In the hustle and bustle of this world we live in, it's altogether too infrequent that we step back for a second (much less a minute) and take a breath. On this dreary day, I'm enjoying a freshly ground, brewed, and pressed hot and steaming cup of Peruvian coffee. It didn't cost me a lot of money, but it really takes the edge off of the wet & cold outside. Yesterday I met with an old friend and we went out for Asian. I enjoyed my meal with chopsticks, and my conversation with surprisingly good Oolong dinner tea. I think it was Oolong anyhow. Tea with dinner is actually quite good for not only digestion, but enjoyment as well. I just sat back, looked out the window, sipped my tea, and soaked up the wisdom my buddy imparted to me; kidding...or am I. I have a little time to post today, and I'm thankful for that as well. We (all of us) keep so busy all the time. It's as if I we're trying desperately to hurry up and age. "Quick, spend all your time making money so you can spend it all on medical bills as you get older." This tenet is ever present, but I refuse to let it get me down. It's bad for the soul. If you can turn off all the negative stimuli surrounding you (stress, media, etc..) for just a moment, you just might be able to step back and realize how beautiful this world is once in a blue moon.

Wow !!! ( The clam has been almost Zen like ) …
I realize I’m " Risking Ending It " by posting about it, but the relative calm that has
Settled over the Forum for the last few days is nice and my Blood Pressure seems lower.

Now asking a totally unrelated question *cough, cough , cough* ( & a wink ) where’s Blankety-Blank been ! ( ? )

Haha, so that is why its been quite?

*see: "Anime/Manga Subculture Terminology" topic

Well-I for one don't miss "fill in the blank"-the forum is a quieter and calmer place without him or her (as the case may be).

I'm pretty sure she was just some lonely girl named Melissa who wanted some sort of place to vent her love for everything Yayoi...

Plus she apparently lived way out in the middle of nowhere since she had no clue who half the people we were talking about were.

I am not saying that is a bad thing, but it's kinda rare in today's rather high tech environment. Where you can get info in under 10 seconds about stuff you did not know about, or even stuff you did not want to know about.

I found this littlepiece of serendipity today:

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a ride!!"

Welcome to Anime Today animeana.

Now that it's winter, one of my simple pleasures is the feeling I get when I come in from the cold, nestle under a heavy blanket, two cats at my lap, and the warmth that envelopes me takes over. It's too hard for words to explain, but this type of warmth isn't like just getting warm. I can feel it taking over and it's the only thing about winter I enjoy.

Another simple pleasure I have is looking at my awesome figure collection. Kawaii. Yep, it's like that.

Then there's the simple pleasure of a Little Debby peanut butter bar and a large glass of milk.

(and I can't forget Akari, either. She's probably the best simple pleasure I've ever seen)

Cat's are magical, to be sure. I'm a firm believer that they come to us, and are our guides and protectors on a metaphysical level. I don't know how to explain it, but I'm kinda serious. I'd love to see a pic of yours.

As far as Little Debbie is concerned, she provided the better part of my nutritional needs in high school.

I love cats.

Freebie’s seem to be a "Simple Pleasure" that anyone can enjoy.

I moved the Post over to Free Stuf