, aside from your beloved. It is, I dare say, better than any drug out there- not that I have a basis for comparison, mind you, but from what I've HEARD about drug use, I would venture to say that it is.

2. Love truly is blind. No matter what shopping list of traits in a beloved you might have spent your life conjuring up, love comes along and smacks you upside the head and says, "Ha! Gender or age or physical type have nothing to do with this. It's about the soul, you idiot!"

3. When the object of your affection does not return your affection, it is the worst feeling in the world. And if this should ever happen to you, I would recommend that you kick the person in the shins and run- don't walk!- away as fast as you can!

4. Love is a drug, and if you are not strong enough to run away, it will keep you coming back for more. No matter how sane or rational a person you thought you were, love will make you its bitch given half a chance.

5. Magic is real, but so is karmic balance. So you should always expect that no matter how awesome every other aspect of your life is, there must be one part that just truly sucks. Be wary should you ever find that everything in your life is perfect...

6. No matter how sane or rational you think you are, when love dies, it will inevitably leave behind the cold ashes of hatred. And hatred, my dears, can be just as all-consuming as once love was. They are, indeed, two halves of the same coin.

So, my final words to you? Love is a ride, but like most rides, once you get on, you can not get off until it has come to a full and complete stop, so please- please!- learn from my pain and make damn sure you are ready for the whole ride before you sign on. Having a heart is one thing. Having a heart that can be broken is quite another! Peace to you all, so mote it be!

Bright Blessings to one and all! It seems that my schedule with the arrival of summer has gotten CRAZY and I have very little time to be on the computer much. So, I'm going to be on a slight break for now, but I would like to keep in touch with you all, so feel free to email me sometime at roseygirl12000@yahoo.com (I can still check that at work- haha!) Have a good summer, everyone!

Friendship is such an odd thing...you can become so close to someone and then something in your life changes- job, home, family, views, whatever- and suddenly, the person that you thought would always be around, isn't. And just as strangely, some new person you could never have envisioned is now becoming an integral part of your life. It is a little depressing, especially when you realize you are slowly but inevitably losing that old friend, but it is also exciting as you find out more about the new friend. And I know, there are those precious few friends that you can somehow manage to hold onto no matter what, but these are rare- and, of course, all the more precious just because of their tenacity! Change can be so hard...

Today was sooo perfect! Well, the weather was bad- gray without raining and we need rain! But, I only had to work a half day instead of a full day, so I played hookey and went to the beach. Again, it wasn't a pretty day, so it wasn't a pretty beach, but it also wasn't crowded! That wasn't what made it awesome though. What made it awesome was that I found a sting ray trapped in a tide pool and got to probably within a foot of him- several times. It was so cool just watching him glide and flutter through the water! And yes- I was careful- beautiful they may be, but dangerous too! And then I was leaving and decided to check out a nature trail (the beach is part of a state park). It was beautiful, but the really neat part was that it ended in this forest graveyard- not a graveyard in a forest, but a place that looked like it was where trees go to die! I think the park department was doing this on purpose to try to slow down beach erosion, but it was so eerie, like something out of an end of the world movie! The trees were bleached white by the sun and made smooth by the waves. Some still were rooted in the ground, but most were lying over, roots to the air, being slowly engulfed in sand. It was so surreal, I can't do it justice with words...And then as I was leaving, a deer meandered across the road! I love deer, especially when they're cocky like that!

So, I was just looking at my last post, and it's amazing how much can change in a month. The friend I spoke with got back together with her boyfriend...and broke up again...I couldn't deal with it anymore and I'm afraid I snapped and rather than be supporting, I told her he was full of it and she needed to get over it! That was 2 weeks ago and she hasn't called back...I love her, and I want what's best for her, but I also don't want to encourage this mess of a relationship out of some false sense of "being a good friend." So, I consulted the cards. They told me she was in a hopeless place. My heart immediately went out to her, and I asked if I should contact her. I was told not to, because the situation which "vexes" me is still present. And I know the cards are right, but I feel so guilty about not being there for her, but at the same time, I am so tired of being her emotional crutch! Sigh...goddess help her!