"Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much; whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much. You must lead a good life."
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Through research that a Canadian relative did, I can trace my father's family back to 1744 in Scotland. Last night I discovered a massive website made by a distant American relative. It includes my mother's family history--it even lists me!--and goes back to about 1525 in England. Wow!

"Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing... Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." - E.L. Doctorow

I'm 44. I don't have a house. I live in a small apartment. I don't own a car. I don't have a high-paying job (although I do have savings). I will not get a nice company pension when I retire. Most people I know make much more money than I do and have wonderful houses that are great for entertaining people. At work I'm counting my blessings that I managed to get part of a resource storage room for my desk and computer in our recent horrendous move.

I find myself wondering, "Should I have chosen a different path/career/whatever?"

However, I believe with all my heart that teaching English as a Second Language is right for me and that I make a positive difference in peoples' lives by doing it. I also believe--at least most of the time-- that I have something worthwhile to share as a writer and actor. And having been to 16 countries (including Canada and the U.S.) should count for something.

BUT SOMETIMES IT'S DAMNED FRUSTRATING!!!!!

P.S. -------------I still have a nasty cold!

P.P.S. ----------------------------Have a nice day! :-( :-0 :-)