Hungry Ghost's Daily Diet (TM)

Face of a Buddha: Such a happy, smiling, serene face as I've never seen before. It appears that nothing disturbs him, that he has the equanimity of a silent sea on a moonlit, still night when no winds blow, and no waves break. Time will tell, however, whether the face harbours a true and pure heart, or the heart of a scorpion. I hope the former, but trouble is you never can tell until, mostly, it's too late.

Cutting Red Strings: Snip, snip, snip. Goodness, one's index finger is callused by now. And to what end? All that cutting has resulted in fraying, the fraying has given birth to so many stray strings that are now tangled into a knot that presses against you in close quarters. I would try a lighter to burn it away, but with my luck, the strings will be made of polyester, the knot will melt, then flare up and burn me. So no, no more scissors, no more flames. Instead one shall rub away until the knot is ground to nothing.

Stationery Fetishes: "We all have them!", he said. "Take pen and paper, put pen to paper and write. Write down all the things you have to do. Then choose three to do per day". I waited two days for the flood to build, then wrote away in a spreadsheet rather than with pen and paper (more environmentally friendly). I'm currently up to 87 items and they're still coming. Some of the items will have sub-items when I organize them into categories. I expect to have easily over 100 items by tomorrow.

Callow Youth: There's a sheaf of applications waiting for me tomorrow, for I'm breaking down and hiring another pair of hands. I hope, although I know I shall be disappointed, that there are some excellent candidates within the pile, and that instead of hiring one I shall hire two. And they will be competent, hard working, and generally revive my faith in the fast-fading standards of scholarship.

Expectations: Have none. It's easier that way. Your expectations will be dashed into a million pieces like a potter's vessel (my, must have been a very big vessel). There are very few people in the world who can maintain any semblance of standards and be consistent. As a result, most people try to be something they're not, then they degenerate into their true selves, and amaze everyone around them with their capacity for idiocy and general selfish piggery - although to be honest, this is insulting to pigs.

Forgiveness: It's divine when you can manage it, apparently. I have my doubts though. Much easier to err, and simply say, "Oh, but I'm only human", which is to say, be the biggest cop-out of all time.

Thanks: So much easier to express when you mean it. Hmmmm. I think I'm on to something here - right, I shall only give thanks when I'm truly grateful. In a similar vein, I shall only apologize when I'm truly wrong - and since I'm rarely wrong when it comes to people, I shan't apologize. I look forward to the day when I forget what 'sorry' means. Yes. Something to aspire to.

Portland: Still not too late to cancel, but it would cause some ruckus. And let's face it, the city is at least in the same timezone and only an hour away by air. So I'll go, but then it comes to an end. Please.

Hate: It's a strong word and we shouldn't use it because (according to LO) it makes people sad. Fine, I shan't use it then, but how about 'detest', 'despise', and 'abhor'? Do they make people sad too? They do? Why, it sounds like all words make people sad, so it doesn't make much difference what word you use then. You have five days to come up with a counter-argument, and in the meantime, I shall abstain from using 'hate'. Such self-control. So admirable.