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This has been my neighborhood all my life - give or take some years in school or whatever - and I am glad to see Metro is finally noticing us. Planners study East Nashville

So, I’m a few weeks into studying for the GRE and I’m averaging about 5 hours a week. I’ve discovered that everything is about where I thought it would be. My math skills need a lot more work than my written and analytical skills. We’ll see how the studying goes now that I’m about to start a new job. See more progress on: study for the GRE

An act of meditation is actually an act of faith--of faith in your spirit, in your own potential. Faith is the basis of meditation. Not of faith in something outside you--a metaphysical buddha, an unattainable ideal, or someone else's words. The faith is in yourself, in your own "buddha-nature." You too can be a buddha, an awakened being that lives and responds in a wise, creative, and compassionate way. Martine Batchelor, " Meditation for Life "

Do not go after the past, Nor lose yourself in the future. For the past no longer exists, And the future is not yet here. By looking deeply at things just as they are, In this moment, here and now, The seeker lives calmly and freely. You should be attentive today, For waiting until tomorrow is too late. Death can come and take us by surprise-- How can we gainsay it? The one who knows How to live attentively Night and day Is the one who knows The best way to be independent. Bhaddekaratta Sutra

Birthday Duo Originally uploaded by bmitd67 . My Birthday is 9/14. .vek's is 9/15. We celebrated on 9/17. Tara made dinner and a chocolate cake!

Going East Originally uploaded by bmitd67 . Shelby Bottoms, Nashville...Trains above the trail

Happiness cannot come from hatred or anger. Nobody can say, "Today I am happy because this morning I was very angry." On the contrary, people feel uneasy and sad and say, "Today I am not happy because I lost my temper this morning." Through kindness, whether at our own level or at the national and international level, through mutual understanding and through mutual respect, we will get peace, we will get happiness, and we will get genuine satisfaction. His Holiness the Dalai Lama

While I am studying for the GRE with plans for Grad School and my MLIS I need a job. I thought I could do the unemployed thing for awhile but it's lonely I feel guilty b/c there are things I should be doing that I can't motivate myself to do Now, I mentioned that I took a job at a local bookstore, which will be named this time next week. But just as I did while I worked at AMZ I am constantly trying to get a job at a library or museum. I discovered this week that Metro HR requires a new app/résumé for every position, which is a waste of time and energy for everyone involved. So, yesterday I put in two apps for the public library system . And I decided that I've been trying too long to stick with the formal, traditional cover letters. One of the positions is for a kid's services position so I used a bold typeface with colors sprinkled in and, of course, I always use a shaded linen paper. Hopefully this non-traditional approach will get me an interview at least.

Abandon wrongdoing. It can be done. If there were no likelihood, I would not ask you to do it. But since it is possible and since it brings blessing and happiness, I do ask of you: abandon wrongdoing. Cultivate doing good. It can be done. If it brought deprivation and sorrow, I would not ask you to do it. But since it brings blessing and happiness, I do ask of you: cultivate doing good. Anguttara Nikaya

Nike Admits to Mistakes Over Child Labor

Only b/c ManU has such a deep bench is this allowed. If he were star striker on most any other team he would be let go. Man Utd accept Rooney punishment

1519 - Ferdinand Magellan left Spain to find a route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. 1664 - Maryland enacted first anti- amalgamation law to prevent widespread intermarriage of English women and Black men. Other colonies passed similar laws. 1830 - First National Black convention met at Philadelphia's Mother Bethel AME church and elected Richard Allen president. 1837 - Theodore S. Wright denounces colonization at the New York State Anti-Slavery convention. 1847 - William A. Leidesdorf elected to San Francisco town council receiving the third highest vote. 1850 - The slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia 1866 - Fisk Jubilee Singers founded 1890(?) - Jelly Roll Morton (Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe) born (this date is questionable) 1915 - Hughie Lee Smith born 1934 - Sophia Loren born 1954 - Stravinsky debuted "In Memoriam Dylan Thomas" 1958 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was stabbed by Isola Curry while autographing copies of his book, " ...

Simon Schama : Sorry Mr President, Katrina is not 9/11 Prayers (like vacations) are the default mode for this president who knows how to chuckle and bow the head in the midst of disaster but not, when it counts, how to govern or to command.

This was one of the biggest shindigs I've had for my birthday in years. My friend .vek celebrates his birthday the day after mine, although he is several years younger, and he suggested that he, his wife and baby come this weekend to jointly celebrate and see the astonishing growth of their daughter Sierra (almost 9 mths old). Tara started making party plans - we have had three parties/dinners since we got married (3 months ago) which is more than my parents had in a year when the ran this household. The KY kids got here Friday evening and .vek and I exchanged soccer shirts (soccer is one of many things we have in common). Nothing really crazy on Friday. On Sat. we met Anne-Marie & Kevin for brunch at the almighty Monell's (a must eat when you come to Nashville for the first time, or the second time, or even if you live here). After some make-fun-of-Jai time .vek & I went to Grimey's while Tara and Christine took a nap. Then the fun began... Dinner included the 7 ...

The present moment is changing so fast that we often do not notice its existence at all. Every moment of mind is like a series of pictures passing through a projector. Some of the pictures come from sense impressions. Others come from memories of past experiences or from fantasies of the future. Mindfulness helps us freeze the frame so that we can become aware of our sensations and experiences as they are, without the distorting coloration of socially conditioned responses or habitual reactions. Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, " Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness "

1 Picture=1000 Words

Since severence didn't last as long as hoped. I start a new job at a local bookstore. It's about 50% of what I made at AMZ Music but it will get me on the literary path. I will mention their name only after I sign the papers.

...he vacuums the entire house. Now, if you haven't seen my house it's a 2 story Tudor with wood floors (hard, cork & bamboo). Tara has respiratory concerns and b/c of that she doesn't sweep she vacuums. We have guests coming this weekend and since we lost our last cleaning lady and it's an off week I have to do these domestic tasks. On to the bathrooms.

1588 - The Spanish Armada , which attempted to invade England, is destroyed by a British fleet. 1789 - James Fenimore Cooper born 1791 - Jonathan Edwards, Jr. (1745-1801) preached a strong anti-slavery sermon before "the Connecticut Society for the Promotion of Freedom and for the Relief of Persons 1821 - Costa Rica , Guatemala , Honduras , Nicaragua and El Salvador proclaimed independence. 1829 - Slavery is abolished in Mexico . 1830 - First National Negro Convention held 1852 - Jan Earnest Matzeliger born 1852 - Edward Bouchet born 1857 - William H. Taft born 1876 - White terrorists attacked Republicans in Ellenton, South Carolina . 1883 - The University of Texas at Austin opened 1889 - Claude McKay born 1890 - Agatha Christie born 1898 - National Afro-American Council founded 1902 - James Theodore Ward born 1903 - Roy Acuff born 1907 - Fay Wray born 1921 - Snooky Pryor born 1923 - Governor said Oklahoma was in a "state of Virtual rebellion and insurrect...

Although there are countless teachings that instruct how to obtain enlightenment in a future life, almost all of them are nothing more than expedients. As the ultimate instruction there is simply no teaching that is superior to the true practice of the awakening to one's own nature. Hakuin, " Zen Master Hakuin "