If wishes were horses...

While we were driving home from her book club last night, my grandma noticed that there was a star up in the sky. It was about nine o’clock, so being the middle of July it was still somewhat light out, but it was definitely a star, and the only star in the sky. I made a wish on it. I haven’t seen the first star of the night in years and years, so the last time i remember wishing on one i think i was in elementary school. While at the book club, which was outside, i saw a firefly. I can’t remember the last time I’d seen a firefly. Can you make a wish on the first firefly of summer? I didn’t, but i wish i had. We make wishes on birthday candles, shooting stars, first stars, and 11:11. Is there anything else that people wish on, in other cultures maybe?

Yesterday i got a cute Pooh Bear card from my other grandma (yup, she sent it to me here at my grandparents’ house) and an e-card from my friend Eileen. We were best friends in 9th and 10th grade, but then she moved to New Jersey and we haven’t stayed in touch very well, but we keep coming back to each other. When i get home i really want to get back in touch with a lot of people. It was funny listening to my parents try to guess who had sent me an online birthday card. I felt so popular because they were naming just about everyone i’ve ever been friends with. (Sharon, you were the first person each of my parents thought of. Hee.)

I read a Why Vegan pamphlet this morning (which made me want to become vegan so much). Interesting coincidence because last night while driving home my grandma asked me how long i’d been a vegetarian and why i was a vegetarian, and she mentioned Temple Grandin, whom i had never heard of. I looked her up online that night, but i had misheard my grandmother, so i was looking up “Temple Brandon” which of course was totally unhelpful, but on the front page of the Why Vegan was a quote from Temple Grandin. Hee.

Today’s tip is: If you do your best, whatever happens will be for the best.

That’s what came up when i opened Word to write this entry. Interesting.

Anyway, i got cantaloupe and cucumbers with my lunch today. Yummers. I’m adding them to my LJ Interests list. Isn’t it odd that it’s called “interests” when it’s really “likes”? LiveJournal even tells you that what you put should fit in the blank in the sentence “I like ___.” I certainly like cantaloupe and cucumbers, a whole lot in fact, but i’m not interested in them, per se.

Sem-relatedly, i’ve had fun using the paid user feature of “which LJ user is most similar to you by virtue of listed interests”--with myself and various other LJers i know. My friend Allison’s longtime boyfriend comes up at the top of her list. None of my LJ friends (although granted i don’t have too many) comes up anywhere in my 150 person list, except for the two library communities i’m in. Yeah, i have lots of unrelated weird interests--and lots that just no one else has.

And on another tangent, i was thinking about the fact that i plan to splurge on half.com and get myself some CDs after we get home and the fact that i won’t be getting very many gifts for my birthday this year -- largely because of my grandmother’s injury. I realized that birthdays don’t seem all that important to me anymore, or at least not this year. Sure, this is probably partially sour grapes because i’m not getting a lot of presents or having a big party or anything and i want to rationalize why this doesn’t bother me. But i think part of it is honest, too. You have a big party and lots of presents to celebrate the fact that you have continued on this plane of existence for another year. It’s essentially just celebrating yourself. Why can’t we celebrate people every day? Give people gifts and recognition for no reason but the fact that we like them? I don’t like feeling like i have to save presents for birthdays and Christmas, nor do i like the feeling of being obligated to give gifts (or at least cards) to people at Christmas. Not that i’m saying down with birthday/Christmas celebration and gift-giving (celebrating Christ by giving of ourselves to loved ones and not-so-loved ones is a whole nother entry, or rather essay). I just think we should do more celebrating for the sake of celebrating, just because we care about people, and less obligatoriness.

(I think one of the things i like about LiveJournal is that i’m not obligated to make everything flow and be coherent and have points and resolutions and such. On the other hand, i’m inspired to do zining again because that would force me to do something with my thoughts as well as get them out to people besides the select few who read my LJ. :) )

And last but certainly not least, i finally made chocolate chip cookies today. Yay.