An Angel's Smile

(An excerpt from Gokinjo Monogatari.)

If I look up at the heavenly clouded sky
And I'm still tediously climbing that hill today,
I began to feel half-hearted, but...
When I think of that favorite girl of mine,
It keeps me putting one foot forward over another.

My Girl
Has an angel's smile...
When it gets heavier,
I gather my way back home;
The way home which leads to you.

My Girl...
Has an angel's smile.

A Girl's Expectations

Every girl has an expectation (or more) from the second-half they are searching for. Of course, it varies between personalities and preferences, but this is my own list of what a girl expects from a guy:

1. Learn to be CONSIDERATE. * Think about her feelings, too!

2. Know your limits. There are BOUNDARIES.

3. Do NOT be a total hypocrite.

4. Learn to give her SPACE.

5. Find out about her interests, hobbies, etc. It is nice to know something that you can relate to.

6. Do NOT annoy the hell out of her.

7. Accept her FLAWS. Face it, EVERYONE HAS THEM. Get OVER IT!

8. Be FRIENDLY, KIND, and FUNNY. No one wants an asshole.

9. Do NOT be overprotective. It's cute, but freaking ANNOYING. Girls need to BREATHE.

10. Most importantly, LOVE HER.

... Is this too much to ask for?

50 Things To Do Before You Die

1. Set foot in each of the seven continents. * Antarctica might be a tough on, but once you've reached all 7, you can truly call yourself a world traveler.

2. Cross a country on a bicycle. * It may take some planning, but it beats being seperated from a country through a passenger-side window.

3. Ride something bigger than a horse. Trekking through the jungle on the back of a 2-story tall elephant will surely be something to remember forever.

4. Live like a local for a month. The experience of visiting native peoples will give you way more insight into another way of life than 2 years hopping from one backpacker ghetto to the next.

5. Visit a "real" blues bar in Chicago.

6. Learn another language.

7. Go heli-skiing.

8. Travel India by train. With its extensive rail network, this mode of transport is the best way to see one of the world's most colorful and diverse countries.

9. Climb one of the world's Seven Summits.

10. Dive with a whale shark. * Swimming with these gentle giants is mong the most powerful wilderness experiences in the world.

11. Participate in a Carnival parade in Brazil.

12. Dance tango in Argentina.

13. Surf.

14. Scuba in the Great Barrier Reef.

15. Publish an article about your travels.

16. Volunteer abroad for a month.

17. Follow the footsteps of your favorite travel book.

18. Take a bush plane ride into Africa's interior.

19. Cross a glacier on foot.

20. Visit the source of one of the world's greatest rivers (for example, The Nile).

21. Climb an active volcano.

22. Buy a boat and learn to sail.

23. Follow your food from field to the table.

24. Bathe in the Ganges River.

25. Travel around the world.

26. Photograph and endangered species.

27. Participate in "Burning Man".

28. Spend 24 hours in the jungle alone.

29. Learn to make a national dish.

30. Teach English in a foreign country.

31. Attend a music festival in another country.

32. Cross a country using only public transportation.

33. Spend the night in a storied/historic hotel.

34. Attend the Olympics.

35. Meet your favorite (and living) travel writer.

36. Travel to Germany to experience the "Love Parade".

37. Partake in a Japanese Tea Ceremony.

38. Go to Oktoberfest in Europe.

39. Join a caravan in the Sahara.

40. Stand at the North or South Pole.

41. Be in the stands when 2 rival South American club teams play each other in soccer.

42. Visit the birthplace or gravesite of a cultural icon.

43. Find your own version of "The Beach".

44. Enjoy a freshly rolled cigar in Cuba.

45. Visit every capital city in Europe.

46. Watch an orchestral performance in Vienna.

47. Skydive.

48. Bike the Pacific Coast Highway.

49. Shake hands with someone who truly changed the country.

50. Participate in the world's biggest water fight during Thailand's New Year's festivities (Songkran).

12 Life Lessons

1. How you grew up is not an indicator of who you are, what you want or how you approach life.

2. People will always try to control you if you let them.

3. All your life you must fight to be who you really are.

4. Your passion for your dream is enough motivation to do everything in your power to accomplish it and live it enthusiastically.

5. Every circumstance in your life comes with lessons. It is up to you to find them in the fold of pain, anguish, grief and heartache, learn them and live them.

6. People are generally hostile to your dream. So don't be too liberal in revealing it. Guard it well; keep it close to your heart.

7. You can't escape being like your parents in some respects, no matter what.

8. God is in control of all that happens in my life. He allows me the freedom to make decisions and choices. They may be good or bad. But in the end, He will have his way in my life, one way or another. He is God.

9. To a large extent, my parents are responsible for how I view myself. It si true that the view is not always conductive to self-confidence, but therein lies my inspiration to find and be the best I can be.

10. Everyone is afraid of something and that fear, no matter how hard we work to rid ourselves of it, the thing we fear follows us throughout our lives. The key to living well and fully is to learn how to let our fears dictate how far we travel on life's highway, how high we fly in pursuit of our dreams and how deeply we love.

11. The good old days will never return, no matter how hard we wish for them. Instead, we can recall, regain and recapture the good feelings, the simplicity and the hopefulness and make them a part of our todays.

12. God may not always be your first option, but He will always be the best option in any situation.

10 Things To Do In Walmart

Have you ever felt the urge to do something utterly and incredibly stupid? Well, here's the chance for you! The list I provide below is written and thought of by one very smart person, whom I give so much credit for:

1. Get as many packs of condoms as you can (preferably a basket full), and place them in random shopping carts when the owner is not looking.

2. Go into one of the change rooms (doesn't matter if it's the Men's or Women's), and yell out loud, "Why aren't there any tissue in here?!"

3. Hide inside a clothing rack, and when someone browses in the very same rack you are in, say, "Pick me! Pick me!"

4. Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor to the rest rooms.

5. Set all the alarm clocks in house wares to go off in 5-minute intervals.

6. When a clerk asks if they may help you, being to cry and ask, "Why can't you people just leave me alone?!"

7. While handling guns in the hunting department, ask the clerk if he knows where the anti-depressants are.

8. Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the theme from Mission Impossible.

9. In the auto department, practice your Madonna look using different sized funnels.

10. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker, assume the fetal position and scream, "No! No! It's those voices again!"

Well, I hope you enjoy, and have as much fun as possible.

PS. If, by chance (and most likely), you are caught, and is (are) arrested or placed charges on, it is entirely not my problem or fault. Thanks! :)

My Alter-Ego

Hello. My name is Lola Dazzletush. Of course, that's not my real name, but that doesn't matter right now. You have already thought, "Lola Dazzletush? What kind of name is that??" Well, the origin of my name isn't all that important, but if you must know, it's my stripper name. No, I'm not a stripper. My friend, who I will not name, just asked what kind of name I would pick if I became a stripper, but before I could answer, I have been dubbed "Lola Dazzletush". How nice.