Linda Common - My Journal

Have you found the person with whom you want to spend the rest of your life? Have you decided to have a wedding and invite all of your friends, family and co-workers? Are you planning a theme wedding or something more traditional? Why not both? Be the envy of all of the brides and grooms to be with a traditional Chinese themed wedding.

You can start the event off right with Chinese wedding invitations. Check local stores where you purchase invitations. Private vendors will usually have a great selection of Chinese wedding invitations from which you can choose. There are some great ones with beautiful Chinese artwork displayed tastefully. You may want to choose some with some ancient proverbs on them. Be sure to check online, you may be able to find custom Chinese wedding invitations that you and your special someone can design for yourself. Some websites even offer free wedding invitations.

Once everyone has been invited, then it is time to plan the reception. Plan to finish your perfect event off right with the perfect Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony. A grand addition to any marital occasion.

With the right food choices and some creative decorating decisions your Chinese theme wedding will be the one all your friends will talk about for many years to come.

The revival of absinthe in the United States has been quite the interesting turn of events. Banned for so long, it’s built up a reputation in many minds that it’s too dangerous to imbibe. But in the last year or so, I’ve heard that there are a couple of brands of absinthe now being sold.

I think my favorite thing about absinthe (having never actually drank it), is the association I have of it with secrets, underground societies, and the era of flappers. I imagine a sophisticated group of men and women, similar to those described in numerous novels by F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise come to mind), gathering in big mansions, dressed to the nines, philosophizing and charming each other. Oh, the Jazz Age!

Now that it’s back, I feel proper respect and attention needs to be paid to this mystical and exotic drink. I would serve it in a dark bar, called the Absinthe Shop, with dark woods, rich leathers, jazz music playing, and really making a production out of the ritual of preparing and drinking it. Doesn’t that sound lovely?

Then I hear of those young Hollywood celebs partaking of the drink and it just kind of crashes my imagination. Intellectual stimulation and talk of creative works just doesn’t fit with what I see those young men and women doing. But perhaps the flappers were far more scandalous in their day than they seem now, too.

If you’re currently attending college or you’ve been to college in the past, I’m sure you’re quite aware of all of the marketing that is on your local college campus. Whether they are promoting the next big speech or a student credit card, you have to be aware of what the companies are promoting just to make sure they are legit.

One of the main marketing culprits are the credit card companies and don’t let they free t-shirt giveaway fool you. Every year college students find themselves signing up for a credit card just for the free t-shirt or hat and let me explain a few reasons why this is a bad idea –

You’re limited to one credit card; you don’t know what the card is about.

You can’t do your research.

The gifts usually stink and only come in XXL.

.. And the list goes on. My word of advice to you when it comes to your first credit card is to do extensive research. You’ll want to know exactly what kind of rewards you want and what the terms and conditions are that are associated with the card. This way, when you do receive your card, you’ll know exactly what it’s about. The problem with the kiosks is you’re pretty much going in blindfolded signing up for a card that you don’t’ know about and if you have any questions, the people behind the counter will obviously be bias. So make sure the next time you are looking for a card, do your research and find one that suits your needs.

Being a teenager was never easy. Especially being a girl that did not like to participate in the teenager-type activities. I was raised listening to classical music and participating in the conversations of adults, so, therefore, when it was time for me to become a teenager I was much more mature than the rest of my fellows.  I used to spend more time in the library reading or with my teachers talking about economy, politics and all other grown up processes than looking to go to the mall or playing with love.

It would not have been such terrible times if it weren’t for the envy and hate that I developed. I know the teasers and bullies got married but I do not know if they are happy I was teased, mocked, and bluntly attacked - not only by students but even by some teachers.

All because I did not fit in, and yet, now that I look back on everything at the tender age of 60, I realize that it was the less traveled road.  Indeed, it made the entire difference.  All in all, if I would change a thing about my life, well, maybe I’d erase them all.

There are lots of things that a woman can and cannot take, and I am not referring to the violent stuff; I mean that there are things that women might not be able to do, or willing to do.

I was not willing to take on children.  When it was time to become pregnant and have a family I was not in love enough to consider having children and as time progressed, I simply decided I did not care to change diapers, deal with homework and attitudes.  I do not have the same romantic sight on children as many women do.

And this is what I mean about knowing what you can and cannot take on, and acting responsible about it. I have time and time again seen many women that think that they are up to the task of being mothers and wives and find themselves hating every little thing about their lives and acting accordingly.  What is the point with manhandle their children? None. However, they still do it believing it will relieve their own frustrations and anger.

It would have been better if they had refrained from having children; women need to know themselves and their capabilities.

I was just approached by a friend.  His stepson has some problems with reading and he wanted me to tell him what he should do, since he wanted the boy to be able to enjoy all books.  I asked him what books he had been giving the child to read, he answered most of the classical; I immediately thought on La Fontaine, Aesop, Grimm and Perault but he replied: Garcia Marquez, Whitman and the like.  I laughed about 20 minutes and saw my friend’s face get angrier and angrier.  When I could finally stop laughing I explained to him that it was important to entice the child with lectures that will teach him something and still be of his liking.

I sighed and explained that there was no point in giving his stepson books that my friend likes because they do not share the same age group. And I told him about all the children’s books even the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series; he reluctantly took my advice and asked me to go to the store with him, he then bought his stepson 5 different titles.

Needless to say, the boy read them all in just one week.

Once I decided to quit smoking, every single cigarette brand seemed appealing to me.  Once I decided to reduce my sugar intake, everyone seemed to be giving me sweets.  And once I decided to take it slowly, all kinds of activities seemed to sprout around me.

It has always amazed me how easily life will tease you, to see if your determination is true and well defined. For many years I wondered if the devil or any other evil entity was responsible for such bumps on the road, but I know better. We do not need the devil or anyone else to trip ourselves in the path of becoming better people.

Becoming a better person is not an easy task.  The human race is known for its weaknesses and flaws, there is nothing that can assure us that we will be able to correct them properly and we are not certain that we will be able even to devote ourselves entirely to them. So, we are not able to perfect ourselves and we are not able to loose ourselves.  All we can do is strive to perfection either way, fully aware that it might escape eternally.

My friend had a dog she loved dearly and who she thought on to be kind of a daughter for her.  One day she was bit by a tick and infected with Lyme’s disease; to her grief the physicians were not able to realize of the disease until it was excessively late and there was nothing left to do but to euthanize her. I remember she cried softly, though her face expressed the deepest parts of her grief.

She sought comfort in her family and bumped into the selfishness of her father who blamed her, the vets and everyone else on the death of her dog. He threw a fit and drove away without looking back.  She took the body of her beloved friend and took her home where she spent all night hugging the corpse and caressing her hair.

After the proper rituals she found that her father had bailed on the entire family because he said, ‘he felt betrayed by everyone, since it was her and her mother and her sister that had mainly caused the dog’s demise’.  All through the months that followed the death and until he finally left she never heard her father say: “I am sorry for you”